Lockwood burst through the door of the mausoleum they'd left not just hours before. Daniel could faintly hear Kipps's voice saying "under the bus for this?" but couldn't hear what he'd said before they walked in.
"We're right here." Lockwood huffed out, his voice breathy from the team running from the cab to the musty building. He straightened his tie, as if that was really what was important in this situation. . .whatever this situation was.
"Ah!" Kipps tilted his head, looking over at the head of Lockwood & Co. He practically strut between Kipps's team, making them push to the sides so he wouldn't run into them. Daniel and Lucy were right behind him, Daniel sticking closer to Lockwood than Lucy was.
"Good Evening." Lockwood grinned as he walked through.
"You alright, Kat?" Lucy asked smugly when she was walking past the Fittes agent.
"Good evening, Inspector." Lockwood nodded to Inspector Barnes before coming to a halt beside George - who was now smiling.
"Anthony Lockwood, a case gone wrong." The inspector returned. "Nothing seems to change."
Lockwood let out a light, airy chuckle, "Nice to see you here, Kipps. What's that, third time this week, is it?"
"Twice, by my count." Kipps returned, with his annoyingly perfect posture and his hands folded behind his back. Daniel rolled her eyes, biting down a scoff.
"The mirror's gone." George said, grabbing the rest of his team's attention. "This is big."
"It is, yeah. And it's our case." Lockwood said, looking from George toward Inspector Barnes. The brunet still sounded out of breath, drawing in heavy breaths in between his words.
"Not anymore. We've already made a preliminary report." Kipps said, sounding proud of himself.
Just then, Bobby Vernon, one of Kipps's newer team members, stepped forward with an orange folder. "The first question is, why an iron casket a century before the Problem? Well, the Fittes database confirms it to be a still, used in breweries in the late 19th century. It also confirms that 1866 saw a violent labor dispute at Hildrew's Ales at Kilburn." Bobby turned back toward his team, walking back in line and handing the orange file to Inspector Barnes. "There you go, sir."
"We believe this well-dressed man was the owner, murdered by his workers and buried in the first thing they could find." Kipps added.
"An accidentally murdered brewer?" Inspector Barnes questioned, sounding unsure.
"An awful way to die, sir." Kipps confirmed with a small nod. "It would explain why he's unquiet. The mirror's clearly a personal item, treasured enough to be his source."
Daniel scoffed. "And why, Kipps, would your 'murdered brewer's' killers bury him with something he cared for? If they hated him so much to kill him, and were in such a rush that they buried him in the first thing they could find, then why would they take the time to put his prized possession with him in there, huh?"
"You're talking nonsense, Aiken. He likely had it on him and they just didn't bother to take it." Kipps returned with ease, almost mocking the annoyance in Daniel's tone. "Besides, it's the only thing that makes sense. Unless Karim has a better answer."
George grinned, shrugging a nod. "Yes, I do, actually." Daniel matched his expression, nudging her shoulder against her curly haired teammate's.
Lucy turned, looking at George in disbelief. "You do?"
"Yeah." George nodded.
"You're sure you do?" Lockwood was almost begging him to shut his mouth with the pointed stare being shot George's way.
"I know who that man is." George confirmed, looking complacent as ever.
"Fuck yeah." Daniel smirked, laughing slightly.
"This better be good, Karim." Inspector Barnes motioned toward the body.
"Bobby," George addressed, moving his smirking expression from Barnes to the agent in question, "why would anyone carry a cast-iron still for two miles, just to have something to bury a body in?" As he spoke, he got closer to the agent he was addressing.
"Well, you do it because it's iron. You do it to guard against the evil spirits you're trying to bury. Of course, we're talking a hundred years before the Problem, so that's odd. But then there's the inscription on the mirror. You saw that, right?"
"We're working on it. We've already hired an Aramaic translator." Kipps nodded softly with his words.
"They'll be glad of the work, but this is Phoenician." George got a laugh out of Lockwood and Daniel was practically bouncing on her feet as he continued on. She was so very excited to be shoving something in Kipps's face after him being such a dick. . .always. "Very trendy in Victorian occultist circles. It means 'the truth lies beyond.'"
"That's the slogan of the Open Arms Fellowship." Inspector Barnes said seriously, clearly finding no humor in the situation, not that he ever found humor in anything.
"And about six other ghost cults over the decades, but this is the earliest use I've found. This death was no accident. We're looking at a wealthy occultist way ahead of his time, executed and buried in secret with a mirror that will be worth a fortune on the black market."
"So. . .is it our case?" Lockwood smirked, his arms crossed against his chest.
"If you have a name." Inspector Barnes started, looking irritated by the fact he might have to give it to Lockwood. "I'm undecided."
"What?" Kipps scoffed.
Daniel looked over at George expectantly, praying to any deity that even had a chance of existing that he had the answer Barnes was looking for. And somehow, he did. "Have you got anything on Dr. Edmund Bickerstaff in that report of yours, Bobby? His family used to own this cemetery."
"Edmund Bickerstaff? He's a joke. Britain's most famous pervert." Kat scoffed.
"Mhmm." George nodded. "Unless he wasn't. Unless that was the cover story for the real reason he was creeping 'round graveyards. Doing what, I don't know, but the iron coffin, the inscription on the mirror. . .it's ghost-related."
"But you've got no proof." Bobby cut in harshly.
"Bobby, just a hunch." George never lost his pep, keeping his grin as he reached and grabbed the cane that was in the coffin. "Something I read in a book, if you remember those. Wealthy Victorians often secretly marked their belongings in case of theft."
Lockwood laughed silently, Daniel's smile only growing as she watched Kipps's expression increasingly fall.
"So, why don't you release that clasp for me?" George asked, walking right up to Bobby and holding the cap of the cane toward him.
Bobby grabbed the cane with annoyance, undoing the clasp just as George had asked. "Bickerstaff's. . .crest." He mumbled.
"Thank you, Bobby. You've been a wonderful assistant." George snarked as he took the cane back. "The man in this casket is Edmund Bickerstaff."
Bobby went to say something, only to get shut down by a very angry looking Kipps. "No, no, don't."
"A dodgy Victorian doctor," George continued, "with secret links to the occult and a missing mirror that'll be worth a fortune to some very ruthless people."
"Well. Looks like the best team won, eh?" Lockwood said.
"Oh, shut it." Kat huffed from her spot behind Quill.
"This is our case, okay?" Kipps raised his voice.
"You wouldn't know anything if I didn't-" George smiled.
"You shut it, Karim." Bobby pointed at George.
"Don't talk to him like that-" Daniel defended, her agitation clear.
"You thought it was a brewer-" George shot out.
"Shut up!" Inspector Barnes yelled, silencing all eight agents in the room, save for Lockwood's laughing. After a moment of silence, the Inspector finally started again. "I'm putting you both on the case. Working together." Lockwood's grin fell. "It's not gonna be a problem, is it?"
Neither team leads answered until Daniel nudged Anthony in his arm. "Not at all, Inspector." Lockwood mumbled with a wound jaw.
"No, Inspector." Kipps followed.
"Good. Locate the missing relic. Find out who's stolen it and why. I need you to share information, back each other up, and get it done before anyone else gets hurt."
Lockwood drew in a breath, looking away from anyone else and toward the ground.
Daniel rolled her eyes before speaking up, "Sounds great, Inspector."
"Get on then." He shouted, clapping his hands together. And just like that, Lockwood & Co. would be working with Fittes. Sounded lovely.
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Word Count - 1,389
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Published - December 13, 2023
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