The Shimmering Wraith (Lockwood and Co. Fanfic)

The Ghost- 5.

                “This,” George said, pushing a newspaper article grudgingly across the table, “is the earliest record of death I can find in the house. Cause of death was drowning, but there was no water found near the woman’s body. This would make me suspect that the body of this woman was not the original Source in the house, but I can find no record of any previous disturbances. The woman could, of course, been murdered somewhere else and brought to the house, but why? It doesn’t make any sense. That’s as far as I’ve got at the moment.”

                “Charrington Street,” Kipps mused, tapping the picture with interest. “I’ll have to get Bobby Vernon to have a look into things, see what he can find. But really, if you haven’t finished your research, why go in at all?”

                “It was my fault,” Lockwood said coolly. “Adele Ridgway lives in the house with her husband and daughter, Rachel. Mrs Ridgway said that Rachel had seen ‘a stalking figure’ at the top of the stairs. There was no miasma, creeping fear, or any of the usual phenomena that come with a dangerous Visitor. I thought it would be a quick, in-and-out job, and I was wrong.”

                “George, when you described the ghost it didn’t sound as though it were a drowning victim,” I said before Kat could let loose the scalding comment that was riding on her tongue.

                George shrugged.

                “It’s a bit difficult to say. I mean, the usual traits would be blue face and so on, but it’s a bit hard to tell when they’re already dead, wouldn’t you say Lockwood?”

                Lockwood had gone still, and when he spoke his words came out slowly.

                “No, no. I think Lucy might be right. I didn’t pay much attention at the time, but I think we might be dealing with two separate ghosts. The girl upstairs- well she did look as though she’d been drowned. You didn’t see her George, but her face was all contorted and blank. She shimmered in a way, I suppose, almost as though you were looking at her from under water.”

                “And the second ghost?” Finn asked, speaking for the first time since we’d entered the café. He was still staring at me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. It was beginning to freak me out.

                “Both hands cut off, typical wraith,” George said. “And Lucy heard a dripping sound, didn’t you Luce? That might tie in with the drowning.”

                “But I only heard that downstairs,” I pointed out.

                “This calls for more research,” Kipps said. “There’s a nice pub on Charrington Street; shall we meet there tonight to discuss our finds before we go into the house?”

                “Alright,” Lockwood said, beaming his megawatt smile as he reached across to shake Kipps’ hand. “Barnes wants us to work together on this one, no fighting whatsoever.”