Buried Within
The Odd Client

"That's not actually true."

"Excuse me?"

Lucy nearly choked on her tea, watching Lockwood to her left say precisely what a potential client wouldn't want to hear—that they were wrong. On her far left, George raised an eyebrow while keeping his mouth shut, constantly on orders from Lockwood of all people not to say anything that might jeopardize landing a client.

"I know the law, young man," the woman said, her fingers tightening around her pants leg while her mouth pushed together.

The woman in question had arrived moments earlier with her daughter, who now stood by the window looking out. Yet, when they first arrived, the woman seemed completely calm regarding the situation, while the daughter seemed nervous. Lockwood beckoned them in, bidding them to sit in the front parlor while George made the tea.

The conversation started with the woman saying, "The other day, I purchased a house for my daughter to renovate and live in, and I told my daughter that there wasn't a ghost in this house. I should know."

"You do?" Lockwood said, a twinkle appearing in his eye, which meant the case amused him. "How do you know?"

"Because the law requires the seller to tell every and any potential buyers of any hauntings on a given property. As such, there can't be any truth to there being a ghost there."

"That's not actually true," Lockwood said in response.

"Excuse me?" The woman sat there, her fingers tightening around her pants leg while her mouth pushed together. "I am quite sure I know the law, young man. And I'm quite sure the law requires sellers to tell every and any potential buyers of any hauntings on a given property, as I've said."

"Oh, that's true."

The daughter turned her head from where she looked out the window, her attention suddenly perked at where she looked out the window, her attention suddenly perked at what seemed like a contrary statement from Lockwood as her mother continued to fume, glaring right after the head of Lockwood & Co.

"What isn't true is that guarantees there to be no actual ghosts, although that is the law's intent," Lockwood said.

The woman's eyes blinked, taken aback by the direction he took their conversation. "Pardon. I don't follow."

"People lie, Mrs. Pascal."

"Ms. Pascal," the woman said. "I no longer use his name. And what is this with lying? What does that have to do with their being a potential ghost on the property I'm trying to renovate? Why can't my daughter and I just move in."

"Potential ghost?" Lucy said as George offered more tea.

"Potential ghost?" George parroted back, his head lifting to look at the woman. "What do you mean a potential ghost? Why are we being contacted again?"

"Shush, George," Lockwood said as if he hadn't moments before almost bungled, gaining them a new client with the way he'd started the conversation with Ms. Pascal.

"I say potential because my daughter says there is one," Ms. Pascal said.

"So," Lucy said, frowning, her dislike for Sensitive, who did nothing with their Talent becoming apparent. "Your daughter is a Sensitive. But not an Agent?"

"As if I'd let her be one if she was one," Ms. Pascal said.

"Says the woman who is completely fine with living in a house where you just exposed a body in the wall," the daughter said. "And yes, despite her not believing it true, I am a Sensitive."

"Oh," Lucy said. "You've one of those." She cleared her voice. She looked at the ground while bringing her tea to her lips.

"Yes. I have one of those," the girl said. "If you are saying what I mean. An overprotective…."

"I am not overprotective!"

"Well, I guess you want to stay the night in a house where you knocked a hole in the wall and discovered a dead body," the girl said. "That does mean you aren't overprotective." She tilted her head to Lockwood. "Tell him about the skeleton we found in the wall, mum."

The woman sighed. "I don't see how that is important."

"You don't see how that is important?" Lockwood let an eyebrow rise. "That is actually very important." He leaned forward, folding his fingers in front of his face before muttering through them. "Ms. Pascal?"

"Yes?"

"Are you in denial of ghosts existing?"

Lucy snorted her tea out of her nose and turned her face away to try and hide her amusement at what the head of Lockwood & Co had just said. George perked up, sitting on the other side of Lockwood as if anything odd and unusual interested him. Ms. Pascal wasn't amused. "What do you mean being in denial? Everyone knows ghosts exist. I mean, it's hard to ignore an event as big as The Problem that has resulted in so many deaths."

"Yes, that is true," Lockwood said. "But I'm not talking about ghosts existing in general, but more of ghosts existing around you in the space you're in despite them being there."

"Oh. Kind of the reverse to how it used to be, with nobody believing in ghosts," George said, pushing up his glasses.

"I don't think so," Lucy said.

"I'm not in denial."

"Yet you've just said a dead body, which is a likely candidate for a source, isn't something to worry about."

"Because the law requires…."

"The law doesn't work," Lockwood said. "As I've said, people lie."

"Why would they?"

"Because they're more than willing to take advantage of someone?" the daughter said. "An old house at a meager cost in a day and age where ghosts are far more likely to be in older houses than newer ones? Of course, they were lying."

"I don't have the money to take them to court!"

"Which is exactly why you were a perfect target, mom," the daughter said.

"Well, there is the problem of finding them to take them to court," Lockwood said. "If they had lied."

"Not to mention that because you exposed the body yourself, it will be hard to prove that any manifestations started to occur before and after," George said.

Lucy turned her head. "Wouldn't the manifestations have been happening before the ghost was exposed, though, and wouldn't have been prevented as there was no iron to do so?"

George shrugged his shoulders. "It depends on what type we're talking about, to be honest."

"George. We're talking about a body found in the wall. We've had a case just like this, so we all know why a body is there," Lucy said. "They had to have been lying then."

"Look. I'm not here to debate whether they were lying or not. I couldn't take them to court if I wanted to."

"This wouldn't happen to do with why you didn't go to the police the moment you discovered the body?" Lockwood said.

"You can't get the police involved! I don't want him to find out!"

"Him?" Lucy asked while George chuckled into his tea.

"She means by dad, from whom she's separated."

"Divorced," Ms. Pascal said rather triumphantly.

"What if I were to say I know someone who knows someone? That I could have a word to about to avoid getting news of this back to your husband?" Lockwood said. "I wouldn't agree to take on the case unless I involved him as the only reason to stick a body in the wall is…."

"Murder!" George said.

"Thank you, George," Lockwood said. "So?"

"I don't know. I'll need to think about it," the woman said. "And on what your fee will be. We'll go home now."

The daughter stiffened. "Home? What home?"

"The house, of course," the woman said, standing up to leave.

Lockwood stood up, stepping between her. "Sorry, but I can't consciously let you do that, knowing there is a dead body in the wall that could potentially be a ghost which in turn puts you at risk of Ghost-Touch."

"The car, then?" Ms. Pascal said while her daughter looked at her miserably.

Lucy cleared her voice. "Why don't they stay here?"

"Say what?" George said, looking over at her as if she were crazy.

Lockwood looked at her, amused. Then turned to Ms. Pascal. "Why not. No extra charge, and then my conscious regarding your safety will be clear."

"Wait? Where are they going to be staying?"

"The daughter can bunk with Lucy, who I am sure won't mind," Lockwood said.

"No, I won't," Lucy said.

"And I'll take the couch and let Ms. Pascal have my room once I clear out a few more personal things."

Ms. Pascal frowned, nodding her head to George. "What about him? Why is he not giving up his room?"

Lockwood's voice cracked. "No. You don't want that. George does yoga. Naked. It isn't a pleasant site."

Ms. Pacal and her daughter stared at them as if wondering what kind of agency they had wandered into.