His Silence - Chapter Fifteen

‘What’s he like then?’ Callum whispers, crossing his legs as we sit beside each other at the table in the living area.

There’s the clink of cutlery and plates coming from the kitchen, along with the whiff of melted cheese. My stomach groans. I offered to help with the cooking, but Oliver wouldn’t hear of it, he said we were his guests. I still don’t quite get who he is. From the way how he spoke to me earlier he made it seem as though he was in business with Mum and Dad. Could they have been running a business from here years ago?

I take a sip of water. Callum asked for a beer, but Oliver told him, a little frostily there was no alcohol in the house. I could just imagine Emma’s and Michael’s reaction if they’d been told that, they have a glass of wine near enough every night. ‘He seems . . . nice,’ I say.

‘Bit weird though, don’t you think?’ Callum asks.

‘Yep, but then you think everyone’s weird,’ I say, rolling my eyes. ‘It sounds like he and my parents got on really well. From what he told me, they were the best of friends.’

‘So why did they leave?’

A lump bobs in my throat. ‘He doesn’t know, he says he was devastated and that he tried to find them before the murders. He . . . he said someone turned their heads and spread lies about him to get them to leave. I don’t know, it all sounds a bit crazy.’

‘I thought the whole point of us coming here today, was because you would find out those answers,’ Callum hisses.

I keep my eyes fixed on the kitchen door, to make sure Oliver and Luke can’t hear us talking.

‘I think . . . I’d like to talk to the other people who live here. Perhaps they might be able to tell me something more. Perhaps the only chance I’ve got of uncovering any more information is by staying here a few days, and talking to people.’  

‘Ah, the car’s just got back,’ Luke says, emerging into the room from the kitchen making me jump. He’s wiping his hands on a blue tea towel; his eyes are fixed on us.

Oh God. A nervous wave pulses through me as wheels on gravel from outside, reaches my ears. Seconds later, there are excited voices coming from the hallway. This is it. Adam must’ve called one of them earlier to let them know I was here. Adam heads into the hallway, perhaps he’s going to tell everyone not to crowd in on me. Callum gives me a reassuring smile. I used to hate too many people at once.

‘Danielle.’ A short woman with greying, brown, shoulder length hair breezes into the room. She must be in her mid-seventies. She rushes over to me, but stops a few paces away. Her green eyes fix on me. I get a whiff of a floral scent from her, mixed with something sweet, honey. ‘Oh, you’re exactly how I imagined you would look,’ she says, excitement in her voice. ‘Gosh you look just like . . . well, I’m Mary.’

She holds out her hand, I take it. A small crowd of people shuffle into the room behind her. There’s a mixture of men and women, it looks like there are an even number of each. They’re all wearing the same clothing; white trousers and a white shirt, like how it is in my memory. There’s a younger girl towards the back of the group with straight brown hair, falling in clumps on her shoulders. It must be Eve. For a moment our eyes meet, and then she flicks her gaze to the ground again, like she’s embarrassed. She purses her lips.

‘Hi,’ I say focusing my attention back on Mary standing in front of me, a lump lodging in my throat. What am I supposed to say? My eyes flicker to something dangling out of her left pocket, I frown. It looks like some sort of war medal. I can see the edge of a triangle. Perhaps it belonged to her father, or grandfather even.

Oliver appears in the room, holding a glass of orange juice. He steps closer to me, the ice in his glass clinking against the side of the cup. I feel like I’ve felt at times when I’ve been at a party, and I’ve only known one person there.

‘Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great day,’ Oliver says, his booming voice making everyone fall silent. They all stare at him with wide eyes and smiles on their faces. ‘It’s a great honour for me to be finally able to introduce you all to Danielle, after all this time. It feels so surreal, doesn’t it? In fact, I never thought myself that she would be back, so this makes her visit so special.’ I want to look away. It looks like he’s about to start crying. This is so awkward. All these people are looking at me like I’m something amazing, like they’ve known me all my life and I have no clue who they all are. ‘This is her friend, Callum.’ Callum nods at everyone, but they don’t respond with quite the same level of enthusiasm. ‘They’re both joining us for dinner this evening, so please, I would like you all to make our esteemed guests welcome.’

‘Welcome, Danielle and Callum,’ everyone says in unison.

Callum’s struggling to keep a straight face. He better not start laughing.

‘Well, now everyone’s here we can sit together and eat. Danielle, would you like to sit beside me?’ Oliver asks, smiling.

‘Um, sure, OK,’ I reply.

It doesn’t look like he’s going to offer a seat beside him to Callum. If anything it’s like he wants to try and separate us. I shrug at Callum and join Oliver, pulling out the chair and sitting down. A few people make their way into the kitchen, chatting amongst themselves, their voices excited.