His Silence - Chapter 28

Callum and I don’t speak for most of the journey. This is horrible. Usually we’d be talking non-stop, cracking jokes, making fun of each other. Our bellies would be aching with laughter by the end of the journey. I shift in my seat and glance out of the window. A huge Range Rover roars past us. I’m sure this isn’t how Callum would’ve wanted to spend his four weeks leave. I’ll make it up to him somehow. When we’ve got this out of the way, I will treat him to a holiday somewhere. Somewhere exotic, I think we’re going to need it.

The white gates appear at the end of the dirt track. Twenty years ago my parents fled this place along with me and my brother, and now here I am going back, agreeing to stay. The gates are already open, I texted Luke last night to tell him we were coming today. I think of Emma and Michael, they’ll be thinking we’ll be in the airport by now. They haven’t sent me a text yet. Emma will be expecting a picture from me, showing Callum and I having a couple of beers.

 I grip the safety bar again and we head up the track. The car bumps along before Callum swings it into the space next to the mini bus. Luke and Oliver are waiting for us outside the house. Their hands are clasped behind their backs. They both beam at us.

‘Here we go,’ Callum says, turning off the engine. He climbs out of the car.

‘Danielle, it’s so good to see you,’ Oliver says, trudging over. I climb out of the passenger seat. The sharp sea air stings my eyes making me wince. ‘And Callum, welcome back, I’m really pleased you’ve both decided to stay with us.’

‘Thank you,’ I say, clutching the handle on my suit case. ‘I’ve been really looking forward to coming back.’ Max’s words from last week, when he warned me, like Callum did, about coming here again, revolve around inside my mind. His revelations about being threatened filter through into my head. I can’t trust anyone. I do my best to smile.

‘This way please,’ Oliver says and we move towards the house, the gravel crunching under our feet. We head for the open front door. I look around for signs of anyone else nearby, but it’s only us four. Oliver stands aside to let me through into the house first. I step into the porch and into the hallway, feeling like I’ve stepped into the lion’s den. ‘Now, I hope you don’t mind, but since you said Callum wanted to stay, we’ve had to alter some of the sleeping arrangements, for the time being. Callum will be in the room you stayed in Danielle the other week, and Danielle, I hope you don’t mind, but I have a spare bed in the annexe for you. I think you’ll be very comfortable there.’ There’s a hint of a smile on Oliver’s lips. I tremble.

Why won’t they let us share the room together? I want to be with Callum. I take in a deep breath. Stay calm. My heart continues to race.

‘That’s fine, thanks,’ I say. It’s best to go along with it for now, don’t try and be difficult.

‘I’ll show you to your room now,’ Oliver says, looking over to Luke. ‘Luke, would you mind showing Callum where he’s staying?’

Why’s Oliver so keen to get me on my own? The sounds of people chatting reach me from the living space where we ate dinner the other week. I’m sure it’s Mary’s voice. Someone pulls the door shut, the sound becomes distant. What don’t they want us to hear?

‘I’ll take Callum up to his room,’ Luke says, holding his hand out and directing Callum up the stairs. It looked like Callum was going to follow me for a second.

‘I’ll catch you later then, Danielle,’ Callum says a slight hint of concern in his voice.

I nod and follow Oliver into the kitchen, breathing in the smell of freshly baked bread, and listening to the sound of Callum and Luke heading up the stairs. They don’t speak to each other. Callum will probably try and make conversation, but whether or not Luke will reciprocate I have no idea.

‘So, I take it you ended up speaking to your family about staying here?’ Oliver asks, holding the kitchen door open for me. Sunlight floods in warming my skin. I eye the willow tree at the end of the garden and look away, Mum’s soft singing voice echoing in my head.

‘Yep, they’re fine about it,’ I say. The lie feels thick in my throat. Oliver will realise I’m lying. We head into the garden, my suitcase crunching along the pathway behind me.

‘That’s good,’ he says, holding the door of the annexe open for me, once we get to the bottom of the path. ‘Your room is just to the right here. Mine’s on the left.’

‘Thanks.’ My suitcase bounces in behind me. We’re standing in a small hallway with wooden floorboards. There are two pictures hanging from the wall on either side showing the marshes from above. Perhaps they’re there to remind people of the danger they pose.

‘Your mother painted these,’ Oliver says, looking at the pictures.

I stare at him then back at the pictures. ‘She painted them?’

He nods. ‘Yes, she was always painting. She loved drawing the marshes.’

I search in my mind for any memories of Mum sitting at the table drawing, but none come to me. My heart flutters. Oliver holds open my bedroom door. It’s a bigger room than the one I stayed in before. The bed is a king sized one by the looks of it. There are two bedside cabinets on either side with an empty photo frame, and a black lamp on each cabinet. On the other side of the room is a large mahogany wardrobe. It’s almost like a hotel room. There’s a purple dress lying on the duvet. ‘What’s this?’ I take a step closer, gesturing to the dress.  

Oliver steps further into the room. ‘Ah, this dress belonged to your mother when she was living here. I thought you would like to have it and, it’s up to you, of course, but you might want to possibly wear it to dinner later.’

I take a tentative step closer to the bed, and rub the soft fabric of the dress between my fingers. I picture Mum wearing it and going out to dinner with Dad, hand in hand. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. She wore this. She actually wore this. I wipe my eyes. ‘Why was it left here?’ I ask, flicking my gaze back to Oliver.

Oliver rubs his right eye. ‘When your parents left, they ended up leaving a few of their belongings behind. I’ll be very happy to give them to you.’

I nod. ‘That’ll be great, thank you.’

Oliver beams. ‘I’ll get them sorted for you right away. So, lunch will be served in the dining room, where you ate the first night you stayed here at one thirty. There’ll be a meeting, which I would like you and Callum to attend straight after lunch, and then dinner will be served at six thirty. Do you have any questions?’

‘Yep, where’s the bathroom here?’ I ask.

‘Oh, of course, you have your own ensuite in this room,’ he says, walking over to a white door on the left hand side of the bed and opening it. Jasmine, coming from the diffuser on the sink hits me in the face. I stare at the pristine bath and shower. This is like a whole other world to the sleeping arrangements in the house. Oliver turns back to me. ‘I hope you’ll be very happy here, Danielle. I’ll leave you to get settled and I’ll see you at lunch.’

‘Oh, sorry just one more thing, what’s the Wi-Fi code?’ I ask.

Oliver pauses in the doorway. He looks back over his shoulder at me, his forehead creasing. ‘We don’t actually have Wi-Fi up at the house, but we do have it here in the annexe. I can give you the code so long as you promise not to share it with anyone else.’

I stare at him, his features on his face soften. No one’s allowed to have Wi-Fi here. ‘Yep, OK, that’s fine.’

‘I just need to check what the code is, and then I’ll give it to you,’ he says.

He exits the room, shutting the door behind him. I sit on the bed and run my hands across the dress again. It’s a bit odd he suggested I should wear it tonight. I remind myself of the reason why I’m here. If I’m going to find out anything about what happened the night my parents were killed, I need to keep on Oliver’s good side.

This won’t be for long, like I promised Callum. Then we’ll go home.