Excellent Callum and Danielle arrive at Raven House His Silence : His Silence - Chapter Thirteen by Jacob1395

Background When Harvey murders his parents, he refuses to say why he did it. Twenty years later, he's finally ready to talk. ‘Looks like we’re here,’ Callum says. I lean forward as Callum turns a corner, jutting off the end of the long road; the turnings so sharp it would’ve been very easy to miss it. Perhaps they’ve let the bushes and trees grow wild deliberately. Branches either side of the road scrape against the side of the car. I swallow. It would’ve been a nightmare, if another vehicle met us coming the other way. I grab hold of the safety bar as the car bumps in and out of a massive pothole, wincing. A white gate, speckled with mud at the bottom, looms ahead of us with a sign pinned to it announcing we’ve arrived at Raven House. There’s a picture of a raven engraved into the sign and a camera on the top of the right hand corner of the gate. I sit back in my seat, my heart beating fast. Someone could be watching us now. I look away from it, hugging my arms to my chest. ‘Is there a button or something we need to press, to tell someone we’re here?’ I ask. Callum rolls down his window; a sharp breeze kisses my skin. ‘Ah.’ He reaches out with his hand, presses something, and there’s a crackling noise. No one speaks. Callum looks back at me with a frown in his forehead, I urge him to say something. He looks back to the intercom. ‘Err, hi, I’m here with Danielle Olsen, we were given this address by her brother, Harvey. She used to live here, twenty years ago.’ There’s no answer. They’re not going to let us in, we’ve come all this way and they’re not going to let us in. This has all been for nothing. I thump my thigh. There’s a clang which makes me jump, and the gates ahead of us creak open to reveal a short further stretch of road ahead of us, although it’s more of a dirt track. ‘Bit security conscious, aren’t they?’ I say, releasing a sigh. Callum pushes the car forward. A white farm house pokes through the gaps in the trees. Vines snake up the pale walls, curling around the windows. Gravel crunches under the car wheels as we pull onto the driveway. There’s only one other car here, a grey Ford, it’s parked close to the main entrance of the house. I thought there were quite a few people staying here. There’s a man standing at the entrance of the house, watching us, wearing a white T-shirt and white trousers. I frown. He has sandy brown hair. I freeze. It can’t be. Callum parks next to the Ford, and switches the engine off. I open the car door and step out into the cool air, seasoned with sea salt. A gull’s cry reaches my ear. Keep calm, breathe. This is where you grew up. My stomach does a somersault as my eyes fix on the man again. It’s him. He’s the man I saw at the pub. ‘Danielle, it’s such a pleasure to meet you, we weren’t expecting you, but we’re delighted you’re here. I’m Luke.’ Callum’s got out of the car now. He’s clutching his right arm and his eyes are travelling around the area, drinking in everything. ‘You were in the pub, the day after my birthday,’ I say to Luke. I’m surprised he’s welcoming me with such open arms, I haven’t been in contact with him, they had no idea we were coming today. He frowns at me. ‘Sorry, I think you must be mistaken,’ Luke says. I shake my head. ‘No, I saw you and, and then you were asking questions about me. You spoke to . . .’ I stop myself, I don’t want to mention Jordan’s name. Luke flicks his gaze between Callum and me. It is him, it’s got to be. ‘I’m really not sure what you’re talking about, Danielle. Perhaps it was someone who looked like me who you saw.’ He shrugs. I stare at him. It was you, I’m sure of it. A niggle of doubt prickles my conscience. Was it him? I think back to the moment our eyes met in the pub. Callum didn’t manage to get a glimpse of him like I did so he won’t be able to tell me if I’m right. I clench my teeth. It’s got to be him, why the hell is he lying? ‘Right,’ I say, unsure of what to say. ‘And who’s this who you’ve brought with you?’ he asks, turning to Callum, his eyes widening. ‘Um, this is my friend, Callum,’ I say, shifting closer to him. ‘I didn’t really fancy coming on my own.’ Luke beams at both of us shifting on his feet. ‘Any friend of Danielle’s is a friend of ours,’ he says, keeping the tone of his voice bright. It’s like they’ve been expecting me, but how could they have been? Butterflies dance in my stomach. ‘Welcome, Callum. Do you both want to follow me through? Oh, please don’t take pictures.’             I spin around. Callum’s taken his phone out to photograph the building. ‘Oh, sorry,’ he says, gingerly placing his phone back into his pocket. His eyes flicker to me then back to Luke. ‘That’s fine,’ Luke says, although his knuckles have turned white and there’s a tightness to his voice. ‘I would ask you to please keep your phones out of sight whilst you’re here, we don’t encourage phones in the house, and it might upset some people. This way please.’ Callum glances at me with a raised eyebrow. I say nothing. We follow Luke towards the door, there’s a white plaque on the wall above which catches my eye, with the year 1868 inscribed in it. It must’ve been when the house was built. There’s another, newer looking sign above the door, with an inscription in fancy writing that reads: PEACE LOVE FAMILY. We follow Adam into the porch. There are several pairs of muddy boots sitting on a mat, and into a cream coloured hallway with stone tiles. A vision flashes in my mind making me stop in my tracks. I reach out to the wall to steady myself. I’m being pulled by my hand by Mum. Dad, Harvey, and someone else are ahead of me, wearing dark clothing. Mum keeps glancing back at me as we head outside, putting a finger to her lips. She’s telling me to be quiet. Did that happen here? ‘Everything OK?’ Callum asks, keeping his voice low. ‘Yep fine,’ I say, taking in a steady breath. This is it; this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. We follow Luke further down the hallway, before turning left into a living area, which I’m pretty sure must’ve been a barn at one stage, it’s huge. There’s a long, plain, wooden, rectangle table; it’s already set for the next meal, knives and forks laid out, glinting in the sunlight pouring through the arched windows, creating triangles of light on the tablecloth. There are two brown sofas at one end of the room. High above me wooden beams support the ceiling. There isn’t a television in the room. The walls are covered in wooden panelling. There are no pictures. Where is everyone? ‘How long have you lived here, Luke?’ I ask. He smiles at me. ‘I’ve been here for thirty years now. I was here when your family were here, so I knew them very well.’ ‘Wow, I . . .’ I don’t know what to say to him. ‘It was actually your mother who first introduced me to Oliver. They were out shopping one day in town and got talking to me. In fact, they may well have very much saved my life. I honestly don’t know where I would’ve ended up had I not found this place. May I ask, how you found us, I trust you know this is where you grew up?’ Luke asks. I nod. I’m still sure it was him who I saw at the pub on my birthday. It has to be, he must’ve been following me. Why? ‘Um, I . . . it was Harvey who told me about this place, I spoke to him in prison last week. What . . . what exactly d’you do here?’ I think back to what Harvey told me, about someone from here coming to see him, was it Luke? Luke beams at me. ‘Well, I’m sure Oliver will explain everything to you in due course, I understand you must have a lot of questions. Like I’ve said, I’ve been here thirty years and this place has become my home, the people who live here, my family, we all look out for each other.’ ‘Right,’ I say. ‘I’ll just go and get Oliver, he’s sort of the man in charge,’ Luke says with a slight hint of pride to his voice. ‘He’ll be overjoyed to know you’re here, I won’t be one moment. Please do make yourselves comfortable.’ He slips out of the room. His footsteps get further and further away. Callum’s frowning at me. ‘He’s a weird bloke,’ he says, folding his arms across his chest. I nod. ‘Yep I know what you mean,’ I say, keeping my voice low. I look around the room and edge closer to Callum. It feels too empty. It should be full of people, talking, laughing and having a good time. ‘Why did he want me to put my phone away?’ Callum asks. ‘I don’t know. Why were you taking photographs?’ He shrugs. ‘I just thought I better have some sort of record of this place, y’know.’ I’m about to respond when there are footsteps, I nudge Callum, urging him to keep quiet. My heart’s going at a million miles an hour. A man appears in the doorway wearing a burgundy Ted Baker top and jeans, closely followed by Luke. I stare into the man’s deep blue eyes. His chest is broad and there’s slight stubble on his chin. Oh God, he’s ridiculously handsome, there’s a flutter in my chest. I look away. ‘Danielle, it’s such a pleasure to see you again,’ he says, his voice cracking with emotion. He smiles the widest smile I’ve ever seen, even his eyes seem to twinkle as he speaks.

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