Silver Problems

Will had not been happy with keeping yet another family secret, especially for an uncle who could not have made it plainer that he didn’t want him, or his Mum and brother to stay with them.

But he’d keep his promise not to tell.

A knocking noise came from here door. Will didn’t answer it. It would just be somebody else wanting to use him to keep a secret.

The knock came again, and Will, getting really pissed off and just wishing people would leave him the fuck alone, got up off his bed and opened the door.

He was greeted by his Mum, who was looking at him in a way that told Will that he was going to be used yet again. At least this time though, his Mum had come up with a bribe.

“Your new phone.” Alicia said as she handed the phone to Will. It was a lot better than his old one. His Dad had always been stingy with money and that had resulted in him always having to settle for a model several years out of date. “Your Dad shouldn’t be able to bother you now.”

“How’d you afford it.” Will asked looking down in awe at the phone. He knew that his Dad had rigidly controlled the finances, and whilst his Mum was by no means poor, he knew that two brand new phones plus whatever else she had in those bags must have cost a fortune.

“I raided your Dad’s bank accounts before we left.” Alicia said and Will saw that this new Mum was nothing like the one he’d grown up knowing, the one that had flinched every time that his Dad had entered a room. “Seemed like the least the old bastard could do.”

“How much you take?” Will asked eagerly.

His Mum, did not answer that question. Instead, she handed over the other bag in her hand.

“Your new uniform for school tomorrow.” Alicia said. Will supposed that the good things had to come to an end at some point. “It won’t be that bad, William.” Alicia said, his Mum clearly having ready exactly what he was thinking.

“I know.” Will said, he still didn’t believe it, but if he faked it enough, he might be able to convince himself of that fact.

“So, how’d it go?” Luke said as Alicia walked back into the living room. Her brother was being sarcastic she knew. But she was doing the right thing, sending her boys back to school, trying to give them some kind of normal life up here. At least she thought she was.

“About as well as convincing two boys they have to go to a school that they’ve never been too before.” Alicia said, as she placed another box on the nearest table. It contained everything that she’d managed to get of her psycho husband’s, the stuff that she was sure he’d come back for.

“So not great.” Luke said, and then seeing this new box. “And what’s that stuff you’re cluttering my table with?”

“Yes Luke. Not great.” Alicia said her temper getting away from her for a second. “And it’s Oliver’s stuff. Stuff that I happen to have and want to sell.”

Luke looked like someone had just hit his face with a spade.

“Sis. He’s bound to come looking for it.” Luke said, but before he could elaborate on what a bad plan this was, Alicia posed a question of her own.

“Will hasn’t said anything to you has he?” Alicia asked as she finished unloading the box and looked at her brother.

Luke looked up at this. His head had moved so fast, that Alicia thought it might have snapped.

“Nope. Why?” Luke said, sounding oddly defensive.

“Nothing. He just seemed like he was hiding something.” Alicia said, her eyebrows and curiosity both raised. “Just thought that you’ve been a teenage boy, and might have some insight that I don’t.”

“Well. If it’s any consolation, if he’s anything like me, then he’ll have been wanking for about four years by now.” Luke said. That was not the news that Alicia had wanted to hear, and she could feel herself grimace.

A knock came from the front door.

“You going to answer that?” Alicia asked her brother. It was his house after all.

“It’ll only be Mr Davis. I’m happy to let that man wait.” Luke said as he flicked on the TV, and began flicking through the channels.

Whoever was outside, knocked again, this time ringing the bell.

“Luke, erm the door.” Alicia said nervously.

Grunting, and seeing that Alicia was not going to give him the peace and quiet he apparently wanted. Luke got up, threw the remote onto the sofa and walked off towards his front door, his face getting redder and redder with every passing moment.

If it really was this Leonard, Alicia wanted to see him, if for no other reason than to meet the person that had bought most of the town. And with hat incentive in mind, she got up and followed her brother into the downstairs hallway.

“What, now you choose to answer the door?” Luke said, clearly annoyed that he’d had to get up. Alicia only nodded, feeling the old enjoyment in winding up her little brother come flooding back to her. Luke didn’t look pleased though, and his temper did not improve when the doorbell rang yet again. “Go away you fat lump! Or I swear to god that I’ll break every bone in your body!” Luke bellowed as he throws open the door, clearly ready to beat the shit out whoever was outside being able to take a single fucking hint. Only to be greeted by Mr Clarke standing in his porch.

“Good evening sir. I’m sorry to disturb you. Especially if your intention was to kill Mr Davies. I can come back later.” Caleb said, his hand fumbling on a jet-black watch. But Alicia, remembering the conversation from that morning, hurried forwards.

“Who the hell are you?” Luke asked.

“Ah Luke, this is Mr Clarke, he runs the antique shop. I asked him to give me a valuation on some of Oliver’s things.” Alicia said, hoping to defuse a vapidly heating situation. Not that Caleb seemed to expect anything else.

“I take it from your stunned silence, that this is the first that you’re hearing about this.” Caleb said with the smallest hint of a smile crossing his thin face.

“You invited this man over to my house.” Luke said through gritted teeth, but Alicia ignored him. She wasn’t entirely sure on the shopkeeper herself. But the sooner they got this over with, then the sooner she could move on. “Without telling me.”

Alicia looked at her brother, silently begging him to let this one slide.

“I promise to not encroach on your time for too long.” Caleb said, clearly sensing the tension between the siblings. The only response he got was Luke.

“Yes. They’re through here.” Alicia said, and glad that she’d remembered to bring down her bastard husband’s stuff.

As Caleb stepped through the front door, and limped his way into the living room he gave a deep breath of the air. Luke stared at this, completely bemused.

“Everything alright there?” Luke said, even Alicia was confused at the way her guest was sniffing around at the room.

“I am merely smelling for signs of mould, or anything else that might damage the merchandise.” Caleb said as he continued to sniff for a moment longer.

“Yes, err, well. They’re on the table if you want to have a look.” Alicia said, a nervous smile as she caught the look that Luke gave her at the comment.

Caleb nodded slowly and limped over towards the indicated table, which contained a small collection of items: a small collection of jewellery; along with a handful of music records, and an old video camera. The rags and odd bits she’d been able to steal when she fled.

“You didn’t think to warn me of this whack-job then?” Luke said in a whisper to Alicia who looked at him scornfully, hoping that Luke wouldn’t fuck this up for her.

“He’s harmless.” Alicia said, sure the antiques collector was certainly odd. But that didn’t mean he was dangerous.

Caleb for his part, simply ignores the comments, or he didn’t hear them as he proceeds to produce an eyeglass, and after fitting it into his right eye, begins to examine a golden ring.

“You know that’s funny, as I seem to remember you saying that about a certain husb-” Luke started, smirking all the while. But stopped suddenly as Alicia interrupted him.

“One more word out of you, and I swear to god that you’ll not see the morning, little bro.” Alicia seethed at her brother. That was a topic that was not for discussion. Especially after everything that psycho had done to her.

Luke through up his hands. Caleb didn’t take any notice of the bickering, he was too busy examining each item, and then placing the ones he thought were the most valuable back into the box. At least Alicia hoped that’s what it meant.

“Yes. Yes. These are good quality items.” Caleb said as he reached for the last item: an ornate silver locket that had, Oliver had sworn, been some rich family heirloom. But when Alicia had asked for more details, they’d been non-existent. It was clearly worth something though, as the money hungry Oliver had refused to sell the item.

The second that Caleb’s pale skin makes contact, the shop owner suddenly withdraws it like it was burned by the hottest flame. The cane falls to the floor with an unusually loud clatter, causing both Luke and Alicia to break off their argument.

“Everything alright there?” Luke asked, like Alicia, clearly wondering what had come over the old shopkeeper. Caleb massaged the skin for a moment, and through the fingers of his good hand they see that the skin on the bad hand was blackened, and burnt. Like someone had shoved it in the fire.

“Yes.” Caleb said through poorly disguised breaths of pain. “This item. Silver, isn’t it?”

Alicia nodded, not sure what the problem with the locket, other than it belonging to a psychopath that is.

Caleb nodded, and managing to control himself he reaches down, and picks up his cane, where red blisters were starting to form across his fingers.

“I thought as much. My partner has a thing about not dealing in that particular metal.” Caleb said gazing at the metal like it was an attack dog that was only held back from biting him by a heavy chain. “Though I would still like to place an offer for the rest, to compensate you for your time.”

Before he could stop himself, Luke laughed. Even Alicia tried her best not to let her surprise at that fact show.

“Doesn’t deal in silver.” Luke said trying his best to get his laughter under control. “What is he, a werewolf?”

The shopkeeper though, clearly didn’t find the joke funny. “An allergy to silver is hardly a laughing matter, sir.” Caleb replied curtly, straightening himself out.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Luke threw his hands up in the air. “Sure. Jeez, no sense of humour either of you.” Alicia would have hit him, if they didn’t have guests.

Caleb frowned at this, but recomposed himself as he returned his gaze to Alicia. “Well. If you could bring these items, minus the necklace to the shop tomorrow, I’m sure we can work out a price for the lot.” Nodding curtly to Luke, and casting his beady gaze around the living room once more, he exits.

The second he was gone which Alicia sat herself down on the armchair. Uncertainty clouded her mind, what with Will’s requests to tell Jack the full truth, to keeping her brother happy, to trying to make deals with this antique dealer, to the almost certain knowledge that Oliver would almost certainly be driving up here at this very moment, if he wasn’t here already, was enough to make her want to scream.

“Well, he was a creep.” Luke said. The door could not have closed behind the shopkeeper quickly enough for him.

Alicia was confused though. Her brother had remained in the town all these years. So why would he be so afraid of one of its residents coming over.

“How long has him and his partner been here then?” Alicia asked. She knew they were new. Just not how much so.

Luke did not respond. Though it seemed that he was actually thinking on the answer, rather than just ignoring her as usual.

“Him. I’ve seen him around for a few weeks before you got here. Never seen this partner though. I asked Leonard about him, the fat oaf assured me that there was one though.” Luke said after thinking on the answer.

“Wait. He knows them?” Alicia asked. This man, Leonard Davis was certainly keeping his fingers in all the pies it would seem. Buying up most of the town, and what he couldn’t buy, giving to people he knew.

Luke nodded.

“He was the one who sold them the murder house.” Luke said, finally settling on a channel.

But at these words, Alicia was lost. Nobody lived up there. Not since what had happened to Luke had happened.

“He told me that this Augustus paid in cash, over the full amount as well. All over the phone though. Or dealing through Caleb when it came to actually paying for the ruin.” Luke said, his tone was light, but clearly what had happened to him up there was still playing on his mind.

“Do you believe him?” Alicia asked wanting to press the conversation. But also knowing what her brother was like, and how he’d close up when pushed too much on that particular subject.

“Yeah. He may be a twat. But he has no reason to lie. At least on that.” Luke said, and settled down to finally watch the TV.