Page 9 of The Silence of Hell

As he rounded the corner, he saw trucks and cars parked up. Under tents, men worked on things, and he stared at the Manor. Despite the bright daylight, the damn thing had a frightening air. It certainly gave off a murderous haunted house vibe.

“Hey, do you know where the owner is?” he asked a workman who was carrying some boards.

“She is up at the Manor. She’s trying to get the front doors to open properly,” the guy replied.

Chatter nodded and headed towards the set of double doors that stood a few steps up from the ground. He jumped up the rickety steps and hit the porch, which looked just as frail.

Chatter knocked and heard cursing as someone struggled to open them.

“Shove from your side,” a woman announced.

The voice felt familiar, yet Chatter couldn’t identify it. He put his shoulder to the door, and it began opening.

“Got it, thanks!” the woman called, and Chatter found himself staring into sea-blue eyes.

“You!” he exclaimed.

“Murderer!” Lavender cried. He was certain her name was Lavender.

“You live here?” Chatter asked, surprised.

“You’re from Hellfire MC?”

“Yeah, what’s that got to do with anything?” Chatter questioned, bemused.

“Wow. You guys act fast. Let me tell you now, I’ve spoken to the police and given a report. Your threats, attempts to intimidate me, and harassment have been noted!”

“What?” Chatter demanded. Was this woman nuts? He eyed her cautiously. Was Lavender still suffering from the head injury she’d suffered? “Do you need to see a doctor?”

“No! Go away. I’m not selling, and I don’t care what scare tactics you want to use!” Lavender hissed.

“What the hell are you talking about? I came to welcome you to the neighbourhood. Not issue threats. Are you insane? Do you need mental help?” Chatter demanded.

“How dare you? You sent Miss Shaye Torrell round, and she’s not stopped harassing me to sell. And this morning, she told me your threats, that you could make me vanish without a trace! Well, I reported it to the cops!”

“Hold on. What? Who’s Shaye Torrell?” Chatter inquired.

Lavender

Chatter, that was what his cut said, looked completely confused and rather adorable as he did.

“You’ve not threatened me? You or your club?” I asked.

“No, why would we do that?”

“Because you want to buy the estate?”

“Yeah, if it’s up for sale. If not, fine. Just beware, our land backs on to yours. We do not tend to use the back area of it, so we shouldn’t disturb you, but sometimes parties might get loud,” Chatter replied.

“Miss Torrell said that if I don’t sell, you’ll become hostile neighbours. And that you always get what you want. And you can hide my body, and nobody will ever find it!” I exclaimed.

“And that cunt is talking out of her ass. Her name’s Torrell?” Chatter snapped.

“Yes,” I answered, watching as he yanked his phone out.

“Hey, brother, I’m standing with the new neighbour, yeah, at the Manor. Seems your realtor has been trying to intimidate her into forcing her to sell to us,” Chatter said.

A loud voice replied, and Chatter hung up.

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