Tandem

Raechel Harchey

Raechel turned the car down a stony lane. The PathFinder told her that this was the driveway for the address she'd put in. She drove for what felt like an hour but was probably only about ten minutes until the road widened and the trees disappeared to reveal the mansion. It was the largest, most beautiful, country house Raechel had ever set her eyes upon. Various sections jutted out in different directions, and the warm lamps illuminated the many windows to look like eyes staring down at her as she parked the car just past the stairs. It almost felt as though the buildings were alive. She exited the car and cautiously ascended the stairs, looking behind her at the road she'd just driven down. Nobody would see or hear her from here if the worst were to happen. She stood outside the door for a moment. She should've told Holt she was coming here but it would have only made the situation worse. She had to get answers though and Miss Wren was the only one who could help her.

She rang the doorbell and then stepped backwards. She waited for a moment but nobody answered. She knocked on the glass but still nobody emerged. She looked through the frosted glass but there was no movement. Perhaps, she had left for the evening. As she retreated back down the steps, she pulled her jacket tighter around herself as the winter chill wrapped itself around her. She would be relieved when the heating was turned on in the car. Just as she had tapped in the key code to unlock the car, she heard a door creak. Her head snapped up as a beam of light swept across the porch.

"Hello," Raechel slowly emerged from behind the car and approached the porch. The light from the torch was blinding her so that she was unable to see who she was addressing. "I'm really sorry to disturb you Miss Wren. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something. Something only you could help me with."

The figure before her switched the torch off. Clearly she had not been speaking to Mrs Taylor-Gilbert, she hadn't been speaking to a woman at all. Standing before her was a tall man, just over six foot, with short blonde hair swept messily to one side. His eyes were a piercing blue and it was these very eyes that made Raechel's breath catch in her throat. These were the very same eyes Arina had stared into right as the brick had come down upon her face.

"Bertie." She mumbled. "Sorry, can I help you?"

"I'm mistaken, I thought somebody else lived here." 

"Did I hear you ask for Miss Wren?"

Raechel swallowed nervously before continuing. "Yes, that's right. I thought this was her address but I must've read the directions wrong."

"You aren't wrong at all. You have the right place."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm sorry to have to tell you though that she passed away some time ago now."

"She passed away," Raechel reapeated. She felt her heart sink. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Were you a friend of my grandma?"

 "Your grandmother?"

"Yes, Miss Wren was my grandma."

"I thought you were Nick. You look exactly like him." 

"Many people have told me that but he's actually my grandfather. My name is Jack." 

"I'm Raechel."

"Nice to meet you Raechel. Is the reason you came here something I can help you with?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, would you like to come inside? You can ask me what you need to, and I'll do my best to help you out."

"Ok," Raechel made her way towards the stairs. "Thank you."

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