"Sophie, listen to me." She stood and Madder took her place at Erin's side. He held her close and pressed a hand to her wound. "I won't let you go that easily." He whispered to her.
"Sophie," Cleo said again. "This isn't you. Don't you remember what happened?"
"I said SHUT UP!"
Sophie raised her arm and fired the gun point blank into Cleo's forehead. Blood spouted like a fountain from the hole and Cleo slumped to the ground like a rag doll.
The silence that rang out after the shot was deafening.
And was broken by another gunshot.
Chapter Thirty One
INT: THE DARK CAGE
Susan pulled at her hair with frustration and felt something small fall from her hair and fall to the floor of her cage with a soft click.
What was that? Susan got on her knees and felt around the floor like a blind woman. Then she felt it. She grabbed it and held the object in the small ray of light that fell inside her cage.
It was a bobby pin. She clutched as it like a lifeline and was working the lock when she heard footsteps approach the door to her room. She heard the click of her padlock giving away just as the door opened, light showing a shadow in the doorway.
Susan sat back, pretending as if all was as it was. Her captor must not know that she was free until the very last moment.
Her captor stepped into the room and stood before the cage. "It's too late, Susan." The captor said. "Howard is coming and someone else has died. I did all of this for you, Susan. All of it."
Susan was shocked. The voice was not electric sounding. It was a woman's voice. Susan watched in horror as the woman removed her hood and mask and a gorgeous head of blond hair fell to her shoulders.
Susan could still not see the woman's face. "Miriam?" She whispered.
The woman laughed. "No, I am not Miriam, though I wish I was. I wish I could have saved her too." She stepped into the light and Susan saw her captor for the first time. She was tall, striking and beautiful. Susan recognized her.
"DeDe." She whispered.
"The one and the same. You watch my show?"
"I did, up until recently." Susan said. She still wasn't sure what was going on here. "I love you on Days of Our Lives."
DeDe smiled. "Thank you. It's always good to get praise from a fellow actress."
"DeDe…" Susan whispered. "What am I doing here?"
DeDe seemed not to hear her. "I was involved in the plot to kill Miriam, you know. I tried to keep her safe too, to warn her that she was in danger. But Howard succeeded in killing her too. All my effort for nothing and that tears at my heart. I couldn't let him get you too."
"You call this safe?" Susan spat.
"Would you have preferred to die? Would you have preferred to perish? I thought Howard couldn't get you here….I was wrong."
"DeDe, what is going on? What is all this about?"
"Things come in threes, you know." DeDe seemed not to hear her. "The three of you are Howard's prizes."
"The three of us? Miriam, Sophie and I?"
"No, Sophie is one of them. You, Miriam and Erin."
"Erin?" Susan's head was spinning. "What does she have to do with all this?"
"More than you think." DeDe said. "Howard is branching out."
"His snuff films? Branching out? What do you MEAN, DeDe?"
"When Miriam died, when she was gone, I escaped, I left with my life, but I promised myself that Howard would not get you, that he could not have you when I wanted you for myself."
Susan could not think of what to say, but she had to keep her talking. "I don't know what you mean." She said.
"It's all very simple. If I kept you, he couldn't have you. Your husband is a wonderful lover by the way."
"He's not my husband yet." Susan said. Then the words sunk in. "Lover?! What are you talking about?'
"I've been living in your house, hidden in the attic." DeDe spread her arms wide. "This house."
And suddenly it dawned on Susan. "This house? THIS house? We're still in the house in Eagle Valley?"
"Yes. The very same. We're in the basement. For people so concerned with their safety, you don't check too thoroughly. It was so easy to break in, to watch all of you. I wanted to have what Miriam had, what Miriam had loved. I wanted you, and I wanted Derrick."
"You sick bitch."
DeDe laughed. "It was all quite simple really." She came forward and wrapped her hands around the bars of the cage. "I wore another blond wig to seduce him. He thought I was Miriam, so distraught with grief that he was easy to take advantage of. He's got a wonderful package, Susan. No wonder you wanted him so badly."
Then they heard the gunshot. Susan took that moment, when DeDe was momentarily distracted, to push the cage door open as hard as she could.
It smacked DeDe square in the forehead and she fell to the ground unconscious. Susan was free. She stepped out of her cage, sure that her friends, her loved ones were in danger. She was almost at the door when she looked back.
She looked at DeDe on the ground and considered letting her live. DeDe would have answers, but the woman was clearly nutty like a fruitcake. With her mind made up, she went back to DeDe's still form. A gun lay beside her fallen form. It must have fallen out of her pocket when she fell.
Taking the gun in her hand, she fired two quick shots into DeDe's forehead. She was a killer now, just like them. The thought comforted her instead of filling her with guilt. "That's what you get for sleeping with my husband, you stupid bitch."
With one last look at her fallen captor, Susan hurried upstairs.
Chapter Thirty Two
INT: EAGLE VALLY HOUSE
They all looked around for the next one to get Sophie's bullet. But then they saw the small red patch of blood forming on Sophie's shirtfront. Sophie stared at it with mild shock. She touched a finger to the blood, as if to see if it were real.
"Not again." She said. Those were her last words before her body crumpled to the floor beside Cleo's still form.
Everyone in the room turned to see where the bullet had come from. Miriam was standing in the doorway, the gun in her hand smoking.
"I will never trust a red head again as long as I live." She said.
Derrick spoke first. "Mi-Miriam?"
"Hey babe." She flashed him a grin. "Miss me?"
"Where have you been?" Derrick asked.
"To hell and back. It took me forever to get here, to find you." She looked around the room and saw Cleo slumped on the ground. "I had hoped that no one else would have to die." She whispered. "Oh Cleo, what are we going to do without you?"
They all turned again when they heard the basement door slam open. Derrick's jaw dropped further when Susan appeared in the living room.
"Hey." She said. "What did I miss?"
EXT: EAGLE VALLEY HOUSE:
Bushes Howard watched from his car as Miriam shot Sophie. His binoculars gave him perfect vision. The blood sprouting from Sophie looked beautiful, crimson red and full of lust.
He should have figured that Miriam would ruin everything. It still didn't explain who had taken Susan, who had meddled in his plans.
Howard wasn't worried though. He would find Susan. He would make Miriam pay. He would make them all pay. Even if he had to hunt them down, one by one.
This was all a game of chess, and they were the pawns.
Howard drove his car away slowly, his mind already planning his revenge.
SEASON FINALE August, 2007
Erin, Miriam and Susan watched as Cleo and Sophie's coffins were lowered into the ground. Derrick and Madder stood behind them, letting them mourn in peace.
"I can't believe I've lost my mother." Susan said softly.
"She was a brave woman." Erin said. "I didn't know her very well, but she tried to reason with Sophie even up to the end."
Susan felt a tear slide down her cheek. "I'm going to miss her. She didn't have to die. Why did she have to die? Her death was unnecessary"
"Because they a
re cruel." Miriam said. Neither Erin nor Susan had to ask who THEY were.
After a short silence, Erin spoke. "I want you both to know, I'm not really Miriam's cousin."
"Kind of figured that out." Susan said.
"I'm really a private investigator and I was hired to find you."
Miriam held up her hand. "Let's not speak of this yet. There is time for that another day. I have things to talk about too."
"So do I." Susan said. She thought momentarily of DeDe, the look of peace that was on her dead face, and shivered despite the heat.
When the coffins were lowered, Derrick and Madder stepped forward. He spat on Sophie's coffin. "May she rot in hell."
"And my Cleo rest in peace." Susan said.
They each grabbed a shovel and each threw dirt onto the two coffins. When the coffins were covered, they walked away, letting the undertaker finish his work.
They stopped and Madder held onto Erin, holding her softly in her arms.
"This isn't finished." She said. "Howard won't stop until we're all dead."
"I know." Madder said. "I won't let him take you from me. I won't let him."
Derrick stood away from Susan and Miriam. He wasn't sure of which woman to comfort, wasn't sure where his heart lay. If either woman noticed, neither let on.
"We have to find Dragon's Cove." Erin said. The sun was shining down, making her pink hair look as if it were glowing neon. "Our answers will be there. But how do we go about finding it?"
"That's easy." Miriam said. "I know where it is."
Acknowledgements
There are a few people who deserve all my thanks in the world for Eagle Valley; without them, Eagle Valley wouldn't exist.
First off, thanks go out to my Wonder Mum. She asked, during the beginning of Hope Falls: Season One, if she could be a character in the story. So I made her a Soap Star. Occasionally, she would ask when the next Chapter was coming out, always wanting to know more. And when it looked as if her character may die, she called me in a panic; see Mum? I didn't kill you off. Her encouragement kept me going long after I would have given up.
And thanks go out to Erin. I made her a character in Eagle Valley for a Christmas gift. Erin, you were always there for me with words of encouragement, telling me that Eagle Valley kicked ass and always wanted to know when the next Chapter would come out. I can't thank you enough, Erin.
And thanks go out to my cat, familiar and buddy, Mave. She sat on my lap as I typed out most of the novel and I swear to the Goddess she's a Muse of sorts. My life would be so different without her.
And last, but certainly not least, thanks go out to all of you who have read this novel and emailed me to tell me how much you enjoyed it. Without any of you, there would be no Eagle Valley.
Saying Thank You is not enough, but it will have to do. Thank you, everyone, from the bottom of my heart.
And now, Loyal Viewers, check it out! It's time for Hope Falls, Season Three!
DRAGON'S COVE
HopeFalls Season Three
Erin, Susan and Miriam want answers. They know that the final showdown between them and Howard's Hope Falls empire is coming and the clock is ticking. To find the answers they need, they head to the mysterious Dragon's Cove.
Derrick, unsure of who he loves, must find a way to choose between Susan, his second love and Miriam, his first. He wants answers too; it his rumored that his parents also died at the hands of Howard Kowalski and he wants to find out why. His parent's death shaped his past and the answers he seeks may shape his future.
Erin needs answers more than anyone. She has been followed and watched for years. To what purpose? What game is Howard playing with her? Thankfully, Madder is there to give her support. And when love blooms between them, they can do nothing but succumb to the passion between them.
But in Dragon's Cove, passion can lead to disaster. For the answers they seek may just be their undoing….
Cheers, Jamieson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jamieson has been writing since he realized he write instead of paying attention in school. Since then, he has created many worlds in which to live his fantasies and live out his dreams. When he counted recently, Jamieson realized he had written over forty books. He currently lives in Ottawa Ontario Canada with his cat, Mave, who thinks she's people.
You can learn more about Jamieson at www.jamiesonwolf.com
NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Thank you for purchasing and reading this Books We Love eBook. We hope you have enjoyed your reading experience. Books We Love and the author would very much appreciate you returning to the online retailer where you purchased this book and leaving a review for the author. Best Regards and Happy Reading, Jamie and Jude
http://bookswelove.net
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