Free Hope Falls Season 2 - Eagle Valley by Jamieson Wolf Page A

there was no need for her to sit outside in the bushes with night approaching. Howard had phoned and it looked as if things were going to go down tonight. She was glad she had thought ahead.
    It was hidden down the road a ways behind a few trees. She was hidden from view but could see the house perfectly.
    Betty jerked forward and spilled coffee down her front when someone rapped at her door. She sighed when she saw who it was. She rolled down the window and smiled. "You scared me half to death!"
    Those were the last words she spoke. A long barreled black gun fitted with a silencer slid through the car window and fired off three quick shots.
    Betty was dead before her body hit the driver's side door.

     

     

     

     

Chapter Twenty Four

     

     
    INT: EAGLE VALLEY HOUSE: LIVING ROOM
    "So," Cleo said, "You are Derrick's brother." She did not bother to disguise the sarcasm in her voice.
    "I know it's hard to believe." Madder said.
    "That's putting it lightly."
    "There's no need for sarcasm."
    "I'm not being sarcastic." Cleo reached for her mug of tea and took a sip to steady her nerves.
    "How do I know you're who you say you are?"
    "I have proof if that's what you're asking."
    "Smart man."
    "So they tell me."
    Cleo let some of her impatience snap to the surface. "Look, why don't you just tell me why the hell you're here."
    "I should of that would have been obvious. I want to see my brother." Madder reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a photograph. In it, there was a boy that was clearly Madder holding a child that looked very much like Derrick.
    "We were separated." Madder said. "After our parents died. We were both so young." Madder looked away for a moment, real emotion showing on his face. "Do you mind, Ma'am," he said, not looking at her. "Do you mind getting Derrick so I don't have to say this twice?"
    Cleo closed her eyes for a second to sense the air around her. There were secrets inside of him, but he was telling the truth. Sighing, knowing that his coming brought trouble, she went to the doorway.
    "Derrick!
    They waited in silence. After all, what could Cleo say? The man was clearly Derrick's brother, but there was something else at work here.
    There were ulterior motives at work and Cleo had a mind to figure them out.
    Derrick arrived in the living room looking disheveled and upset, but was shocked when he looked into the room. A man, a man who looked almost like him, was sitting across from Cleo. Derrick stared at the man in silence.
    Then Derrick saw the picture in Madder's hand. He bent forward and took it softly from Madder's fingers. He stared at it, rubbed his thumb over the picture as if it contained a genie.
    "I used to have this picture." Derrick said. "Or a picture like this. It wasn't of me though." He looked at Madder, finally. "It was of you."
    Madder stood and the approached each other. Cleo could see the differences, the subtleties, but aside from color of hair and other small things, they were undeniably brothers.
    They embraced and held on to each other, a piece of the past regained.
    Whether it was regained for good or evil, they had yet to find out. Cleo sighed. Yet another piece to the puzzle, one she had no hope of solving.

     
    INT: DARKNESS
    WE SEE SUSAN'S FACE SURROUNDED BY SHADOW. THERE IS A LITTLE LIGHT WHERE SHE IS AND WE CAN SEE VAGUE OUTLINES OF HER SURROUNDINGS. THERE ARE BARS AROUND HER AND DARKNESS. BUT ON THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF HER…
    SUSANS EYELIDS FLUTTER AND SHE OPENS HER EYES, SITS UP SLOWLY WITH A HAND TO HER HEAD. SHE LOOKS AROUND HER SLOWLY AND THEN NOTICES THE SCRIPT PAGE…..

     
    Susan shook her head and looked again. Another script page. And here of all places. Wherever HERE was. "Hello?" Her voice echoed back at her.
    She heard a rustle in the darkness around her. "Is there someone there? I know there is, please answer me!"
    There was the sound of laughter, soft and deep.
    "Please!" Susan had spied the bars in front of her and her panic was beginning to reach