Hope Falls Season 2 - Eagle Valley by Jamieson Wolf

Twenty Six

     

     
    EXT: EAGLE VALLEY HOUSE
    Erin followed Sophie out the back door of the house.
    Sophie's red hair looked copper in the setting sun and she looked almost angelic. Erin knew there was nothing angelic about Sophie. Quite the contrary. The woman was a bitch and had a cold heart to do what she did in front of Susan.
    Though she had known Susan only a short time, she already felt a kinship with her. She knew it was silly and against her PI instincts to form a personal bond with someone she was investigating, but the woman was going through so much pain.
    Erin knew that whatever was going on, these people were the victims. Susan, Derrick, Cleo. Miriam had been the first victim. Erin was frustrated at her lack of progress. She had already been here a night and a day and had found out nothing. She took a deep breath. One day at a time, she told herself.
    She watched Sophie kneel in front of the Easter Lilies that grew in the centre of the back garden. Watched as she pulled the flowers out at their roots and began to dig.
    What the hell was going on here? She thought.
    Sophie looked like she knew where she was digging, as if she were searching for something. As if she knew what she would find.
    A shiver ran down Erin 's spine as she watched Sophie lift a large wooden box out of the dirt and open the lid. From it, she pulled a gun. No, not just a gun. Erin watched as Sophie pulled out gun after gun, their dark metal menacing.
    There were several varieties: two short handled pistols, three medium revolvers and a long barreled black gun that looked deadly.
    Sophie was definitely working for someone else. Now, it was time to find out who. Legs heavy with fear, she stepped out behind the bushes she had been hiding behind and stepped into Sophie's line of sight.
    "What are you doing, Sophie?"
    Sophie whipped around, the pearl handled revolver clutched in her hands, pointing straight at Erin . Sophie smiled when she saw her. "Oh, it's you." Sophie giggled softly.
    "What do you think you're doing?"
    "It's none of your business." Sophie spat. "Besides, why should I tell you anything when you have secrets of your own."
    Erin felt as if she had been slapped. "What do you mean?"
    "Miriam's cousin?" Sophie said the words softly. "Is that who you really are, Erin Parker? I think not." She walked towards Erin slowly, the gun held at her side now, pointing to the ground. "What is it you really want?"
    When all else fails, Erin thought, play dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about."
    Sophie's smile deepened. "You know exactly what I'm taking about, Erin ." She leaned in close to her, so close that Erin could smell her cheap perfume. And something else. It smelled a little like rancid meat. "I know who you really are." Sophie whispered.
    Erin jerked back. Okay, now this bitch was getting scary, she thought. "What the hell are you ON?" Erin spat at her. "What game are you playing?"
    "Oh, don't you know?" Sophie's face-hardened for a second and Erin saw the hate that ran underneath her skin. "I'm playing THE game."
    And then Sophie pointed her gun and fired.

     
    INT: EAGLE VALLEY HOUE: KITCHEN
    Derrick poured a cup of coffee for the three of them. Cleo and Madder sat at the kitchen table. The house as quiet, almost too quiet. It made Cleo uncomfortable. And then they heard the gun shot.
    Cleo jerked, a spoon clattering to the floor. "What the hell was that?"
    "It sounded like a gun shot to me." Madder said.
    "I think you're right." Derrick said. He looked around the kitchen. "Where's Susan?" He asked.
    "I think she's upstairs." Cleo said.
    Derrick went upstairs and returned a few minutes later. "No, she's not there. Sophie and Erin are missing too."
    Cleo snapped into action. "Madder, you check upstairs and Derrick check down here. I'll check the basement and we'll meet back here."
    Minutes later, they all met back in the kitchen. "Any luck?" She asked.
    "No." Derrick said. "I wonder where she could be."
    Cleo knew whom he was