Chapter 1
August, 2007
Erin stood outside and let the sun shine right into her eyes. She had her eyes closed and could only see the red of her eyelids, but the sun felt wonderful on her face. In the sun, she felt whole, vibrant.
Shielding her eyes from the sun and opening them, she came back to the present. She looked at the tree that grew in the backyard of the Eagle Valley house and the three flowers they had planted there. She went over to them, drawn to them as she had been for the past month.
Three white trilliums. Each of them represented someone they had lost: Sophie, DeDe and Cleo. Three women that had had a hand in shaping their lives. She wasn't sure why she was so drawn to them, when Sophie and DeDe had almost ripped them apart.
Perhaps it was because she felt guilty that they had died and she had lived. It felt wrong to be alive, somehow, when she had been so close to dying herself. A tear slid down her cheek as she touched Cleo's flower. "Cleo..." She whispered. She had known them all for such a little time but felt as if she had known them all her life.
Death did what it could to bring people closer.
The events of the past two months, Howard once more finding them and subjecting them to fighting for their lives when they thought they had escaped, DeDe holding Susan captive in the basement of the house.
There were too many memories here and she, for one, was glad that they were leaving this place.
Eagle Valley now represented death for her. She had come here to find answers and had come away with more questions. She shivered when she remembered her conversation with Miriam last night.
She had been sitting on the back stoop, looking at the trilliums glowing in the dark, when she had felt Miriam sit down beside her. Miriam lit a cigarette and passed one to her, which Erin gratefully accepted. She had quit smoking more than a year ago, but having come so close to death, it didn't seem to matter what she did anymore.
Miriam was quiet for a moment, the two of them not saying anything. No words were needed. They had buried Cleo, DeDe and Sophie that day and everyone was exhausted. Everyone had questions, especially for Miriam, but no one felt like talking about it yet. They all wanted one night where their problems were not the focus.
Madder was asleep in one of the guestrooms and Derrick was sleeping with Susan in their room. Erin remembered Miriam's face when she caught sight of the ring on Susan's finger, but again, nothing was said. The ring said it all to Miriam. Derrick had moved on without her.
Erin glanced over at Miriam and noticed that she had a red file folder on her lap. When the other woman said nothing, Erin broke the silence. "What's that, Miriam?"
Miriam smirked. Even in the darkness, Erin could tell it was not because she as happy. There was a malice to that small little smile that chilled Erin, even in the warmth and heat of the night.
"There's a lot going on that you don't know about, Erin." Miriam said. "And I thought at first that, when I came back here, you would be spared. But I know that's not going to be the case now. We're all involved. Do you know about the snuff films?"
It was a simple question that just spawned more questions in her head.
"Derrick gave me the basics of what was happening at Hope Falls. But there is still a lot I don't know."
Miriam patted her hand. "There's still a lot I don't know either, but that doesn't seem to matter. None of it does."
The words chilled Erin further. "What's going on Miriam? I came here for answers. I was hired by someone to find you and I did. But I wanted to know why before I handed you over. The man that hired me just wanted you found but didn't tell me why. I knew something was going on; I wanted to know what."
"You got more than you bargained for. Do you know who it was that hired you?"
"It was a man. I know that for sure. I never saw his face."
"Howard has always been a coward."
"Do you think it was Howard? Do you really think it was him?"
"Who else could it be?" She was quiet for a moment before she asked her next question. "Why did you come here, Erin?"
Erin wasn't sure how to really answer this but she did her best. "Until I came here, you were all faces to me. Facts and files, pictures and names. Something didn't ring true to what my employer was saying. He wanted you found and paid me a handsome sum to find you. I wanted to know why. He wouldn't tell me why he wanted you found so badly." "I'm surprised you found the house. It's very well hidden. They were all very well hidden."
"I'm good at my job, I'm good at what I do."
"I didn't question that. I just wanted to know if your intentions were genuine."
Erin was momentarily stung before she remembered the circumstances they were in. "They are."
"I'm glad to hear it. Because what I'm going to tell you isn't going to be pretty."
Erin shook her head. "What are you saying Miriam?"
Miriam opened the red file folder on her lap. Inside where pictures of Erin and a paper that looked like a contract stapled to the inside flap. Erin took the folder and flipped through the pictures.
Erin in her apartment, Erin in the shower, Erin walking in downtown New York when she had been looking for a cheating husband, Erin asleep in her bed. She felt sick looking at them. "What's going on here, Miriam? What are these pictures?"
"It seems," Here Miriam paused, as if looking for the words.
"It seems that Howard was watching you too."
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