Chapter Four
The Moon Has Awoken...
With The Sleep Of The Sun...
The Light Has Been Broken...
The Spell Has Begun...
–Midgard Morningstar -
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When I Look Outside My Window
What Do I See?
And When I Look Outside My Window
So Many Different People To Be, Yeah...
–Season of the Witch by Donovan -
Wednesday Afternoon 2 P.M. in Grafton, Vermont – October 26, 2011 – Eden Manor's Front Foyer and Lounge Doorway
"Wow, Em... Everything is looking great in here," Kat stated as she walked into the lounge from the front foyer. "You two have really made this house look perfect for this weekend." She couldn't help feeling like this weekend was going to be a huge success with both Emma and Vance's wife, Brenda handling all the decorating. "I'm really liking the old world Victorian feel with the Halloween decorations."
Emma smiled at Kat as she put the finishing touches on the display over the fireplace. She turned to Brenda who was working on the last bat of the six she already had hanging from the large chandelier in the center of the room. She held the ladder as Brenda slowly climbed down. "Thank you. We're so excited about this weekend, too. I think this is going to be a huge success for you." She added as she folded up the ladder and handed it off to her husband, Matt who had followed Kat into the room.
"It does look extra creepy in here." Matt stated as he accepted the ladder. "Just a heads up, Kat; Vance and I just finished bringing in the 2:00 scheduled group of people on the chopper. I need to go back for the 2:30 group, then I'll be heading back to pick up Eliot and his team at 3:00. We're done after that until the morning groups. Then Harry at the airfield will call when each guest arrives so I can shuttle them here as I get a full load of passengers. I think every guest is scheduled to arrive by 3 or 4 tomorrow." He took in the look on Kat's face and turned to share a look with his wife. "It'll be okay, promise." He figured the mention of Eliot had brought on her look of unease. "Eliot doesn't know anything right now as far as I know, but I can tell you he probably has his suspicions." He added to his wife, "I'll drop the ladder off in the kitchen on my way out."
"Everything will be find, I'm sure." Brenda stated. She was new to the group, but her husband had filled her in on their way to the mansion earlier that morning when Matt brought them directly there from Boston on the helicopter. She understood what had happened recently and she also understood that besides the seriousness of this operation, there would also be a lot of personal feelings bouncing back and forth between Kat and Eliot. She knew that was to be expected, but after having talked with Kat, she felt she was every bit the professional that Eliot was in this kind of work. "I know it'll be hard, but we're all here and there will be so much going on, well, we'll all be very busy."
"Right." Emma added, smiling softly. "Everything will be just fine, I promise." She kissed her husband lightly on the cheek as he carried the ladder out of the room. "Besides, we still have a lot to get done tonight and in the morning, so I will be sure Sophie keeps Eliot out of your hair." She hoped she could accomplish that, because Emma knew Eliot and the person who really needed protecting from Eliot was herself. He'd be right there to give her hell for this whole wild scheme of hers and Bella's.
Both she and Bella had planned to be sure these two hooked up somehow this weekend come hell or high water, as her mamma used to say. For now, everything was on schedule and that meant there would be no surprises, but things would change later when the gang was all here. She smiled though, because even if Eliot was mad, he'd get over it. She knew better than anyone that her big tough brother would be glad once he was here and in his element. She just had to get him to that point before he bit off her head, she chuckled lightly to herself.
As Matt exited the room leaving the women behind, Kat walked around the room taking in every detail just had she'd already done in the other common rooms. She was really impressed with the detail to the Victorian theme as well as the Halloween decor that Emma had come up with. The woman really had an eye for the details; but then again, that was probably why she was a great lawyer. She worked hard for her clients and she didn't miss a thing... just like her brother. She sighed as she turned back to the two women.
"I hope you're right ladies, but even if Eliot is upset, I'm not going to let that get in the way of our goal this weekend. And I'm sure he won't either." She smiled a bit wickedly, "Besides, I think I'll enjoy watching him pout about his role and what he has to do as a part of that role." She laughed as she remembered how Bella and Emma had re-written Eliot's part without telling her until that very morning. "I think that will be something to enjoy just as much as putting the bad guys away!"
The other women shared in her laughter as they moved into the foyer and headed for the kitchen. Time was easily on their side so far, and they were well ahead of schedule.
"I think we all need a little snack to keep on schedule." Emma replied as they entered through one on the kitchen's big swinging doors. "I know I need something and Bella's cookies are calling my name right now."
The three women laughed as they each grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed for the big breakfast bar where the large basket of cookies sat beckoning to them.
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More Actor Bios:
21 & 22. Tracy Rogers as Beatrix "Trixie" Ritzy and Aaron Adams as Deputy Farnsworth "Farney" Miller – Trixie is the manor's upstairs maid and she was adopted and raised by Whitson Ritzy, the butler. She has worked for at Eden Manor most of her life, and she loves the manor. She's very vivacious and bouncy. Farney is the town's first deputy and he is the brother to Becky Miller. He very much looks like a reject from the Hell's angels, but he's actually a very bright and intuitive man. He loves to read and is a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. He has a crush of sorts on Trixie, and she thinks he's cute. Trixie's secret *is she is one of Miss Mona's call girls and she enjoys the attention she gets, as well as the money. She feels that all of the clients are guilty of something one way or another, and feels no remorse when she helps to blackmail them. Farney's secret *is he's way smarter than the others give him credit for. He's brain and brawn. He doesn't have any real secrets other than the fact he knows just about everyone's secrets (with the exception of the Sheriff's and the Gunns), but remains quiet. He knows his sister's secret, but hides it as he doesn't know how to confront her on it, and he does like Miss Mona even if she is running a brothel. He would never become a client though.
23 & 24. Joy-Anna "Joy" Brown as Bambietta "Bambi" Darling and Benjamin "Benji" Jacobs as Seymour "Morey" Macon-Potts – Bambi is mainly Miss Mona's P.A. (personal assistant), but she does work with Miss Tina as well. She has worked for the sisters for about 3 years now and she loves her work. She's very quiet and the exact opposite of Trixie. She too was adopted and she was raised by a friend of the Eden family. Morey is the manor's gardener and has worked there since he was an older teenager. He came to the manor through Charlie who recommended him for the job. He's a quiet person, but only because he likes to take everything in before commenting. Bambi's secret *is she is also one of Miss Mona's call girls, but while Trixie loves helping with the blackmail, Bambi does not. She has great regret for tricking the clients and setting some up for the blackmail. Morey's secret *is he is actually the secret son of Charlie Gunn whose wife, Miss Tina doesn't know about. His secret *is that besides being the secret son of Charlie's, he is also a hired killer and works with Charlie and Tommy. He really doesn't like what he does, but he does like the money. He specializes in sniper killings because he doesn't want to be facing his victims.
25 & 26. Florence "Flo" (Wellington) Jacobs as Barbara "Bee/Aunt Bee" (Bradford) Taylor and Dr. William "Bill" Brown as Dr. George "Gonzo/Dr. Gonzo" Alonzo – Bee is the town's only nurse (the town does not have a hospital, only a clinic run by Dr. Alonzo and Bee) and she also is Randy's aunt. She is his connection to the town and why he ended up there working as the town's sheriff. She is a life-long resident of the town and she knew Miss Mona's mother. She is a very kind and caring person, but she is also a no nonsense kind of person. She likes people to get to the point and no beating around the bush. She can seem abrupt if you try her patience. Dr. Gonzo is the town's only doctor and he has been there since he drove through the town and found it to be very charming. He decided to set up a practice there as up till then the residents had to travel to the next town for medical care. He's a good doctor with a good beside manor. He secretly has lusted after Bee since she came to work for him, but she has avoided any romance and spurned his romantic attention in favor of keeping a professional relationship. Her secret *is she knows all about her nephew and what happened in Philadelphia. She wishes she could correct the mistake and bring the poor woman back, but she couldn't. And seeing her nephew pledge himself to following the law as well as enforcing it now, made her feel he was trying to do what he could. The doctor's secret *is that he knows Paul Merry and he actually went to college with him back in Chicago. He was the one person who knew about how he acquired his son and the doctor helped him with the forged documents as well as the delivery of the child. He had no idea what happened to the female patient, but he had his suspicions.
27 & 28. Vanessa Reed as Sophie Bordeaux and Thomas "Tom" Carter as Nathan "Nate" Cord – both are actually FBI Agents from Washington, DC. Emma has brought them in as well. Both are partnered a lot during their work and are friendly enough to portray a couple. Sophie is a Lingerie Buyer for a small Boutique in Baltimore, MD. She's quiet and very pretty. She tends to be a little on the naive side. Nate is an insurance salesman also in Baltimore, MD and the two are dating. He is a bit on the nerdy side and he bonds well with Hardison when they are working undercover. The two do not have any secrets other than they are there to help with the arrests of the bad guys.
29 & 30. Lily (Meiers) Greene and Mark Greene as Abigail "Gabby/Abby" (Byers) Rhodes and Ryon "Bubba" Rhodes – Abby owns a small flower shop in Kansas City, MO while her husband Bubba is a school Janitor at one of the colleges in Kansas City, MO. Both are nice simple easy people who are excited to be able to have this weekend. Their secret *is they are actually related to the wife of one of the guests whose husband is the bad guy. They contacted Bella about help getting Lily's sister away from her husband and into some kind of protected life that the Thompsons and Kat could make happen. They readily agreed to help when Kat and Bella asked if they'd like to be guests for the weekend.
31 & 32. Rachel (Johnson) Coleman and Bradley Coleman as Laverne "La La" (Lee) Tatterlee and Raymond "Big Ray" Tatterlee – The two own a large cattle ranch in Billings, MT. Both are larger than life people who can appear a bit obnoxious at times, but really have good intentions. Their secret *is they are actually related to the previous husband of one of the guests. Rachel's father was once married to a guest, and he died under suspicious circumstances. Rachel contacted Kat seeking help to prove her father was murdered and agreed to this weekend in hopes of getting the woman arrested for the murder.
33 & 34. BreeAnn "Bree" (Johnson) Hoskins and David Hoskins as Gertrude "Gertie" (Darling) McFlirty and Billy Bob McFlirty – Gertie is the desk clerk at the manor for the weekend and Billy Bob has a landscaping business and was hired for the weekend to spruce up the yard and help Morey, the gardener keep things looking appropriate for the Halloween holiday. The two are really friends of Detective Bonanno and Bree is a cousin of Rachel's and it is her uncle that was murdered. The two didn't know Bonanno and his wife would be coming until the last minute when they see each other at the manor. The two do not really have any secrets other than being there as actors and friends. They're just there for the weekend and for moral support of Rachel and Brad, but David proves to be helpful in going over the crime photos of some of the bad guys crimes. He's able to help Bonanno get the evidence they will need for court.
35 & 36. Bethany "Beth" (Ryan)McEvoy and Lester "Les" McEvoy, M.E. as Regina "Gina" (Marina) Nettles and Bertram "Bert" Nettles - Bert is a retired medical doctor and the two are part-time Uber drivers, just to stay busy. They are from Bisbee, AZ. Les is really the medical examiner or coroner that works with Bonanno and handled the body in the first book, The Saving Eliot Job. Bonanno asked them to join in the weekend to help David in studying the case files of the murder victims. Beth is excited to be able to enjoy a weekend with her husband no matter how much time he may not be available. Their characters are played in middle aged grandparents who just want to enjoy a weekend to their selves.
37 & 38. Gertrude "Gert" (Bertrum) Bonanno and Sean Bonanno as Mildred "Millie" (Baxter) Marshall and Owen Marshall, O.D. - Owen is an eye doctor and Millie is a housewife. They are from Boston, MA and they are your run of the mill normal people. Sean is really Patrick Bonanno's brother and was the cab driver who took Emma to McRory's bar to confront her husband and Vance in The Saving Eliot Job. Emma invited them to help out as Sean was a patrol officer before retiring and driving a cab. They turn out to be helpful in securing the supplies that Bella, Sam and Kat need to kick the weekend off.
39 & 40. Cora McRory and Scott "Scotty" Williamson as Lillian "Lillie" McDilly and Patrick "Patty" Whack – Cora is the owner of Nate's favorite bar, McRory's and Scotty is her boyfriend, and Nate invited them to help fill out the guest list for the weekend. They are not really playing any major roles and their only real reason to be there is to help Eliot, Flo, Bella and Kat handle the cooking. Lilly is an exotic dancer and Patty is a bouncer at a small nightclub in NYC, NY. The two are very up and carefree people.
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"Aw, caught you!" Marion said as she swept into the kitchen and spying the three women snacking on the basket of cookies Bella had made earlier. "I was just coming to sneak me one or two!"
"Hey, Nans." Emma said laughing at Marion's grand entrance and catching them with their fingers in the food. "Can't help that Bella is such a great baker."
"Tell me about it. Puts me to shame." The older woman said snatching a cookie off Emma's napkin and taking a large bite. "Yumm. I'm not saying she's the best out loud, but she really does make me think about stealing her recipe." She laughed as Emma playfully reached for her stolen cookie. "Hey, I'm older and I deserve this cookie. I have to put up with her grandfather!"
Emma laughed again. "Okay, you win. But you have to acknowledge that I deserved at least two cause I have to deal with my husband and then Eliot later when he gets here."
Kat watched the two women and couldn't help feeling good about the two finding each other and becoming so close in such a short amount of time. "Well, I can take some of that anger on myself." She coughed as she saw the looks from the other women. "I mean the anger at finding out he's been duped and stuck here now with all of us, but especially with me. I'm not afraid to admit it, but I'm looking forward to seeing him sweat a little. That man was a terrible patient and wouldn't listen to a single thing I told him to do."
Marion smiled at Kat as she listened. She liked this woman immediately upon meeting her that morning and she was looking forward to seeing her and Eliot interact this weekend. She hadn't been known to Eliot long, but her and Albert had been there watching him for a long long time. She knew her Eliot and even if she wasn't his blood grandmother, she felt she was. Both Eliot and Emma had treated her and Albert well these last few weeks. And because of her knowledge of Eliot and now of Kat, she was positive that she was the one Eliot needed to complete him. She could go toe to toe with the man and just the simple fact she had saved her grandson's life not once, but several times, she was on Marion's good side. Yes, this woman was good for Eliot.
Brenda watched the touching conversation and was able to fill in the unspoken words between the three women. She was glad that Eliot had someone finally, too. She knew her husband, Vance worried about him more than he'd ever say. She knew they had been through a lot of secret missions, and she knew how to handle those missions with the don't ask, don't tell thing they had going for her and Vance. This woman, Kat would be able to handle that thing as well. She knew what to do and what not to do far better than Emma did; and Brenda thought Emma was good at that too.
Albert Wilson, Marion's better half walked in then and took in the cookies and the women. He seemed to be trying to decide on something.
"Don't stand there old man thinking. If you want a cookie grab one and scoot along." Marion smiled at the man. She desperately loved this man, but she also enjoyed tormenting him from time to time. "I know you're worried about being in the hen house and possibly getting attacked, but we'll let it go for now!"
Emma laughed loudly at this interaction of the two. "Come on, Pops. Have two cookies!" She handed the spry, but distinguished man two of the large cookies from the basket.
Albert smiled at Emma, "thank you, sweetie. At least you can respect an old man with a sweet tooth!" He laughed as Marion balked at that statement. "But anyway, I'm just reporting in from Matt. He just dropped off the 2 o'clock group and they're heading inside now. He's going back for the 2:30 group and then finally the 3 o'clock group."
"Oh, boy, I'd better get out there and make sure they know where they're staying. It's all my friends from the hospital right now, but I should be the one to greet them. You guys be good in here and save me some of those cookies!" Kat stated as she left the house through the back door to head outside to the small chopper pad they'd improvised for the weekend.
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Here is the Chopper schedules if you're interested:
Wednesday Morning – Bell and Sam have been staying at the house since the previous weekend and Kat come from town on a four wheeler to join them early in the morning.
Wednesday around Noon – Emma, Matt, Brenda, Vance Marion and Albert – Matt is a pilot and he flew them in straight from Boston.
Wednesday 2 o'clock – Matt picks up Tracy, Aaron, Joy, Benji, Flo and Bill.
Wednesday 2:30 – Matt picks up Liz, Bonanno, Bree, David, Les and Beth.
Wednesday 3 o'clock – Matt picks up Cora, Scotty, Nate, Sophie, Parker, Hardison and Eliot.
Thursday 10 o'clock – Matt picks up Maggie, Quinn, Lily, Mark, Rachel and Brad.
Thursday 10:30 – Rissa, Jay, Sean, Gert, Vanessa and Tom. This is the last of the actors and players to prepare for the evening. The rest of the pickups will be as called in.
I will give those arrivals along with their bios in the next chapter which will begin our game! Can you guess who the game killer will be yet from all the actors I've given? I know there's a lot and most will not really be having speaking parts, but I needed plenty of people to be killed or to disappear while the main characters get the bad guys. Don't worry, the killer is among the 40 given already, so think hard and message me who you think will be a good killer. I've already got a plan, but I would love to hear your ideas! And so sorry it's taken so long to update this. I've been working on my regular book which should be in print by fall. Originally it had a spring release, but has been pushed back due to the virus stay-at-home necessity orders. Stay safe and Stay well all of you out there. Take one day at a time!
