“Madness All Around”
~~~ Outside Meadow-Brooke Close- Street- 7:16 pm~~~
The moon rises higher as the last hint of sunlight fades away… Mrs. Anna Greys-Cale stands shocked next to her car… Mr. Carl Lilac is loaded into an ambulance and it drives away with the sirens on…
“Your husband’s bleeding is controllable now.” An officer says to Pamela who sighs and looks back at Lucy who is right behind her…
Mrs. Greys-Cale watches the action in front of her as an officer hands her a paper cup filled with water.
“Officer, is she okay?” asks Mrs. Greys-Cale
“The woman you hit?” asks the officer
“Yes, my daughter…” Mrs. Greys-Cale says
“Your daughter was the woman you hit?” the officer looks shocked
“I’m almost certain that I hit my daughter, Melody…” Mrs. Greys-Cale says
“Mrs. Meadow-Brooke, Mrs. Lilac, and Ms. Rivers have confirmed that the woman you hit was Candice Meadow-Brooke…” Officer Lilac says, “Jayne Meadow-Brooke’s daughter-in-law…”
“But look…” Mrs. Greys-Cale pulls out a photo from her purse. It is of Candice Meadow-Brooke sitting on the beach, “That’s my daughter, Melody…”
“May I see that?” asks the officer
She hands it to him and he walks over to another man.
“Wow,” the officer says, “It appears Melody Greys-Cale and Candice Meadow-Brooke are either identical twins, or…”
“They are they same person…” the other man finishes
Mrs. Greys-Cale looks nervously around, “Oh, Alice, I hope for your sake that the police don’t do a lot of digging…”
~~~ Golden Courts- Volley Ball Courts- 7:19 pm~~~
“Please step back!” a voice shouts
Miss Victoria Golden looks up from her father’s body and up at an officer forcing all the girls to the other side of the room. Several men take pictures of the area where Coach Golden’s body is spread out…
“Victoria…” Miss Cotton comes over to Miss Golden, “I am so sorry…”
“Don’t!” Victoria shouts at her, “I don’t need to hear it from my dad’s lover…”
A man turns over Coach Golden’s body to see a large fishing hook jammed up his back…
Miss Peach and Mlle. Brunette are dressed in cocktail dresses… They both watch in fear…
~~~ Michael Reese- Dr. Rose’s Room- 7:23 pm~~~
Doctors hover around Dr. Rose, who lies lifelessly on the bed… The sound of a heart monitor beeps very slowly…
“How did this happen?” asks a female doctor
“It is lack of air…” a male doctor says
“But from what?” asks the female doctor
“Suffocation…” an older male doctor says, “It seems someone tried to kill him…”
The heart monitor goes flat line…
“And they succeeded.” The older doctor frowns
~~~ Brunette Home- Kitchen- 7:24 pm~~~
Mlle. Adela Brunette lays still on the kitchen floor, her eyes staring at the ceiling and blood stained on her forehead… The sound of the front door opening and the sound of a man’s foot steps are heard in the front of the house.
“Adela.” M. Brunette calls out from another room, “I need your help… The police will think I did it… Coach Golden is dead… We need to come up with an alibi together…” he enters the kitchen
“Oh my God!” he bends down and sees his ex-wife. He slowly walks over to the telephone. Glass crunching under his shoes.
“911, what is your emergency?” the operator asks
“It’s my wife, she’s been shot…”
~~~ Outside Meadow-Brooke Close- Street- 7:25 pm~~~
A limo pulls up to the end of the driveway in front of all of the action. Mr. Miles Meadow-Brooke steps out of the limo and looks over at his wife and daughters.
“Miles…” Jayne walks over to her husband
“What’s going on here?” Mr. Meadow-Brooke asks
“Candice was here.” Jayne says
“I thought Candice was in England… she escaped from the cops…” Mr. Meadow-Brooke says
“So did I, until we heard a terrible sound and found Carl with a pitchfork in his stomach…” Jayne says
“Is he… dead?” asks Miles
“Almost…” Jayne says, “They’ve stopped the bleeding, but there’s not a lot they can do…”
“Oh God.” Miles says, “And Shane?”
“He’s upstairs…” Jayne says, “He doesn’t know what’s going on… Lucy told him there was a car accident…”
“So she lied?” asks Miles
“No, there was an accident…” Jayne says, “Anna Greys-Cale hit Candice and is now claiming Candice is actually her missing daughter, Melody…”
Mrs. Greys-Cale stands with two police men on the other side of the street. They are pointing their flashlights in the wooded area right off the road…
“Melody?” Mrs. Greys-Cale calls out, “Is that you dear?”
One of the police officers steps down into the wet embankment and proceeds into the wooded area. He pushes some branches aside and steps forward…
“Ma’am, are you alright?” he calls out
The sound of an owl creates a more eerie sense on the forest. He turns to look back at the other officer and Mrs. Greys-Cale who are illuminated by the police lights. He turns back to the woods and sees Candice standing an inch from him. He jumps back, but not before she slams his head into a nearby tree trunk… Blood spills out of the officer’s head as Candice takes the flashlight and limps further into the woods…
~~~ Golden Courts- Volley Ball Courts- 7:29 pm~~~
“Where were you at the time of Mr. Golden’s murder?” a man in a trench coat asks Ms. Magenta who is dresses in a sequenced cocktail dress…
“I told you, I was changing into this because Emily Peach, Monique Brunette, and I were going out for cocktails…” she says, “You can check with them! We all have dresses with…”
“Yes, but the sequence that Mr. Golden handed his daughter matches your dress exactly…” the man says
“Look at this dress!” she points to several places where sequences are missing, “This dress sheds like a dog!”
“Did you like Coach Golden?” asks the man
“He verbally abused all the girls… I was not a big fan of him…” Ms. Magenta says
“Why didn’t you quit?” asks the man
“He wouldn’t let us…” Ms. Magenta sighs, “It’s hard to explain…”
“Try me…” the man says
“He blackmailed all of us for various things we’ve done wrong…”
“Illegally?” asks the man
“Things that would make our families reject us…” Ms. Magenta says
“And you girls didn’t have to pay money… just stay on the team…” asks the man
“We had to pay money to stay on the team…” Ms. Magenta says
“Were you down by the fishing docks recently?” asks the man
“No, why?” asks Ms. Magenta
“Earlier today, a fisherman was brutally murdered and the cat fish hook was stolen from his tackle box… the same hook that killed coach golden…” the man says
“I wasn’t there…” she says
“Do you know anyone that was?” asks the detective
“Monique Brunette’s dad owns a restaurant near some fishing docks… I don’t know if they are the same ones…” Ms. Magenta says
“Brunette? As in the Brunette Café?” he asks
“Yes, that’s the one…” Ms. Magenta says
“The murder was committed right outside the Brunette Café…” the man says
“Are you saying Monique or her father could have done this?” Ms. Magenta asks
“I’m not saying anything…” the detective says
“Well I know Monique and Emily very well… neither of them could have done it…” Ms. Magenta says, “We were together the entire day… even in the changing rooms…”
~~~ Michael Reese- Mrs. Peacock’s Room- 7:31 pm~~~
Alice Peacock sits up in bed watching the news on the television…
“And quite a few deaths have occurred tonight… including that of a volley ball coach found stabbed… a woman shot at home, discovered by her ex-husband… A man injured with a pitchfork… a woman being hit by a car… there is even a report at Michael Reese were a patient was allegedly suffocated…”
“That’s enough of that…” the nurse turns off the television, “You need rest…”
“What happened here?” asks Alice
“A patient stopped breathing and they believe he suffocated…” the nurse says, “All natural of course…”
“Of course…” Alice says, “Can I call my daughter one last time…”
“Mrs. Peacock, I really think you need the rest…” the nurse says
A knock at the door prompts there attention. They turn to see Sir Algernon Black.
“I’m sorry, visiting hours are over…” the nurse says
“I only need a moment…” Sir Black says, “Please… It’ll be less than five minutes…”
“Very well… but after that, you are going to bed!” the nurse tells Mrs. Peacock
The nurse steps out of the room.
“How are you feeling?” asks Sir Black
“Dizzy and uncomfortable…” Mrs. Peacock says, “Someone died here tonight…”
“Well this is a hospital.” Sir Black says
“No… I mean a murder…” Mrs. Peacock says, “I’m sure of it… it was on the news about a mysterious suffocation…”
“Try not to fret…” Sir Black says, “I’ve got something for you…”
“Please be a martini…” Mrs. Peacock closes her eyes and leans her head back on her pillow
“Better.” Sir Black says
Mrs. Peacock opens her eyes to see a diamond ring in his hand…
“Al…” Mrs. Peacock smiles
“I know you’ve been shifty about me… but let’s get married…” he says
“You don’t understand…” Mrs. Peacock says
“Vera can have her own life and we can have ours…” Sir Black smiles
“No, Al, you don’t understand…” Mrs. Peacock says, “I put on this whole monophobia act ever since Vera was sixteen. I even went through the pain of slitting my own wrists to prove it…”
“But, Alice, I don’t understand…” Sir Black says
“I can live alone… I just can’t have Vera away… If she finds out we are to get married she will see no use for her to be at home… with her not at home there is more of a chance for her to find out about ‘you know what’.” Mrs. Peacock says
“Then let’s elope!” Sir Black says
“I’m sorry Al… I’m not ready for that yet…” Mrs. Peacock says, “Give me time to think this over… Come back tomorrow… I may have an answer by then…”
Sir Black stands up from the bed… greatly disappointed. He smiles at her and exits into the hallway. The minute the door closes he bursts into tears…
TO BE CONTINUED
The moon rises higher as the last hint of sunlight fades away… Mrs. Anna Greys-Cale stands shocked next to her car… Mr. Carl Lilac is loaded into an ambulance and it drives away with the sirens on…
“Your husband’s bleeding is controllable now.” An officer says to Pamela who sighs and looks back at Lucy who is right behind her…
Mrs. Greys-Cale watches the action in front of her as an officer hands her a paper cup filled with water.
“Officer, is she okay?” asks Mrs. Greys-Cale
“The woman you hit?” asks the officer
“Yes, my daughter…” Mrs. Greys-Cale says
“Your daughter was the woman you hit?” the officer looks shocked
“I’m almost certain that I hit my daughter, Melody…” Mrs. Greys-Cale says
“Mrs. Meadow-Brooke, Mrs. Lilac, and Ms. Rivers have confirmed that the woman you hit was Candice Meadow-Brooke…” Officer Lilac says, “Jayne Meadow-Brooke’s daughter-in-law…”
“But look…” Mrs. Greys-Cale pulls out a photo from her purse. It is of Candice Meadow-Brooke sitting on the beach, “That’s my daughter, Melody…”
“May I see that?” asks the officer
She hands it to him and he walks over to another man.
“Wow,” the officer says, “It appears Melody Greys-Cale and Candice Meadow-Brooke are either identical twins, or…”
“They are they same person…” the other man finishes
Mrs. Greys-Cale looks nervously around, “Oh, Alice, I hope for your sake that the police don’t do a lot of digging…”
~~~ Golden Courts- Volley Ball Courts- 7:19 pm~~~
“Please step back!” a voice shouts
Miss Victoria Golden looks up from her father’s body and up at an officer forcing all the girls to the other side of the room. Several men take pictures of the area where Coach Golden’s body is spread out…
“Victoria…” Miss Cotton comes over to Miss Golden, “I am so sorry…”
“Don’t!” Victoria shouts at her, “I don’t need to hear it from my dad’s lover…”
A man turns over Coach Golden’s body to see a large fishing hook jammed up his back…
Miss Peach and Mlle. Brunette are dressed in cocktail dresses… They both watch in fear…
~~~ Michael Reese- Dr. Rose’s Room- 7:23 pm~~~
Doctors hover around Dr. Rose, who lies lifelessly on the bed… The sound of a heart monitor beeps very slowly…
“How did this happen?” asks a female doctor
“It is lack of air…” a male doctor says
“But from what?” asks the female doctor
“Suffocation…” an older male doctor says, “It seems someone tried to kill him…”
The heart monitor goes flat line…
“And they succeeded.” The older doctor frowns
~~~ Brunette Home- Kitchen- 7:24 pm~~~
Mlle. Adela Brunette lays still on the kitchen floor, her eyes staring at the ceiling and blood stained on her forehead… The sound of the front door opening and the sound of a man’s foot steps are heard in the front of the house.
“Adela.” M. Brunette calls out from another room, “I need your help… The police will think I did it… Coach Golden is dead… We need to come up with an alibi together…” he enters the kitchen
“Oh my God!” he bends down and sees his ex-wife. He slowly walks over to the telephone. Glass crunching under his shoes.
“911, what is your emergency?” the operator asks
“It’s my wife, she’s been shot…”
~~~ Outside Meadow-Brooke Close- Street- 7:25 pm~~~
A limo pulls up to the end of the driveway in front of all of the action. Mr. Miles Meadow-Brooke steps out of the limo and looks over at his wife and daughters.
“Miles…” Jayne walks over to her husband
“What’s going on here?” Mr. Meadow-Brooke asks
“Candice was here.” Jayne says
“I thought Candice was in England… she escaped from the cops…” Mr. Meadow-Brooke says
“So did I, until we heard a terrible sound and found Carl with a pitchfork in his stomach…” Jayne says
“Is he… dead?” asks Miles
“Almost…” Jayne says, “They’ve stopped the bleeding, but there’s not a lot they can do…”
“Oh God.” Miles says, “And Shane?”
“He’s upstairs…” Jayne says, “He doesn’t know what’s going on… Lucy told him there was a car accident…”
“So she lied?” asks Miles
“No, there was an accident…” Jayne says, “Anna Greys-Cale hit Candice and is now claiming Candice is actually her missing daughter, Melody…”
Mrs. Greys-Cale stands with two police men on the other side of the street. They are pointing their flashlights in the wooded area right off the road…
“Melody?” Mrs. Greys-Cale calls out, “Is that you dear?”
One of the police officers steps down into the wet embankment and proceeds into the wooded area. He pushes some branches aside and steps forward…
“Ma’am, are you alright?” he calls out
The sound of an owl creates a more eerie sense on the forest. He turns to look back at the other officer and Mrs. Greys-Cale who are illuminated by the police lights. He turns back to the woods and sees Candice standing an inch from him. He jumps back, but not before she slams his head into a nearby tree trunk… Blood spills out of the officer’s head as Candice takes the flashlight and limps further into the woods…
~~~ Golden Courts- Volley Ball Courts- 7:29 pm~~~
“Where were you at the time of Mr. Golden’s murder?” a man in a trench coat asks Ms. Magenta who is dresses in a sequenced cocktail dress…
“I told you, I was changing into this because Emily Peach, Monique Brunette, and I were going out for cocktails…” she says, “You can check with them! We all have dresses with…”
“Yes, but the sequence that Mr. Golden handed his daughter matches your dress exactly…” the man says
“Look at this dress!” she points to several places where sequences are missing, “This dress sheds like a dog!”
“Did you like Coach Golden?” asks the man
“He verbally abused all the girls… I was not a big fan of him…” Ms. Magenta says
“Why didn’t you quit?” asks the man
“He wouldn’t let us…” Ms. Magenta sighs, “It’s hard to explain…”
“Try me…” the man says
“He blackmailed all of us for various things we’ve done wrong…”
“Illegally?” asks the man
“Things that would make our families reject us…” Ms. Magenta says
“And you girls didn’t have to pay money… just stay on the team…” asks the man
“We had to pay money to stay on the team…” Ms. Magenta says
“Were you down by the fishing docks recently?” asks the man
“No, why?” asks Ms. Magenta
“Earlier today, a fisherman was brutally murdered and the cat fish hook was stolen from his tackle box… the same hook that killed coach golden…” the man says
“I wasn’t there…” she says
“Do you know anyone that was?” asks the detective
“Monique Brunette’s dad owns a restaurant near some fishing docks… I don’t know if they are the same ones…” Ms. Magenta says
“Brunette? As in the Brunette Café?” he asks
“Yes, that’s the one…” Ms. Magenta says
“The murder was committed right outside the Brunette Café…” the man says
“Are you saying Monique or her father could have done this?” Ms. Magenta asks
“I’m not saying anything…” the detective says
“Well I know Monique and Emily very well… neither of them could have done it…” Ms. Magenta says, “We were together the entire day… even in the changing rooms…”
~~~ Michael Reese- Mrs. Peacock’s Room- 7:31 pm~~~
Alice Peacock sits up in bed watching the news on the television…
“And quite a few deaths have occurred tonight… including that of a volley ball coach found stabbed… a woman shot at home, discovered by her ex-husband… A man injured with a pitchfork… a woman being hit by a car… there is even a report at Michael Reese were a patient was allegedly suffocated…”
“That’s enough of that…” the nurse turns off the television, “You need rest…”
“What happened here?” asks Alice
“A patient stopped breathing and they believe he suffocated…” the nurse says, “All natural of course…”
“Of course…” Alice says, “Can I call my daughter one last time…”
“Mrs. Peacock, I really think you need the rest…” the nurse says
A knock at the door prompts there attention. They turn to see Sir Algernon Black.
“I’m sorry, visiting hours are over…” the nurse says
“I only need a moment…” Sir Black says, “Please… It’ll be less than five minutes…”
“Very well… but after that, you are going to bed!” the nurse tells Mrs. Peacock
The nurse steps out of the room.
“How are you feeling?” asks Sir Black
“Dizzy and uncomfortable…” Mrs. Peacock says, “Someone died here tonight…”
“Well this is a hospital.” Sir Black says
“No… I mean a murder…” Mrs. Peacock says, “I’m sure of it… it was on the news about a mysterious suffocation…”
“Try not to fret…” Sir Black says, “I’ve got something for you…”
“Please be a martini…” Mrs. Peacock closes her eyes and leans her head back on her pillow
“Better.” Sir Black says
Mrs. Peacock opens her eyes to see a diamond ring in his hand…
“Al…” Mrs. Peacock smiles
“I know you’ve been shifty about me… but let’s get married…” he says
“You don’t understand…” Mrs. Peacock says
“Vera can have her own life and we can have ours…” Sir Black smiles
“No, Al, you don’t understand…” Mrs. Peacock says, “I put on this whole monophobia act ever since Vera was sixteen. I even went through the pain of slitting my own wrists to prove it…”
“But, Alice, I don’t understand…” Sir Black says
“I can live alone… I just can’t have Vera away… If she finds out we are to get married she will see no use for her to be at home… with her not at home there is more of a chance for her to find out about ‘you know what’.” Mrs. Peacock says
“Then let’s elope!” Sir Black says
“I’m sorry Al… I’m not ready for that yet…” Mrs. Peacock says, “Give me time to think this over… Come back tomorrow… I may have an answer by then…”
Sir Black stands up from the bed… greatly disappointed. He smiles at her and exits into the hallway. The minute the door closes he bursts into tears…
TO BE CONTINUED