Eternal Encore and Other Mysteries of the Heart

By Shannon Muir

A collection of short stories with mystery and romance at the core. Presented by THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF SHORTS FROM THE SHELF, part of SHANNON MUIR'S THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF. Includes stories featuring characters in some of Shannon's other writing, including Breah, Phoenix, as well as Doonah Cross.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shannon Muir
• Release date: Feb 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463795750

Shannon Muir

SHANNON MUIR's short stories include suspense and mystery elements such as those found in her first full-length story from Pro Se Press, CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS DOC AND SALLY IN "THE DEATH OF BUDDY TURNER". Additionally, she's written short stories for Pro Se Press such as “Tragic Like a Torch Song” in THE DAME DID IT from Pro Se Press, "Pretty as a Picture" in the anthology NEWSHOUNDS, “Tropical Terror” in CRIME DOWN ISLAND and “Hidden History” in EXPLORER PULP. She’s also written the Single Shot New Pulp tale “Ghost of the Airwaves,” a short story offered in electronic format only from Pro Se Press.From her personal self-published projects, her best known titles in this area include the rural crime series THE WILLOWBROOK SAGA.In other genres, Shannon's published short stories include “Meeting the Monster” in the Emby Press anthology SUPERHERO MONSTER HUNTER: THE GOOD FIGHT and "Cover Story" in ARIA KALSAN: MYSTERIES OF THE FUTURE.Shannon holds a BA in Radio-TV and English from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, which she considers to be her hometown. She also holds an MA in Communications from California State University, Fullerton, along with additional education in screenwriting, project management, library technician studies, and most recently a certificate earned with distinction in General Business with Emphasis in Marketing from UCLA Extension. Currently, she is working on a Masters of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University.She is married to FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY collaborator and fellow author Kevin Paul Shaw Broden. They live in California in the United States.She is a member of Sisters in Crime (national, Guppies, and Los Angeles, where she also served on the Los Angeles board for a two terms beginning in 2018), as well as the Toastmasters4Writers Chapter of Toastmasters International (where she serves as chapter Secretary), Women in Animation, and a Professional member of ASIFA-Hollywood.

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COPYRIGHT

ETERNAL ENCORE - Based on an original unproduced screenplay Copyright 2001 Shannon Muir. Expanded, and revised Copyright 2020 Shannon Muir.

The Price of Love, Give Me Another LaChance, The Mystery of the Phoenix, and Shining a Light on Crime all originally appeared on THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF blog at mysteryshelf.com in 2019; these stories Copyright 2019 Shannon Muir.

Haunted by Dreamer Shores and Doonah Cross Me originally appeared on THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF blog at mysteryshelf.com in 2020; these stories copyright 2020 Shannon Muir.

Smashwords Edition - First publication: February 2020.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com or a vendor partner and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR’S NOTE"

THE PRICE OF LOVE

HAUNTED BY DREAMER SHORES

GIVE ME ANOTHER LACHANCE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PHOENIX

DOONAH CROSS ME

SHINING A LIGHT ON CRIME

ETERNAL ENCORE

THE AZURINE SONGBOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

This compilation features a number of various short stories that were originally part of the SHORTS FROM THE SHELF series on my blog SHANNON MUIR’S THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF, collected together in print for the first time. All of them have to do in some way with love or heartbreak. Many of them bridge a gap between characters I’ve written about with these themes on other blogs and bringing them into more of a crime and mystery writing vein. Some are prequels to characters that have appeared elsewhere, such as Doonah Cross Me, which sets up the adventures of Doonah Cross that received a premiere in 2019.

The main story of the title, Eternal Encore, has never before appeared in print. It is a print version of a film script I wrote about the year 2000, and technology advanced enough that updating the script took away its charm. I realized, however, that at its heart it can be seen as a mystery with a bit of a pulp edge in some of its tropes, and thereby fits in with THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF banner. Look at it in the context of its time, and I believe it holds up well as a good character story worth telling.

May the characters and theme of this story resonate with you in an eternal encore.

Shannon Muir

Glendale, California

February 2020

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THE PRICE OF LOVE

The creaking of the banister startled Emma awake. Her grandmother shouldn’t be home for another week, and definitely would have sense enough not to come home in the dead of night – even if she couldn’t resist the impulse to travel the world to far off places in a heartbeat. She’d always been like that since Emma could remember, a free-spirited woman who went where she wanted and did what she wanted after being widowed at a young age. Living off her deceased husband’s wealth, she left her children with nannies and tutors as she saw the world, occasionally coming back with one of them in tow and a lover and sometimes a father to another child. Yet, she would never remarry. Emma’s mother, as the oldest child, took after her mother’s free spirited-ness from an early age, as well as her casual manner toward relationships. Emma had been born when her own mother just barely turned eighteen, and then left Emma to be raised alongside her mother’s younger half-siblings as she went off to see the world. Emma’s mother hadn’t seen her since, and all her mother’s siblings since made their lives elsewhere.

No one else knew Emma still lived there right now, besides the servants that worked at the home, who also would have normally had no cause to come to this top level of the old house at this time of night. Even if it was one of the servants, the news likely would be far from good. As far as Emma’s whereabouts, the servants had clear instructions to say Emma went abroad to study. Emma suspected few people even asked about her. She’d never really had any friends. While Emma had been fortunate not to follow her own mother’s footsteps of having children young, she’d also decided she didn’t want to go out and see the world. Not that her grandmother hadn’t tempted and encouraged her, but she’d grown up being told so much about the world outside by her grandmother that she didn’t really have any desire to see it for herself.

Someone knocked at the front door.

That didn’t seem like something a burglar would do.

The knocking continued, more insistent.

Slowly, carefully, Emma put down the crime novel she let herself get lost in. Living locked away from the world intentionally did not lessen Emma’s curiosity about other people suffering in life. It reminder her all the more why she should stay safe, so reading mystery and crime novels proved a series of cautionary tales and sober reminders.

Then, she could start to hear voices drift up the staircase. One of the servants must have answered the door. The conversation continued, until loud wails drifted up the staircase.

Emma looked out the window. A police car, headlights breaking through the darkness surrounding the darkness of the remote older home, could be seen out front. She could feel her heart pound in her chest. She’d done all she could to stay safe, so it didn’t make sense why the police would be here.

Emma quickly came downstairs to find a young female police officer with old Ms. Flannery, the maid who served her grandmother ever since her husband died and practically raised Emma and her mother’s younger siblings. For all intents and purposes, she’d been the mother Emma never knew. Rivers of tears flowed from Ms. Flannery’s eyes.

What’s going on here? Emma asked.

The young officer turned her attention to Emma on the stairs, and eyed her suspiciously.

Are you Emma MacParsons, or the mother of Emma MacParsons?

Emma knew better than to be flippant with a police officer, from the books she’d read.

I am Emma MacParsons, she responded matter-of-factly, adding, I didn’t do anything. But what did you do to make our trusted family maid cry like that?

They’ve come for you, Ms. Flannery wept, a sensitive young woman not quite yet age forty. They’ve come for you.

But I haven’t done anything wrong! Emma continued to insist, quite puzzled at the whole situation and in particular Ms. Flannery’s emotional outburst. Why would they come for me?

We need to speak to you at the station, the police officer told her. Your former pediatrician has been arrested in a black-market baby ring scandal. Some of the records trace to you and your mother. We need to find out what you know, and what she might know as well. Do you know where we can find her?

I  can’t tell you where to find my mother because she left me here with my grandmother when I was a baby. I’ve not seen her since.

I see. And do you know how we may reach your grandmother? She might know about the circumstances under which you were born.

The police officer glared at the maid.

And judging from the reaction of your help, someone here knows something.

Emma couldn’t disagree with the observation. She wanted the mystery solved as much as the police. The implication was that Emma wasn’t who she thought she was, and everyone knew it. Now those crime novels she enjoyed cuddled up too close to home.

My grandmother is in deep remote Africa for the next week, I’m afraid, Emma said. She can’t be contacted and won’t be back for a few days.

To everyone’s surprise, Ms. Flannery spoke up.

I’ll talk to the police, the maid insisted. And tell you anything you need to know. It’s time this all came out in the open.

What are you doing?  insisted Emma, as she put a hand on Ms. Flannery’s shoulder. You should get a lawyer before you talk. Let my family take care of the skeletons in their closet.

Ms. Flannery reached up and tenderly removed Emma’s arm.

Listen to your mother, Ms. Flannery told her. She knows what’s best for you.

Emma tried to process what Ms. Flannery just said. She looked her straight in the eye and realized for the first time how many of Ms. Flannery’s features matched her own.

Despite Emma’s love for mysteries, she’d clearly missed obvious clues.

Wait. How are you my mother? I’ve seen pictures of my mother pregnant. I know she had a child!

This really should all wait for the station, the cop recommended.

I can’t leave her not knowing! Ms. Flannery snapped at the cop. Emma watched as the maid’s focus returned to her.

Your grandmother’s daughter had a child. It didn’t live. I couldn’t take care of you. So I let at them take you in exchange for a job working to look after you. Everyone knew the daughter would run off again. You’d need someone to take care of you. It worked for all of us.

But then this isn’t really my family, Emma cried out.

She saw Ms. Flannery hang her head, ashamed.

Actually, yes it is. I worked as an intern at your grandfather’s company. I was young and impressionable.

You mean the man I thought was my grandfather.

Ms. Flannery kept her head down.

So all this time, my father and stepmother raised me alongside their own children? No one had the decency to tell me right when I was an adult so I could make my own decisions about my life, not even you, Ms. Flannery. Don’t you expect me to call you Mother now. It took the stress of the police coming down on your to make you crack. How long did you expect to keep up this charade?

I did what I did because I love you, Ms. Flannery whispered.

It doesn’t seem like love to me, Emma replied harshly.

At this point, the cop interrupted. Emma couldn’t begin to imagine how awkward this exchange must be to observe, but honestly did not care.

I really suggest, Ms. Flannery, that you come give a full report at the station. We can give everyone a full accounting once we have a complete picture of the facts.

Go, Emma said, turning her head away. All these years she’d loved Ms. Flannery like a mother. Now, learning the woman truly to be her mother, the heartbreak of betrayal filled her heart.

Soon, her grandmother – no, stepmother – would return from Africa. She’d hear her side of the story then. Then they all would learn that the price of protecting her for her love would be to lose it.

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HAUNTED BY DREAMER SHORES

The Lockwood family moved to the city about a month ago. With Olly Lockwood being wealthy, everyone knew about the family’s comings and goings on a global media stage. They’d specifically moved into this upper scale neighborhood so that the wife, Breah, could live near and get to know the son she’d secretly had as a teenager that her parents secretly gave away. Every one of her new neighbors knew that part of her story. Once the media caught wind, they couldn’t let go.

BILLIONAIRE’S WIFE REUNITES WITH SON GIVEN UP AS TEENAGER

That headline proved to be everywhere, and hard to hide.

What the Lockwood family worked hard to hide were Breah’s troubled past from the years in between. Her husband Olly married her regardless and the two of them vowed to make a clean start. Olly even paid a private investigator friend of his, Vienna Wendale , to find out how much people in the area knew about Breah and her past before they made the final move. He wanted to be sure to protect his family.

However, during their first Halloween season in the neighborhood, Breah and her family would learn that some things haunt you that you can’t control.

Breah and Olly took their family to meet the neighbors at a Halloween block party. Their first stop was the house next door. A beautiful woman, looking no more than in her mid to late twenties, answered.

Hello, she said, a bit cautiously at first. Then she recognized Breah.

Oh, you’re our new neighbor. The one that’s been in the news.

Breah couldn’t tell if the woman thought this to be good or bad.

I’m Tessa Royale, she said. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Breah recognized the last name. The Royales – not just this family in particular, but the whole clan – came from fairly wealthy stock.

My husband Clif has taken my children over to a friend’s home. But do please come over another night. I’d really love our children to meet.

That did happen, and soon the kids went over for regular play dates. One evening, Olly and Breah planned on the two of them just having a romantic dinner at home until a masked man with a gun broke in.

I want your wife, the man with the mask and the gun insisted.

You’re not taking her out of this house! Olly insisted.

Your bedroom will do fine, he said. Or perhaps right here, if you care to watch. We both know she’s been around with other men while together with you. She can do this for me.

Breah then understood what the perpetrator meant.

Look, you can take everything here we have, sell it. Get the attention of any woman you desire. There are so many women out there whom you could take.

The perpetrator stepped closer, and shoved the gun in her face.

But it wouldn’t be you, Breah. It needs to be you. No one else.

Breah and Olly both recognized the voice now.

Collin Weatherton? they both said aloud, believing that the person they faced was the man Breah’s family originally wanted her to marry.

The perpetrator pulled the ski mask off, showing they were both correct in their assumption.

This would have been so much easier if I could have stayed anonymous. But since you’ve figured it out, why hide? Better you know who has come to demand what is due his family.

Collin nudged the gun toward the direction of the staircase leading upstairs.

Your kids will be home in a couple hours from the community party. We don’t have all night.

Breah didn’t expect that. Collin actually cared about what this might do if her kids came home and found them like this. She couldn’t understand how the same man who pulled her away from Dreamer Shores and demanded she debase herself an an exotic pregnant dancer would actually be concerned about this. Something seemed to have changed about him.

"What do you