Dawn of Eve by MJ Howson (best ereader for students .txt) 📕

sin.” Jeffrey took a sip of whiskey. “You do know of the seven deadly sins, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Dr. Cole paused as he tried to recall them. “Lust. Greed. Gluttony. Uh, Sloth was one, right?”

“Andreas hand-picked those children. He looked into their souls to find the seven he wanted to be brought through the end of days so they could flourish in the new world.” Jeffrey lowered his head and stared into his glass. “He was truly mad.”

“How did it end? My wife said there was a raid.”

“Shortly after killing Eve and sealing the locket, the clock struck midnight. The end of days was upon them. The fourteen parents and the rest formed a circle around the seven dolls. Explosions soon echoed throughout the complex. Andreas and his followers knelt and prayed to the seven deadly sins they’d sealed, believing the Mayan prediction had come true. But the explosions weren’t the apocalypse. It was the FBI raid.”

“My wife said it was bad.”

“Andreas made his followers fight back. It became a violent, bloody mess. Half the place burned to the ground.”

Dr. Cole took a long slow sip of his whiskey. He closed his eyes as he tried to imagine the hell-scape that had to have ensued during the raid. He regretted not insisting Dawn bring the diary to his office. He wondered what stories it held that had so rattled her.

“How . . . how did you learn all of this?” Dr. Cole asked. “It’s almost like you were there.”

“I interviewed some of the survivors as part of my research. Many of the parents died in the raid. Andreas survived. Because he never killed any of the children, he ended up claiming innocence. A few turned on him, hoping to get some sort of plea bargain.”

“So, they told you what happened? Who did you interview? Any of the parents?”

“I’m not at liberty to say. If you’d read my book, you’d know that most of my sources remained anonymous. Two ended up in witness protection and feared retaliation from Andreas, should he ever get out of prison. I interviewed him, too. That psychopath wouldn’t shut up. Even in prison, with all those deaths behind him, he still believed he did the right thing.”

“I see.” Dr. Cole suddenly became gravely concerned about Dawn. If she’d read Eve’s diary, the damage to her psyche could be profound. He slowly slid his folder back into his leather bag. Dr. Cole stood up and placed his empty glass on Jeffrey’s desk. “I’ve taken far too much of your time. Thank you. This . . . this has been incredibly helpful. You know, I plan to write a book next year. Maybe I can pick your brain another time about being an author?”

“Sure.” Jeffrey motioned to the chair behind Dr. Cole. “But now it’s your turn.”

“Excuse me?”

“What brought you here? You said a patient knew the names of the children from the camp. How?”

Dr. Cole nodded as he sat back down. He shook his head and said, “I believe my patient came across one of the dolls.”

“Really?” Jeffrey sounded stunned. His eyes glazed over as he stared past Dr. Cole, lost in his thoughts. When his focus returned, he looked at the doctor and, with a cracked voice, asked, “Which one?”

“Eve. And the diary.”

“Diary?” Jeffrey’s eyes widened. “You . . . have Eve’s diary?”

“No. I never saw it. My patient said she had it.”

“I . . . I see.” Jeffrey’s hands trembled as he stroked his shaggy beard. “And she has the Eve doll, too.”

Dr. Cole nodded and said, “I saw the doll. Creepy looking thing.”

“Porcelain?” Jeffrey’s voice quivered and his cheeks became flush. “Blue eyes? Red hair?”

“That’s the one.”

The two men sat in silence for several seconds. Jeffrey appeared to be in a trance. Dr. Cole glanced at his watch and frowned. He said, “I really should get going. After everything you told me, I need to speak with my patient. Soon. I . . . I fear the worst.”

“Oh. Okay.” Jeffrey shook his head to wake himself from his daze. He frowned, obviously upset that Dr. Cole didn’t want to stay longer. “Well, could we talk more another time? I have so many other questions.”

“Of course.”

Dr. Cole stood up and grabbed his messenger bag, sliding the strap over his shoulder. Jeffrey wheeled his way around his desk. He stopped by the bookcase and retrieved a book. Jeffrey handed it to Dr. Cole. It was a copy of Ascension to Madness – Inside the Mind of Andreas Engel.

“You might find this helpful,” Jeffrey said.

“Thanks.”

The two remained silent as they made their way through the apartment and to the hallway. When they reached the front door, Jeffrey said, “Those dolls were never found. The FBI searched the wreckage after the raid. They found the sacrificial room with the altar and the pillars. But the dolls were gone. Where did she get the Eve doll?”

“She never told me.”

“That’s unfortunate. When I wrote my book, none of my sources told me what happened to the dolls.” Jeffrey sighed and lowered his head. “But, as I said, I never interviewed everyone.” Jeffrey tapped his chin and frowned. “To think that the Eve doll and diary survived is astonishing. If this woman’s in possession of both of these items, I’d like to meet her.”

“I’ll be in touch. I can’t thank you enough. This has been very . . . enlightening.” Dr. Cole shook Jeffrey’s hand and walked out into the hallway. The cold air instantly made his skin feel clammy. As the door closed, he turned and said, “One more thing. You said the children were hand-picked to carry the seven deadly sins into the new world.”

“Yes.” Jeffrey anxiously peered through the partially opened door. “Why?”

Dr. Cole scratched his beard as a chill ran down his spine. He looked at Jeffrey and asked, “Which sin was Eve?”

“Wrath.”

Forty Four

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Dawn stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, her long straight hair cascading past her shoulders. Eve’s open locket