Book Five: The Big Surprise

Independence Day, Book Five: The Big Surprise released on December 26, 2020. It is the final book of this series, and is the only book other than book four to release without an interlude.

Synopsis:
After gunning Michael down outside of Hazel's Diner, Evan was confronted by Shane, who approached with his own gun drawn. Evan didn't seem concerned or worried about Shane's threats, including one to blow his head off if he took one more step, preoccupied with carrying out the final part of his plan: suicide. He lifted the gun to his head, but found himself out of bullets, which enabled Shane to tackle and cuff him. Meanwhile, Evan noticed Michael's body twitching a few feet away and panicked, believing this to mean he was still alive, and struggled to break free. Emotionally, he insisted that Michael had to die, just like Harold (whom he'd shot earlier in the day), because he'd slept with Marnie -- an allegation angered Shane further.

Other officers arrived in short order: one Evan didn't recognize, and Homer Brinks, whom he did. At first, Shane did not want to release his hold on Evan, but did after Brinks intervened, allowing the third, unnamed officer to load Evan into the back of the squad car. Realizing he was now going to jail, Evan lamented that this was not the way he'd wanted it to end, and worried about how embarrassing this was going to be for both Marnie and Francine's memory. When Brinks came to retrieve something from the car, Evan begged him not to tell her, lest she be more ashamed of him than she already was, but Brinks made no promises either way.

Meanwhile, Marnie returned home from a long and tumultuous morning to find Hazel Englund, Lance 's mother, chatting with Helen in the living room. Initially, Marnie tried to escape, not wishing to deal with anyone, but her mother insisted she come back and then announced (with great glee) that Terri was expecting. Marnie was surprised, but not the obvious reasons; she was already aware of Terri's pregnancy, but was also aware of the child's questionable paternity, and was not certain why Lance's mother would want to divulge such information to Helen, of all people. Mrs. Englund had a similar reaction, reminding Helen that that was supposed to stay between them, but the situation quickly went from bad to worse when Helen announced that her daughter also had good news: Marnie was seeing Evan again, she said, and speculated it would only be a matter of time before they reconciled. Furious, Marnie called her on the lie and once Mrs. Englund saw herself out, the gloves came off. Helen again reminded her daughter that she would not support her selfish decision to walk out on her marriage, and, unable to hold it in any longer, Marnie finally confessed the reason she'd walked out in the first place: Evan's decade-long affair with Harold.

Later, Terri was awakened by an approaching thunderstorm, and was surprised to find Brett had not moved an inch since she nestled into bed with him an hour ago. That, and coupled with his concerningly loud and guttural snoring, helped her resolve to hide his pills, lest he develop a dependency on them. To escape the snoring, she retreated into the bathroom, and checked the bottle. To her surprise, there were only seventeen capsules left, meaning her brother had ingested ten of them earlier in the day.

Horrified, Terri raced to his side and tried to wake him up, with little success at first. After several arduous attempts, she was able to get him into a sitting position, but it took getting sick all over both Terri and the bedding to make him come around. Mortified, but relieved, Terri set about trying to clean up the mess and did her best to console him when he broke down. In a moment of uncharacteristic vulnerability, Brett told her that there was a pain inside him that just would not die, and repeatedly expressed his desire to make it stop. Terri tried to insist that he would get through this, but he reminded her that he'd had to watch them die, and there was no possible way he could get through that. Believing that he meant having witnessed the fire that killed their parents, Terri apologized for not doing more to help in the aftermath, and said she would make it stop for him if she could. He said he didn't know why he did it, and Terri, who assumed that he meant the overdose (and also assumed it was some sort of suicide attempt), said he did it because he was hurting, but couldn't do it again, promising that they were in this together and saying he could not give up on her now.

After lunch with Marnie, Jeff headed over to see Stan, intent on announcing that he was going back to the house to collect his things. When he arrived, Mona opened the door and tried to shoo him away, but he held his ground, demanding Stan stop being "too chickenshit to face him." This brought Stan to the door and, mind racing, Jeff pondered how to approach the situation before taking the worst possible route: he sucker punched Stan so hard he hit the ground. Pandemonium ensued, and before long, the children came to investigate. Ashamed, Jeff tried to leave, but the boys intercepted him before he could get far, and despite the fact he'd just knocked their grandfather to the ground, seemed excited to see him. Their clear expectation was that he'd come to take them home, but Stan was quick to set the record straight, angrily confronting Jeff for "putting a whore in front of the kids." Jeff began to fire back that Carol put alcohol ahead of them, but thought better of it, not wanting to ruin their opinion of her.

It started raining while this was unfolding in the front lawn, which prompted Mona to make numerous attempts to call the boys back inside. When they refused to listen, Stan got involved, telling them that if they didn't go back inside, he was going to take his belt off. Though infuriated by Stan daring to threaten "his kids", Jeff eventually had to concede that he had no true say so over them, and encouraged them to go back inside. Emotionally, the boys begged him not to leave again, and he knelt down in the grass to hug them, for what he believed would be the last time. This provided Mona the time to come outside with an umbrella, so she could escort them back into the house. Realizing that it was all over, for good this time, Jeff told Stan that he was going to get his things and made his escape.

Meanwhile, Shane, who witnessed Goldman's shooting earlier in the day, reeled from the event at home. Given that Evan's apparent motive for killing Goldman was his erroneous belief that he'd been the one to sleep with Marnie, Shane realized that the five bullets that felled him had, by rights, been intended for him and drank himself into a stupor. Later, a devastated Marnie paid him a visit, having heard the news, and they ended up spending the night together -- platonically.

At the police station, Evan continued to lament having screwed up his plan to right the wrongs of his life and Marnie's, and his mind was inevitably drawn back to Francine, finally revealing the way she died. Despite speculation, it appeared Francine really did leap from the boat, but had second thoughts soon after. Evan tried to rescue her, but was unable to reach her and knew that if he dove in after her, the likelihood was, neither would survive. This led him to make the heart-wrenching decision to leave to locate help, though Francine repeatedly begged him not to leave her, convinced that if he left her, she would die. Evan promised that he would be back as soon as he could, but he was too late: a few hours later, her body was found, and he'd long lamented that he broke his promise, leaving her when she needed him the most.

Shortly thereafter, Brinks paid him a visit, with the advice that he should get a lawyer before he telling the authorities why he killed both Harold and Michael. Evan scoffs at this, saying that there was no point in getting an attorney, because his case was open and shut. Brinks pushed the issue, telling him that he needed a lawyer before he told them, and that they both knew why. Realizing that this meant Harold must've told the police about their affair, Evan tried insisting that wasn't the reason, but Brinks cut him off, saying that he'd heard a lot of disturbing, homophobic things from his fellow officers today, because they didn't understand and would try to use it as a weapon against him. Thus, he again advised him to get a lawyer, before seeing himself out with a request to keep this visit between them.

Meanwhile, Terri busied herself with laundry while Brett slept off the effects of his overindulgence. When the phone rang, she assumed it would be another surprised parishioner, hoping to make him reconsider his resignation earlier in the day, but was surprised to find the caller was Dana Anderson, Lucas ' mother. Dana apologized for coming on too strong the night before, and pleaded for a chance to talk to Terri, because there were many things she wanted to ask her. Terri tried to refuse, but Dana persisted, saying she wished she could've been closer to her son, and asking what he was like, because they'd never formed a close enough relationship for her to know. Terri thought about firing back that there was a reason Dana never got to know her son, but refrained, saying that she didn't know what he was like, either -- she thought she did, but she now believed he'd misrepresented himself and his affections. Dana said she was sorry that "Cal" had hurt her so, and that he'd hurt so many people and she didn't know why, before switching gears and telling Terri that if she truly wanted her to leave her alone, she would. Terri affirmed she did, and hung up the phone before Dana could leave her number, should she ever change her mind.

From there, she went to check on her brother, and pondered what to do with his pills. Her initial thought was to hide them, but she was reluctant to do so, because it reminded her of something Julia would have done. She also considered flushing them, but was worried about what might happen if he woke up in pain. After a scary moment, where she couldn't tell if a heavily-sedated Brett was still breathing, Terri changed her mind, resolving that the only way to save him from falling into dependency was to flush the pain pills down the toilet.

In Cottage Cove, Julia helped Jeff decorate his new home and then made them a fancy meal to celebrate, but Jeff was too shaken by his encounter with the kids to fully enjoy it. Even a romp in the sheets didn't appear to improve his mood, and long after Julia fell asleep, he stewed over Stan's words: you never cared about those kids, because if you did, you never would have put a whore ahead of them! Aside from regarding Julia as a whore, Jeff had to admit that Stan had a point, and wondered if winning her in the end was worth the pain they'd caused to get there.

When Julia awoke, promising that everything would work out as long as they had faith, Jeff called her on it, asking once and for all if their situation bothered her. She said that it didn't, which led him to remind her that she was the one who'd gone on and on for weeks about how wrong their affair was. Surprised, Julia asked if he believed their relationship was wrong, and after a bit of hesitation, Jeff admitted that he didn't...but he believed the way they went about it was. To that end, he announced he wanted her to go talk with Brett and try to clear the air, because he didn't like the way they'd left things. Julia seemed convinced he wasn't going to want to talk to her, but agreed, if only to ease Jeff's mind, promising that she would go see him in the morning.

The next morning, Marnie woke up with a headache, despite the fact she hadn't done any drinking the night before. Careful not to disturb Shane as she inched out of bed, she thought about Evan's rampage the day before, and wondered who it was that he'd shot. Terrible rumors were going around, but she knew better than to put stock into them and Shane, the one person who would know for sure, wasn't saying much about it last night. Grateful that he'd let her in, and didn't try to take advantage of her vulnerability with unwelcome advances, Marnie straightened up the place while Shane slept it off. Though she was aware she needed to go home before her mother lost her mind, she couldn't bring herself to leave, coming to the surprising conclusion that she was developing feelings for Shane. Unwilling to accept that, she forced herself to leave before he woke up, concerned that he wouldn't remember asking her to stay the night before.

While in custody, Evan met with a psychologist, who'd been called in to evaluate his mental state. At first, Evan was reluctant to recount his reasons for killing both Harold and Goldman, but after a bit of prompting, admitted he did so because they pushed him too far. When asked what he meant by this, Evan related that Harold had been pushing him for years, and that he believed he was trying to ruin his life by telling Marnie about their affair. He insisted that, despite that, he was not a homosexual and resented Harold telling everyone he was, which was another reason Evan claimed he had to die. He also alleged that Francine's blood was on Harold's hands, just as much as his own, blaming their arrest for Francine's suicide a few weeks later. When asked how that would correlate, Evan confessed that Carol heard her father's friends talking about the incident, and that she must've repeated the whole thing to Francine, which prompted her to kill herself.

As for Goldman, Evan insisted that he'd shot him for not only sleeping with his wife, but for "watching" him outside. Believing the detective had been stalking him, and had followed him to the church, Evan deduced that Goldman must've known how badly he wanted to reconcile with Marnie, but wasn't willing to let her go. After that, Evan asked why the psychiatrist was even bothering, because he felt it was a waste of time. He didn't wish to bother with a trial, because everyone already knew what he did, and he didn't want to drag this out any further than he had to.

Later, Terri tensed when she realized that Brett was looking for his pills, and tried to beg off when he asked her to give them back. After a brief standoff, she admitted that she'd flushed them the night before, but tried to insist she'd only done so because she was concerned about this. Furious, Brett refused to listen, retreating into his bedroom and locking the door, but Terri persisted. She reminded him how much he'd scared her yesterday, and said she was worried about where he'd end up if he didn't stop now. This prompted him to open the door, asking if she was concerned he would end up like her -- and revealing he was aware of her drug abuse. Though caught off guard, Terri admitted it, even showing him the now-healing track marks on her arms in an attempt to break through to him, but he didn't want to hear it, calling her the most selfish person he'd ever met and telling her to get out of his house, because he was done with her.

Shane was disappointed that Marnie was not beside him when he awoke, but wasn't given much time to dwell on it: Terri showed up shortly thereafter, saying she needed his help. Though reluctant, he felt obligated to let her in, and asked what happened. She told him the whole story: Brett taking way too many pills yesterday, her freaking out and flushing them, him freaking out and screaming at her and her concern that now that she wasn't there, Brett might try to get even more because she knew all-too-well what addiction to drive a person to do. Emotionally, she begged Shane to go talk to him, believing that Brett would listen to him, because he always did. Shane agreed.

As promised, Julia went to see her soon-to-be ex-husband, but debated whether or not she should leave before he opened the door, because she wasn't sure why Jeff was so adamant she pay Brett a visit in the first place. Before she could talk herself out of it, he came to the door and after a tense initial exchange, he agreed to talk to her. Relieved, but nervous, Julia made an awkward attempt at small talk, and was surprised when Brett revealed that he'd resigned as pastor of First Baptist the day before -- in the middle of a service. The conversation grew more heated than there, with him encouraging her to spit out whatever it was she wanted to say, so they could both move on with their lives. Julia blurted another apology, but Brett didn't seem interested, reminding her that they'd been over that, several times, but it didn't matter how sorry she was, because the situation remained the same.

Flustered, Julia tried to explain that she never meant for her affair with Jeff to happen, and that she never wanted to hurt him -- she just felt so alone. An unexpected phone call derailed her train of thought, and after dramatically slammng the phone down multiple times to regain her attention, Brett confronted her about her flippant dismissal of his aspirations to move to New York and become an actor. She tried to apologize and explain that she only did that because she was concerned about what the inevitable rejection would do to him, but he accused her of being more worried about herself, because over the course of their ten-year relationship, she had never given him one thought. With that, he told her he didn't want to talk about this anymore, and to see herself out, but Julia followed him into the kitchen, insisting that he listen to her. Despite his protests, she again told him that she never meant for anything to happen, but she felt so alone because Brett was gone all the time, and admitted that when she confided that in Jeff, he made her feel something.

This served to upset Brett more, and he reminded her that the reason he was gone was to give her the status she'd always wanted, but even that wasn't good enough, because then she had to leave him for Jeff. Julia again attempted to apologize, saying she didn't think he would ever know, and Brett revealed how aware of her affair he'd actually been: he knew every time she snuck out of the house, every time she came back and every time she cried about it beside him. When asked why he didn't say anything about it sooner, he said he didn't want to believe she'd do that to him any more than he'd wanted to believe something else, but refused to elaborate on what he meant at first. After a little prodding, he asked if she remembered the time six months before they got married, when she got sick and could barely eat, but still managed to gain so much weight she had to fasten her skirt with a safety pin. Horrified, Julia realized this meant he also knew about the abortion she'd procured years ago, and insisted the only reason she'd done that was they were so young, and she was scared he was going to leave her if he found out. Brett argued that he wouldn't have left her, because that meant everything to him, before coming to the sad conclusion that the reason she'd never told him was it wasn't his child. Julia tried to deny this, but he only grew angrier, accusing her of cheating on him even then because she was always a "(expletive) whore." Without thinking, Julia slapped him, and hyperventilating, he latched onto her wrist. She tried to pull away, but he refused to let go, and that was when she saw the change in his eyes and realized that he was going to kill her.

The scene changed in the next chapter, flashing back to a confrontation between Brett and his father that took place around Christmas. Despite repeated inner implorations to stay calm and breathe through it, that became harder and harder for Brett, as his father fiercely berated him, calling him both a pussy and disgrace. The final straw was when his father backhanded him. After that, everything went hazy, and the scene jumped again, this time to Brett in the shower. He believed that the conversation with his father had only been a dream, but was troubled by the fact he didn't remember falling asleep this time, nor did he have any idea how he got into the shower in the first place. Determined to write it off as nothing more than the side effect of too much medication yesterday, he struggled out of the shower and got dressed -- no easy task, given that he appeared to have reinjured his side, but had no recollection of this, either. He searched the cabinet for any pills Terri might've overlooked, and though he didn't find any, he did come across a leftover bottle of medication from a few years ago, when Julia broke her foot. After taking a handful of them, he went in search of some alcohol to "help them along", and was dismayed by the destruction in his kitchen. There was debris all ove the floor, including broken glass, cookware and women's shoes, along with multiple pools of water. Most disturbing, however, was Julia's body, sprawled on the floor. At first, he found it difficult to believe, but as he drew closer, flashes of her murder began to come back to him, and he realized that it was not, in fact, a dream -- none of it was. She was dead. They were all really dead, and he was the one who'd killed them.

In Cottage Cove, Jeff awoke from a strange dream, in which Julia came by to tell him she was leaving him, but would always love him very much, to find Mona at the door. She related that Julia came by to see her earlier and gave her his address, asking if she could come in. Though surprised, he agreed. Mona set about telling him how wrong he'd been to not only have an affair on her daughter, but to attack Stan the way he had the day before. She followed this up with the heart-wrenching news that the children had cried for him for hours after he left, which prompted Jeff to run for the kitchen in search of a distraction, lest he break down in her presence. Mona followed him there, telling him that the situation was terrible and she was not going to allow it to get any worse. She said he and Stan did not have to be friends, but they did need to remain civil with one another, because the children did not need that sort of turmoil. Thinking she was trying to tell him not to go back over there and hit her husband again, Jeff assured her that would not be a problem. Mona then announced one final stipulation: no unannounced visits, because what he'd done was still very fresh, and they were still very angry, so he could not show up to see the children whenever he felt like it. Realizing what this meant, Jeff broke down, asking her why she was doing this, and Mona said that she was doing it for the children, for herself and ultimately, for him, because while he'd made his share of mistakes, he was a good person at heart, and the potential to do so much better than this.

Shaken, Terri returned home to await word on Shane's visit with her brother, and thought back over the past few years. She reflected on how her marriage to Lance had ultimately crumbled, and admitted that it was likely a mistake to marry him to begin with. That, however, did not diminish her remorse for her affair with Lucas, because she believed that was the catalyst for Lance and Carol's murders, and the reason Brett got stabbed. She thought back to the day she spent with Brett in the motel, hiding from Lucas' threat, and was ashamed that she did not do more to keep Brett from leaving, especially given that she knew Lucas had threatened to kill him earlier in the day. She resolved, however, that he was in good hands now, because Shane took his welfare just as seriously as she did, and she was confident that he would be able to get through to him.

Shane thought he saw Julia's car outside when he paid Brett a visit, but far more concerned about his friend's well being, he dismissed the idea. When Brett did not come to the door, Shane let himself in, and was surprised when he came out of the kitchen coughing and rubbing his nose. Brett seemed surprised to see him, too, asking if he'd come to arrest him. Shane denied this, saying he'd just come by to talk, but Brett didn't seem interested in that, telling him that he didn't need to be there and should leave. Shane persisted, especially when he noticed how infected Brett's wounds appeared, and asked point blank if he'd "done something." At first, Brett did not want to answer him, but finally affirmed that he did something bad. Assuming he meant some sort of suicidal gesture, Shane panicked, screaming at him that he knew someone and could get him help, because he'd gone through something similar five years prior, after the death of his mother. Brett insisted that it was too late, and that something was wrong with him, to which Shane, who still did not understand what he meant, told him nothing was wrong with him, there was something wrong with everyone else. He insisted that this was Jeff's fault and Julia's fault, and at the mention of his wife's name, Brett collapsed in tears on the floor, saying that she was dead because of him. Shane remembered Julia's car outside and finally put two and two together, asking where she was. After a brief hesitation, Brett admitted she was in the kitchen, and when Shane went in, he was shocked at the disarray. Julia's body shocked him the most, though, and when he touched her, he took a step back -- right into a puddle. Slipping, he fell to the floor, hitting his head hard against the tile and knocking himself unconscious.

A short time later, he awoke in a daze, unable to remember how he got there. He tried to get up, but found himself too weak and dizzy to do so, so he reached around him for something to hold onto. Finding what he believed to be a rope in the distance, he latched onto it, hoping that would be enough to pull him to his feet, but the rope unraveled quickly. When he lifted his head to find out why, he was shocked to find it wasn't a rope at all; it was Julia's hair. Horrified, he realized he was on the floor of Brett's kitchen, with Julia's dead body a few feet away, but did not recall that his friend was the one responsible for her murder, believing it to be someone else. Realizing that Brett would not be able to put up the same kind of fight that Julia had (evidenced by the debris in the kitchen), Shane struggled to stand, in the hopes he could help him. He was still too woozy, however, and hit the floor again, where the pieces began to slide back into place.

Meanwhile, Brett barricaded himself in his bedroom with both a bottle of Jack Daniels and the gun he'd lifted from Shane while he was unconscious. Gory details of his crimes began to come back to him, revealing that he'd met up with Carol in the park on the night of July 4. After a bit of small talk, she announced her intention to throw Jeff out the next day, and when he expressed sympathy, she dismissed it, saying that if there was anyone to feel sorry for, it was him, because he was still stuck with "that whore." He tried to refute this, but that seemed to infuriate Carol, and she accused him of being there for the same reason she was -- to catch Jeff and Julia together. Shaking, he tried to deny it, but she continued to call his bluff, insisting that he "stop being such a pussy" and do something about it. Angrily, he told her that she didn't know the first thing about his wife, and attempted to leave, but Carol blocked the path. Taking hold of his arm, she told him to grow some balls and do something, and when he didn't respond, she shoved him, which was where his memory cut off.

He also recalled going to Lance's office to try and help him sort out his marital woes, only to be met with Lance's trademark contempt. Rebuffing his offer, Lance tore into him, calling him worthless and crazy, among other things, and told him that if he wanted to help anyone, he needed to start with Terri, because this was her fault, not his. He didn't stop there, revealing that Terri was having an affair with her drug dealer, and sarcastically challenging Brett to help that, throw some scriptures at that, take a baseball bat to that, and so on. With that, he tried to throw Brett out of his office, but Brett refused to leave, which left Lance, who'd been opening the mail when Brett arrived, to come out from behind the desk. The letter opener, a long instrument more closely resembling a dagger, was still in his hand and was downturned in Brett's direction. The flash ended there.

The only complete image he was able to piece back together was what took place in the kitchen. Julia was able to claw free from his grip on her throat and ran for the back door, but fumbled with the latch for too long, which allowed him to intercept her. She attempted to beg for her life, and told him that if he wanted her to leave, she would, and no one ever had to know what had gone on there. He did not seem interested in that, however, and dragged her toward the sink. At first, he pulled a knife from the block on the counter and slid the dull edge across her neck, but decided that would be too easy for someone like her. Resolving that she needed something less immediate and more involved, he pivoted her toward the sink, drowning her in the dishwater that stood inside it, then casting her body to the floor.

Having blocked out these atrocities, Brett was horrified by what he'd done, and begged God to forgive him, plunging his fingers into the wounds that had come open during his struggle with Julia. It was his intention to "make it stop", and he'd been doing that when Shane arrived, but was unable to drown himself the same way he'd done Julia, because, in his words, "it burned." Unable to cope, he hit himself with the gun he'd taken from Shane, which reminded him of the abuse he'd suffered at the hands of his father. He noted that it didn't matter that it had been decades since the last time his father beat him into a corner, or slammed his hand in the car door -- the abuse could never actually end, because he'd taught his children to abuse themselves, Terri by self starvation and Brett by various mishaps he played off as careless accidents over the years.

This brought back the memory of waking up in an isolated motel, with Terri sitting silently on the floor. Over and over, an inaudible voice plagued him, telling him he was worthless, that no one loved him, and other nasty things, but he tried to block it out with scripture and prayer. Terri, noticing his strange demeanor, tried to get him to stay and take a shower before heading home to face Julia, but he refused, saying that he needed to face it -- the "it" being what the voice had whispered to him: "you're better off dead!" On the way home, the voices continued to plague him, to the point that he almost struck a pedestrian crossing the road. He brought the car to an abrupt stop, missing the man, but dislodging a knfie that had been wedged under his seat. At first, he wondered where it could have come from, before the voice reminded him that it was not a knife at all, it was a letter opener -- the same one that he'd stuck into Lance's chest three times. Though Brett was initially unwilling to believe it, citing that he would remember doing those things and would feel something, the voices continued to taunt him, saying he didn't feel anything because he didn't care, and Lance and Carol deserved to die. They also suggested that he, too, deserved to die and implored him to do it. Too weak and shaken to resist any longer, he gave in, and used the letter opener to stab himself when he got home. Horrified to discover that he'd been responsible for taking six lives (five from his hand and one -- Lucas -- from his refusal to believe that the darkness within him could've been real), Brett realized the only foolproof way to ensure he never hurt anyone else was Shane's gun.

Meanwhile, a dazed and injured Shane dragged himself through the house looking for Brett, and when he fell outside the bedroom, discovered he was barricaded inside. Struggling to his knees, Shane tried to come in, but the door was locked, and Brett refused to open it, saying that he needed to leave. When pressed as to why, Brett admitted he had Shane's gun, and intended to make it stop, but couldn't do that in front of him, so he needed him to leave. Shane panicked, trying to force his way in, but found breaking down a door a lot harder than it looked in the movies. Desperate, he told Brett he didn't have to do it, because he could help him cover it up, but Brett seemed aghast he'd even suggest such a thing, saying he didn't understand what he'd done. Shane insisted that he didn't care what he'd done, but Brett dismissed that, again telling him to leave.

Unwilling to accept that, Shane tried to stand, but was too dizzy and was soon on the floor again. He felt himself on the verge of passing out and tried to stay conscious, but could sense his connection with the world around him wavering. Having heard the noise, Brett came out of the bedroom to investigate, horrified to find Shane semi-conscious on the floor. He knelt beside him and promised that he'd be okay, and that he'd call for help, but Shane was too disoriented to respond and passed out. When he came to, he could hear Brett speaking to someone about a seizure, but was unaware that he was talking about him. Shane tried to get up, but still found himself too woozy, and was soon joined by Brett again, who promised that everything would be fine and help was coming. It took a moment for Shane to remember the gun, but once he did, he panicked, asking Brett what he'd done with it. At first, Brett tried to dismiss his concern, but ultimately admitted that it was in the bedroom, and he'd put it down when he heard him fall. Though relieved, Shane asked for it back, and Brett obliged, crawling back into the bedroom to retrieve it. Shane noticed how badly he was hurt, and that the wounds to his side appeared to have been gouged open, and felt guilty for asking for the gun back, knowing how much trouble Brett had to go through to get it. He started to tell him not to bother, but an approaching siren cut him off mid-sentence.

At once, Shane understood that the siren was the help Brett referred to, realizing that once that help arrived and saw what he'd done to Julia, there were only two ways for Brett to leave this house: in the back of a squad car, or in the back of a hearse -- and he'd just sent him back in there for the gun. Desperate to reach him, Shane crawled on his stomach toward the bedroom, despite Brett screaming at him to stay where he was. Shane continued crawling, begging him not to do it, but Brett shot himself before Shane could reach him.

In the epilogue, taking place one year later, Terri cuddles her six-month old son, River, and reflects on the year since her brother's death. She still find his loss too painful to reconcile, and gave all his possessions away, stashing his photos and bible on the top shelf of her closet; however, she continues to wear his wedding ring on a chain around her neck, viewing it as a more unobtrusive tribute. She harbors a deep resentment for Haven Park, believing they'd pushed Brett to kill both Julia and himself, and moved to California several months ago, having signed Lance's money back over to his family. Now, she works two jobs, and relies heavily on her friend and neighbor Nancy, who serves as a reminder that good people still exists in the world. She ponders legacies, and laments that though Lance, Carol and even Lucas seemed to leave one, Brett did not, but soon comes to realize that his legacy was the selfless love he had for her, which taught her how to love her son.

Shane, having quit the police force and moved out to Laramie, is awakened by his neighbor's lawnmower and is peeved, because he's told him repeatedly that he works nights and does not like being disturbed during the day. He, too, reflects on the past year, and the loss of his friend, despite his efforts to compartmentalize him over the past few months. When that failed, he even tried to demonize him, putting him into the same category as Caleb Hennessy and Evan Blake, but is quick to reconsider, believing Brett killed Julia because she pushed him -- and remaining seemingly unaware that Brett killed others as well. Though his relationship with Marnie, and his analyst, have both helped him to move past the worst of the trauma of watching his best friend commit suicide, it still bothers him a great deal, though the book ends with Shane hopefully resolving that it would all get better with time.

Trivia:
The theme song for this book is "The Big Surprise", by The Elms: "The big surprise is...me."

This book focused on bringing an end to the lingering storylines, as well ultimately answering the question of who was responsible for these murders. I realize that almost no one got a happy ending out of the deal (Jeff is about as close as it gets), but I feel strongly that after five straight books of misery, a happy ending would've been cheap and contrived in a lot of ways. I do apologize if people are disappointed, though!

Like book four before it, this book does not contain an interlude. Though book four eventually got one, I opted not to add one to this volume, because the planned interlude was non-canon to begin with, and its conclusion might've taken away from the ending of the story. To balance things out, the Another Place and Time interlude from book four has subsequently been removed, but I may put up the remaining part as bonus material in the future.

The Lyrical Challenge IV: This Time, It's Personal!:
For the fourth time, The Lyrical Challenge is back. This challenge, which originated in book two, consists of me inserting random lyrics from some of my favorite songs into the book, one chapter at a time -- this time around, however, it was a lot more sporadic. The reason for this were the numerous stops and starts along in writing this book, which meant that

by the time I came back to it, I ended up forgetting there was supposed to be a lyrical challenge to begin with. Thus, the lyrics do not appear in every chapter, but the ones that do are as follows:


 * "What can I say to make you listen?" -- From the song "Is This What You Wanted", by Jill Phillips. This was used in chapter one and spoken by Helen.
 * "There's a pain that just will not die." -- From the song "Say", by PFR. This was used in chapter two and spoken by Brett.
 * "There's so much that I want to tell you." -- From the song "This Private Room", by Patrick Andrew. This was used in chapter three and spoken by Dana.
 * "Strange the things you notice when the walls are closing in." -- From the song "Ballad of San Francisco", by Caedmon's Call. This was used in chapter four and spoken by Evan.
 * "I know you'd just as soon forget." -- From the song "Make it Better", by Lisa Bevill. This was used in chapter six and spoken by John.
 * "No one could ever make me doubt it." -- From the song "The World I See In You", by Margaret Becker. This was used in chapter seven and spoken by Mona.
 * "I went searching for some peace of mind." -- From the song "All This and Heaven Too", by Michael Sweet. This was used in chapter eight and spoken by Carol.

The Big Surprise is...Me?
An extra feature found in the ID Batcave on FB (https://www.facebook.com/groups/773695979390613/ ) which highlighted possible motives for the most popular suspects. The profiles can be found below, for those curious.

Note: To be able to access these profiles, you must first ask for and be approved for membership in the ID Batcave, linked above.

The Big Surprise is...Julia?

The Big Surprise is...Brett?

The Big Surprise is...Evan?

The Big Surprise is...Terri?

Formats and Pricing:
Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble Nook

iTunes

PDF

The book is $2.99 on all American outlets.

Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Independence-Day-Book-Five-Surprise-ebook/dp/B08R28WJNV/ -- amazon.com

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1060089 -- smashwords.com

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/independence-day-book-five-bex-aaron/1138505566?ean=2940164764494 -- barnesandnoble.com