Page 12 of When She Dreams

“Pretty bad. Feels relatively recent.”

“Think the energy is his or someone else’s?”

“Some of it is from Mr. Sage, but the really bad stuff is from another person. Sage appears to be unaware of the shadow, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s affecting his mood and probably his dreams. He just doesn’t know it.”

Pru narrowed her eyes. “Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of telling him to get rid of the coatrack.”

“Too late. I already did.”

Pru sighed. “How did he react?”

“How do you think he reacted? He looked at me like I was one of those weird people who believes in paranormal energy and attends psychic readings.”

“You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

“I tried not to mention the coatrack, I really did.”

“You should have tried harder.”

“Is that right? What would you have done?”

Pru gave her a bright, smug smile. “Kept my mouth shut.”

“I couldn’t resist. It was for his own good.”

“The one reason guaranteed to annoy anyone without fail.”

“The important thing is that he took my case,” Maggie said. “He’s making phone calls about the dead woman, Virginia Jennaway, as we speak.”

“What if he doesn’t learn anything useful from a couple of phone calls?”

Maggie sat back and tapped her finger on the Formica table. “I reserved a ticket for the conference at the Guilfoyle Institute just in case Mr. Sage isn’t able to identify the blackmailer after he makes the phone calls.”

“I was afraid of that. You’ll be wasting your time.”

“The blackmailer will be there, Pru. It’s the one thing I can be sure of at this point.”

“There will be a couple of hundred people at the conference. How are you going to find the extortionist in that crowd? You’re not a detective. You have no idea how to investigate a crime.”

“I’ll think of something. Besides, you know I’ve been curious about the Guilfoyle Method.”

“Not anymore,” Pru shot back. “You lost interest in it after you discovered the guest speaker at the conference was going to be Dr. Emerson Oxlade.”

“I admit, now that I know Oxlade is involved in the Institute, I’m not nearly as interested in the Guilfoyle Method, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to it. Oxlade is a dreadful man, but he’s serious about his dream research and he enjoys an excellent reputation. It’s understandable why Guilfoyle invited him to present a lecture. His presence gives the Method credibility.”

Pru leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Have you forgotten that Oxlade laced your tea with a hallucinogenic drug without telling you what he was doing?”

“Of course not. I’m well aware he’s a nasty creep.”

“What if he sees you at the conference? He’s bound to recognize you.”

“I’ll deal with the problem if it arises.”

“It will arise,” Pru said. “I don’t like the idea of your attending the conference alone. I should go with you.”

“We both know the director would never give you the time off. To be fair, no one in his position would. You just started your new job a couple of weeks ago.”

“I doubt if he’ll ever give me any time off,” Pru said. “It’s been clear from the start that Attwater doesn’t approve of female staff. He thinks women are all right for small-town public libraries but only men are suited for academic and research institutions. I overheard him talking to someone today and discovered that if it hadn’t been for Dr. Otto Tinsley, I would not have gotten my new job.”

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