Page 14 of When She Dreams

Bennett North rose from behind the expanse of a polished mahogany desk to greet her.

“Welcome to Winter Lake,” he said.

His voice resonated with the cool polish and unshakable self-confidence produced by old money and a lineage that stretched back to the Old World. He could have stepped out of the previous century.

Grace knew she was looking at a man who not only accepted but embraced the weight of the traditions and secrets placed on him by family, social status, and money. It was clear he was content to be trapped in the past. It was the source of his strength and his power...

No question about it, Bennett North was not only insufferable, he was boring. He was a man who was chained to the past, not one who was capable of carving out a new future for himself.

Maggie uncapped a fountain pen, drew lines through the description of Bennett North, and tried another approach.

...There was a sense of resolute determination about him that charged the atmosphere. His fierce will was reflected in his eyes.Bennett North had found himself in hell, but he would not be defeated by its forces...

She put down the pen, sat back, and read what she had written. Bennett was definitely on the way to becoming more interesting, and there was no problem figuring out who had inspired the new version. She wondered if Sam Sage would show up in her dreams.

Thoughts of Sage brought a sharp reminder of the coatrack. He really needed to get the thing out of his office.

She slipped the legal pad back into the drawer and got to her feet. She could usually lose herself in her writing, but that was not going to work tonight. The threatening letter and the coatrack demanded attention. She might as well go to bed and get the dreams over with. She knew they would hover on the edge of her thoughts, tugging at her, until she exorcised them.

Chapter 6

The dream...

...She walks through the empty white corridors of Sweet Creek Manor, opening the door of each room she passes. She does not know who or what she is searching for, but she will open doors until she finds a room with answers inside.

She opens a door and sees the old version of Bennett North. He gives her a confused, pleading look but he does not speak.

“I never found your voice,” she says. “You’re free to go. I don’t need you.”

She closes the door and opens another. This time she sees Sam Sage. He’s standing in the shadow cast by the coatrack.

“Are you afraid of me?” she asks.

“No, but we’re going to have problems.”

“Why?”

“I’m no hero,” he says.

“I’m the writer. I’ll decide.”

She closes the door and moves on to the next room. The extortion letter and a postcard are on the floor.

She knows in the way dreamers do that someone is hiding in the corner of the room, but she can’t see the person.

She also knows, as she usually does, that she is dreaming and that it is time to take control of the script.

She contemplates the extortion letter. Only some of the words are legible in this dreamscape.

Murder

Burning Cove

The Traveler

She turns away from the letter. There is nothing more to be learned from it in this dream. Experience has taught her that if she studies it any longer she will become anxious and frustrated. If she pushes too hard for comprehension she will awaken in a full-blown anxiety attack.

She examines the postcard. It is picture-side down. There is some writing on the back. She can discern two words.

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