Page 94 of When She Dreams

“Maybe he’s still asleep,” Maggie offered. She did not sound optimistic.

“Just promise me you’ll wait out here.”

“I promise.”

He reached under the edge of his jacket and slipped the pistol out of the shoulder holster. Maggie gave the weapon an uneasy look but she did not comment.

He left the door open and went into the gloom.

He wasn’t surprised when he found the body, and he wasn’t startled to discover that the cologne bottle was missing.

It was the blood-spattered bathroom and the hammer that came as a shock. They changed everything.

Chapter 43

Why?” Maggie asked. “What difference does it make that Oxlade was murdered with a hammer?”

“It indicates there’s a second killer involved,” Sam said. “The first prefers to use drugs. They make for a neat, clean kill and leave very little evidence. The other killer doesn’t give a damn about being tidy. He may have been in a rage or maybe he got too excited. Maybe he’s simply insane. Hard to say. Whatever the case, he was after the enhancer. He took the cologne bottle.”

“He?” Maggie asked sharply. “Are you sure the killer is a man?”

They were standing outside the entrance to the guest villa. The driveway was packed with police cars, an ambulance, and a handful of uniformed officers. There was also a crowd of curious onlookers, including the three dream guides, various members of the Institute staff, and several conference attendees.

Dolores and Arthur Guilfoyle were on the front steps of the villa, talking to Detective Brandon. Maggie couldn’t hear what was beingsaid, but it was obvious that Arthur was agitated. He seemed to be pleading with Brandon. Dolores stood quietly, her posture rigid, her face grim. She did not look shocked so much as outraged.

Another publicity problem for the Institute, Maggie thought.

A short time ago a reporter and a photographer had arrived in a speedster convertible. The woman behind the wheel had jumped out, notebook and pencil in hand, and announced that she was Irene Ward, the crime beat reporter for theBurning Cove Herald.

She had headed directly toward the open door of the villa, photographer in tow. Brandon had ordered both to stay out of the house. Irritated, Ward had directed the man with the camera to grab as many photos of the scene outside the villa as possible, and then she had started moving through the crowd, talking to anyone and everyone.

“I can’t be absolutely certain the killer is a man,” Sam said. “But the fact that whoever it was used a hammer and didn’t have a problem creating that scene in the bathroom makes me think it’s the most likely possibility. Women usually prefer not to get covered in blood and... other stuff if they can avoid it.”

“What other stuff?” Maggie asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Sam said. “My point is, whoever murdered Oxlade would have left the villa with a lot of gore on his clothes.”

Maggie realized he was studying the crowd, not the Guilfoyles.

“Who are you looking at?” she asked

“The two male dream guides, Larry and Jake.”

Maggie followed his gaze and saw the young men. They appeared to be trying to get Irene Ward’s attention.

“They want to get their names in the papers,” Maggie said. She paused, thinking. “I see what you mean about the unlikelihood of a woman using a hammer. I would certainly grab one in self-defense if that was all that was available, but if I planned to murder someone, I would want to keep some distance between myself and the other person, especially if I was attempting to murder a man. It isn’t just thenotion of getting covered in blood. It’s common sense. I wouldn’t want to get too close and take the risk of being overpowered.”

“You’re taking notes for your book again, aren’t you?”

“Just making an observation.”

“Liar. But your observation is interesting.”

“Because it confirms your theory?” Maggie asked.

“No, because it makes me think the killer didn’t have time to do a lot of planning. A pistol would make too much noise, especially in the middle of the night. It would have awakened the three dream guides in their quarters. The hammer was probably convenient, and it was guaranteed to be a lot more quiet than a gun.”

“There must be a lot of tools stored here on the grounds of the Institute,” Maggie said. “A place this big and this old is in need of constant minor repairs.”

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