Stolen Dreams (3 page)

About an hour after lunch, Mary’s research on lucid dreaming
was interrupted by her cell phone ringing.
 
After quickly glancing at the caller ID, she had a smile on her face as
she answered. “Hi, Jerry, what’s up?” she asked.

Jerry Wiley was the editor-in-chief of the Freeport
Republic, the town’s newspaper.
 
Jerry
had actually been involved in one of the first murder mysteries Mary had solved
in town, and they had remained friends ever since.
 

“Hey, Mary, I need a Halloween feature,” Jerry replied.

“Well, good for you,” Mary said, her smile widening. “I hope
you find one.”

“I just did,” he said. “You’re it.”

“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m not a Halloween feature. I take my
work very seriously.”

“Yeah, I know that,” he replied. “And I’m, you know, not
looking to make light of your work. I just think it would be interesting for
folks to know about what you do.
 
It
could be good for business.”

Mary shook her head. “I don’t need any help with my
business,” she replied. “But, hey, thanks for the offer.”

She was ready to disconnect the call when Jerry added. “And
it might help someone who’s been searching for someone like you.”

She paused for a moment and Jerry moved in for the
kill.
 
“You know, some poor, little widow
who everyone is saying is crazy because she thinks she hears her husband’s
voice,” he said. “Or a grieving parent who needs reassurance that there is life
beyond this one. Mary, this could be a very important story.”

She sighed and closed her eyes.
This could be good
, she thought,
or really, really bad
.

“When do you want to run the story?” she asked.

She could hear the glee in Jerry’s voice when he replied.
“Actually, I wanted to send someone over this afternoon,” he said, “and run it
in tomorrow’s paper.”

“Wait. What?” she answered.
“Tomorrow’s
paper?
 
What’s really going on
Jerry?”

There was a long pause and finally Jerry spoke. “Okay, the
scheduled feature was pulled at the last moment,” he said. “So, I’m using you
for fill.”

“Oh, so much for the widows and grieving parents,” she
replied sarcastically.

“Well, they’re still out there,” he said. “I just didn’t
care about them as much as I do now.”

“Now that your other story died,” she inserted.

“Yeah, exactly,” he said. “Hey, I’m an editor.
 
I have to be a heartless, cruel bastard. It’s
part of the job description.”

“What was the pulled story?” she asked.

“We were going to run a feature on that old, haunted mansion
on the edge of town,” he said. “But I got the feeling the paper was being used
as a marketing tool for a sketchy business.”

“So someone wanted to use you, instead of you using them?”
Mary asked.

Jerry chuckled. “Yeah, but at least I’m being honest about
it,” he said. “Besides, there’s something about that whole ghosts-for-sale
business that just doesn’t sit right with me.”

Mary nodded. “Yeah, me too,” she replied.
“Unless,
of course, they want to be there.
Like Anna.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and
Mary grinned as she pictured Jerry slowly glancing around the newsroom.
 
Anna Paxton had been the paper’s powerful,
society reporter, and she and Jerry had enjoyed years of mutual
malevolence.
 
And when she died at her
desk, she had decided one lifetime of ill will was not enough.
 
So, she made a point of haunting the
newsroom, especially while Jerry was there alone.

“That wasn’t nice, Mary,” he replied slowly.

She chuckled. “It wasn’t meant to be, Jerry,” she said.

“Okay, I guess I deserved it,” he said. “When can I send the
reporter over?”

Mary looked out her office window and saw one of the young,
cub reporters walking briskly down Main Street towards her office. “You were
pretty sure of yourself,” she said acerbically.

“Damn, she’s already there?” he asked.

“She’s halfway down the block,” Mary replied.

“So, um, the reporter will be there anytime, if that’s good
with you,” Jerry said nonchalantly.

Mary had to chuckle. “Yes, as a matter of fact, that will be
fine,” she said.

“Hey, Mary,” Jerry said.

“Yes, Jerry?”

“Thanks. And I mean it,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” she said. “And tell Anna I said hello next
time you, um, see her.”

“Not funny, O’Reilly,” Jerry replied, his voice dropping.
“Not funny at all.”

After the hour long interview, Mary decided that she deserved
to take the rest of the afternoon off and closed up her office for the
day.
 
She had just locked the door and
was turning toward her car when Stanley walked up to her. “You leaving already,
girlie?” he asked. “
You feeling
okay?”

Mary nodded. “Yes, I’m fine,” she said. “Clarissa and I have
to do some Halloween costume shopping this evening, so I thought I’d get home
early and get dinner ready.”

“
Ain’t
you got old sheets?”
Stanley asked. “Just cut a couple of holes in the middle and she can go as a
ghost.”

Mary shook her head. “Stanley, Halloween is not what it used
to be,” she explained, “especially for girls in grammar school.
 
There’s a lot of peer pressure to be
accepted.”

“Best she
learn
to ignore peer
pressure now, when she’s young,” he replied. “If they don’t like you because
you don’t have the right costume, they were never your friends in the first
place.”

Mary sighed and nodded. “I agree with you in principle, and
in the important things I’m willing to draw the line,” she said. “But there are
some things, like costumes or backpacks or even some clothing
styles, that
are important to let her have so she can be
accepted by her peers. If a cool costume now can help her build her self-esteem
in grammar school, then she will be able to walk away from more difficult
choices later in life.”

“Someday you’re not going to be able to give her what she
wants,” he warned.

“Yes,” she agreed. “And I hope that when that time comes, we
have a strong enough relationship that she’ll understand that I’m on her side
and want what’s best for her.”

Stanley folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on
his heels, thinking about her words for a moment.
 
Finally, he said, “
Keds
.”

“I’m sorry?” Mary asked.

“
Keds
,” he repeated. “I wanted
some
Keds
back when I was a boy.
 
They were the sneakers all the boys wanted and
I wanted them real bad. My dad said he wasn’t going to pay the extra money for
some fancy sneakers when the regular sneakers at the shoe store would do the
job.”

“Did your mom change his mind?” Mary asked.

Stanley slowly shook his head. “No, my dad was pretty set in
his ways about such things,” he said wistfully. “But I never forgot those
Keds
.”

He looked up at her and smiled. “You take her shopping for
the costume she wants,” he said. “And
iffen
you need
a little extra for it, you come see me. Sometimes a child just has to get what
they want.”

Mary leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank
you, Stanley,” she said. “I’ll remember that.”

She turned to the curb and started towards her car.

“When you
gonna
turn that thing
in?” Stanley asked.

Mary looked down at her beloved Roadster and shook her head.
“Soon,” she admitted. “I can barely fit behind the seat anymore.
 
And I know we really need something bigger.”

Stanley chuckled. “Don’t worry, missy,” he replied. “You can
go back to a fancy car once you’ve finished paying for their college.”

She turned towards him and stuck out her tongue. “Thanks a
lot, Stanley,” she complained.

Still laughing, he turned and walked back towards his store.
“Anytime, girlie, anytime.”

The seasonal Halloween store was filled with shoppers
looking for the perfect costume or porch decoration to frighten unsuspecting
trick-or-treaters.
 
Bradley walked over
to a life-sized, animatronic zombie that would bring a giant rat to its face,
then
pull it away, leaving blood and gore displayed around
its mouth.
 
“Cool,” Bradley said, bending
to lift up the price tag.

“Gross,” Mary exclaimed. “That is disgusting.”

He grinned and lifted his eyebrows in delight. “Yeah, it is,
isn’t it?

She laughed and shook her head. “No, we are not going to
have a zombie on our front porch,” she replied. “It will frighten the kids.”

“Okay, not on the porch, but how about next to it?” he
suggested.
“Hiding next to the bushes and then coming to life
when they get near?”

“Bradley, we don’t want children screaming and running for
their lives from our home,” she said.

“But what it we get the good chocolate candy for the trick-or-treaters?”
he coaxed. “If we scare them, we don’t have to share.”

“Bradley,” she said discouragingly, although she had to
admit she was tempted.

“Just think of the Brennan boys’ reactions,” he added.

She shook her head. “They would want to take it home and put
it in their bedroom,” she replied. “And Katie would never speak to us again.”

Bradley wandered to the next display, a coffin that opened
up on its own with a vampire that peered out of it. “How about this one?” he
asked.

Sighing, she shook her head and then laughed. “I’ll tell you
what,” she said. “I’ll go help Clarissa pick out a princess costume, and you
pick out whatever you want to decorate the front porch.”

His smile widened.
“Really?”

“Within reason,” she added, one eyebrow lifted in his
direction.

He grinned and nodded. “Of course, within reason,” he
agreed. “Cool.”

“What is it that turns grown men into children on Halloween?”
she wondered aloud.

“We never grow up,” Mike said as he appeared next to her.
“We just pretend during most of the year, but holidays like Halloween and
Christmas are just too much for us to handle.
 
We simply have to revert.”

Mary smiled. “I’m surprised you aren’t next to Bradley and
the rat-eating zombie.”

Mike’s eyes widened. “They have a rat-eating zombie?” he
asked, looking around the store and finally spying Bradley. “Um, let me know if
you need me, okay?
 
I’m going to help
Bradley.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Mary shook her head and walked over
to where Rosie and Clarissa were deciding which of the popular princess
costumes would look best on the little girl. “I do like this one,” Rosie said,
picking up a costume of ice blue taffeta. “And this tiara would look perfect in
your hair.”

“I like it, too,” Clarissa said, deciding between that one
and the golden one she held in her hand. “But this one’s pretty, too.
 
And I like the songs better from this one.”

Mary placed her hand on Clarissa’s head and gently stroked
her hair. “Sweetheart, it’s your choice,” she said. “Whichever one will make
you happy.”

“Which one
do
you like the best?”
Clarissa asked Mary.

Mary sat down on the floor in front of Clarissa and took her
time studying each costume and accessory, and then finally turned to Clarissa.
“Well, they are both beautiful,” she agreed. “And I think you would look lovely
in either one.” She pointed to the blue one. “This one is more popular because
it’s newer, so lots of girls will probably be wearing it.”
 
Then she pointed to the gold one. “This one
is from an older story, and I agree with you that I like the songs better from
it, too.
 
But, some girls won’t remember
who she is, so you’ll have to remind them.”

With Rosie’s help, Mary stood up and shrugged. “You have to
decide on a classic look or the popular one,” she said.

Clarissa looked back and forth one more time and finally
picked the blue one. “I want to be like the other girls,” she said.

Mary nodded. “Then that one is the perfect choice,” she
said. “Make sure you get the accessories, too. And then we can find out what
your father has picked out.”

“But how about you?”
Clarissa
asked. “We should look for your costume.”

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to find a costume here that
will suit me,” Mary replied.

“Oh, don’t worry about a thing,” Rosie said. “I have a
costume that will be perfect for you.”

“Really?”
Clarissa asked, her eyes
shining. “What is it?”

Rosie shook her head.
“Oh, no.
It’s
a secret and you won’t get to see it until Halloween,” she replied with a
smile. “It will be Mary’s trick.”

Mary glanced at Rosie and whispered, “I refuse to go as a
fruit, vegetable or anything that resembles an egg.”

Laughing, Rosie put her arm around Mary. “As if I would do
that to you,” she said. “No, my dear, you are going to be very glamorous.”

Mary looked down at her protruding belly and shook her head.
“I don’t know what kind of magic you have,” she said. “But I will be amazed if
you can make this body glamorous.”

The room was dark, and the white noise generator was
emitting soft, soothing sounds.
 
Mary had
finished a cup of herbal tea blended specifically for inducing a good night’s
sleep
and was now tucked securely into bed.
 
She pounded her pillow a couple of times and
then sunk into it, breathing in the lavender essential oils she had sprayed on
her pillow case.

“Wow, I didn’t realize there were so many things you had to
do to just go to sleep,” Bradley commented as he sat up against the headboard
and watched her.

“Well, I’m trying the lucid dreaming tonight, so I want to
be completely relaxed,” she said.

He wagged his eyebrows suggestively at her. “I have some
suggestions about helping you relax,” he said, sliding under the covers and
wrapping his arms around her.

She rolled over so she was facing him, slipped her arms
around his neck, snuggled close and yawned. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she apologized
earnestly. “Really, it’s not you. I guess all this other stuff really works.”

He nuzzled the side of her neck. “Want me to see if I can
counteract the other stuff?” he whispered, tracing kisses down her neck and
along her collarbone.

She moaned softly, nodded, and then yawned again. “Yes,” she
said in the middle of another yawn. “But, if you don’t mind, I’m just going to
close my eyes. I just can’t seem to keep them open.”

“Challenge accepted,” he murmured, softly stroking her back
as he continued to trail kisses along her jawbone and whispered in her ear.
“You are so beautiful. Your skin is so soft and silky. I love to run my hands
along
your
…”

He stopped kissing her, sat up a little in the bed and
looked down on his wife.
 
Her eyes were
closed. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was breathing rhythmically and
snoring softly.
 
“Challenge lost,” he
chuckled softly, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. He
layed
back on his
pillow,
pulled her gently into his arms
and held her. “Okay, Mary, go on your dream journey and I’ll take care of
things here,” he whispered.

She smiled in her sleep and snuggled a little closer to him.

Mary looked all around
the old building she was walking through.
 
She was surprised she could think analytically in her sleep. “Okay,
let’s test some things out,” she thought.

She walked up to one
of the doors in the hall and placed her hand on the old, crystal doorknob and
tried to turn it.
 
But the doorknob
didn’t budge.
 
She clasped the doorknob
tighter, but all she felt was her own hand. “Come on,” she urged and tried
again. She started to feel the facets of crystal in her palm, but the feeling
was quickly lost.

“Okay, maybe this is
too advanced for me,” she decided and continued down the dark hallway.

A dark shadow whisked
past her on her left side and she quickly turned towards it. “Wait,” she
called, breaking into a run.

The shadow darted down
a corridor on the other side; she caught a glimpse of it from the corner of her
eye. Her heart leapt and she jumped around the other way. “Okay, calm down,”
she told herself, purposely taking deep, calming breaths. “You’re reacting, not
being in control.”

Looking around, she
realized the corridor ahead of her looked familiar. “Are you the corridor of my
dreams?” she joked and chuckled to herself, calming her pounding heart even
further. Stepping forward, she noticed that her movements were slow and
lethargic. “What’s going on?” she asked as she tried to force her body to speed
up her movements. She concentrated on her movements, but it didn’t help. She
was moving like she was walking through a vat of molasses.

“Okay, Gracie,” she
said aloud. “How am I supposed to deal with this?”

“Girl, you are
overthinking things.”
 
Gracie’s voice
startled her, and Mary jumped when she found Gracie standing next to her.

“How did you get
here?” Mary asked.

“Didn’t I tell you? This
is your dream,” Gracie said shaking her head. “You’re in charge. You wanted me
to be here, so here I am.”

“How cool is that?”
Mary said.

“Yeah, but you better
not make me lose any of my sleep,” Gracie added, folding her arms across her
chest and raising her eyebrows slightly. “You know how I can be when I’m
cranky.”

Mary grinned at her
friend. “I’ll get you back as soon as I can,” she said. “So, what am I doing
wrong?”

“When you walk down
the street and you want to walk faster, what do you do?” Gracie asked.

Mary shook her head.
“I’m sorry?” she asked.

“Are you going to make
me repeat everything I ask?” her friend demanded.

“No, just this part,”
Mary replied.

“When you walk down
the street and you want to walk faster, what do you do?” she repeated.

Mary thought about it
for a moment and then shrugged. “I don’t know. I just walk faster,” she said.
“I don’t really think about it.”

Gracie smiled and
nodded slowly. “Exactly,” she said. “Good night, Mary.”

“Wait! What?” Mary
called after Gracie’s disappearing form. “I don’t think I understand.”

Staring at the spot
that used to be her friend, Mary shook her head and threw her hands up in the
air. “I wasn’t ready for you to go,” she shouted. “I really didn’t understand
the answer.”

She turned and looked
down the passageway. “I’m really getting tired of this dream,” she said aloud,
and then she hurried down the corridor.
 
After a few steps, she stopped and looked down at her feet. “I’m going
fast,” she said in awe and nodded slowly. “And I wasn’t thinking about it.
 
I was just doing it. Brilliant.”

She continued down the
corridor and spotted the doorway that shrunk when she encountered it.
 
She placed a hand on the doorknob and pulled.
But nothing happened.
 
She twisted it and
pulled again.
Nothing again.
 
“I’m over-thinking it,” she decided, so she
stepped away from the door, looked around the corridor and started whistling
nonchalantly.
 
Then she quickly turned
back, grabbed the door knob and twisted.
Still nothing.

“This not thinking is
a lot harder than it appears,” she said.

Then she heard the
sound of a child’s cry coming from the other side of the door and she forgot
all about lucid dreaming.
 
She had to
save the child.
 
She grabbed hold of the
doorknob with both hands, bracing one foot on the wall alongside the door, and
tugged with all her might. The baby continued to scream and Mary pounded on the
door. “Let me in,” she cried.

The door started to
get smaller and she frantically kicked and pounded to try and get inside.
“Please, please!” she screamed. “Let me in.
 
She needs me.”

Mary woke up with a start and gulped in air, her body
shaking. “It’s all right, sweetheart,” Bradley’s soothing voice whispered into
her ear. “You’re safe.
 
I’m here. Nothing
can hurt you.”

She inhaled another ragged breath and cuddled closer to him.
“I didn’t quite master lucid dreaming,” she confessed. “And I’m a little teed
off at Gracie for her attitude.”

Bradley lifted his head and looked down at her. “Gracie?” he
asked.

“Yeah,” she replied, yawning once again as her exhaustion
set in. “Just a little bit of advice. Don’t interrupt her when she’s sleeping.”

She closed her eyes and went back to sleep, leaving a
slightly confused Bradley looking down on her. Finally, he shrugged, bent over
and kissed her lips. “Pleasant dreams, sweetheart,” he said, laying his head on
his pillow and holding her close to his heart.