pitch, she noticed a woman standing beside the door. The woman’s voice was eerily calm. She spoke in a soft cadence, totally disconnected from what surrounded her.
“Keep your place in line,” the woman chanted. “One person at a time through the door. Take your time. There is soup enough for everyone.”
Two stone buildings formed the cavern that trapped her. Both walls held billboards covered with the same newspaper headline. The boards read GLOBAL STOCK MARKETS NOSEDIVE .
The closer Elena came to that awful door, the more certain she became. The woman’s words were a lie. There wasn’t enough. There never would be again.
• • •
Jacob ended the call just as four liveried attendants placed a set of miniature stairs by the fountain’s edge and unfurled a narrow red carpet. He watched askance as the ducks waddled down the stairs and paraded across the carpet. Mothers and daughters cooed as the ducks entered the elevator. A sign was placed by the fountain, saying that the ducks had gone in for their afternoon naps.
Jacob returned to their table and said, “Did that just happen?”
“Every day, apparently.”
He swept a copper-blond strand from his forehead. “This meeting certainly holds a surreal edge.”
“Who was that on the phone?”
As soon as she had finished relating her dream, Jacob had leapt to his feet, excused himself, taken his phone from his pocket, and started pacing. Jacob replied, “My patient.”
“The Federal Reserve bank board member?”
“The same.” He swept his forehead again, only this time there was no hair out of place. He did not notice. “Her name is Agatha Hune. She was referred to me three years ago with a stress-related disorder. She attended counseling sessions for six months. I consider her a friend. The woman is extremely intelligent, well balanced, with an honest perspective on life and her issues. As you can imagine, this whole situation has been extremely distressing.”
Something in the way he spoke led Elena to surmise, “She has had the same dream, hasn’t she? The second one.”
Jacob’s response was halted by the ringing of his phone. He glanced at the readout and said, “I need to take this.”
“Go ahead.”
He took one step away and turned his back to her, but only for a moment. When he turned back around, his gaze held the same frantic edge Elena had seen in the mirror that morning.
Jacob shut the phone and said, “That was my closest friend from university. Bob Meadows is a clinical psychologist in Miami.”
The tense way he spoke those words told her all she needed to know. “There’s been another dreamer, hasn’t there.”
Jacob nodded. “For the first time in my professional career, I have no idea what to do next.”
7
R achel Lamprey’s call came while they waited for Elena’s car to be brought around. Rain fell in silver sheets from the hotel’s overhang. There was no wind, not a breath. Though the day was still warm, the mist gave off a chilling taste. From somewhere beyond the liquid curtain, lightning flashed and thunder rolled.
Rachel had to shout to be heard. “Where are you?”
“Orlando. But we’re—”
“Excellent! I’ve just landed in New York. I have a meeting here in the first-class lounge, then I’m due back into Orlando around nine tonight. Can we meet?”
“I’m headed to Miami.”
“What on earth for?”
The woman’s sharp tone surprised Elena. It shouldn’t have; Elena had noted the bossy edge lurking beneath Rachel’s polished surface. But she had assumed she was protected from Rachel’s wrath. Elena replied, “Jacob’s site has received a new hit. A psychiatrist in Miami has a new patient who has experienced both dreams.” Elena realized she had not mentioned the latestexperience, and added, “Last night I had another dream. It has struck all the others as well. Jacob was confirming this—”
“I know all about the second dream,” Rachel
“Keep your place in line,” the woman chanted. “One person at a time through the door. Take your time. There is soup enough for everyone.”
Two stone buildings formed the cavern that trapped her. Both walls held billboards covered with the same newspaper headline. The boards read GLOBAL STOCK MARKETS NOSEDIVE .
The closer Elena came to that awful door, the more certain she became. The woman’s words were a lie. There wasn’t enough. There never would be again.
• • •
Jacob ended the call just as four liveried attendants placed a set of miniature stairs by the fountain’s edge and unfurled a narrow red carpet. He watched askance as the ducks waddled down the stairs and paraded across the carpet. Mothers and daughters cooed as the ducks entered the elevator. A sign was placed by the fountain, saying that the ducks had gone in for their afternoon naps.
Jacob returned to their table and said, “Did that just happen?”
“Every day, apparently.”
He swept a copper-blond strand from his forehead. “This meeting certainly holds a surreal edge.”
“Who was that on the phone?”
As soon as she had finished relating her dream, Jacob had leapt to his feet, excused himself, taken his phone from his pocket, and started pacing. Jacob replied, “My patient.”
“The Federal Reserve bank board member?”
“The same.” He swept his forehead again, only this time there was no hair out of place. He did not notice. “Her name is Agatha Hune. She was referred to me three years ago with a stress-related disorder. She attended counseling sessions for six months. I consider her a friend. The woman is extremely intelligent, well balanced, with an honest perspective on life and her issues. As you can imagine, this whole situation has been extremely distressing.”
Something in the way he spoke led Elena to surmise, “She has had the same dream, hasn’t she? The second one.”
Jacob’s response was halted by the ringing of his phone. He glanced at the readout and said, “I need to take this.”
“Go ahead.”
He took one step away and turned his back to her, but only for a moment. When he turned back around, his gaze held the same frantic edge Elena had seen in the mirror that morning.
Jacob shut the phone and said, “That was my closest friend from university. Bob Meadows is a clinical psychologist in Miami.”
The tense way he spoke those words told her all she needed to know. “There’s been another dreamer, hasn’t there.”
Jacob nodded. “For the first time in my professional career, I have no idea what to do next.”
7
R achel Lamprey’s call came while they waited for Elena’s car to be brought around. Rain fell in silver sheets from the hotel’s overhang. There was no wind, not a breath. Though the day was still warm, the mist gave off a chilling taste. From somewhere beyond the liquid curtain, lightning flashed and thunder rolled.
Rachel had to shout to be heard. “Where are you?”
“Orlando. But we’re—”
“Excellent! I’ve just landed in New York. I have a meeting here in the first-class lounge, then I’m due back into Orlando around nine tonight. Can we meet?”
“I’m headed to Miami.”
“What on earth for?”
The woman’s sharp tone surprised Elena. It shouldn’t have; Elena had noted the bossy edge lurking beneath Rachel’s polished surface. But she had assumed she was protected from Rachel’s wrath. Elena replied, “Jacob’s site has received a new hit. A psychiatrist in Miami has a new patient who has experienced both dreams.” Elena realized she had not mentioned the latestexperience, and added, “Last night I had another dream. It has struck all the others as well. Jacob was confirming this—”
“I know all about the second dream,” Rachel
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