by Davis Bunn
Jacob said, “This is a definable issue. Portugal has made no such claim.”
“We need to go public immediately,” Rachel agreed.
“If this announcement is made and then the Portuguese government does as the dream predicts,” Jacob said, “we have concrete, definable proof.”
Elena waited until she was sure both were done, then asked, “Where do the dreams come from?”
Jacob seemed genuinely confused by her question. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“It is a vital issue. It is also something both of you are doing your best to avoid looking at. What is the dreams’ source?”
Rachel demanded, “You want me to say this is God at work?”
“I want you to confront the question. I can’t tell you what your answer should be. But the subject needs to be addressed.”
“You can’t imagine what you’re asking.” Rachel’s voice carried a rough anger. “You have no idea.”
“I knew Miriam. I know your family’s past,” Elena replied. “Rachel, we are talking about piercing the veil of time and looking beyond. This is not humanly possible. What does this leave us with?”
When the response was a tense silence, Jacob said, “The question has kept me up all night. My patient called me at one in the morning with this latest dream. Two of the other clinicians called before dawn. Between that first call and the others, I did not sleep. I was too busy wrestling with this very issue.”
“And?”
“And I don’t know. But I agree, there is at least the possibility that you are right. That some divine power is at work, and we need to acknowledge this.”
Elena gave that a moment, wanting Rachel to insert herself. But when Rachel responded, it was to ask, “Are you suggesting this isn’t a real crisis? That there’s something even bigger going on?”
“I’m saying I don’t know. Because God hasn’t spoken to me. Or, as far as I can tell, to anyone else involved here.”
Jacob said slowly, “If we ask for God’s interpreter to come forward, we’ll be the laughingstock of the entire world.”
“Daniel went before the king, who had pledged to kill anyone who gave the wrong message. He faced certain death, and yet he did as he was told.” Elena had never felt more sure of anything in her entire life. “If God intends for us to receive a message, he will make it known in an unmistakable fashion.”
“So, you’re saying we shouldn’t go public?”
“No,” Elena replied. “I’m saying we shouldn’t pretend to know more than we do. Or take on a greater role than God gives us.”
• • •
Elena went down to the condo’s health club to work out. She would have preferred to go for a run, but the sky was turning black again and she did not want to be caught out. Plus there was the ragged-edged memory of the attack in Miami. She felt safe here inside the gates, with the security guard on constant duty. Out there, running in the open, was a risk she was not ready to take.
As she left her condo and crossed the central grounds, the air was thick and close with coming rain. Elena surprised herself by how little the Florida weather bothered her. After nine cool English summers, she would have expected to wilt like a hothouse rose. But she loved the violent showers, at least when she wasn’t caught behind the wheel. The sunsets were a daily display that stopped traffic. Even the hurricane growing beyond the Antilles sparked her daily routine.
Her phone rang just as she reentered the condominium. She checked the readout and answered with “Yes, Jacob.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine. I just got back from my complex’s gym.”
“Oh. Well.” He cleared his throat. “Rachel and I have talked. She wants to set up a different sort of press conference for tomorrow. We can use their comm link to bring all the dreamers at once. And have them together describe this latest warning.”
“Some of them won’t want to disclose their identities.”
“We’ve discussed this. We will explain the intention, and give them the choice. Those who want to remain anonymous can keep their cameras blocked.”
Jacob hesitated then, so Elena finished for him. “Rachel wants me to officiate.”
“We both do. Yes.”
“And she doesn’t want me to mention God.”
“She wants to maintain a professional balance. But we both feel we need someone to address the dreams with the national recognition and authority that you bring.”
Elena wondered how Daniel would have handled such a request. Or Isaiah. She said a quick prayer, then said, “All right. When does she want this to take place?”
“Tomorrow morning at eight. Before the New York markets open.”
“I’ll be there.”
• • •
After dinner, Elena was watching the evening news when the phone rang. She waited until the worried newscaster had described the world’s fearful wait for the markets to reopen Monday morning, then answered, “Hello?”
Vicki Ferrell, her editor, said, “I couldn’t wait another minute to hear if the lizard had shed his skin.”
“So much has happened,” Elena said.
“Tell me about it. Is that the news I hear?”
Elena cut off the television. “Yes.”
“Does the handsome Dr. Rawlings play a role in whatever is going on down there?”
Elena rose from the sofa and carried the phone out to the balcony. Beyond the screen and the buzzing insects, the dusk-clad waters rippled softly against the moored boats.
“Elena, are you there?”
“I was just wondering,” Elena replied, “whether I should tell you.”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“No, Vicki. No joke.”
“I’m your editor. Of course you should tell me. You have to tell me everything. It’s in your contract. If it isn’t, it should be.”
So Elena did. Starting with the first dream and moving through the entire process. To the final dream, the issue of where the dreams originated, the planned newscast.
When she finished, Vicki was silent a moment, then said, “I can’t believe I missed your press conference. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with—”
“With what? Your book? Your career? Girl, get real.”
Elena had no idea how to respond, so she remained silent.
“I hope you’re taking careful notes. Because when this is over, you are going to write me a new megahit.”
“Good night, Vicki.”
“And have them make you copies of all your press conferences from now on. I’m serious, Elena. My nose is itching. And I’ve got the best nose for a hit in the city. Ask anybody.”
13
When Elena emerged from her condo early the next morning, she noticed a tall man strolling past the guard station. The road beyond her complex connected with a boatyard and the Merritt Island drawbridge. He could have been going anywhere. But the man looked oddly familiar, as though Elena had glimpsed him before. As she drove through the gates, she stopped and searched in every direction. But the man was nowhere to be seen.
The SuenaMed guards must have been instructed to announce her arrival, because Rachel Lamprey emerged from the elevators before Elena had received her visitor’s badge. “Thank you for coming.”
“I’m still not sure it’s the right thing.”
“It is.” Rachel’s firm response brooked no argument. “Jacob phoned to say his plane was late. I’ve sent a car to collect him. They’re still setting up for the conference. We have a few minutes; why don’t we grab a coffee.”
The executive dining facilities overlooked an interior garden. A pair of fountains played over bronze sculptures fashioned from the company’s name and logo. Directors gathered at other tables paused their discussions to inspect them. Elena felt as though her body vibrated to an unwanted frequency. The last thing she needed was for coffee to further jangle her nerves. Sh
e took tea and toast and hoped she would be able to keep them down.
Rachel seated herself at the table’s opposite side. She was dressed in a suit of knitted gray silk. “I’m glad you’re here. You bring a level of professionalism to this entire process.”
“You’re the one who looks the professional. You could take center position as well as me. Or better.”
“I look like what I am: a senior corporate executive,” Rachel said. “Anyone who saw me up there would look for ulterior motives.”
Elena sipped her tea, picked up the toast, but decided it would just sit in her stomach like a stone. “I’m wondering the same thing.”
Rachel had the same strong features as her departed sister, Miriam. Elena’s former friend had spiced her every word with traces of her Middle Eastern heritage. Rachel’s diction was perfect, her every word calculated. Only the intelligent dark eyes and the elegant poise spoke of a heritage from beyond these shores. “My motives are simple enough. Trevor Tenning, SuenaMed’s CEO, is both my mentor and my close personal friend. Trevor is like a lot of people at the top. He has few people he can trust with the worst. He cannot afford to look vulnerable.”
“Or insane,” Elena added.
“I might have wondered about that,” Rachel confessed. “Had our clinical test subject not reported the very same dream.”
“Speaking of which, have you found him?”
Her expression turned intensely grave. “No, and his absence haunts my nights. I can’t help but fear that our drug or my interview might have somehow played a role in this.”
“I’d say that was unlikely, given how he’s the only SuenaMed test case who has had such experiences.” Elena hesitated, then added, “I think Miriam would agree.”
“How can you say such a thing? Miriam never approved of any decision I made or any action I took.”
Elena met the flashing dark gaze straight on. “She would of this. She was very loyal to her friends, and respected this in others. She called it one of the few opportunities most people were given to ever step beyond their own self-interests and serve a higher cause.”
Rachel blinked fiercely. “I positively loathed everything to do with Miriam’s fixation on dreams.”
“It was not a fixation,” Elena retorted. “And dreams were not the central point. Not at all.”
“When Trevor came to me with this problem, I almost told him to go somewhere else. I wanted to put him in contact with you and wash my hands of the whole affair.”
“You did the right thing,” Elena said. “Trevor is lucky to have you as a friend.”
“I have spent my entire life charting my own course, fighting against my family’s heritage. You cannot imagine how women were treated in my culture.”
Elena decided to change the subject. “How is your daughter? I’m sorry, I don’t remember her name; I only met her that one time at Miriam’s funeral.”
“Penelope lives in New York. She’s been there about a year, ever since her boyfriend gave up acting and they moved back from LA. We talk. Not enough. I try to see her when I am in town. Things with Penny are . . . difficult.”
“And your husband?”
“Ex. Boston. Surgeon. Teaches at BU. He’s as worried about Penny and her aimless existence as I am. Can we talk about something else?”
“Of course.” Elena leaned across the table and asked softly, “Are you having me watched?”
“What?”
“I keep seeing people who look vaguely familiar. Last night there was a pair of fishermen moored near my condo. I thought I’d seen one of them walking around the university campus. Then this morning I recognized a man strolling past my condo’s front gates. I think he was the other man on that boat.”
Rachel flushed. “I specifically ordered them to stay out of sight. I hired that agency because they are supposed to be discreet.”
“They are. For the most part. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was worried that you would order me to stop. But I can’t just allow you to go around unprotected. Not after that attack in Miami. Trevor agrees. We’re responsible for getting you involved.”
“Is Jacob also being protected?”
“Well, yes. Are you going to tell him?”
“I think one of us should.”
“You do it, then.”
“All right.” Elena studied the woman across the table from her. Everything about Rachel was in carefully refined order. “Why are you doing this? I don’t mean helping your friend. I mean doing so publicly.”
She responded with customary irritation. “Isn’t that obvious? Besides the fact that my mentor and friend asked me, I’m in the business of healing. The world is sick. If there is a chance I can do anything to avert this crisis, I will. Even if it means—”
“Losing control of your own personal situation,” Elena finished for her. Elena decided she would probably never be this woman’s friend. She doubted Rachel had many real friends. But she could most certainly work with her. “I understand.”
“I . . .” Rachel stopped because Reginald Pierce’s shadow fell upon the table.
Reginald smiled a greeting to Elena, then said, “It’s time.”
• • •
When the makeup lady finished with Elena’s face and hair, Elena was ushered back into the same lecture hall they had used the previous time. Only now the rows of padded folding chairs were almost all occupied. The rear of the room was jammed with television lights and cameras and sound equipment. The press observed her entrance with a cynical eye and talked loudly among themselves. A sound technician fitted her with a microphone and transmitter, then led her onstage.
The crystal podium had been moved to one side. Opposite it was a narrow table covered by a white cloth, fronting two leather chairs. Jacob Rawlings had swiveled his around so a makeup lady could powder his face. He winced a welcome at Elena and said, “They want me to join you.”
“I think it’s an excellent idea.”
“I wish I shared your confidence.”
“You are known as a skeptic. Your presence will mean a lot.” Elena settled into the chair beside him. “Not to mention steady my nerves.”
The drapes behind the stage had been drawn back to reveal a wall of flat screens. Five of the oversize monitors showed faces. The others held a bright blue backdrop with a city and country written in white script. Elena counted the screens and said, “Fifteen dreamers, counting me and Tenning?”
“Four more have been confirmed over the weekend. I have personally checked them out.”
“They’ve all had the third dream?”
A woman’s voice resonated from speakers overhead and to either side, “Fifteen of us have had the same experience?”
Jacob said softly, “My patient.”
Elena recalled the woman’s name, and replied, “Agatha, can you hear me?”
“Perfectly.”
“It would be helpful if you would allow us to show your face.”
“That cannot happen,” the woman replied crisply.
“All right. But if any of you others feel you might be willing to reveal yourselves, it can only help.” Elena waited, but all of the screens remained blue. She added, “We are all here for the same purpose. To confirm a warning that has come to us through these dreams.”
To her astonishment, the one screen that switched from blue to a live feed revealed the face of United States Senator Mario Suarez. A murmur swept through the room. Suarez glared angrily at them from his position atop the rear wall and said, “This is going to destroy me.”
“It is a risk we are all taking, sir,” Jacob replied.
Mario glared not at the journalists but at the other blank screens. “Trevor, you can only hide out there for so long.”
The only response was confusion from the faces on the other screens.
Senator Suarez snorted. “Coward.”
“No one has called me that, not in forty-seven years.”
“Well, then.”
> The face of SuenaMed’s CEO flashed onto the screen. He scowled at Mario Suarez and said, “Senator, you just lost my support.”
Elena turned back to the astonished journalists and the glaring television lights. “I think we can begin now.”
• • •
Elena allowed the questions to continue for almost an hour, until all the major issues had been covered and the journalists began repeating themselves. She then rose and firmly concluded the conference. While people were still milling about afterward, Elena excused herself and slipped out the doors. Rachel caught up with her by the elevators. “Where are you going?”
“I have a class to teach this afternoon.”
“But we’re not done here!”
“I am.”
Rachel waved back at the gathered journalists. “There are fourteen dreamers online who need your guidance.”
“My response is the same as when we spoke on the phone. I can act as spokesperson for what has happened. But I cannot offer anything else unless I feel divinely guided.”
Rachel flushed. “I wish you wouldn’t insist upon bringing your God into this.”
“Our God,” Elena corrected. “From my perspective, there is no alternative.”
“But these people need you.”
“Again, I must respectfully disagree.”
Jacob pushed through the conference doors, spotted them, and rushed over. “You’re leaving?”
“I have to hurry back if I’m to make my afternoon class.”
“Can I come with you? I have to get back to Atlanta. But I can fly from Melbourne as easy as from here.”
Rachel was incensed. “Both of you are leaving?”
“I have professional responsibilities, just like you.” Elena had an idea. “Can you set up a conference link and feed it to my computer?”
“I suppose . . .”
“If you want me to speak with the others, why not arrange an online conference call for tomorrow morning.” Elena halted further argument by stepping into the elevator.
When the doors shut on Rachel’s irritated expression, Jacob asked, “Would you rather I not come with you?”