Hidden in Dreams

by Davis Bunn

  That night they all gathered for a final dinner. Jacob was flying back to Atlanta the next day. Bob Meadows was going with him, to offer friendship and comfort and to help with patients that Jacob was not yet ready to meet. Dorothy’s daughter had arrived from Minneapolis and remained close to her mother’s side. Rachel Lamprey was silent and regal and shaken to her core, and ate almost nothing. They filled the formal dining room. Reed and Stacy served, refusing all offers of help. Elena sat facing the portrait of Stacy’s mother. Her eyes were repeatedly drawn back to the painting. She hoped the woman’s smile was meant at least in part to welcome her.

  After dinner they gathered in the parlor and watched the news coverage of a severely chastened Trevor Tenning being led into custody. This was followed by a press conference held by Mario Suarez, who now served as head of the Senate Banking and Finance Committee.

  For once, the senator met the gathered press without his customary rage. “The crisis masterminded by out-of-control banks has been diverted. Our task is to ensure these institutions never again are in a position to overthrow the democratic process.”

  As the interview wound down, Reed said, “I spoke with Agatha this afternoon. They’ll be going after convictions, but slowly. The first goal is to stabilize the markets and assure there will be no destructive repercussions. The last thing we want is a financial meltdown.”

  They closed the evening with prayer. Rachel did not speak, but neither did she draw back when the people to either side reached for her hands. Twice Elena opened her eyes to find the woman’s dark gaze glittering in the room’s comforting glow, staring at something only she could see.

  The evening farewells lingered quite a while. Outside the open doorway, the first squall rushed through, lashing the pavement with wind and rain. Jacob held Elena long enough for the sleeves of her dress to become damp. “Will I ever stop being afraid?”

  “Soon,” she replied, hoping it would be true for them both. “You know you can call me anytime. Day or night.”

  Bob Meadows waited until Jacob had run to the car before saying, “You’ll probably need therapy to work through all this.”

  “I am well aware of this, Bob.”

  “I’m just saying, I’d consider it an honor to help out. I have several long-distance patients. Sessions via videoconference work well enough in their cases.”

  She embraced him a second time. “You’re a good friend.”

  Rachel Lamprey was the last to depart. She stood behind the others, well inside the front foyer. Her dark eyes were trapped within deep hollows, as though she had not slept at all since the night she had spent searching the former lab director’s basement. She stared at the rain and the night with abject defeat.

  Elena asked Reed to shut the door and took Rachel by the arm. She guided the SuenaMed executive over to a bench by the wall. It was antique oak and not very comfortable, something intended as a decorative item. Elena did not mind. She did not think Rachel even noticed.

  Elena said, “I want you to think about something.”

  Rachel did not speak. Her gaze remained held by whatever she saw beyond the closed door.

  “This is very important.”

  Rachel’s eyes gradually tracked over. “Can you ever forgive me?”

  “For what? You did only what you thought was right. And best. For your company, for us, and for the world.”

  “And I got everything wrong.”

  “We all did. We let them use us. Me, you, a United States senator, leaders from around the globe. They duped us. It was a brilliant scam. And they almost pulled it off.”

  “Because of me.”

  “No, Rachel.” Despite two days of almost continuous rest, Elena still had very little energy. But she put as much as she could into saying, “If it weren’t for you, they would have won.”

  Rachel blinked slowly. Elena saw the words register. She went on, “And your company still needs you.”

  This pushed her back hard against the wall. “What?”

  “Think about it. SuenaMind is still a huge discovery.”

  “You can’t be serious. What about the side effects?”

  “Remember what you found in the scientist’s notes? SuenaMind by itself is utterly safe. It is only when taken with another drug that it has this impact on the dream state. You and I both know doctors can be advised to monitor patients and additives can be inserted to negate these joint effects.”

  “But . . .” She tasted several responses. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this. Or ever will be.”

  “What if I were to help you?”

  She looked at Elena then. Really looked. “You would do this? Come to work with us?”

  “As a consultant. Absolutely. Think about it. We have a drug that, when combined with other substances, actually has the power to influence the most basic components of the human psyche. This isn’t simply going to vanish because of one group’s attempt to manipulate human events. We have to study this, channel it, and determine how it can be used for good. I can name you half a dozen clinical issues, where there is currently no treatment at all, that could potentially be resolved with this compound.”

  “I—I’ll think about it.”

  “Good. Let’s talk tomorrow.” She steadied Rachel as she rose to her feet. “Promise me you’ll try to get some rest.”

  She walked with Rachel to where Reed held the door open. As they embraced, Elena whispered, “Miriam would be very proud of you.”

  34

  Her good-nights with Reed and Stacy were as warm as they were easy. There was more than closeness between them. It was as if they had already decided to make Elena a permanent part of their home and their lives. While she appreciated the sentiment more than she could say, Elena knew she was going to have to relocate the next day. Nice as it was, she could not afford to let Reed become the brunt of unfounded rumor.

  Especially since she hoped one day to move back in here. Permanently.

  Elena remained downstairs in the kitchen and listened to them move about upstairs, preparing for bed. She was tired in the manner of needing far more than one night’s rest. A solitary light burned over the stove, casting the room in a soft glow. She was seated at the table by the bay windows, her back to the storm, looking over a kitchen that she hoped would one day be her own. Beyond the light’s reach was the doorway leading to the front rooms, where another woman stood in regal solitude, overseeing her former domain. Elena offered a swift prayer that she would be found worthy of helping to raise that precious child, and share love with this good man.

  Her eyelids were growing heavy, but there was one more thing that needed doing to make the day complete. She picked up her cell phone and hit redial by the one number that had called her every day since the adventure had begun.

  Elena greeted Vicki Ferrell, her New York editor, with “I hope I’m not calling too late.”

  “Girl, I’ve been waiting for this call with bated breath. What kind of author and friend leaves her editor dangling like this?”

  “I’ve been a little busy.”

  “When you stopped showing up for the conferences, I panicked. Then when this thing started blowing up, I panicked some more.” Vicki Ferrell paused, then asked, “How are you, really?”

  “Really, I’m good and getting better.”

  “What happened down there, girl?”

  “That’s why I’m calling.” Elena stared out beyond the kitchen and the haven of this home, out past the night and the storm. She looked beyond even tomorrow, out to a day where she could walk with ease and breathe freely and know her nightmares were well and truly behind her. Bob Meadows was right. Given everything she had experienced, the only way this could happen would be through some form of therapy. Laying it all out, in utter honesty, and examining it through the lenses of truth and prayer.

  “Elena, are you still there?”

  “I’m here.” She took a long breath. “I’m ready to write my new book.”

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTH
OR

  The research that went into the making of this book covers almost my entire adult life. Strands from many different segments of my past have become woven together in these pages.

  My undergraduate studies took place at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, my home state. I earned a BA in two entirely different fields: economics and psychology. Following this, I traveled to London, where I studied for a Master of Science in international finance. There I continued to feed my fascination about the human mind, by doing further studies in industrial psychology.

  Following a year when I lectured at a Swiss university, I was hired by a pharmaceutical company. They specialized in what are known as generics, or drugs that have lost their patent protection and thus can be made by anyone. It is a highly competitive field, and I loved the work. We were one of the largest suppliers of antibiotics to Africa and the Middle East, and I traveled more than I stayed at home. Eventually I was promoted to the position of marketing manager. I stayed with them for four years.

  I then accepted a position as director of the European operations of a business advisory group. We were based in Düsseldorf, Germany, and operated in eleven countries. In my second year, I came to faith. Two weeks later, I began writing. I can still remember the almost ferocious intensity of that moment, when I genuinely heard the call of God. It is with such humble gratitude that I sit here now, twenty years later, and look back at the incredible path my life has taken since that day. It was far from easy or straightforward—I wrote for nine years and completed seven novels before my first was accepted for publication. But the sense of selfless joy I discovered in those early days has only intensified over the years.

  If readers are interested in more details about how I came to be where I am, and what went into the formation of this book, they are invited to visit my website at www.DavisBunn.com.

  READING GROUP GUIDE

  Introduction

  Just when the world’s foremost expert on dream analysis, Dr. Elena Burroughs, thinks she is getting her life back under control after losing her position at Oxford University and the man she hoped to fall in love with, she is approached by Rachel Lamprey, the product manager of an innovative new ADHD treatment about to hit the market. Rachel asks for Elena’s help with a clinical trial participant who has had a disturbing dream foretelling a cataclysmic global financial collapse. But even more alarming is the fact that fifteen people scattered across the globe—including Elena herself—begin to experience the same repetitive, devastating dreams of economic ruin just as one bank crisis follows another, suggesting that these aren’t merely dreams.

  As Elena searches for answers in her professional networks, she is forced to form an unlikely alliance with one of her most vehement critics and is drawn back into the spotlight as the public face of the so-called dreamers. Elena and her collaborators must race against the clock to find the connection between the dreams and the very real events threatening a financial meltdown. It’s no longer about just dreams: it’s about survival.

  Topics & Questions for Discussion

  1. Would you help a woman like Rachel when she first comes to Elena for help with her test subject? What questions would you ask her before proceeding? Do you trust her?

  2. What kind of role did the Florida landscape play in the novel? How does the weather reflect the turmoil the characters are experiencing?

  3. How would you react if you experienced one of these terrible dreams? How would you react when you found out that others had the exact same dream?

  4. How does Reed serve as a spiritual guide for Elena? Do you think she needs his guidance?

  5. Elena is drawn into the public eye in Davis Bunn’s novel, Book of Dreams, and is forced back into the spotlight in this sequel, Hidden in Dreams. Have you ever been forced or called to do something against your own intuition or choice? What did you do?

  6. While Jacob’s faith journey is just beginning, his skepticism starts to fade as even he can no longer deny the existence of a guiding force in the world. What do you think changes him?

  7. Writing is said to be the “cheapest form of therapy.” Is Elena right to agree to write a second book about her experiences?

  8. How do the fears of a global financial crisis resonate with current headlines and your own personal experiences? Did any of the scenes or descriptions in Hidden in Dreams particularly resonate with you?

  9. Have you ever had a dream that significantly affected you? Do you typically remember your dreams?

  10. Which character did you connect with most? Which character do you share the most similar behaviors or traits with?

  11. Elena and Stacy form a pseudo mother-daughter relationship. How does their relationship evolve? Do you think Elena is a good role model for Stacy? Is Stacy a role model herself for Elena?

  12. Elena says, “At its best, religion is a matter of creating an earthly structure in which to express the wonder of connecting with the divine. At its worst, religion seeks to fit God into a safe and comfortable little box.” Do you agree with Elena’s statement? Why or why not? Do any other characters offer a different perspective on religion in the novel?

  Enhance Your Book Club

  1. Experiment with keeping a dream journal. Keep your journal next to your bed and record your dreams as soon as you wake up each morning. Dreams fade quickly, so it is important to write them down soon after you awaken! Look for interesting patterns or themes as you record more dreams and share them with your book club members. For help with decoding your dreams, visit www.DreamMoods.com or www.TheCuriousDreamer.com.

  2. If you haven’t already, go back to the start of Elena Burroughs’s journey in the public eye by reading Book of Dreams, the prequel to Hidden in Dreams. Discuss the differences between the two books and how Elena has grown as a character.

  3. Find out more about the author by visiting www.DavisBunn.com. Discover more about Davis’s upcoming projects and discuss with other readers in the web forums. If you submit a review of Hidden in Dreams, it might be chosen to be shared on Davis’s blog!

  We hope you enjoyed reading this Howard Books eBook.

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