Her Mistaken Dream

by Brenda Barrett

"So it's that serious, huh?" Caitlin looked at Brigid. "His house key?"

  Brigid turned around and looked at her. "Yup. It is beginning to get harder to keep to my convictions of finishing med school before getting married. I love him, he loves me, we get each other. Besides, Nick is forcing the issue. He wants us to get married before the end of this year. He thinks we should spend my vacation break in a honeymoon."

  "Sounds good. What are you thinking?"

  "Yes," Brigid said. "But I am not too sure yet. If and when I decide you will be the second one to know."

  "Okay," Caitlin said. "I will be the only single sister. I can't believe it. And I am the one with the dream guy."

  "Well, not really the only single one." Brigid poured glass of juice and sat before her. "Hazel said that they have her husband on life support and everybody is pressuring her to pull the plug."

  "Oh, when did she call?" Caitlin asked. "You didn't tell her about the car thing, did you?"

  "No." Brigid shook her head. "I didn't tell her that somebody was trying to kill you."

  "I might know who it is," Caitlin said, "and it's not Todd." She told Brigid about her conversation with Deb.

  "Oh my." Brigid put down her juice and leaned in closer to Caitlin. "You know what this means, don't you?"

  "No. What?" Caitlin asked, widening her eyes. "Tell me."

  "You have to report her to the police."

  "No," Caitlin said, shaking her head. "If the police just took hearsay without evidence then half of the population would be in prison. They operate on an evidentiary system. Brigid, you know this."

  "She's evil," Brigid said. "How can he have her working for him?"

  "She helped him stay out of prison." Caitlin pointed out patiently. "Forget?"

  "But wait, this would mean that Todd didn't murder his wife," Brigid said excitedly, "which is good for you. I am quite sorry that I thought any ill toward him."

  Caitlin snorted. "Yeah, right."

  "I mean it," Brigid said. "It must be hard for him to be judged about something that he didn't do. So this means that if the housekeeper did it, she is trying to kill anybody who comes his way and waiting for him to see her."

  "And the plot thickens," Caitlin said weakly. "I hate this whole thing. You know, last night I was going to tell him that he was my dream guy but he refused to listen. I love him, Brigid."

  Brigid got up and hugged her. "Oh Caitykins. I don't know what to tell you. Get Todd to fire Deb so that you can have your chance with him but even if he fires her, would you still have a life? His first wife was murdered. There is no telling what she is capable of."

  Caitlin sighed. "So now it's either my life or being with Todd. Do you realize how crazy this is turning out to be? Every day there is something new. I just can't keep up."

  Caitlin's phone rang in the room and she got up to go get it.

  "I have to go too," Brigid said, getting up. "I sent the voice-note of Helen’s interview to your email. Be safe, okay?"

  "Okay," Caitlin said, heading for her phone. She got it just before the last ring.

  "Hello," she answered breathlessly.

  "Hey." It was Todd. "What do you say about lunch today?"

  "Where?" Caitlin asked, feeling almost afraid of the prospect of going out with him or being seen with him. Not with Deb around.

  "Anywhere," Todd said. "I am working from home today. I want to see you."

  "Me too. Got to get this month’s article finished," Caitlin said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She looked happy. Well, what did she expect? Todd was on the phone, talking to her.

  "Oh. Good. Come and work with me then," Todd said huskily. "And then we can have lunch together and dinner..."

  "I don't think I should."

  "Come on, Caity. I promise I won't kiss you or touch your body in any way inappropriately."

  Caitlin chuckled. "You sound like it is not a genuine promise."

  "I promise I won't kiss you, but if you want to kiss me, I will not say no."

  Caitlin's hands tightened on the phone. "Will Deb be there?"

  "No. She is on a three-day chef workshop. Starts today."

  "Good. Then I'll come," Caitlin said in relief. If Deb was busy with a workshop she couldn't be plotting to kill her, could she?

  "You'll have to tell me what this is about," Todd said, "but when you get here."

  "Okay," Caitlin said mock sternly, "but remember, I am coming to work. Not to hang out with you."

  "We'll see." Todd chuckled and hung up and Caitlin felt a warm feeling of wellbeing coursing through her.

  Her life was in danger but at least she was almost sure that Todd hadn't killed Rita. He was back to being her dream guy and she would tell him so today.

  "This office is nice!" Caitlin said, putting down her laptop on Todd's desk and looking around. He had a glass desk and a brown leather chair. He also had colorful chairs scattered around the office, all of them strategically placed to take advantage of the city view.

  Todd grinned. "Well, I spend a great deal of time here." He looked at her softly. "I am happy that you are here with me."

  Caitlin smiled and took out her laptop. "I am here to work."

  "Well, I won't disturb you." Todd grinned. He admired her fresh-faced look, no makeup. She didn’t need it: fresh complexion, pretty pouting lips.

  Caitlin sat at his desk and Todd sat in a chair across from her. He opened his laptop.

  "What are you working on?"

  "Helen Benedict's interview. My sister got the interview for me. Last time I went there she threw us out."

  "Why?"

  "Because I recognized her from a dream I had." Caitlin leaned back in her chair. "I had a very clear dream about her and she painted pictures of the scenes. I put two and two together and...she threw us out."

  "Your dreams are that vivid?" Todd asked. "That's fascinating."

  "I think so too," Caitlin said. "In my dreams of Helen she had a baby. We went to visit her caretaker and she said that the baby died, because Helen was involved with her son and all sorts of things, but Helen keeps drawing pictures of her baby over and over again.

  "She has this thing where she draws a half of everything either withered or dead. Nick doesn’t think that the baby is dead though," Caitlin said. "The caretaker was a bit too shady."

  "Mmmm." Todd steepled his fingers. "How long ago was that?"

  "About twenty-two years," Caitlin said. "According to Nick's calculations that child would be around twenty-one years old."

  "Ah." Todd leaned his head to one side. "The Benedicts have the resources to track where that baby is. The first thing I would do is check to see if there were any suspicious newborns left at the hospitals around or left on any doorstep in the vicinity."

  "Or found lying around in a box," Caitlin said thoughtfully. "Remember that case where the mother of a newborn left her child in the bathroom of a fast food restaurant. No, wait that was sixteen years ago," Caitlin shook her head. "I knew the girl. Her name was Sheree. She came to Magnolia House when she was ten."

  "What about your sister, the one that was left on the steps of a shopping mall?" Todd asked. "Wasn't that twenty-odd years ago?"

  "Well," Caitlin sat up straighter. "Well, no...Hazel doesn't look like the Benedicts. She is shorter than them, for one, and she is very light-skinned and come on...no."

  "Okay," Todd said and looked back down at his laptop.

  Caitlin didn't move. Her mind was connecting dots she hadn't seen before.

  "But her son Sebastian resembles Nick Benedict. It’s uncanny how much alike they look. Oh my."

  Todd raised his eyebrow. "Mystery solved?"

  Caitlin stood up and started pacing. "Oh my."

  Todd watched her for a couple of minutes, a pleased smile on his face. He liked the way the morning sun streamed through her hair, creating an almost liquid brown effect. When she turned his way her eyes were almost glowing.

  He loved this woman. He loved her and he was goin
g to marry her. If only he could clear his name once and for all. He didn't want her to carry that burden into their relationship.

  "I think Hazel should get a DNA test." Caitlin stopped pacing and sat down. "I have a feeling about this."

  Todd smiled.

  "Can you imagine if this turns out to be true? I mean," Caitlin shook her head in amazement, "Hazel would be a Benedict. She would be Patricia's niece, Nick's cousin. She would be a Benedict who grew up in the orphanage that they fund. How ironic. It would also explain why Sebastian resembles Nick. It's amazing."

  Todd was about to speak when they heard the clicking sound of heels outside.

  "Who is that?" Caitlin asked fearfully. "I thought you said that Deb wouldn't be here."

  "She is not here and won't be back till late." Todd looked at Caitlin oddly. "You need to talk to me about this sudden fear of Deb."

  The door for the study opened and Marlene entered. She was in a red tight-fitting skirt suit.

  "Todd, here are the papers," she started speaking and then stopped, frowning when she saw Caitlin in Todd's chair.

  "They weren't that important," Todd said. "I told you that you could fax them over."

  "Yes, but I wanted to bring them." Marlene looked at Caitlin again and then smiled but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Miss Denvers."

  Caitlin was taken aback. The last time she had spoken to Marlene she had called her Caitlin.

  "Hello Marlene," she said easily.

  Marlene nodded to her. "I didn't know you would be here today."

  It's none of your business, Caitlin wanted to retort but instead she ignored Marlene and looked down at her list of emails.

  One of them was from Brigid. She had attached the recording and some pictures of new paintings that Helen had done.

  There was no doubt about it, Helen was talented.

  "I was hoping that I could work here with you today." Marlene was saying to Todd in an overly intimate tone as Caitlin tried to ignore her. "But I see you have company. Are you finishing up that article for Lux?" Marlene asked Caitlin with a kind of demanding curiosity that had Caitlin looking up sharply.

  Marlene was inspecting her with a look of such pure loathing Caitlin had to swallow a gasp.

  And then, as if a bulb went off in Caitlin's head, she remembered Marlene declaring after the Private Sector dinner that she would be getting married and no one or nothing was going to stop her.

  Could she be the one who was harming people? Could she be the one who had killed Rita? She certainly had motive and she had a key to the house.

  Caitlin's head began to throb and her body felt damp and trembly. Was she the one who had tried to kill her?

  *****

  Caitlin took a good look at Marlene. She was dressed to seduce. The seduction was obviously having no effect on Todd, though. He was looking at Marlene with faint annoyance in his gaze.

  "Marlene, I am quite fine here today. You would get so much done at the office. We have quite a few items to get through for the week."

  "Well, I thought that I would be more useful here," she said, "but I see that you already have company; three would definitely be a crowd. Anyway, I will be going. After all, I am just your assistant."

  She smiled at Todd and then turned and gave Caitlin a look that could only be described as a challenge.

  "She has a key?" Caitlin squeaked as soon as Marlene closed the door.

  Todd was looking at the door with a look of incredulity on his face. "Yes, she has a key. She is acting peculiar today. Usually she is quite the professional assistant. I have never seen her act like this."

  "How is it that Marlene and Deb get along?" Caitlin asked. "They are both so possessive of you."

  "They don't get along. Marlene constantly asks me to fire Deb and Deb thinks that Marlene has issues. It's a pity that they don't like each other because they are the ones who keep my life running smoothly."

  Todd closed his laptop screen and then got up and stretched. "What do you mean by possessive?"

  "You don't notice it?" Caitlin asked. "They are both so hostile to me. Not overtly, mind you, but there is something."

  She looked at Todd solemnly. "I think one of them killed your wife and one of them, either Deb or Marlene, is trying to kill me."

  Chapter Nineteen

  "What?" Todd looked shocked. "These are my loyal employees. Deb has been with me for ten years and Marlene almost twelve. They are loyal workers. I have never in anyway even considered a personal relationship with either of them or encouraged any such thing."

  "But they do consider it," Caitlin said earnestly. "You should see how possessively Deb talks about you, and Marlene is more subtle, but they both give off the vibe that they own you somehow and one of them is trying to kill me."

  "Caity," Todd said gently. "Somehow, I didn't expect paranoia from you."

  "You know what Deb suggested to me the other night at the advertisers party?" Caitlin said, ignoring his paranoia statement. "She said that maybe Rita's miscarriages weren't miscarriages. She also said that every woman that has come in your life since your wife has met some mysterious accident."

  "She mentioned that to me too some time ago," Todd said, "but I wasn't even seeing any of the women at the time. They were interested in me, not the other way around, and Rita's miscarriages were not induced. Believe me, we did every available test in modern medicine to find out what was wrong."

  "Well, fine. Maybe Deb is wrong, but a couple of days ago somebody cut my car brakes," Caitlin said earnestly, "and look!" She searched through her phone for the text and showed it to Todd. "Is this coincidence?"

  Todd visibly quailed. He had an alarmed, almost frightened look on his face.

  "Did you tell the police about this?"

  "I did," Caitlin said. "About the brakes anyway, and they gave me the standard reply that they'd look into it."

  Todd sighed. "I wish you had told me."

  "Well, at the time I kind of thought that you were the one who did it."

  Todd blanched. "Thanks a lot, Caitlin. That fills me with reassurance that you are finally beginning to trust me and that we are getting somewhere."

  "It was a couple of days ago; everybody was a suspect," Caitlin said apologetically. "At least now I know that you didn't kill Rita and truth be told, I never really believed that you would kill me anyway."

  Todd smirked. "I guess that is something." He picked up the phone and punched in some numbers roughly. "For the record, I would never hurt you."

  "Not directly, but being around you may cause me hurt," Caitlin said stiffly. "Maybe Deb is right. Maybe I shouldn't hang out with you anymore or think about a relationship anyway. We are probably not meant to be together."

  "No," Todd said, "don't say that. Don't even think it. We are going to get to the bottom of this. I know that I was meant to be with you. It couldn't feel more right."

  He spoke into the phone at length and then hung up.

  "I have somebody on it." He turned to Caitlin. "I asked for a thorough investigation of your situation. And I also ordered twenty-four hour security for you. The thought of you dying literally fills me with dread. I love you, Caitlin. You mean a lot to me. Come here."

  Caitlin walked toward him until she was in his arms.

  "I have looked out for you from you were very young. I could not bear if even a hair on your head is touched. You need to understand this."

  Caitlin nodded as he squeezed her in his arms.

  "It's a pity that my dreams are not made to order," she murmured in his neck. "I would love to see what really happened that night."

  Todd eased away from her slightly. "Your dreams are usually accurate, aren't they?"

  "Yes." Caitlin nodded. "Why?"

  Todd sighed and then rubbed his thumb along her cheek softly. "Nothing. Just thinking. Want us to get back to work?"

  "What about Deb or Marlene?" Caitlin asked.

  "If either of them tried to harm you," Todd said harshly, "I will make th
eir life hell, and I am not joking."

  *****

  Todd was disturbed for most of the day after Caitlin left. He had never really taken note of either Deb or Marlene as desirable women.

  Marlene had been with him so long that he had grown to think of her as part of his family. She was Marlene, the tall skinny girl/woman who had walked into his office nervously and told him that if he hired her she would be the most invaluable secretary in the world.

  She had started working for him straight out of business school. She had gotten a secretary's certificate and he had just started his second company and had been a bit overwhelmed with his schedule. That was nearly sixteen years ago. She had quickly proven to be as invaluable as she had declared that she would be, and he had trusted her with bits and pieces of his life.

  The very thought that Marlene could have done what Caitlin suggested was disheartening and revolting. Not Marlene. Sure, she had not had many relationships through the years and since her grandmother died four years ago and she had been free from taking care of her, Marlene had started to date more and had gone a little bit overboard with her office attire. She had even done a makeover; he had missed it until Caitlin pointed it out to him.

  Marlene was nearing thirty-five. Last year for her birthday he had sent her on a cruise. She had asked him to come but he had honestly thought she was joking. Was he so thick that he had not picked up on her subtle cues? But committing murder and jeopardizing someone’s relationships was quite a leap from liking someone or having a crush.

  Granted, Marlene had never liked Rita but neither had scores of other persons. Marlene had access to his calendar and if he had even been remotely interested in anyone she would be the first to know.

  *****

  He rubbed his temples, almost jumping when Deb put her head around the door.

  "Todd, why are you here in the dark?" she whispered from his office door.

  "Meditating on some things," Todd said faintly. "How was your workshop?"