Her Mistaken Dream

by Brenda Barrett

  A car blew at the gate.

  "That's my ride," Caitlin said, grabbing her bag. "I'll bring you up to speed later."

  "Who is it?" Brigid asked anxiously. "You can't just announce who did it and not tell me."

  "It was Marlene, Todd’s secretary."

  "The secretary?" Brigid murmured. "Still be careful!" she shouted as Caitlin headed through the door, obviously preoccupied.

  Todd was in the back seat of the car when Caitlin got in. She gave him a wide smile and hugged him hard, crushing the papers around him.

  "Good morning to you too," Todd murmured in her hair. "Not that I am complaining, but why this effusive surge of love toward me today?"

  "I know who did it. I dreamt it," Caitlin said, leaning back in her seat and smiling. "I asked God to reveal it to me and he did."

  "He did?" Todd was a little bit confused.

  "Yes, it was Marlene. She killed Rita and she tried to kill me and she threatened to kill Deb if she told anyone."

  Todd frowned fiercely. "Caitlin..."

  "You believe me, don't you?" Caitlin asked earnestly. "My dreams are usually pretty spot on, sometimes eerily accurate."

  "But," Todd frowned, "how?"

  "In the house that you lived in before this. It was made of dark wood and glass. Very nice. With an island at the center, white granite at the top."

  Todd nodded. "Yes, but..."

  "Seven years ago Marlene was much bigger than she is now, wasn't she…with shorter hair?"

  "Yes, but..." Todd was looking at Caitlin strangely. The driver had moved off and Todd hadn’t even realized that the car was moving.

  He felt a little shiver of fear, a kernel of unease. Her dreams were really that accurate? He realized that before now he had listened to her talk about her dreams as an indulgence. He hadn't taken her seriously, but now he was forced to. Caitlin certainly believed that what she dreamt was real.

  "Anyway, Marlene killed Rita, Deb saw her. Marlene threatened Deb…she is one ruthless woman." Caitlin then told him the dream, relaying their conversation almost word for word.

  Todd listened in silence.

  "I am assuming that Marlene also tried to kill me. Question is, how are you going to do this?"

  "Caitlin," Todd took her hands in his. Her fingers were long and elegant. He squeezed them gently. "Have you considered that maybe your imagination was working overtime? You have been anxious to find out what happened for some time now. Maybe your dream is as a result of this anxiety."

  Caitlin pulled her hands away from his and looked at him sternly. "Get this, Todd Taylor, I don't have frivolous dreams. So far all my dreams have meaning. All my dreams come true. Every single one of them." She said it with such certainty and determination that she almost had Todd convinced.

  "But what about that dream guy who you've been dreaming about since you were fifteen?" Todd asked. "That didn't come true, did it?"

  "Yes, it did." Caitlin smiled. "I met him, I know who he is, I am going to marry him and I am going to be happy with him and we are going to be good together."

  Todd swallowed. "You promised me that if we found out who really killed Rita that you would marry me. I can't believe this. I've been wasting my time, then? Loving you, hoping that we have been building a foundation together these past couple of weeks. Who the hell is this guy, anyway?"

  Caitlin laughed. She flung back her head and had a good laugh, much to Todd's consternation.

  "You take care of Marlene today and I will tell you who my dream guy is." She got out of the car. "Talk to you later."

  "Wait Caitlin." Todd leaned out of the car. "We need to talk about this."

  "Trust me, Todd, my dreams are rock solid." She waved to him and headed into the building.

  Todd watched her enter and then leaned back in the car. Trust her. He should trust her based on a dream? Marlene was with him for fourteen years and he was going to confront her based on Caity's dream. He mulled the thought over in his head.

  "Driver, I think I need to go home," Todd said to his patient driver and then he called his security firm and the chief investigator who had been on Rita's case.

  When Todd got home Deb was in the living room dusting.

  "Did you leave something?" she smiled at him and then frowned when she saw that he had company.

  Tony had eagerly agreed to meet Todd at the gate. At one time Tony had thought that he had killed Rita and had single-handedly pursued him over the years.

  Todd wasn't sure when the detective's opinion shifted, but he always called to keep in touch with Todd. Every year, like clockwork, Tony would call and tell him that he was still keeping an eye out for any leads on the case.

  When Todd called him just now he had been very eager to hear that there was a break in the case.

  Todd imagined that Tony must have driven like crazy to reach the house before him because he was at the gate waiting for him to get there.

  Todd stopped in the middle of the living room and looked at Deb, assessing her. "Deb, remember Tony Foster?"

  "How could I forget?" Deb stopped dusting and looked between Todd and Tony. He accused me of killing Rita."

  "Well, now is the time for you to come clean about what happened," Todd said wearily."

  "I already did that." Deb frowned. "What's wrong?"

  "No, you haven’t, Deb. There is a break in the case," Todd said.

  "There is?" Deb asked in relief. "I have been praying that the guilty person would be found and brought to justice."

  "Why leave it at praying, Deb?" Todd asked. "For seven whole years you kept your mouth shut about the real killer, though you knew who it was. I went through hell thinking that I had something to do with it, my reputation got shattered, and all this time you knew. I could have helped you. Marlene is not that powerful; why on earth did you allow her to get away with so much?"

  Deb gasped. "How did you find out?"

  "That doesn't matter," Todd said. "You are going to call Marlene and tell her that your conscience is bothering you and that you are going to confess. We will see what happens from there."

  Tony walked behind him to the office, a shocked look on his face. "You need to tell me everything, Todd. What's going on?"

  "You heard. Marlene did it. Hopefully we'll catch her on camera confessing. My security team installed cameras in the kitchen some time ago."

  Tony sank down in his chair with a sigh. "I would never have thought of her."

  "Neither would I." Todd rubbed his hand over his face. He had expected Deb to laugh at him and tell him that what he was saying was ridiculous; he didn't expect her to ask him how he found out.

  Deb nervously paced the kitchen. Todd had told her that this is where she should confront Marlene. Apparently he had cameras set up all over. She looked around nervously. Were they there all the time? She wasn't sure that she liked to be watched when he wasn't around.

  She had called Marlene earlier and told her that she wanted to talk to her and that it was urgent.

  Marlene did not suspect a thing. As far as she was concerned Todd was at an impromptu meeting with a client.

  It didn't take her long to show up at the house.

  She walked into the kitchen, her heels making a click-clicking sound on the tiles. She stopped when she spotted Deb and gave her a withering stare.

  "What is it?" Marlene said impatiently. "What is so urgent that I had to come here to talk to you? I have no time to chit-chat with the help."

  "My conscience is bothering me," Deb said, her lips trembling. "I have to tell somebody about what happened."

  Marlene laughed. "Really now, seven years later and your conscience decided to suddenly act up?"

  "I can't live with this hanging over my head anymore," Deb said, realizing that it was true. She had wrestled with keeping her secret for years and it was a relief to confront Marlene in this way. "I saw you kill Rita, I know that you have tried to harm several other persons. Anybody interested in Todd."

  "You better k
eep your mouth shut," Marlene said threateningly. "I will soon be Mrs. Todd Taylor, at long last. Nobody will take you seriously. They will think you are the jealous household help that loved her boss and is having a breakdown. At any rate, if you do speak, I will not spare your family. Starting with your niece."

  Deb hissed, "My niece is not even here. She is living in the States with her father. You can't threaten me anymore. Besides, Todd is in love with Caitlin Denvers."

  "Is that so?" Marlene walked closer to Deb. "Caitlin Denvers will soon be taken care of. She almost met in an accident the other day, didn't you hear? It will be so easy to arrange another one for her. As for you, I'll kill you too, but not like I killed Rita. No, I have gone sophisticated; accidents happen to people every day. You'll see. I told you not to cross me, Debra."

  She stalked out of the kitchen and walked straight into Tony and two members of Todd's security team.

  "It's over, Marlene," Todd said wearily behind them.

  "No Todd!" Marlene screamed. "I was kidding in there. Debra is the one who did those horrible things. Not me."

  He walked back to his office while Tony read her her rights.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  "You said you'd call me," Caitlin said over the phone to Todd. "It’s midday! Did you confront her?"

  "Yes," Todd said. His voice was low. "And you were right. She's now in police custody. She admitted to trying to hurt you too. It's all on camera.""

  "Good," Caitlin said happily. "I can now breathe a little easier."

  "I also asked Deb to leave. I can't believe that she knew the truth for so long and kept it hidden from me. She listened to me lament that maybe I might have done it and she had not said a word." Todd breathed out heavily. "It has been a crazy day."

  "I am sorry, Todd," Caitlin said. "I know that they were close to you."

  "It's life," Todd sighed, "but sometimes you think you know a person..." His voice trailed away. "Listen, Caitlin. Whatever happens after this I want to thank you. In a way, you have cleared my name and my mind, and you have also gotten justice for Rita."

  "No thanks necessary," Caitlin said. "We can both thank God for revealing the circumstances to us."

  "Yes. Definitely." Todd cleared his throat. "So, I guess this means that we are at the end of the road."

  "Why?" Caitlin asked, pushing back her chair and getting up to close her office door.

  "Don't play games with me, Caitlin--your dreams...that guy. Your dreams always come true. Forgot that conversation?"

  "No." Caitlin chuckled. "I just find it very funny. Seven years ago I dreamt about this guy. I had never seen him before. I was sitting at the side of a fountain and he was sitting beside me and he pleaded with me. He said, ‘I love you, Caitlin, and want you for myself and even if it takes forever I know that you are the person for me because I don't think I can live without you.’ Sound familiar?"

  Todd gasped. "Caity, I said that!"

  "Hmmm!" Caitlin chuckled. "Imagine my shock when I saw my dream guy on Notorious Jamaicans. His name was Todd Taylor and it was speculated that he killed his wife and I believed it for a while and then I met him and I realized that I had feelings for him and then I got to know him and I knew definitely that I love him too. You are jealous of yourself, Todd. You are my dream guy."

  It was Todd's turn to laugh. "I want to see you now, this minute, to tell you to your face that I love you and officially ask you to marry me."

  Caitlin laughed. "Me too but I have a meeting in a couple of minutes. By the way, the answer is yes, I'll marry you. I am going easy on you since this was a hard day for you."

  Todd laughed. "See you later."

  "Caitlin Denvers!" Howard stood at the doorway, a frown on his face. "Where are you with the article on Todd Taylor?"

  "Almost done with it." Caitlin looked at Howard and smiled. "I am titling it Twenty Reasons Todd Taylor is a Dream Guy. I am also going to include the newest piece of info that somebody has confessed to his wife's murder."

  "You don't say!" Howard looked pleased. "Sounds like you got a scoop. I am looking forward to hearing more about that. The title is catchy too." He moved away from the door and Caitlin chuckled to herself, picking up her personal rough draft of the article.

  Twenty reasons why Todd Taylor is my dream guy:

  Reason number one...because I dreamt about him long before I knew him and God says he is the one...

  Reason number two...he is beautiful on the inside where it counts...

  Reason number three...he is eye candy...

  Reason number four...he is gentle and kind and wouldn't hurt a fly...

  Reason number five...I love him...

  Author's Notes

  Dear Reader,

  THANK YOU for reading Her Mistaken Dream! If you enjoyed reading it, PLEASE leave a review wherever you bought this ebook.

  You can also check out my BOOK LIST, for other Magnolia Sisters titles. You will find other titles, upcoming books and their release dates on this list as well, so check it out.

  If you have comments or suggestions, I welcome them. You can reach me and receive a reply at brenalbar@gmail.com.

  You can be among the first to hear when I have special prices and new book releases by signing up for my mailing list. It will take you less than 50 seconds to signup. Click here to signup.

  Continue scrolling for an excerpt from Just Like Yesterday, Book 4, in the Magnolia Sisters Series.

  Thanks again. All the best,

  Brenda

  Keep reading for an excerpt from

  Just Like Yesterday

  Hazel's Story

  Hazel entered the departure lounge of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston with one bag in hand, a throbbing headache, and a nagging feeling of guilt. She was dressed in an all grey ensemble, which she hadn't bothered to change after attending the depressing funeral for her husband. He had requested to be cremated and his ashes put beside his father's in a mausoleum at the head offices of their family business in Texas.

  She had stayed for the fiasco of the reading of the will where his stiff upper lip family had treated her with barely held contempt. His four sons and three daughters and their children had all stayed back in Barons lavish Florida mansion to hear what they would inherit from the rich oil businessman.

  Even Hazel didn't known what to expect. She had gotten married to John because she wanted to be rich enough to fight for the right to see her son, Sebastian. John had told her that marrying him would be her ace card. He had gleefully told her that he also wanted to punish his over entitled children.

  And he had.

  He had left the companies and the houses to them, most of those things had to stay in the family anyway. He had left her the house in Jamaica and an apartment building and a whopping, eye-watering five hundred million dollars; most of his personal fortune.

  She still couldn't wrap her mind around the figure. She had gotten the bulk of his cash, he had given the rest of his large family, his three ex-wives, some charities, his old schools, the workers who were close to him; cash sums in the thousands. Nobody had gotten such a huge pay out as her. Not even close.

  When her sum had been read out she could feel the palpable shudder of disbelief running through the room. Hazel had held her head ramrod straight, focusing on the lawyer and the shine bald patch in the middle of his head and a wad of guilt had descended on her.

  How many zeroes were in five hundred million dollars? The figure seemed so unreal to her.

  She shouldn't have done it. She wanted her son but she shouldn't have married an old man to get him. Five hundred million was too much money! She couldn't spend that in this lifetime.

  Remorse swept through her. She shouldn't have helped him to get back at his family. He said they were greedy, grasping leeches. He had even threatened to leave his fortune to his old cat, Mr. Pudding.

  She glanced over them surreptitiously as the figure sunk in. His three ex wives were there. Sheila, the first wife who
was probably not a day under eighty, was obviously agitated at the revelations. She was practically running her gnarled fingers through her blue hair and was practically frothing at the mouth. If she was not in a wheel chair because of a recent hip surgery, she would probably leap at Hazel from across the room.

  Her eyes met Hazel's and it seemed as if she growled. Hazel had hastily looked away. The second and third wives had huddled with their respective broods and were whispering furiously.

  "This is preposterous!" she heard one of them whispering fiercely. "She must have drugged him. Dad was not in his right mind! First he married the help and then left her his money. We must contest it! We have to find a way to get this greedy, grasping pig out of the way."

  Hazel flinched.

  The lawyer, Mumsford, looked up at them blearily, as if in agreement. He was an old family retainer. He was a distinguished looking gentleman who was in his mid sixties. Hazel remembered him from a visit some months ago. He had argued with Baron about changing his will in the way he did. She wasn't surprised that their was not a sympathetic figure in the crowd of hostile faces. He had been against the idea of Baron cutting out his family from the bulk of his cash wealth. And she couldn't blame them.

  Sure, they hadn't treated her right from the get go, but she was sure that if she was in their place she would probably have the same attitude to an interloper. They were a rich family who could trace their lineage to the Mayflower.

  Their forefathers had struck it rich in gold and then oil exploration, and John had taken his personal fortune and given it all to a nobody who didn't even have a family. If they knew that she was found at the steps of a shopping mall when she was a baby they would all be appalled.

  Her eyes had met with Edmond’s, the oldest son who was sitting on the other side of the room. He had looked unconcerned; he was very rich in his own right and had left the family business years before because of a feud with his father.