In My Dreams by Cameo Renae Read Free Book Online Page A

thin, stood peering through the door. I glanced at the clock. It was 8:17am. The shop was supposed to open at eight. I was late.
    “Darn it! Lucy, please wait here… please. I just have to open the shop. I’ll be back in just a minute,” I pleaded.
    She nodded and leaned back into her chair, wiping the tears from her cheeks. The timing couldn’t have been worse! I wiped my own face, put a few more Visine drops in, and put on a fake smile to greet the two customers. I hoped they would leave quickly, but instead, they seemed to linger, picking up every-single-item in the store, checking prices, laughing and whispering to each other. I’d never felt more irritated in all my life. My face became hot and my stomach twisted in knots. They were unknowingly agonizing me. The anticipation to talk to Michael consumed me and I found myself hovering over the customers.
    “Can I help you find anything?” I tried to ask politely, but my words sounded a bit cynical.
    “No thank you,” the fatter of the two replied. “We’re just looking.”
    They’d been looking for almost fifteen minutes now, but it felt like fifteen hours! On a normal day this would have been fine, but not today. I wanted them out!
    After another five tormenting minutes, the thinner of the two chose a small wooden plaque with the Lord’s Prayer hand painted onto it. They stood together at the counter yakking away. I quickly rang up her purchase, threw it in a bag, flashed another fake smile, and escorted them to the door.
    A red Ford sedan pulled into the parking lot. This was definitely not my morning. I ran to the back room and found Lucy Crow standing, slipping back into her parka.
    “Wait… Miss Crow… please don’t leave. You have to tell me what happened to Michael! I need to know. Please!” I begged her, hands folded, practically on my knees, when the bell clanged as two more customers entered. A lady and a little girl headed towards the dolls.
    “Lizzy,” Lucy said grabbing my shaking hands. “I have to go now.”
    “But why… please wait. Please! Just a few more minutes,” I pleaded.
    “I have young ones at home, and a husband who is waiting for me. I live many hours from here. It is a long drive and I must be on my way.” She steadied me holding onto my shoulder’s looking directly into my eyes.
    “Michael wanted me to give you a warning. You need to be careful. The man that murdered him is very dangerous. He’s crazy. He stole Michael’s wallet, and he knows that Michael has a large amount of money in the bank, and he also knows that you have access to it. He has pictures of you… from Michael’s wallet. He knows what you look like, and he is already looking for you. Please, be very careful Lizzy. Promise me.”
    “I promise.” My world was spinning out of control. I wondered if the man in my dream was the murderer. He had a picture of me, and knew what I looked like. That was a horrifying thought. And all I had to go on was a dream. But how did he know I had access to Michael’s account? This was all too much!
    “Lizzy, I need to pick up some medicine for the sick ones in my village. Do you know of a place, close by, where I could find those kinds of things?” She asked politely.
    “Aren’t you supposed to be a healer?”
    “Yes,” she laughed. “The elders in the village come to me for the ancient methods, but the younger ones would rather… pop a few pills. They say it works a lot faster and I don’t blame them,” she said amusingly.
    I gave her directions to Walgreen’s, which wasn’t too far from the shop.
    “I’ll be with you shortly,” I called to the customers wandering around the store.
    “No problem,” the mother answered. They were still wandering.
    I quickly grabbed one of Mrs. Kelly’s business cards off of the front counter, and wrote my name, home, and cell number on the back and handed it to Lucy. I walked her to the door, where she pointed out an old tan truck parked alongside the street.