Nightmares Can Be Murder (A Dream Club Mystery) by Mary Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page A

surprised at how thorough Ali had been; it looked like she’d anticipated problems and covered all the bases.
    Ali nodded. “My goal is to have a base of a dozen or so regulars with maybe two or three drop-ins. That way I can always be assured of eight people showing up on any given week.”
    “Was Friday night a pretty typical meeting?”
    “I suppose so,” Ali said thoughtfully. “No group is perfect, of course. You have to take the good with the bad, and Dorien pretty much hogged the discussion, as usual. Other people might have had different ideas, but everyone is afraid to disagree with her.”
    “There was Persia and her murder dream,” I reminded her.
    “Yes, and I wish she hadn’t waited until the very last minute to drop the bombshell about that dream. She does that deliberately, I think. Maybe it’s a bid for attention, but she always seems to come out with something really spectacular, just as we’re getting ready to wrap up the meeting.”
    “What’s your take on Samantha Stiles?” I asked, referring to the young detective, who seemed a bit out of place in the group.
    “Oh, Dorien drags Sam to the meetings from time to time,” Allison said. “I think Sam is ready to pull her hair out in sheer frustration, but she and Dorien have been friends for years, and I suppose she feels she has to tag along.”
    “Maybe she’ll become a believer.”
    “I wouldn’t count on it. I bet she thinks it’s all a sham. I noticed she was interested in Persia’s dream, but that’s only because she thought an actual crime had taken place. Once she realized it was just a projection, something off in the future, she lost interest pretty quickly.”
    “I agree. I noticed the same thing.”
    Ali began to clear the plates away, and I watched as she cut up a veggie sausage patty and dropped it into a food bowl for Scout and Barney. She covered it with plastic wrap and stashed it in the refrigerator for their late-night treat.
    “I remember Sam told me once that the police do use psychics occasionally in solving crimes and finding missing persons, but this is different,” she continued. “As far as we know, there isn’t any crime to solve or mystery to uncover because the whole thing only exists in Persia’s dream. There’s no evidence it will ever happen.”
    “Do you really believe all dreams are significant?” I’ve never really understood Ali’s fascination with dreams. I’ve never looked for any deep psychological significance. I figured they were just a quirk, like a glitch in the brain. I’m content with my life, and I’m certain I don’t have any deep dark secrets lying beneath the surface.
    “Oh yes, I do,” Ali said swiftly. “Our dreams are messages from the subconscious. And even animals dream, did you know that?” She gestured to Barney and Scout, who were now both curled up side by side on the sunny windowsill.
    “They look dead to the world,” I noted. Neither one of the cats was a barrel of energy, even during their waking hours. And sleeping, they appeared almost comatose, impervious to street noises and music, as they sacked out, motionless, for hours at a time. They reminded me of Gallagher’s description of a cat as “a pillow that eats.” Only a cat owner could come up with such a colorful phrase.
    “A lot of people don’t understand about cat dreams,” she said seriously, “but an energy healer explained it all to me. A cat’s brain is working all the time, processing information and trying to make sense of things. Just like our brains do. They want to make sense of their environment—it’s all based on evolution, the survival of the fittest.” She paused. “Think about it, Taylor. Thousands of years ago, if you didn’t understand the world around you, you could end up as someone’s dinner.” Barney woke up, raised his head, and shot her a look of pure alarm. “Not you, sweetie,” she called out to him.
    “Really?” Now my skepticism was kicking in big-time.