When She Dreams（Burning Cove #6）(63)

“Going somewhere, Dr. Oxlade?” she said. “You mustn’t leave before I have a chance to thank you for the great gift you gave me.”

There was something odd about her tone, an eerie, dreamy quality that was unnatural, but he recognized her voice.

“Miss Smith, I mean, Miss Lodge.” He was so shocked he almost dropped the suitcase and his umbrella. “What are you doing here?”

“I owe you a debt of gratitude. I had a psychic vision in which I saw you leaving tonight. I simply had to tell you that you changed my life.”

He went still. “You had a vision I was leaving?”

“I saw it in a dream. I sense all sorts of things these days, thanks to your drug. You were right. The enhancer opened the door to my psychic talents. What’s more, the door is still open. I don’t need the enhancer every time I dream.”

Something was very wrong. Oxlade edged back toward the front steps of the villa.

“What are you talking about?” he said.

“I’m telling you that your drug works, Dr. Oxlade.” Maggie chuckled, a light, giddy little laugh. “I thought you had poisoned me when you put the enhancer in my tea. For days afterward I was convinced I was going mad. For weeks I fought the effects because I didn’t understand what was happening. But eventually I realized your drug not only gave me access to my psychic senses but allowed me to journey on the astral plane, just like the Traveler.”

“No, that’s not possible,” Oxlade yelped.

“It’s true, and it’s an astounding experience.”

He retreated a couple more steps toward the safety of the villa. For a moment he had dared to hope the enhancer was even more powerful than he had realized. But now it was clear that Maggie Lodge was unhinged.

The drug had caused her to lose her grip on reality. It was the only explanation. He knew she was prone to hysteria, but he had hoped her lucid dreaming ability would allow her to control the effects of the enhancer. Now he was forced to consider the possibility that the drug had pushed her over the edge. He was dealing with a woman who was dangerously unbalanced. He was alone with her. In the dark.

He could feel the rip current of panic tugging at him. He reminded himself she had once been a patient. He knew how to handle patients.

“I don’t understand, Miss Lodge,” he said, trying to sound both reassuring and authoritative, trying to sound like a doctor. The expert who knew best. “Please explain.”

“You heard Arthur Guilfoyle tonight,” she said. “He’s a fraud, but I’m not. The Traveler is abroad on the astral plane and he is stalking a victim, just like he stalked Virginia Jennaway and Beverly Nevins.”

Another frisson of panic lanced Oxlade’s nerves. “That’s nonsense. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I have dreams all the time now, not just when I sleep but when I’m wide awake.” Maggie giggled. “I don’t mind telling you it can be a little disconcerting to have a vision just pop up while you’re eating breakfast or chatting with a friend.”

“Calm down, Miss Lodge,” he said. “You are allowing yourself to become hysterical.”

“You really should not say that to me, Dr. Oxlade. I don’t like it when people say that.”

Something in her voice sent a jolt of raw panic through him.

“I agree that Guilfoyle is a fraud,” he said quickly. “I don’t know where he got that ridiculous story about the Traveler. I suppose he couldn’t resist the opportunity to shock his audience. He finds it impossible to resist the spotlight. He craves it.”

“I know, but the fascinating thing is that he was right about the Traveler. The spirit of the psychic assassin really was hunting me.”

“You?”

“Yes, but thanks to your drug I am strong enough to control it. The Traveler does my bidding now. Imagine how it feels to command such power. Then again, there is no need for you to use your imagination, is there? You have already witnessed the work of the Traveler.”

Oxlade risked a glance over his shoulder. Just a few more steps. If he could get into the villa he would be able to lock the door and phone the police.

“The Traveler is nothing more than a legend,” he said.

“You’re wrong, Dr. Oxlade. The Traveler is mine to command.”

“You’re delusional, Miss Lodge.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you? Just think, you have devoted your life to finding a way to access the power of the latent psychic senses. I am the living proof of your success.”

“You are imagining things. Hallucinating. Obviously the drug was too much for your delicate nerves.”

She giggled again. “If you’re right it means your enhancer is deeply flawed. It drives people mad. You don’t want to believe that, do you?”

Rage arced through him. “It’s not the drug that is at fault, you stupid woman. You are too weak to handle the effects. You should be in an asylum.”

“I don’t want to be locked up, Dr. Oxlade. That’s why I summoned the Traveler. He will protect me.”

“You are mad.”

“Is that what happened to Virginia Jennaway? Did you drive her insane with your drug? Is that why she walked into the ocean and drowned?”

The tide of horror was rising so quickly now he could no longer catch his breath. His heart pounded. Sweat trickled down his forehead into his eyes. He tried to blink away the moisture, but the effort blurred the scene, combining with the rain to turn the gardens into an ominous dreamscape.