Murder In Her Dreams Read Free

the sun pendant as she hugged Cassie and then she hurried off
to greet her new customers.
    Cassie leaned back and sipped her tea. Maybe
she should go to Tula’s party. It would be wonderful if the rabbit
wasn’t a threat, but her instincts rejected that. The dream had
been too intense and too real. The rabbit meant harm. Shuddering
again, Cassie clutched the teacup in front of her. The warmth of
the tea pulled her back to reality.
    People, lively conversation, and good food.
Tula’s party would keep the rabbit and nightmares away. She might
even find the man of her dream and solve this crazy puzzle. Next
time, if she dreamed again, she vowed to control her dream and
change it.
    Tula’s Special Blend always made the world
seen a brighter, better place. Cassie finished her sandwich in a
happier mood. Stopping to leave the money for her meal by the cash
register, she nodded to Tula as she left. Maybe Tula would see
something in the cards.
    Friday could solve her problems. Cassie
snapped her fingers. So much for the rabbit and the man. She’d make
them disappear next time.
     

 
    Chapter
Two
     
    The setting sun bathed the office in a red
light and turned Ian McLeod’s rolled-up shirt sleeves almost as red
as the hair on his forearms. The freckles on his hands looked like
scattered drops of blood in the dying light. He moved his arm, and
the impression faded. Why should he have thoughts now about death
and dying? Morbid thoughts had no place in his mind, not now when
he planned to marry.
    Outside, the red sunset faded to black. Ian
sighed and stretched. Reaping the rewards of his hard work gave him
a sense of satisfaction. He never regretted effort that brought
results.
    His business formed the core of his life. All
through college, he had dreamed of starting his own company.
Working in the large accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche only
reinforced that desire. He wanted to control his life and his
business. After passing his CPA exams, he dedicated everything he
had to building the business.
    Once he neared the goal and started to think
about a life beyond his business, his trusted right-hand man James
Harrison had robbed him of those dreams. Two years ago, when Ian
discovered Harrison’s theft from client accounts had almost bled
the business dry, a murderous rage had consumed him. Harrison’s
treachery nearly destroyed the company, but the man died before he
could face prison.
    Harrison had done what all Ian’s competitors
failed to do. Ian’s business faced bankruptcy. Deceived by a man he
trusted hurt far more than the loss of the money. The money could
be replaced. His trust could not.
    Everything Ian had believed in and relied
upon gave way beneath him, and he had scrambled to survive.
Depressed, he had struggled to find some path to recovery. It took
all Ian’s savings, loans from his mother, and a year of
concentrated work to cover the losses from Harrison’s theft.
    At least he had acted and moved forward.
Angered by the betrayal, he had called the police to charge
Harrison with felony embezzlement, but the man’s untimely death
from a heart attack left Ian with no one to blame except himself.
Neither he nor the police found any trace of the missing money, and
he had been unwilling to sue the widow.
    To his surprise, he discovered Harrison had
left her very little. Even their home had been heavily mortgaged.
She had been as shocked as Ian by the theft. He wished somehow he
could have helped her, but she had refused even to see him.
    At his insistence, the insurance company had
paid her the full amount on Harrison’s policy. Much as Ian needed
money, he could not leave her destitute. Unfortunately, not long
after her husband’s death, she committed suicide.
    The theft forced Ian to redouble his efforts
and put aside everything else. All in all, he congratulated himself
on putting things back together. He still hated Harrison for his
theft from the firm, but even more because he had stripped Ian