Miguel was already in the visiting room when Father Preston entered. The escorting guard checked to see that Miguel’s hands were firmly chained to the table, which was bolted to the floor. The rattling of these chains echoed in the small room.
“Okay, Father, you’re all set. Normally, visitors get twenty minutes, but you can take as long as you need. Just knock on the door when you’re finished.”
Father Preston, smiled and replied, “Thank you, officer. I’m sure I won’t be long.” The guard nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Father Preston sat down opposite Miguel. He thought the prisoner didn’t look well. Deep black shadows underscored his eyes, his hair was dirty, his fingernails more so and Miguel had that “defeated” look so often adopted by men in his situation. He hadn’t acknowledged the priests’ presence, staring only at the table in front of him.
“You did well, Miguel. You will be richly rewarded.”
Miguel slowly raised his head. A tear trickled from the corner of his right eye. He merely nodded that he understood.
Father Preston removed the silver crucifix hanging from his neck and, holding it by the chain a few inches above the cross, began to swing it back and forth. Miguel followed the swinging medallion with his eyes. Several minutes passed without a word being exchanged between them.
Finally, the priest began to speak, softly and slowly. Miguel never took his eyes off the cross and when Father Preston finished speaking Miguel looked up at him and smiled.
Father Preston replaced the cross around his neck and stood. He walked to Miguel’s side of the table and leaning over kissed the top of his head. “When next we meet it will be in the glory of God.”
The priest tapped twice on the door. It was opened immediately and as Father Preston left the room, the guards entered to take Miguel back to his cell.
**********************************************************
I watched Paige sleeping. I intended only to check on her before leaving to go back to the office, but I noticed that her eyelids were fluttering. REM, I thought, but that usually didn’t occur for the first 90 minutes of sleep. I knew, of course, that REM could occur within the first 15 to 25 minutes but that generally indicated narcolepsy and I was positive Paige didn’t suffer that particular malady.
I considered waking her, decided against it and kissed her cheek. As I got to her bedroom door, however, she called to me in a muffled, half asleep voice. “Mom, I just had the strangest dream.”
My heart leapt into my throat. I controlled myself, however, and turned to face Paige. She was somewhere between awake and asleep, eyes half open, face turned half-way into the pillow.
I walked quietly back to the bed and asked, “What did you dream, baby?”
“That priest we met today? I dreamed he was in a room with another man, Miguel I think his name was….he told Miguel that he had done well and would be rewarded and then he began swinging a cross in front of him. Miguel looked very unhappy until the priest got up to leave and then, he was smiling. Strange, huh?”
Giving it no more thought or waiting for a response from me, Paige turned her face further into the pillow and was again, fast asleep.
I didn’t know what to think or do. Obviously, Paige was beginning to show the signs of having my ability, my curse. That bothered me, although I have also expected it to manifest itself in her at some point. Thank God, this particular dream wasn’t bloody or murderous.
Strange that she would dream of Father Preston. I decided to do some checking on him as soon as I got back to my office.
Methra had cancelled all of my appointments for the day, bless her, and I had the entire afternoon free to concentrate on my dreams, in particular the murder of Nona Flores and that of the as yet unnamed victims, Honor thy Father and Mother and Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery. I knew I had to do something. Paige was somehow involved, although I couldn’t pin it down and today’s episode turned out to be nothing; at least I hoped that was the case.
Her dream of Father Preston and Miguel, though, was very disturbing. I punched the intercom. “Methra, please call the district attorney’s office and see if Mr. McIntyre can take a call from me. Thanks.”
Two minutes later, my phone lit up and Methra announced that Mr. McIntyre was on line one. “William, this is Adara Davis.”
“Adara! What a pleasant surprise, it’s been a long time.” His voice was as I remembered, deep and warm. It brought back pleasant memories of a time many years ago when we had dated after Paige’s father had died and before I’d met Franco. It also brought back some unpleasant memories, but I squashed those before they became rampant and detracted me from the purpose of my call.
“Yes, Bill, it has.” We exchanged the usual; how’s your wife, how’s Franco and Paige, etc. I ran through the pleasantries as quickly as I could. “Bill, I’m calling about the Nona Flores murder. I’ve been having dreams and I –“
“Yes, I remember your dreams, Adara,” he said. He should, it was the main reason we’d split up. He had been fascinated, at first; and then, progressively more aggravated about them. He wanted to capitalize on them; use them to “our” benefit but I either never got enough information or dreamt them too late to initiate any kind of positive action. His ego and constant pushing to ‘try listening to a tape of the last dream when you go to sleep tonight’ to ‘how about hypnotism’ had driven me crazy.
He couldn’t understand and couldn’t empathize or sympathize. Well, water under the bridge, now. “Bill, it’s different now. I’m dreaming things that haven’t happened, yet, but I believe they are definitely connected to the Flores killing.”
I paused for a couple of seconds, thinking he would say something but he didn’t. “I think Paige might be or become involved. I have to do something, Bill, I --“
He surprised me. “Is this afternoon, OK? My office or yours?”
I breathed a great sigh of relief and said, “If you can come here, Bill? I feel more comfortable in my own office. Three okay?” He agreed to the meeting and hung up.
I walked into the outer office to tell Methra she could have the rest of the day off. I made at least one person happy that day. I had a couple of hours before Bill arrived and decided to take a power nap, twenty minutes, max.
****************************************************************
The main gambling floor of the Golden Nugget was crowded as usual. A couple, in their early forties, were cleaning house at the black jack table. Sitting on the table between them was a doll. It looked like a Cajun gambler with a wide black hat, three piece “country” suit and a string tie. Each time a hand ended, one or the other of them would rake in the chips and then, both of them would lay a finger on the doll, close their eyes for a second as if praying and then, begin bidding for the next hand.
FLASH
The suite consisted of three rooms; a master bedroom, a second smaller bedroom and a huge living room with sunken floor. The living room and the master bedroom opened out on a very large balcony that commanded a view of the entire western part of Las Vegas and a magnificent sundown. In the master bedroom, two crosses had been constructed and leaned against the wall. Two shadowy figures moved around the room placing hammers and spikes neatly on the floor in front of the crosses, laying two large knives next to the tools and then, printing signs.
FLASH
The couple that had been playing black jack with the doll lay unconscious on the floor.
They’d been stripped naked, their hands and feet tied and a ball gag tightened around their heads. Two men, wearing long Monk-like robes, knelt next to them, knives in hand. One of them suddenly looked up and around the room.
“Do you feel that?” He asked the other.
“Feel what?” He looked around the room and then said, “Come on. I don’t feel anything. Let’s get this done.”
“It feels like someone’s in here with us. It’s spooky.”
“****. God is the only one watching and He sent us here, didn’t He? He’s proud of what we are doing.”
“Yes, yes, of course. Let’s pray before we wake these two sinners up.”
Together they began to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name ---“
FLASH
The bodies were hung on the crosses. Her breasts had been sliced off and thrown against the wall leaving a smear of blood that ran down to a blob of jelly looking substance on the floor beneath. Her genitals had also been cut out and stuffed into the man’s mouth. His were stuffed into hers. Both had had their throats cut. The signs around their necks read “Thou Shalt Have No Other God Before Me” and written in blood on the opposite wall, “Remember the Sabbath Day, to Keep it Holy.”
I awoke with a start and immediately jumped off of the couch. I stood on trembling legs for a second, the horror of this dream blinding me to coherent thought. I forced myself to wipe the dream from my mind. All of it except the one thing that gave me a ray of hope. I ran to the phone.
While I was looking for and dialing Bill McIntyre’s number I was thinking about the commandment on the wall. Today is Friday. We’ve got lots of time until Sunday. I’ve done it -- I’ve gotten ahead of the dreams. No, no…wait, the “Sabbath” was Jewish. It’s Saturday, tomorrow. ****…the Sabbath actually starts tonight at sunset.
“Bill? Bill, it’s Adara again. Can you get over here now, right now and bring the detectives that are working on the case. I think we can stop a murder!”
