Page 58 of In Her Dreams
As she drove, Olivia reached into her bag and touched a small leather-bound notebook.She’d documented everything meticulously—the rituals, the posthypnotic suggestions, the progress of each subject.Not out of callousness, but out of scientific rigor.What she was doing wasn’t murder; it was research of the highest importance.If one must break a few eggs to make an omelet, then perhaps one must risk a few lives to achieve transcendence.
She was doing what needed to be done.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Jenna maneuvered her sheriff’s vehicle into a visitor’s parking space at Ozark State University, her mind still processing what they’d learned at Thompson’s Apothecary.The carefully tended plants under grow-lights in his basement had included a hallucinogenic called ka’lutma that was used in ancient rites in connection with fear.
“You really think Summers is the person we’re looking for?”Jake asked, unbuckling his seatbelt.His expression was thoughtful, skeptical but open.
“I don’t know,” Jenna admitted, killing the engine.“But she’s the common thread.She knows about this stuff—the plants, the rituals.More than that, she lied to us about knowing about any of it when she was actually buying ka’lutma from Thompson.”
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the brick buildings, and students moved between classes with the unhurried pace of summer semester.But beneath the campus’s tranquil surface, Jenna sensed something darker.She had yet to grasp a reason for those connections she saw forming between the deaths, ka’lutma, and Dr.Olivia Summers.
They crossed the campus quad toward Blackwell Hall, the four-story brick building that housed the anthropology department.Seeing the elevator doors standing open, she led the way into that instead of the stairs.She watched the floor numbers light up one by one.When the doors opened, they stepped into the corridor where she had visited Summers before.The office door still bore the note “Knock LOUDLY,” but their rapping produced no reply.
“Dr.Summers?Sheriff Graves and Deputy Hawkins.”Her voice echoed slightly in the empty hallway.
After another moment of silence, Jenna tried the handle.Locked.
“Main office?”Jake suggested, gesturing down the hall where a frosted glass door was labeled “Department of Anthropology.”
The department office was a hub of activity—phones ringing, a photocopier humming, student assistants moving about with stacks of papers.Glass cases displayed artifacts from various cultures—clay pots, woven baskets, primitive tools, all meticulously labeled and organized.
Behind a reception desk sat a woman in her fifties, reading glasses perched on her nose, her gray-streaked hair pulled back neatly.
Jenna approached, badge already in hand.“Excuse me, I’m Sheriff Graves from Genesius County, and this is Deputy Hawkins.We’re looking for Dr.Olivia Summers.”
The secretary’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of the badge.“Oh!Um, I’m sorry, Dr.Summers isn’t here.She canceled her afternoon class and left for the day.”
“Did she say why?”Jenna pressed.
“Not specifically.”The secretary’s brow furrowed.“She called about two hours ago, said something had come up and asked me to post a notice for her Survey of Mesoamerican Cultures class.It was unusual—she rarely cancels.”
“Did she mention where she was going?”Jake asked.
“No.Just that she wouldn’t be back today.”
Jenna exchanged a glance with Jake.“Could you try reaching her by phone?It’s important that we speak with her.”
“Of course.”The secretary picked up her desk phone and dialed.She waited, eyes on her computer screen.“It’s going straight to voicemail.”She tried again with the same result, then looked up apologetically.“I’m sorry.That’s strange—she usually answers.”
“Does she live on campus?”Jenna asked.
“No, she has a house about twenty minutes from here.In Oakridge Estates.”
“Could you give us that address?”
The secretary hesitated.“I...I’m not sure I should—”
“It’s in connection with an ongoing investigation,” Jake said, his tone gentle but firm.“Multiple deaths.”
The secretary’s face paled.“Oh.I see.”She typed something into her computer, then wrote an address on a Post-it note and handed it to Jenna.
“Thank you,” Jenna said, pocketing the address.Outside in the hallway, she and Jake paused.“Well, that’s not suspicious at all,” Jake muttered.“Cancels class, disappears, phone off.”
“Could be nothing,” Jenna said, though she didn’t believe it.“Could have a doctor’s appointment, family emergency.”
“Or she could be running.”
