Page 55 of In Her Fears
Jake’s expression hardened slightly.“That’s not what I’m saying.I’m saying we need to approach this methodically.And part of that methodology is making sure you don’t collapse from exhaustion.”
“I’m fine,” Jenna insisted, but even as the words left her mouth, a wave of exhaustion crashed over her.The restaurant seemed to tilt around her.Her vision blurred at the edges, and for a moment she thought she might actually pass out right there in the booth.
Jake’s hand shot out to steady her arm.“Jenna?You okay?”
She tried to respond, but her mouth felt disconnected from her brain.The month of broken sleep, the stress of the investigation, the horror of the murders—it all seemed to hit her at once.
“That’s it,” Jake said firmly.“You need sleep.Real sleep.I’ll keep working the case while you get some rest.”
“No,” she protested weakly, but the word had no force behind it.
“This isn’t a debate,” Jake said, his tone gentler now.“You’re dead on your feet.Four hours of real sleep will make you sharper than you are in this zombie state.”
Jenna wanted to argue, to insist that she could push through, but her body had made the decision for her.She felt hollowed out, just a shell running on fumes.
“Fine,” she hissed, the word barely audible.
Jake gathered their barely-touched food and disposed of it, then guided her out to the car.The evening air felt cool against her feverish skin as they walked across the parking lot.The rising moon caught her attention briefly—full and bright, watching over the town like a cold, impartial witness.Just like in Harrow’s paintings.Just like in her dreams.
They drove in silence, Jenna too exhausted to continue their argument.When they reached her house, Jake pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.“I’ll call you if anything breaks,” he promised.“Try to actually sleep, okay?”
Jenna nodded, not trusting herself to speak without saying something she’d regret.She fumbled with the door handle, her coordination shot, and made her way up the walk to her front door.She didn’t look back to see if Jake was watching her go.
Inside, she didn’t bother turning on lights, didn’t even consider changing clothes or washing her face.Her bedroom beckoned, and she stumbled toward it on legs that felt increasingly disconnected from her body.She collapsed onto her bed, then surrendered completely to the darkness that had been threatening to engulf her for hours.
Sleep pulled Jenna down like a stone sinking in dark water.Yet consciousness didn’t fade completely.Instead, it shifted, sharpened in that familiar way that signaled a lucid dream beginning.The darkness behind her eyelids gave way to moonlight filtering through branches, and suddenly she was standing in a small forest clearing, fully aware that she was dreaming, yet too weak to control what unfolded before her.
The September full moon hung overhead, impossibly large and luminous, bathing the clearing in silver light.At her feet lay a checkered blanket spread across the forest floor, its corners weighed down with small stones.The remnants of a picnic were scattered across it—half-empty wine glasses, a wicker basket, plates with the crumbs of some long-ago meal.Everything looked abandoned, as if the participants had fled in haste.
Then Jenna felt a chill prickling her skin as an unseen presence made itself known.
“This is where it started,” a woman’s voice said from behind her.“This is where it’s going to end.Unless you can stop it from happening.”
Jenna turned slowly.The woman from last night’s dream stood at the edge of the clearing, her form more substantial now.In the moonlight, Jenna could make out her features—delicate, sad eyes in a face framed by dark hair.She wore a light summer dress that seemed to float around her, though there was no breeze.
“I know who you are,” Jenna said, the name coming to her with certainty.“Lina.Elias Harrow’s wife.”
“He’s in terrible danger,” the woman replied.
“Who is?Elias?”Jenna asked, stepping closer.
Lina didn’t answer directly, her gaze shifting to the abandoned picnic.“Do you know where we are?”she asked.
Jenna looked around the moonlit clearing, trying to place it in her waking knowledge of Trentville and its surroundings.Then Eric’s words from earlier that day echoed in her mind: “The three of us were having a picnic.It was a great day—or so we thought.But that was the very night when...”
“This is where you, Elias, and Eric had your last picnic together,” Jenna said slowly.“The night you died.”
“The last night,” Lina confirmed.“Something happened here that changed everything.”
“What happened?”Jenna asked.“What happened that night, Lina?”
Lina moved toward the blanket, kneeling beside it.“They turned against each other—Elias and Eric.Love turned them against each other.”
“You mean they fought about you,” Jenna said, understanding dawning.“You and Eric were having an affair.”
“Yes,” Lina admitted, her voice hollow with old grief.“For months.I thought I loved Eric.I thought he loved me.But that night, Elias confronted us both.The things he said...the things Eric said in return...”
She looked up at Jenna, her eyes now intense with urgency.“It can only end in death.Unless you can stop it.”
