"I was uncomfortable talking to Beverly." Wendy said "She would have said that I put too much stock in dreams. That she had more important things to do... after all she would be interviewing for the position of manager in a couple of days. But it was not so."

-0-

"Running from something really scary and a door that would not open?"

"Yes. More than one night."

"But then the door opened."

"Yes."

Beverly took a deep breath. "I had the same dream as you and Frank. Tell me, who was it behind the door?"

"Danny, for me. But Dinah for Frank."

"And I had Frank... Wendy, I will talk to Professor Romney on this. But I want you to talk to Danny and ask him if he had a really scary dream. Do not mention doors. Just trying to escape. Let's see if he has opened the door yet, and who was behind it. I will ask Dinah the same."

-0-

"So I did. It was a bit hard to catch Danny, but I cornered him."

-0-

"Danny, there is something going on. Something that might be dangerous. And I need your help."

"Sure, Wendy, what is it? Does it concern Amos?"

"I do not think so. It is just something is happening and I need to know what it is."

"What can I do?"

"Did you have a scary dream last night? A real scary one?"

Danny rubbed his forehead. "Yikes... I did have one. How could you know?"

"Please tell me what you remember."

"It was... it was something that had happened before...something that I tried to forget. but I could do not. I remember that I woke up screaming because I could not get away"

"You were running.."

"And the door would not open."

"Was there a door?"

"Yes. It would not open... until..."

"Did the door open?"

"Yeah. After I fell asleep again... I remember taking a decision, and the door opened."

"And what did you see?"

"Louis Benchley."

-0-

"Talking to Dinah had its own pitfalls. For all that she had gone through, she still was the princess of Benchleytown and I was the hired help. I could not help being deferential when I talked to her, and she could not help being imperious and condescending. We tried to catch ourselves, but still, we were not at the stage when we exchanged confidences. Eventually we did, but other things had to happen first. So I took the direct approach, telling her that there was something that could be a danger, but I did not see why."

-0-

"Is it about the guy you want to hire, Raft, is it?"

"No. It is a strange thing. In a town that has too many strange things - starting with Amos."

"So what is it?"

"People are having the same dream. Wendy told me that she and Frank had the same dream, and when she described it, I realized that I had had too. And Wendy tells me that Danny had it too."

"What is this dream?"

"You tell me and I will tell you if it is. Tell me the scariest dream you had recently"

"The scariest? Well I had one. I was running away from... from a big mistake I had done in my past, something that I did not wish to remember."

"And you escaped at the end?"

"Not until the door opened."

"A door?"

"Yes. A door that refused to open... and then it did."

"And what was behind that door?"

"Wendy Pruitt"

Beverly sighed. "Yes. It is the same dream."

"What does it mean? Why is it happening?"

"I will tell Professor Romney. He probably knows."

-0-

Louis Benchley emptied his brandy glass. Another day gone, and he was one day older. And that was it.

He envied his niece Dinah. She seemed so alive so purposeful ... as he once had been.

But now...

No point going over it. Better go to sleep.

And the dream came

"What did you get from running me over?" he heard a man's voice "You thought you could get rid of Eagleton, who dared to court the woman you chose...and how did it work out?"

"Leave me alone!"

"The great Louis Benchley, the lord of the manor, the heir to the Benchley fortune, who was so sure to make his mark on the world, and you never let us forget it!

"It was an accident."

"A very convenient accident, wasn't it?"

"I did not mean..."

"You sent Eagleton to jail, but then what did you do with your life? You are now stuck in Benchley town and a has been. Pretending to be what you are not!"

"Stop!"

"You are a failure, a failure, Louis Benchley!"

Louis ran, to try to shut that unwelcome voice.

And a door stood in front of him.