There was plenty of room on the bed, so Tracy got on the other side of Mr. Hayes. She didn't particularly like to sleep naked, but she doubted any of Jenna's clothes would fit her. Still, it was warm in the apartment, and she was able to go to sleep almost immediately.
▪▪▪
As expected, Tracy soon found herself a floating pair of eyes in someone else's dream. She remembered the link she had experienced with Jenna as they made love, and figured this must be her dream.
She was in a gigantic ball room, lined with mirrors on both sides. It was like something out of Cinderella, or a Victorian-era movie.
There were people all over, all very generic but all dressed fancy. Their clothes were in more focus than their faces. Tracy watched as they all danced in time with each other, but in a very dream-like trance.
Suddenly, trumpets sounded, and everyone looked towards the door. There, in a cream-colored dress, was Jenna. Her arm was locked around the arm of Mr. Hayes, who was much larger than he was in real life. I suppose he can seem larger than life sometimes, she thought. They were obviously the honored guests of the ball.
Ha, Tracy thought. Jenna's in for a rude awakening if she thinks that she'll be going to the ball with Mr. Hayes. Tracy watched as the two of them made it to the dance floor, Jenna radiating happiness the whole time.
The two began to dance, and Jenna's dress fell out of focus. In fact, the only thing that was in focus were her beautiful cream colored high heels, which seemed to dance with a life all their own. Mr. Hayes kept up with every dance move she made, even though they seemed random.
A waiter in a tuxedo walked by with a tray of wine glasses. Jenna grabbed his arm and the man stood by, looking as if he hardly noticed the delay. Jenna stooped down and grabbed her shoe, pulling it off. She somehow opened the heel of the shoe up, and pulled out a large vial with a skull and crossbones on it. She dumped the contents of the vial in one of the wine glasses. Neither man in front of her seemed to even notice her doing any of this.
As she spiked the wine, it turned purple and steamed. She handed the glass to Mr. Hayes, and the two klinked glasses. As soon as he took a sip of the drink, he gasped. He began to shrink immediately. Soon he was shorter than Jenna, and kept shrinking. She began to laugh, and he kept getting smaller. When he was about six inches tall, she lifted up her heel and brought it down on him, and he immediately melted into a red puddle.
▪▪▪
Tracy awoke with a start. She looked over at Jenna, peacefully sleeping in Mr. Hayes' nook, a smile on her face. What a violent dream to have, Tracy thought. And she seemed like such a nice girl, Tracy thought.
She stood, needing a glass of water to go back to sleep. She went all the way back to the kitchen, which was in the front of the apartment, before turning on a light. She felt silly standing in another woman's kitchen completely naked, but the water was helping to steady her nerves.
She looked around. There, by the door, she could see the pair of heels that Jenna had carelessly tossed in the closet when they had arrived. The closet door was still open, and she could see several rows of shoes. Typical of a girl this rich, Tracy thought.
Still, the dream troubled her. She walked over to the closet and opened it all the way. There were shoes of every color and type, sandals, sneakers...
And there, at the back of the closer, was the pair of shoes she had been wearing in the dream. Not a similar pair of shoes, these heels had the same straps, the same coloring, the same everything. Tracy knew that this was the exact pair. They were gorgeous, and had been the only part of Jenna's dream in complete focus.
Tracy went to her knees, and grabbed the two shoes. They felt normal enough for shoes that cost more than she used to make as a waitress in a week. Tracy inspected the heel of one shoe. She knocked her fingers against it, tried to lift off the bottom. Nothing. She grabbed the other shoe, and as soon as she pressed the front of the heel, a spring loaded compartment popped out. Nowhere near big enough to hold the vial from her dreams, but definitely big enough to hold a small vial.
Tracy thought about it. Did Jenna mean to poison Mr. Hayes in front of everyone? It could be something like a laxative or a chemical designed to make him throw up, something just to embarrass him. Tracy hoped it was as benign as that, but something about the dream made her think it was much worse. She wanted him dead.
Tracy had no idea what Jenna could have against Mr. Hayes, but she knew she wasn't going to find out by just sitting here looking at the shoes. She carefully replaced the shoes, drank the rest of her water, and went back to bed. She'd have to let Mr. Hayes know in the morning. She looked over at Jenna, the angelic smile on her face telling the opposite story of what her dreams told.
▪▪▪
"Yes James, I understand... yes, of course... yes... very good." Mr. Hayes spoke smartly into his phone as he and Tracy rode down in the elevator. Tracy had gotten used to the morning calls from James and had stopped paying attention whenever Mr. Hayes's phone rang. He hung up the phone as they exited the elevator and headed through the main lobby.
The doorman met them with a set of keys. Tracy smiled knowing that Mr. Hayes probably had the car arranged the moment he had gotten out of the chauffeured car the night before. His shoulders relaxed as the keys slid into his hand and he knew he was in control yet again.
Tracy was quiet as Mr. Hayes started the car. She was still reeling from her premonition and her discovery of the spring-loaded shoe-heel. The implications were staggering. Tracy tried to figure out what Jenna would gain from killing Mr. Hayes.
Was it a financial motivation? Jenna's father was simply an investor and would actually lose money if Mr. Hayes died. Jenna was not in Mr. Hayes' will. Emotional reasons perhaps? No, Tracy sighed as she shook her head. Jenna obviously had enjoyed his company, both at the salsa club and in the bedroom. She didn't have an emotional reason to kill him. It just didn't make sense, but the dreams had never been wrong.
"You are awfully quiet, Tracy. Are you alright?" Mr. Hayes asked, glancing over at her in the passenger seat. He looked so comfortable in the driver's seat, carefully guiding the car back to his mansion. She shifted on the leather seats, her dress uncomfortable being worn the morning after.
"Bad dreams," Tracy said carefully. She wasn't sure if she should tell him what she had seen. There was a very real possibility that he was just going to dismiss her concerns as nothing but nightmares.
"I had great dreams last night," he said with a smile. He turned and caught her eye. "Thank you for that."
Tracy bit her lip before speaking. "I don't think Jenna is quite what she appears to be."