Hideaway Hospital Murders Read online

  She strained her eyes to watch, as Macy moved out of the light, and became a dark ghost moving across the room to the stairs. It would be so easy to follow her to her bedroom…

  **********

  Macy brushed the cookie crumbs off the edge of her bed and into her hand. A couple of tiny bits of cookie fell between her fingers and onto the floor. She got down on hands and knees and studied the carpet at very close range, retrieving every morsel. The maid service vacuumed twice a week, but that was no excuse for sloppiness.

  She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth for a full three minutes. Then she flossed. Then she flossed again. She brushed her perfect thick, shoulder-length brown hair until all of the tangles were gone. Then she brushed it another thirty times.

  Macy eyed the paperback adoringly as she approached her bed. She had read fifty more pages while enjoying her cookies. The characters in her romance novels were her closest friends. She wasn’t simply reading a book. She was visiting another world—the world where she felt most at home.

  Macy switched off her lamp and rolled in between the sheets. Then she turned over onto her left side, closed her eyes and began to relax. Within moments, she heard something. Someone sneaking into her room. Through her peripheral vision, she could see a figure standing behind her. Standing over her. She pretended to be asleep. Maybe they would go away. But what if they planned to kill her? Her back was completely vulnerable to a vicious thrust of a knife. Her head was sitting perfectly still on the lacy pillowcase—just inviting the blow of a heavy blunt instrument.

  She felt the bed move as the person got under the covers with her. She cringed when she felt a hand on her shoulder, the warm breath on the back of her exposed neck. Then the soft, smooth hand caressed her right arm and moved down toward her hip. What was about to happen to her? She began to tremble.

  Then she felt the fingers work their way under her nightgown…over her stomach…under her right breast. The intruder’s body inched ever closer to hers, until they were spooned.

  Then a voice whispered, “I want you, Macy.”

  The warm tongue just behind her ear gave her goose bumps. She moved away slightly. Then she rolled over onto her back.

  Macy said, “I was afraid you weren’t coming.”

  Then the warm body was on top of her. There was a long, deep kiss. Her feelings were so powerful she thought she would faint at any moment. But the feeling went on and on, building to a mind-bending crescendo.

  Then it was over. She lay spent. The hot passion that had worked her body into a sweat was almostas good as the real thing. Now she was ready for a warm, peaceful night’s sleep.

  But cold reality would be waiting for her again in the morning.

  Chapter5

  The bright Sunday morning sun illuminated the stained glass windows, diffusing multi-colored hues across the congregation. Attendance is up today, thought Greg. As the organist was nearing the end of the Prelude, he stepped up to the podium.

  “Please take your hymnals and turn to page 23, and let’s stand and sing ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’”

  Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning, our song shall rise to Thee…

  As Greg sang and conducted the 4/4 pattern, which he could do in his sleep, his mind began to wander. Shouldn’t he feel guilty about what he was thinking last night while kissing Cynthia on the couch? His actionshad been within the bounds of acceptable behavior. He had nothing to be ashamed of in that regard.

  But what about his thoughts? It wasn’t what he didwith Cynthia—it was what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to dishonor her or his commitment to God. But his feelings had been only natural. God created humans and gave them sexual desire. Wasn’t it okay to wantto have sex, as long as you didn’t actually do it? Then he remembered the passage from Matthew 5:28.

  But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart.

  At the end of the hymn, Greg stepped back and Dr. Huff went to the podium and said a prayer. Then there were announcements, two more hymns, and a chorus.

  After the offering, it was time for the choir to sing their anthem. When Greg motioned to the choir to stand, Cynthia smiled at him from the Alto section. She was so incredibly beautiful. Standing there in her choir robe, she looked like a redheaded angel. If they could just get married, Greg could stop feeling guilty about his desire for her.

  **********

  Elmo was not thrilled that Carsie had invited her sister to stay at the house. But it would only be for a few more days. He had made it clear to his fiancé that as soon as the wedding was over, Carnie must move out.

  “More orange juice, Sir?” Hadley had prepared a brunch consisting of Eggs Benedict, bacon, sausage, blueberry pancakes, bran muffins, and hash browns.

  “No, thanks. I’ve had enough. It was delicious, as usual.”

  Hadley nodded. It was his admiration of Dr. Mobley that kept him from retiring. He had worked for the family since Elmo was a young boy.

  It was a very pleasant day, so Hadley had put them on the back porch near the kitchen.

  “It’s such a nice day,” said Carsie. “We should do something special.”

  “Like what?” Elmo was reading the business section of the Dallas Morning News.

  “We could drive over to the Dallas Zoo.”

  Carnie joined in, “I love animals. They’re so primitive.”

  Elmo wasn’t sure what to make of Carnie’s statement or the odd grin on her face.

  Macy walked out of the house, leaned over and whispered into Elmo’s ear.

  Carsie did not appreciate the fact that she was being left out of the loop. Why did Elmo need to hide anything from his bride-to-be? As soon as they came back from their honeymoon, she would fire Macy Golong. She didn’t trust her with Elmo.

  “Ladies, you’ll have to excuse me,” he said to Carsie and her sister. He got up from the table and walked into the house with Macy.

  “I don’t like her,” said Carsie.

  “She’s harmless,” said Carnie.

  **********

  “What makes you think she’s acting weird?” said Elmo.

  “You’ll have to see for yourself,” said Macy.

  Elmo rarely spent any time with his mother. He only saw her once or twice a week.

  “Come on in. I think she’s still in the bathroom. Don’t let her see you.”

  “Okay.”

  Macy led him through Mallie Mae’s bedroom, to the bathroom door. Macy walked in, leaving the door open so Elmo could see.

  “Are you okay?” said Macy.

  “No. I can’t remember how to make this thing start,” said Mallie Mae.

  Elmo was shocked by what he saw: his mother holding a hairbrush in one hand and a tube of toothpaste in the other. She had applied a line of Crest across the bristles of the hairbrush.

  “I know how to make it work. I just need a little help.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll help you,” said Macy.

  “I just need to wash my things.” She pointed to her teeth. “These things.” She looked in the mirror. “These little white things in my mouth. I just don’t remember how to do it. I think my breakfast made me a little sick. Tell Had…whatever that man’s name is—he cooks our food. You know. Tell him he made me sick and now I can’t think right.”

  “Mother?” said Elmo.

  Mallie Mae turned and was surprised to see him standing there.

  “What are you doing in here? Get out of my room and just leave me alone.”

  “But, Mother, you seem to be having a problem. I just want to help.”

  “Get out! Now!”

  Elmo walked out of the bedroom and shut the door. He stood in the hallway, stunned. He was about to go back downstairs when Macy came out.

  “See what I mean?”

  “Yeah. She’s in bad shape. I had no idea. Has she ever acted like this before?”

  “Well…”

 
“You mean she’s been like this for a while and you didn’t tell me?”

  “I’m sorry. But she swore me to secrecy.”

  “When did it start?”

  “She started having some memory problems a couple of years ago. But I thought it was just old age.”

  “You should have told me, Macy.”

  “I know. But it wasn’t that bad at first. It’s gotten a lot worse in the past few months.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  “I’m sorry. Do you think it’s Alzheimer’s? She’s only 75.”

  “It could be. Most people don’t get until their mid-eighties. But sometimes it happens a lot sooner.”

  “I hope that’s not what it is.”

  “It could be something else. Like a reaction to medication. What is she taking?”

  “Just her blood pressure medicine. And sometimes a pain pill.”

  “Or it could be a nutritional deficiency. How’s her appetite?”

  “Pretty good.”

  “And sometimes people have these symptoms after a stroke.”

  “Oh, I think I would know if she had a stroke. Wouldn’t I?”

  “Probably—considering how much time you spend with her.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  “I’ll send her to the hospital for testing.”

  “Oh, I don’t think she’d like that. She’s embarrassed. She’d rather die than have everybody in town hear about this.”

  “Okay. I’ll send her to a good friend of mine in Dallas. He specializes in geriatrics.”

  “So, he’ll be able to find out what’s wrong with her?”

  “Yes. He’s an excellent diagnostician. I’ll give him a call and set it up for tomorrow.”

  “Do you want me to drive her over there?”

  “No. I’ll call the limo service. You just go along and take care of her.”

  “Good. I will.”

  Elmo went downstairs to his study. Macy went back into Mallie Mae’s room.

  “He’s going to send you to a geriatric doctor for tests.”

  “I don’t want to go to Coreyville or Longview. People know me there.”

  “No. This doctor is in Dallas.”

  “Good. And you’re going with me, right?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  **********

  Elmo called his old friend, Dr. John Fransein in Dallas.

  “Hey, Johnny. This is Elmo Mobley.”

  “Well, you didn’t have to give your last name.” Johnny laughed. “How many Elmo’s do you think I know?”

  “Not that many, I guess. But it’s been a long time.”

  “It sure has. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine. But I’m afraid my mother has a problem.”

  “What kind of problem?”

  “She may have Alzheimer’s.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  “But it could be something else. I hate to ask such a big favor, but could you run some tests on her?”

  “Of course. I’d be happy to.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Uh…yeah, sure. I can work her in. How about 2:00 PM?”

  “That would be great, Johnny. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. She’ll be coming with her personal aide. Her name is Macy.”

  “Okay. But you know that all I can do is rule out other things, right? There’s still no definitive test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. But we get it right about ninety percent of the time. Unfortunately, there is no cure.”

  “But there are medicines that can help.”

  “Yes. There are things we can do to try to slow down the process. We just can’t stop it. What are her symptoms?”

  “All I can tell you is that this morning she was trying to figure out how to brush her teeth with a hairbrush. She knew she was doing something wrong, but she didn’t know what.”

  “Yeah, that’s typical for someone with Alzheimer’s.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “But we’ll see. I’ll do my best to find out what’s going on with her, Elmo.”

  “I know you will.”

  “And we should get together sometime. Be sure to give me a call the next time you’re in Dallas.”

  “I will. And thanks again, Johnny.”

  Chapter6

  “Mom decided to take me up on my offer,” said Cynthia as she walked into the living room.

  “She’s moving in with you?” Greg had figured this was coming, but he didn’t think it would be this soon. It was Sunday night. Cynthia had just asked her mom the day before.

  “Yeah. And she said she’d be ready to move next weekend. I’ll go over two or three nights this week and help her pack.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  “She said she would line up a truck. Would you mind driving it?”

  “No problem.”

  “You’re wonderful.” She leaned over and gave him quick kiss.

  He wanted it to be longer, but that could wait until later.

  “I’ll make us some popcorn.” She walked into the kitchen.

  “Okay, Baby. I’ll get the movie ready.”

  Greg’s cell phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “I’m glad you didn’t change your phone number.”

  Greg wished he had. It was his ex-wife. He had not spoken to her since right after the divorce. And they had been divorced for over five years. Before that, he had been a full-time minister of music. Her cheating and the subsequent divorce had put an end to that job. Fortunately, they never had children.

  “Why are you calling me, Susan?”

  “Just wanted to see how you were doing. And I had a dream about you the other night. It was crazy. We were in bed together and—“

  “—I don’t want to hear about it. And I’m busy right now. If you really need to talk, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “You’re with your girlfriend, aren’t you? That cute redheaded banker?”

  “How did you—“

  “—I’ve got friends. They tell me things.”

  He didn’t know his ex had any friends in town. He had moved from Longview to Coreyville to get away from her and her backstabbing friends. It was hard to believe that many of them had once been hisfriends too.

  Cynthia walked into the living room with the giant bowl of popcorn.

  “Whatever. Look I’ve gotta go,” said Greg.

  “She’s right there, isn’t she? Are y’all in bed? Is she on top of you?”

  “Goodbye!”

  “Your ex?” said Cynthia.

  “Yes. Why did she have to ruin my night?”

  “What did she want?”

  “To harass me.”

  “Yeah, but that can’t be the only reason she called you after all this time.”

  “Apparently, she has a friend in Coreyville who told her about us.”

  “So now she’s jealous?”

  “Maybe. But I don’t know why. Of course, she’s always wanted what she couldn’t have.”

  “Or maybe she just can’t stand to see you happy.”

  “Maybe.”

  “So, just show her. Be happy.”

  Cynthia gave him a warm, luscious kiss. It was short enough so they would still want to watch the movie, but long enough to make him forget about Susan.

  **********

  It was only 9:00 PM, but Macy couldn’t wait any longer. She had to see what was going on in the Media Room. She prayed that Elmo and Carsie were just watching TV.

  At 56, Dr. L.R. ‘Elmo’ Mobley was practically a virgin. He hadn’t had been with a woman in years. Macy had heard the full account from Mallie Mae years ago, when she first moved in to care for her after she broke her leg. Macy was her full-time nurse at first. But Mallie Mae enjoyed her company so much that she asked Macy to stay on, even after the leg had healed.

  When he was 37, Elmo had been giving every ounce of energy to his patients. Bu
t he finally grew tired of having no personal life. So he started dating. She was a nurse at Coreyville General Hospital—a very nice lady. And eventually the two set a wedding date. But Mallie Mae did not approve. And she did everything she could think of to destroy their relationship. But Elmo knew his mother was trying her best to break them up. So all thatdid was make him more determined to go through with his marriage plans.

  Then Mallie Mae crafted her most devious scheme ever. She paid off a sleazy private detective to produce porn pictures of Elmo’s fiancé. It was not that difficult to merge shots of her head with graphic sex pictures he found on the internet.

  The doctor showed the photographs to his fiancé and she denied she had ever posed for such lurid pictures. He wanted so badly to believe her. But his mother had planted a terrible seed of doubt. And it grew like Dandelions—every time you pull one out of the ground to destroy it, you just scatter more seeds.

  Ultimately, the couple was doomed. He hated Mallie Mae for it. She had made him miserable while he was in medical school. Now she had destroyed his chance for love and happiness. He swore he would never forgive her.

  After that, whether consciously or not, he closed himself off to any possibility of a romantic relationship. Because Macy was aware of this, she had never pursued anything but a friendship. But sometimes it was all she could do to keep from telling him how she really felt.

  Then, after so many years of loneliness, Carsie had bumped into him at the grocery store and stolen his heart. He had stopped by Kroger’s at lunchtime for a fix. Not many people knew he was addicted to Brach’s Candy Corn. Couldn’t be any other brand—had to be Brach’s. He kept a supply hidden in a desk drawer. So he went straight to the candy aisle and there she was—buying Brach’s Candy Corn. Supposedly, she was hooked on the stuff too. What were the chances of that?

  Macy went downstairs to the basement and started to walk toward the open Media Room door. All she could hear was the TV. What if that woman already had him down on the floor? Macy had to admit that Carsie was hot. She could probably get him to do anything if she really tried.

  “Macy,” spoke a voice from the darkness.