“Well, maybe you should call the police.”
“No, I want to check it out myself first.”
“Goodbye, Ben,” said Alma from the other side of the bed.
“Sorry, Alma. Didn’t mean to wake you,” said Hadley.
“Well, call me if you need anything,” said Horatio.
“Okay, thanks. I really enjoyed our day together, and I hope we can—”
Horatio was already snoring.
Chapter35
The four women in the hospital beds were still asleep. Greg, Cynthia, and Elmo were standing, handcuffed to the bed guardrails. Macy, Mallie Mae, and Carsie were standing near the doorway to the bathroom. Carnie and Sylvia were across the room.
“I’m sorry you were hurt when Morford and I started dating,” said Mallie Mae to Sylvia. “I had no idea.”
“That’s hard to believe. I would have still had a chance when he got tired of you—if you hadn’t pulled him into bed and got yourself pregnant.”
“I didn’t mean to get pregnant. It was an accident.”
“No, it wasn’t. It was your way of stealing him away from me—forever.”
“But he never went out with you. I’ll bet he didn’t even know you were interested in him.”
“He wouldhave gone out with me. But then he had to do the right thing and marry you.”
“So, what do you want from me?”
“I had a beautiful plan. Carsie would seduce Elmo, make him fall in love with her and they would get married.”
“I really do love you, Elmo,” said Carsie.
“Shut up, Carsie,” said Sylvia.
But Carsie went on. “I was acting at first—but then I really feel in love with you. And I tried to get my grandmother to forget about her plan, but—”
“—I said shut up!” Sylvia paused for a moment to regain her composure. “And of course, Elmo would love Carsie so much that he wouldn’t bother with a prenup. But then, after a few months, Carsie would turn into an unlovable witch and make him miserable.
“In the meantime, Carnie would take a nursing job at Coreyville General under one of her many assumed names. She would bump into Elmo at the hospital and go after him with her incredible sex appeal, and eventually make him cheat on Carsie.”
“You don’t know Elmo—he would never do that,” said Mallie Mae.
“Really? He was about to marry Carsie. We were so close. Anyway, after Elmo had cheated on his new wife and she had found out, she would have divorced him and bled him dry. Then my granddaughters and I would have enjoyed the dividends of our success.
“So, you see, my plan was to make your son miserable and poor, and thereby, make you miserable, Mallie Mae.”
“You should have left Elmo out of this. I’mthe one you hate.”
“Yes, but he’sthe one you love.”
“But your plan failed,” said Mallie Mae. “Elmo was about to break up with Carsie. He’s in love with Macy.”
“No, he’s not—he loves me! Don’t you, Elmo?” said Carsie.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, Carsie,” said Sylvia. “I have a newplan. A much better plan. We’re all gonna stay right here until Monday morning. Then Elmo’s going to the bank to liquidate all his and Mallie Mae’s assets. Then he’ll wire the money to my bank account in Grand Cayman. And if he contacts the police or tells anybody what’s really going on, he’ll never see his mother or any of the rest of you again. At least, not in your current state, with heads attached.”
Cynthia listened in silence. She was a vice president First State Bank where the Mobleys had their accounts. She knew there was no way Elmo could go into the bank and wire all their money to an offshore account without arousing suspicion. She could offer to go to the bank with Elmo. But that would still leave her mom and Greg and everybody else in jeopardy. Should she speak up?
Carsie pointed at Cynthia. “And that woman should go to the bank with Elmo.”
“Why?” said Sylvia.
“Because she works there. I went to the bank with Elmo one time and I remember her. She’s some kind of loan officer or something.”
“Is that true,” said Sylvia to Cynthia.
Before she could speak, Mallie Mae said, “It doesn’t matter. We don’t have any money. At least, not the kind of money you’retalking about.”
“Don’t lie to me, Mallie Mae. Carnie, would you like to come over here and shoot Elmo in the leg?”
“Wait a minute. Let me explain,” said Mallie Mae. “We usedto have money. Until Morford quit his practice and built this underground hospital.”
Sylvia studied Mallie Mae’s face. “I don’t believe you, Mallie Mae. But it’s a long time ‘til Monday morning and I amcurious. Why didMorford build this place?”
“It was the early 1980s and Morford was trying to help some men who had AIDS. And everybody was so afraid of the disease back then. People didn’t even want you driving through their town if you had it.
“So, Morford knew the family name would forever be spoken with disgust if the townspeople found out he was treating those men. But he was determined to help them. So he built this underground lab and clinic to treat them. And he spent a lot of money doing it. Before long, his patients’ friends in San Francisco found out about Morford’s clinic and wanted to come here. But all he could handle was four patients. So, he sent donations—enormous sums of money, to help pay for their medical care. After a couple of years, we were down to a few thousand dollars.”
“But you still have this magnificent acreage and this wonderful house,” said Sylvia.
“Yes. Thanks to Elmo. After Morford died in the car accident, Elmo moved back home to support me and keep me from losing the house. He was so wonderful.” She smiled at her son and he smiled back.
Carnie stepped forward. “But what about the murders?”
“What murders?” said Mallie Mae.
“You thought nobody would ever find them. But you were wrong.”
Mallie Mae squirmed. “Find what?”
“The skeletons.”
Everybody in the room seemed surprised—except Greg, Cynthia, and Mallie Mae.
“Skeletons?” said Sylvia.
“Yes,” said Carnie. “I found four skeletons in a wooden box, buried under the floor in a room off that hallway.”
Sylvia stared at Mallie Mae. “Let’s hear it.”
“Those were Morford’s patients.”
“He murderedthem?”
“They begged him to. He had done all he could for them, but they were all dying a slow death. Two of them were in worse shape than the others, but they all wanted to die together.”
Carnie was enjoying this part of the story. “So, what did he do? Blow their brains out? Cut their throats?”
“No. Of course not. He just upped their Morphine until they faded away.”
“Oh, that’s no fun,” said Carnie.
“What about their families?” said Carsie. “And what about the police? Didn’t somebody come looking for them?”
“No,” said Mallie Mae. “Sadly, nobody cared what happened to them except some friends in California. But most of them were dying too.”
Sylvia jumped in. “But it was still murder. Morford deservedto die in a car accident.”
“Actually, it wasn’t an accident,” said Mallie Mae. “I wanted everybody to think it was an accident because I didn’t want to have to tell the whole story. Somehow while he was treating those men he must have stuck himself with a needle. By the time he killed them, he had discovered that he had the disease too.
“So, he filled up two big gas cans and put them in the front seat of his car and then drove into a concrete wall at 90 miles per hour. It was suicide. Either he couldn’t live with the fact that he had killed those men, or he couldn’t bear the thought of putting his family through the torture of watching him die a slow, excruciating death.”
Elmo spoke softly to his mother. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, isn’t that a sad story,�
�� said Sylvia with a smirk. “I wish I had known about your suffering, Mallie Mae—so I could have enjoyedit. I could have basked in the glow of your agony. This is just another pleasure you denied me.”
“What a cruel, bitter old woman you’ve become, Sylvia,” said Mallie Mae. “I feel sorry for you.”
“Well, I can changethat.” Sylvia turned around to face Carnie. “I think it’s time to start killing some people, Carnie.”
While Sylvia had her back to Elmo, he got Greg’s attention and pointed to the mechanism that locked the bed guardrail in place. Sylvia was obscuring Carnie’s view of Elmo. And Carsie was watching the exchange between her sister and her grandmother.
Greg understood Elmo’s message. The bedrail to which he was handcuffed could be released by flipping a latch.
Sylvia continued, “We’ll start with…Macy. Yes, let’s kill Macy first. That will devastate Elmo. Then we’ll do Elmo. After that, Mallie Mae will be begging us to put her out of her misery.” She laughed.
**********
Hadley was just a few miles from home when the Buick began to sputter. He knew his car better than he knew his own body, and diagnosed the problem instantly as a clogged fuel filter. He had installed a new one just two months early. Must have picked up some dirty gas, he thought.
Fuel filters are great for protecting the carburetor by catching little bits of trash in the line. But after a while the trash buildup begins to choke off the flow of gasoline.
Hadley didn’t have a spare fuel filter in the trunk. He hoped he wouldn’t have to leave the car on the side of the road and walk the rest of the way—although, he was capable of making the walk. But it would take too long. He sensed his family needed him right now.
He was almost there. So, he would continue to push his old Roadmaster. It had always served him well.
Surely it wouldn’t fail him now.
Chapter36
It was just after 2:00 AM, but nobody was sleeping in the Hideaway Hospital—except the drugged women in the four beds.
Sylvia was pacing the floor, having the time of her life. “Go ahead, Carnie. Do whatever you want with Macy.”
Carnie handed the pistol to Sylvia and walked slowly toward Macy. The fear in Macy’s eyes excited her. She wanted to stab her in the chest fifty times. Or rip her clothes off and have sex with her—right there in front of everybody.
“No, Carnie—please,” said Elmo.
Cynthia, Greg, and Mallie Mae joined Elmo, begging Carnie not to harm Macy.
Carnie reached behind her back and whipped out the knife and held it up. “Quiet!”
Dead silence.
Carnie turned her head toward the bathroom. “I heard something upstairs. Elmo, do you have own a gun?”
He didn’t respond quickly enough.
Carnie raised the knife over her head, ready to throw it at Macy’s heart. “I’m sure you have a gun. Where is it?”
“In my desk in the study—bottom left drawer. But it’s locked. My keys are—“
“—I don’t need the keys. But you’d better not be lying.”
Carnie ran through the bathroom and the lab, picking up a screwdriver she had noticed earlier. She ran up the stairs, through her bedroom and into the media room. Through the high window she saw the black ’56 Buick in the driveway.
She flew up the stairs to the main floor and ran through the living room, which was barely illuminated, by light from the foyer. She flipped the light switch in Elmo’s study and hurried to his desk. It was more solid than others she had encountered, but she still managed to pry open the drawer with the screwdriver. Elmo better not have lied, she thought. She found it under some papers at the back of the drawer—a .22 caliber pistol.
She looked up and saw Hadley standing in the doorway staring at her. She pointed and fired. But he was gone.
He’s a dead man, she thought. Hadley was thin, and in good shape for a 77-year-old, but there was no way he could outrun her.
She ran into the living room and went toward the foyer. She would nail him on his way out the front door. But he wasn’t in the foyer. And the front door was closed. She darted into the dining room and flipped on the light. Then she checked the kitchen. He must have gone downstairs, she thought. She hurried downstairs to find him.
But when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard the front door opening. He tricked me, she thought. That old man tricked me! She ran up the stairs, through the kitchen, the dining room, and the foyer, and out the front door.
She expected to see Hadley driving away in his car. Where was he? She strained to find him out in the darkness. There was plenty of moonlight—but her eyes had not adjusted from the brightness of the foyer chandelier.
Then she thought she saw movement. Yes, there he was—running toward the woods. She took aim and fired. He went down. She watched carefully—he was not moving.
She was about to walk out to him and make sure he was dead, when she heard Sylvia calling to her. She ran back into the house.
**********
Hadley had underestimated Carnie’s shooting skills. He had figured he’d be safe at that distance in the dark. Otherwise, he would have tried going for his shotgun in the trunk. But he thought it would take too long to get it out and load it. By then, she would have been close enough to hit him with her eyes closed.
He felt the blood oozing from his side. How long before he would fade to unconsciousness? Could he make it to the car? And even if he managed to get to the car, would Carnie be watching and waiting just inside—ready to finish him off?
Mallie Mae and Elmo were not just his employers. They were as much his family as his Horatio was. And Macy had become family too.
Now his family was apparently in grave danger. For all he knew, some or all of them were already dead. He prayed not. But if there was any way he could help them, he would.
But first he had to find out if he could stand up.
**********
All eyes were on Carnie and the gun in her hand when she walked back into the hospital ward.
“Who’d you shoot?” said Sylvia.
“Hadley.”
“No,” said Mallie Mae, looking as though her husbandhad just been murdered.
Elmo hung his head.
“Why did you have to killhim?” said Macy.
“I thought he wasn’t coming home until tomorrow afternoon,” said Sylvia.
“He wasn’t supposedto,” said Carnie. She walked to where Sylvia was, across the room. Carsie was still standing with the prisoners, as though she wasn’t sure whose side she was on.
Sylvia walked up to Macy and gave her an evil grin. “So, where were we, Carnie? I believe you were about to start with this one. What’ll it be first—a shot in the leg? Or chop off a finger? What do you think, Carnie?”
“What about the money?” said Carnie.
“You heard Mallie Mae. There isno money. But that’s okay. We can still enjoy torturing her and her clan. Anyway, that wasmy number one goal.”
“That might have been yournumber one goal,” said Carnie, seething.
Sylvia spun around. “What do you mean?”
“The most important thing to meis the money. I’m getting tired of running your scams. I want enough cash so I can get away from you—once and for all!”
Greg thought this was his best chance—while Sylvia’s back was to him and the two women were arguing. He quietly flipped the latch and released the bedrail his handcuffs were attached to.
“But, Honey, we’re a team. And you don’t break up a great team,” said Sylvia.
“I don’t want to be on your team anymore,” screamed Carnie.
Greg eased the bedrail up and out of its slots, rushed up behind Sylvia and wrapped his right arm around her throat. The he slammed the bedrail across the front of her body, knocking the pistol out of her hand.
Macy jumped forward to reach for the gun, but Sylvia kicked it across the room.
“Looks like we have a change in plans. T
hisone wants to go first. Let go of me right now!” said Sylvia. “Or Carnie will start shooting people!”
But Greg tightened his grip around her neck. It looked like they were all going to die anyway. He had to try something.
Carnie seemed ambivalent.
“Kill them, Carnie! Start with Macy or Elmo.”
Carnie stood frozen.
“Do it, Carnie! Now!”
“Only if you go along with what Iwant,” said Carnie coldly.
“Are you crazy? Shoot somebody!”
“No! I’m tired of following your orders. The woman in that bed right there is Marcia Cleggmore. Her family is very wealthy. We can get a huge ransom for her.”
“I don’t care about the money, Carnie. It’s all about making Mallie Mae suffer—for what she did to me.”
“That was 50 years ago, Old Woman! Why can’t you just get over it?” said Carnie.
“I’m not going to bargain with you—just do what I say!”
“No! I’m sick of it! You made me murder all those innocent people. And you made me kill Jake. I really liked him.”
“Quit being a baby, Carnie.”
“Andyou abused me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You started having sex with me when I was just a little girl.”
“You wanted it too. You knowyou did.”
“I didn’t know whatI wanted. I was just a kid! You’re the one who turned me into a monster.” Carnie pointed the gun at Sylvia and walked toward her, getting angrier with each step.
“Just settle down, Sweetie. I love you.”
“Let go of her, or I’ll shoot…somebody,” said Carnie. From the look in her eyes, she just might have been ready to kill everybody.
Greg released her and stepped back.
Sylvia turned around and glared at Greg. “Mister, you’ve just earned yourself a bullet in the head for that foolhardy—”
Sylvia’s expression of glee turned to surprise and fear when she felt the bullet rip into her back. She stumbled and turned around to face Carnie. “What are you doing? I’m the only one who’s ever loved you.”
Hideaway Hospital Murders Page 19
