Hideaway Hospital Murders (24 page)

Elmo had never dated a woman as attractive
as Macy—until Carsie. Carsie was every bit as sexy and beautiful as
Macy. And once she had come into Elmo’s life, Macy feared that her
own dreams of happiness would never come true.

But now Carsie was irrelevant.

Macy walked to Elmo’s study and stood in the
doorway. Elmo was sitting at his desk.

“
Come in,” he said. “And
please close the door.”

She closed it and met Elmo behind his desk
as he stood up. They wrapped their arms around each other.

“
All these years…” he said.
“I’ve been in love with you since you first came here.”

“
Why didn’t you tell
me?”

“
You were just too young,”
he said.

Macy was trembling with anticipation, and
Elmo could hear it in her voice. “We were so stupid—both of us
afraid to act on our feelings.”

“
But it’s okay. We’ve had
great times together as friends. Just think of it as 15 years of
foreplay,” he said.

“
Oh, Elmo…”

He leaned in and began kissing her.

She let herself slowly sink deep into the
passion, as though her body was easing its way down into a steamy
bubble bath.

He opened his mouth slightly and rubbed the
tip of his tongue softly and slowly along her lips until they
parted, welcoming him inside. As he gently explored her smooth
teeth and quivering tongue, they breathed each others’ breath
until they became dizzy.

Elmo had never experienced such a
combination of physical stimulation and emotional oneness. And he
knew he truly belonged with this incredible woman. He wanted her
now and forever.

He slid his hands down her back, past her
waist and spread his long fingers across her warm, tight cheeks and
gently pulled her firmly against his body. Macy could feel how much
he wanted her.

Then he worked his left hand up to her back
as he placed his right hand on her hip. He massaged the side of her
ribcage and then moved upward, just to the right of her breast.

Macy ran her left hand up the back of his
neck and into his scalp, which encouraged him to slide his hand
onto the side of her breast and begin rubbing her erect nipple with
his thumb. She jerked slightly, and he thought he had hurt her. But
that fear ended quickly when she pulled him closer and started
kissing him harder.

Elmo’s fingers found a button on her blouse
and unfastened it. Macy could not recall ever being this hot—even
in her most sizzling fantasies. She wanted him to go faster—to just
rip off her blouse. With each button her burning anticipation
soared even higher.

Would he have trouble with her bra strap?
she wondered.

He slipped a finger under the front edge of
her bra, pulled it outward and up, and her lovely breasts were
exposed. She longed for the glorious sensation of his fingertips.
But instead, he teased her by kissing the side of her face, then
down her neck. As his warm, moist lips inched their way toward the
nipple, she knew an orgasm was imminent.

They were lost in their own world. So, it
was not surprising that neither of them heard the soft knock at the
door.

Then it opened.

“
Elmo?”

It was Carnie, standing in the doorway,
staring at them—undeniably in the heat of passion.

Macy pulled her blouse together and turned
her back to Carnie.

Carnie glanced down at Elmo’s crotch.

His face turned bright red. “Carnie, let me
explain.”

“
What are you doing to my
sister?”

“
I’m sorry. We shouldn’t
have been doing this.”

No, Elmo, thought Macy. Don’t say that. It’s
what we’ve always wanted.

“
But I’m calling off the
wedding—for good,” he said.

“
You’re breaking up with
Carsie? Just like that?” said Carnie.

“
Yes.”

“
Well, then you should have
had the decently to
tell her
before you go having sex with somebody else,” said
Carnie.

“
I’m not. I mean, we
weren’t.”

“
Yeah, right. You think I’m
an idiot?” Carnie slammed the door shut and walked off.

Elmo ran to the door and yanked it open.
“Please don’t tell Carsie. I promise I’ll call her in the morning
and ask her to come here. Then I’ll try to break it to her
gently.”

“
Good luck with
that
,” said
Carnie.

“
So, you’ll let
me
tell
her?”

“
Okay, sure.
Whatever.”

Elmo walked back into the study and closed
the door.

“
Are you okay?” he said to
Macy, who was standing at the window looking out into the
night.

She turned around. “Yeah.”

But she didn’t
look
okay. Tears
were dripping off her face.

He walked over to her. “I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t have started this tonight.”

“
It wasn’t just
you
.
I
wanted it
too.”

“
I know. But we should have
waited until I settled things with Carsie. It’s just not right for
us to be doing this when she still thinks I plan to marry
her.”

“
Yeah, you’re
right.”

“
But I promise I will take
care of it tomorrow. Then we can be together. I love you so much,
Macy.”

“
I love you
too.”

He kissed her on the forehead. They said
goodnight and she went back upstairs.

And Macy knew that dreams and fantasies
would never again be enough.

**********

Carnie sat at the bar in the Pub Room next
to her bedroom and chugged down a beer.

All her planning and work had been a waste
of time. The two old women and the fat used car guy had died for
nothing. Not that she really cared, except that every murder could
be increasing her chances of getting caught. And if there was one
thing she cherished, it was her freedom. She would kill herself
before going to prison.

And what about Jake and the four women down
in the Hideaway Hospital? She hated to admit it, but she needed
advice. And the one person she could always depend on was her
grandmother, Sylvia.

She loved her grandmother, as most
grandchildren love their grandparents. But there was a dark side to
their relationship. After her mother died, Carnie frequently had
terrible nightmares. And when she did, she ran to Sylvia’s bed.

But long after the nightmares ended, her
grandmother continued to insist that Carnie sleep with her. And
Sylvia began to touch Carnie in a way that made her uncomfortable.
The quick peck on the lips of her granddaughter became long,
open-mouth kisses.

Carsie had always seemed
oblivious to Carnie’s plight—going along her merry way, while her
sister was being abused right under her nose. Carnie used to hate
Carsie for that. But she had since forgiven her. After all, if
Carnie had ever told her sister what was happening, she surely
would have helped her. But Carnie could never bring herself to do
that. Carnie had
let
it happen, so she couldn’t
put
all
the
blame on her grandmother.

Once Carnie was grown and able to finally
move out and get away from Sylvia, she thought she’d be able to
live a normal life. But in truth, there was no way she could ever
escape Sylvia’s powerful hold on her psyche.

And now, as much as she hated to admit it,
she needed her grandmother’s help.

Chapter
31

“
What if somebody sees us
driving in?” said Cynthia. “It’s going to be a little hard to
explain why we’re coming to visit them at 10:30 on a Saturday
night. Especially since we don’t even
know
them.”

They were halfway up the long driveway to
the Mobley house.

“
We’ll park along here
somewhere and walk the rest of the way. Like right there—between
those trees,” said Greg.

He steered the big Bonneville off the
driveway and into the woods.

“
I don’t think anybody will
notice the car
here
,” he said.

“
Until morning,” she
said.

“
Yeah. Well, I hope we’re
out of here before then.”

“
Me too.”

Greg killed the engine and opened his door.
Cynthia tried to open hers.

“
My door won’t open,” she
said. “There must be a little bush or something blocking
it.”

“
That’s okay. Just get out
on my side.”

They walked out of the woods and toward the
house.

“
When we get closer, we’ll
have to turn off our flashlights,” said Greg.

“
I heard there were bobcats
living in these woods.”

“
Bobcats? Could be, I
guess. But don’t worry, they only eat
small
mammals,” said
Greg.

She looked up into the moonlight and
observed the tips of the tall trees lining the driveway. “Well, I’m
feeling pretty small right now,” she said under her breath.

**********

The last thing Carnie wanted to do was admit
failure to her grandmother. As much as she despised the woman, she
longed for her approval.

“
Hello?”

“
I’ve got a big problem,”
said Carnie.

“
What did you do?” said
Sylvia, with disappointment in her voice.

“
I got my clinic all set
up, but then—“

“—
Carnie! I told you that
wouldn’t work.”

“
I know, but—“

“—
you should have just
waited, like I told you. He would have come around in a couple of
weeks. By then, he would have been missing Carsie so much he would
have agreed to marry her right away.”

“
I don’t think
so…”

“
Why not?” said
Sylvia.

“
I caught him with Macy
tonight.”

“
Having sex?”

“
Pretty close. Her blouse
was open and Elmo was kissing her boobs,” said Carnie.

“
Oh, no.”

“
Yeah. So, see—your idea
wasn’t gonna work either.”

“
Shut up, Carnie. Let me
think.”

After ten seconds of silence, Carnie began
to wonder if the call had been dropped.

“
Hello?” said
Carnie.

“
I’ve got plan.”

“
Good. What is
it?”

“
I’m coming over
there.”

“
Right now?”

“
Yes, right now. And don’t
do anything until I get there. You’ve already made a mess of
things.”

“
Yes, Ma’am. I’m sorry.”
She wanted to stab Sylvia right through the heart with a dull
knife.

“
Yes, you
are
sorry. You
always have been. You never do anything right.”

Sylvia hung up.

Carnie thought for a few minutes, and then
called her grandmother again.

“
Carnie, why are you
calling me back? I’m on my way.”

“
I forgot to tell you about
the secret entrance in the barn.”

“
I know all about it, My
Dear,” said Sylvia, hanging up before her words had completely
registered in Carnie’s brain.

**********

Greg and Cynthia walked into the barn and
began to look around. The interior was faintly illuminated by a
single light bulb hanging from the rafters. They saw the dark blue
van and knew it must be the abduction vehicle.

They knew there was an underground corridor
from the barn to the house, but they had not thought to ask Nurse
Magdely for the exact location of the door to that secret
passageway. But the only interior door in sight was the tool shed
door.

Greg used his shoulder to force the stubborn
door open. Their flashlights found the other door inside almost
immediately.

“
This is creepy,” whispered
Cynthia.

Greg opened the door and they went through,
and down the stairs as quietly as they could. There was just enough
light in the corridor to see where they were stepping. Greg figured
the light bulbs along the way to be no more than 25-watters.

Cynthia worried about spiders and snakes.
She took shallow breaths, wondering what kind of damage the musty
air might be inflicting on their lungs.

Cynthia tripped on the edge of a board and
fell forward into Greg’s back.

“
I’m sorry,” she
said.

“
Are you okay?”

“
Yeah.”

He gave her a quick hug and then turned
around and they began walking again. They could now see the light
at the end of the corridor. Greg was expecting to hear people
talking, but heard nothing.

Before they reached the opening, they could
see Jake lying on a couch against the far wall. He appeared to be
sleeping. But there was a pistol near his hand. They crept into the
room and were surprised to see four women, handcuffed to their
hospital beds.

Cynthia hoped they were only sleeping. She
saw her mother and rushed to her side. She felt for a pulse.
Yes—she was alive. She whispered into Beverly’s ear, but got no
response. These women are drugged, she thought.