Hideaway Hospital Murders (18 page)

“
Yes, we were, Grandma. We
were picture perfect. We look so happy.”

“
And now you’ll have you
chance for happiness with Elmo.”

“
Yeah, if he can ever learn
to deal with the fact that his mother is dying. But Carnie thinks
he’s coming around. I just hope she’s right.”

“
Carnie is determined to
get you two married. And you know Carnie. She always gets what she
wants.”

Carsie smiled as she
thought about it. “That’s right. Carnie
does
always get what she wants.
How does she do that?”

“
She just never takes ‘No’
for an answer. That’s just the way she is.”

Carsie walked over and sat on the sofa, slid
her shoes off and stretched her legs out across the cushions. So,
what’s going to happen after we get married? How are you going to
get the money? Am I going to just write you and Carnie a
check?”

“
Something like that. But
we have to wait until you’ve been married a few months to avoid the
possibility of an annulment. Then, if Elmo gives you any trouble
over the money, you’ll simply divorce him and take your
half.”

“
But I don’t want to
divorce him.”

“
Well then you’ll just have
to get him to cooperate. You’re sure you never signed a
prenup?”

“
I haven’t signed
anything
.”

“
Good. Don’t.”

“
Grandma, I really love
Elmo.”

“
I know you do.”

“
And I don’t want anything
to hurt our marriage.”

“
I understand. But don’t
forget you agreed to follow the plan. Without it, you never would
have met Elmo in the first place.”

“
I know. But I did, and I
fell in love with him.”

“
Falling in love was
not
part of the
plan.”

“
I couldn’t help it. He’s
wonderful. And I don’t want to lose him.”

“
Maybe you won’t have
to.”

**********

“
So, this is your best
spot, huh?” said Hadley.

“
Yes, it is,” said
Horatio.

“
I don’t know, Horry. We
haven’t even had a nibble, and we’ve been sitting here for nearly
two hours.”

Horatio sat up straight, faking an air of
dignity. “Sir, do you dare question the validity of my Catfishery
proficiency?”

Hadley took up the challenge. “On the
contrary, Your Highness. I would never impugn the veracity of your
asseveration.”

Horatio slumped back down. “I give. You win.
I don’t have a dictionary on the boat.”

“
I always win.”

“
Okay, then. How about a
little wager? Whoever catches the most fish gets to watch while the
loser cleans all of them.”

“
What if the loser can talk
Alma into doing it for him?”

“
That would have to be some
awfully smooth talking,” said Horatio. “And
you
just might be able to pull
it off, Brother—if you were thirty years younger.”

They laughed softly, so as not to scare off
the fish.

“
I’m afraid Elmo may be
thinking about reopening the lab,” said Hadley.

“
Uh-oh.”

“
I told you he took a leave
of absence from his medical practice so he could find the best
treatment for Mallie Mae.”

“
Yeah.”

“
Well, he’s been on the
internet all day long and half the night, trying to find some
answers.”

“
So, he might go down there
and start experimenting.”

“
That’s what I’m thinking.
Of course, he’d have to restock. There are no chemicals or other
supplies down there.”

“
But he’s a pediatrician,
not a pharmacist,” said Horatio.

“
That didn’t stop his
father. Morford was an emergency room doctor, remember?”

“
Yeah. Nothing could stop
Morford. But Elmo doesn’t know about the
other
rooms, does
he?”

“
Oh, no. Morford didn’t
want him to know, so I never told him. Even Mallie Mae still
doesn’t know.”

“
I can’t believe we
actually got it done without them finding out,” said
Horatio.

“
Mallie Mae was on vacation
in Europe with her sister. Remember? And Elmo was working in a
clinic in Dallas.”

“
Oh, yeah.”

“
Mallie Mae knew Morford
was building a lab down there. But she didn’t know about the rest
of it. And she was happy to be away while construction was going
on.”

“
Yeah, I remember
that.”

“
But I’m kinda surprised
none of your crew ever let the secret slip,” said
Hadley.

“
Hey, I handpicked those
men, and I had a lot of faith in them.”

“
And you paid them
well.”

“
Yes, I did, because
Morford paid
me
well.”

“
Well, I just hope Elmo
doesn’t get too nosey down there,” said Hadley. “If he finds the
other rooms…”

“
Some secrets are best
kept.”

Chapter
23

Cynthia was driving Greg’s Bonneville,
following her mother, who was following Greg in the U-Haul. They
had loaded the truck with boxes and all the furniture Beverly
wanted in her bedroom. They also took her dining table and chairs
because they were much nicer than Cynthia’s. Two garage sales, one
at each house, would allow them to get rid of the excess
furniture.

Cynthia loved Greg’s car—mostly because it
made her feel close to him. She was sitting where he sat, her hands
holding the steering wheel he held with his hands. Hands that
sometimes, during a long kiss, worked their way down her back to
embrace her butt. How wonderful it would be to wake up next to him
every day, and go to bed with him every night.

Her first husband had been abusive. But why
hadn’t she seen it coming? Shouldn’t she have been able to
recognize an abuser when she met him? She had been attracted to his
big, lean body. The muscles were definitely a turn-on. Surely she
had sensed danger just beneath the surface. He had gone into a rage
once when they were dating. But even after he hit her that night,
she went on with the wedding plans anyway. How foolish. Young women
can be so naïve, she thought. We think we can fix whatever’s wrong
with a guy.

But she was a little older
now, and a lot wiser. With Greg, there was very little that needed
fixing up. She would help him get in better physical shape. But
even that was more about his health than his looks. And she knew
that in the worst case scenario, she could live with him not being
in optimal shape. Because Cynthia knew Greg’s feelings were sincere
and deep. He truly cared about her in every way. He wasn’t just
some guy trying to get into her panties. But he
did
want in—oh, did he ever. But
not until marriage.

Cynthia wondered if Greg was going to pop
the question soon. It seemed like he had nearly done it a couple of
times already. But with her mother moving in, Greg might have put
his wedding ideas on the back burner. She hoped not. They could
make it work. Or, they might have to get another house…

**********

“
This is a lovely
restaurant, Lilman,” said Mallie Mae.

“
Mother, you know I hate
that name. Please call me ‘Elmo.’”

“
Lilman was my
grandfather’s name,” said Mallie Mae to Macy.

Macy nodded as though this was news to
her.

“
Okay, I’ll try—if you’ll
start calling me ‘Mom.’”

Elmo couldn’t remember when their
relationship had ever been ‘natural.’ He must have been close to
her as a child. But if so, those childhood memories were long
forgotten. “Okay …Mom. And I’m glad you like the restaurant.”

Elmo had been surprised at how normal his
mother had been all day. If she was faking Alzheimer’s disease, she
wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“
Very fancy,” said Macy,
feeling a bit underdressed in the skirt and blouse she had worn all
day at the zoo.

“
Very expensive,” said
Mallie Mae, perusing the menu.

“
I like the live band,”
said Macy.

“
Yeah, they’re playing
music from the big band era,” said Elmo.

Mallie Mae pretended to be reading her menu
while she listened carefully to the conversation between Macy and
Elmo. She had been observing them all day. They had clowned around
a lot, and at one point, were throwing food at the monkeys—until a
zookeeper made them stop. She had never seen Elmo act so
childishly. It was refreshing.

After several hours of watching them
interact, she had a revelation—Macy was the perfect match for Elmo.
She had proved to be loyal and trustworthy. And Elmo was obviously
crazy about her, although he didn’t seem to know it.

“
I love this song,” said
Macy. “Do you know the name of it?”

“
Sure.
I’m Getting Sentimental Over You
. It was Tommy Dorsey’s theme song.”

Oh children, Mallie Mae thought—if you only
knew how much the words of that song apply to you. Lilman had no
business marrying Carsie. His eyes sparkled when he looked at
Macy.

Once they had ordered, Mallie Mae said.
“Well, Lilman? I mean, Elmo. Aren’t you going to ask this beautiful
young lady to dance with you?”

Macy was caught off guard by Mallie Mae’s
suggestion, and looked a little embarrassed.

“
Well, sure. Macy?” He
stood and extended his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Macy looked at Mallie Mae.

“
Go on, Honey,” said Mallie
Mae. “I’ll be fine.”

Macy stood and took Elmo’s hand, and they
walked to the dance floor. But her elation turned to disappointment
when the song ended before they could even start dancing. “It’s
over.”

She turned to walk back to the table, but
Elmo was still holding her hand. And he was not moving. She looked
back at him.

“
Don’t give up so easily,”
said Elmo, in a sweet, playful voice.

The orchestra started playing another
tune.

“
There we go,” said
Elmo.

Macy smiled at him. It was an uncensored
smile, and she wondered if she had just given away the long-held
secret of her heart.

And in that moment, Elmo finally realized
her deepest feelings for him. He wondered how he had missed it all
those years. He had always repressed his desire for her. After all,
at 37, she was 19 years younger than Elmo. He was just too old for
her. But that reasoning no longer rang true, since he was now
engaged to a 30-year-old.

“
What’s the name of
this
song?” she
said.

“
I’m in the Mood for
Love
,” he said, gazing into her eyes as
though he had never seen them before.

Macy was so afraid she would wake up. What
if it was just another dream? “I’m in the mood for love too,” she
said.

Elmo smiled as he took her in his arms and
began to dance with her. “It’s the name of the song.”

“
Huh?” she felt slightly
dizzy.

He stopped dancing, leaned
over and spoke softly into her ear. “
I’m
in the Mood for Love
is the name of the
song.”

“
Oh, I’m sorry.”

“
Don’t be sorry. I’m not.”
He kissed her lightly on the forehead. The electricity he felt
between his lips and Macy’s warm skin was so magnificent he was
caught by surprise, then by guilt. He had a fiancée.

Macy’s entire body surged with emotion, and
she nearly fainted.

Mallie Mae delighted in watching them on the
dance floor. When the song was over, they returned to the table,
talking and grinning.

“
Y’all make a handsome
couple,” said Mallie Mae, beaming at them.

Macy and Elmo were amazed by Mallie Mae’s
stamp of approval. They were still smiling at each other when
Elmo’s cell phone rang.

“
Just ignore it,” said
Mallie Mae.

Elmo glanced at the phone display and said,
“It’s Carsie.”

Mallie Mae was perturbed by Carsie’s timing.
Things had been going so well.

“
Hi, Carsie,” said Elmo.
“…No, we’re about to eat dinner. Then we’ll head home…Okay, Baby.
I’ll call you when we get home…You too.”

“
Sorry about that,” said
Elmo to Macy and his mother.

Then he and Macy noticed that something was
wrong with Mallie Mae.

“
Mom, are you
okay?”

“
Mallie Mae?” said
Macy.

Mallie Mae’s look of confusion morphed into
fear. “I…I…wet…”

“
Oh, no,” said
Elmo.

Macy lifted the table cloth and looked
underneath. Liquid was dripping off the sides of Mallie Mae’s
chair, quickly forming several spots on the carpet.

“
I’ll take her to the
ladies room,” said Macy.

“
Do you need help?” said
Elmo.

“
No, thanks. I think I can
do it,” said Macy.