Hideaway Hospital Murders

Hideaway Hospital Murders

Robert Burton Robinson

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2006 Robert Burton Robinson.

Cover stairs image:
www.flickr.com/photos/respres

Greg Tenorly Suspense Series

Bicycle Shop
Murder

Hideaway Hospital
Murders

Illusion of Luck

Fly the Rain

Discover other titles by Robert Burton
Robinson at:

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RobertBurtonRobinson.com

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Synopsis

The small East Texas town of Coreyville is
shaken by brutal murders and kidnappings, striking too close to
home for Greg Tenorly. And the only witness is a mentally ill
neighbor whose remarks are rejected by the police as gibberish. But
Greg listens carefully to the man’s seemingly incoherent
statements, and later realizes that they just might contain enough
clues to point him in the direction of the killer.

But his investigation leads him into a
hornet’s nest of dark secrets, old grudges, jealousy, and greed.
Now, caught in the crossfire between two families, Greg’s life is
in serious jeopardy.

By morning, more bodies will be headed for
the morgue. The only question is whether Greg Tenorly will be among
them.

Chapter
1

“
It’s about to come on.
Hurry.”

“
I’m coming.”

Nurse Judy delivered Martha’s tray just in
time. It was a frozen dinner, but Judy always transferred it to a
fancy plate and prepared a small salad and a bowl of applesauce to
go alongside it.

“
Looks great, Judy. Now sit
down and let’s eat.”

Nurse Judy sat down in the recliner next to
Martha’s bed. The meal she made for herself was similar to
Martha’s. “Didn’t we just see this one a few days ago?”

“
I don’t remember. But you
know it doesn’t matter. I love Jessica Fletcher.”

It was the only good thing
about her failing memory. She could watch reruns of
Murder She Wrote
over and over again. They were all new to her.

The doorbell rang.

“
Whoever it is, just get
rid of them. It couldn’t be friends or family. They know better
than to interrupt my show.”

Nurse Judy walked down the hallway to the
front door. It was a nurse.

“
May I help
you?”

“
The agency sent
me.”

“
No, there must be some
mistake. I’ve been caring for Mrs. Mason for a couple of months
now.”

“
Oh, great. Why do they
keep doing this to me? Mind if I come in and use the
phone?”

“
Don’t you have a cell
phone?”

“
Yeah, but it’s dead. I
forgot to charge it last night.”

“
I hate when I do that.
Sure, come on in. What’s your name?”

“
Carnie.”

“
Good to meet you, Carnie.
I’m Judy. You can use the house phone.”

Judy led her to the phone. Carnie picked up
the receiver and began to dial. But as Judy turned to walk away,
Carnie slammed the phone across the back of her head.

Nurse Judy collapsed to the floor,
unconscious.

Martha’s blaring TV masked the noise.

Carnie scoured the living room, kitchen, and
other rooms for valuables, but found none. Finally, she entered
Martha’s bedroom. Martha was so engrossed in her show that she
didn’t even look at the nurse when she came in.

“
Who was that at the
door?”

“
It was me.”

“
What?” Martha looked away
from the TV. “Who are you?”

“
I’m the person who’s not
going to hurt you as long as you cooperate.”

Martha picked up the remote and muted the
TV.

“
What do you
want?”

“
Jewels, valuables—that
kind of stuff.”

“
I don’t have anything but
costume jewelry.”

“
Where’s your
safe?”

“
I don’t have a
safe.”

Carnie walked out of the room.

Good, thought Martha. The young criminal
would soon exit the back door.

But then she heard her rummaging around in
the kitchen. Then silence. Carnie came back carrying a large
butcher knife.

“
Where’s the safe, Old
Lady?”

“
I told you I don’t have a
safe. You’re just wasting your time here. I don’t have anything
valuable. I’m poor. Can’t you see that?”

Carnie grabbed Martha’s right hand and
flipped her arm over. Then she held the sharp blade against
Martha’s wrist.

“
Tell me, you old
hag.”

Carnie only waited three seconds for a
reply. When none came, she dragged the blade across Martha’s wrist
and the blood began to leak out.

“
Stop, stop! I’ll tell
you.”

Carnie released her hand.

Martha clamped her wrist with her left hand
to try to stop the bleeding.

“
Where is it?”

“
Behind that big mirror.
You’ll need a screwdriver. There’s one in the—”

Carnie didn’t need a screwdriver. She kicked
the mirror several times until it broke, jumping back as the
pieces fell to the floor. “What’s the combination?”

Martha told her.

Carnie got the safe open and found some very
nice pieces of jewelry, which she slid into her bag.

“
So you like
Murder She Wrote
,
huh? Yeah, it’s fun to solve the murders, isn’t it?” She walked
back to Martha’s bed and picked up the knife she had dropped on the
floor.

Martha was too scared to say a word. She
just wanted this horrible woman to leave her house. She was afraid
to think about what had happened to Nurse Judy.

Carnie held up the knife
and turned it to reflect the light from the table lamp into
Martha’s eyes, blinding her for a moment. “Yeah, it’s fun to be the
one who solves the murders. But you know what’s even more fun?
To
be
the
murderer.”

Carnie grasped Martha’s forehead with her
left hand and smashed it deep into the pillow as she thrust the
knife in an upward motion through Martha’s abdomen, piercing her
heart. She yanked out the knife and casually walked away, as the
blood gushed out, forming red pools on each side of the dead
woman’s body.

When Carnie walked into the living room, she
saw Nurse Judy crawling to the front door.

Just as the nurse reached for the doorknob
and tried to stand up, she felt a sharp pain in her back. She
quickly lost strength and slumped down on the floor.

Carnie ripped the knife out of her back and
kicked her body over.

Nurse Judy lay sprawled across the living
room floor.

Carnie smiled at the nurse, as she sat down
on top of her. She forced the knife into Judy’s chest slowly and
repeatedly until she saw the pain leave her face, and the life go
out of her eyes.

No witnesses, she thought. Just like Grandma
taught her.

**********

It was their first official date. Greg
Tenorly and Cynthia Blockerman had been through quite an ordeal
together—being hunted by police for the murder of her abusive
husband while they ran from the real killer.

But all that was behind them now. All
charges against them had been dropped, and Cynthia’s husband had
been buried. And the rumors would have died down eventually if they
had gone their separate ways.

They could feel the stares as they walked to
their table. Greg had requested the most private booth, way in the
back. Coreyville Pasta House was the oldest Italian restaurant in
town. And still the best. Mama Castilla had run the place for over
thirty years. She had taken over for her grandfather in 1973. A
sign on the wall said so.

Cynthia ordered the Fettuccini Alfredo. Greg
went with his favorite, the Chicken Parmesan. Both ordered iced tea
and salad. The bread and olive oil with roasted garlic and pepper
came with every meal. Greg could not resist great bread. And this
was the best. He tore off a chunk as soon as the waitress delivered
it. Cynthia would wait for the salad.

“
So we’re finally on a real
date,” said Greg.

“
Yeah. So how does it
feel?”

“
Kinda weird and scary
and…wonderful.”

Cynthia smiled and Greg momentarily forgot
all about the amazing aroma in the restaurant. All he wanted to do
was kiss her. But that would have to wait. So, his hunger came
rushing back.

Cynthia’s mood turned serious. “I don’t want
to spoil our date, but I’ve got to tell you something.”

Greg wondered if he had done something
wrong. He could fix it—whatever it was.

“
I’ve asked Mom to move in
with me.”

“
Why? I thought she was
happy living in Marshall.”

“
She
was
.”

“
What do you mean? What
happened?”

“
The other night a friend
of hers was murdered. And the woman lived on
her
street. They killed her
nurse too.”

“
Was it a burglary? Did she
have a lot of cash or jewelry in the house?”

“
She had a safe. They took
whatever was in it. So, yeah, she probably has something of value,
but nobody knows what.”

“
But why did they have to
kill an old woman and a nurse? Why didn’t they just wear a mask and
tie them up?”

“
I don’t know. But now
Mom’s afraid. And I don’t blame her.”

“
Does she keep valuables in
the house?”

“
No. But somebody like that
would probably kill you whether you had anything or not. It could
even be a serial killer.”

“
Yeah, I can see why she’s
not happy there anymore.”

“
Besides, if she lived with
me I could spend a lot more time with her.”

“
I hope you two get along
well.”

“
Oh, we do. We never get on
each other’s nerves.” Cynthia hoped this news would not scare Greg
off. She was not ready to say the ‘L’ word out loud. She couldn’t
even say it in her head. But it was already in her
heart.

**********

Greg walked Cynthia to her front door.

“
Greg, I had a wonderful
time. And I can’t believe I’d never tried the Pasta House before.
It was great.”

“
Yeah, I love their food.
But not half as much as I love being with you.” He would hold off
on telling her he loved her. Although, what he had just said was
dangerously close, he thought. He just didn’t want her to freak
out.

Cynthia gave him a smile that turned him to
mush as she moved in close, ready for contact.

As he lowered his head to give her a light
kiss, he imagined her mother peeping through the window. How would
they have any privacy if she moved in? But then the warmth of
Cynthia’s lips began to melt his inhibitions, and made him forget
all about her mother. He stepped in as he pulled her gently toward
his body. That sent a million little turned-on messengers screaming
to his brain all at once.

He would later realize that it wouldn’t
matter who was watching while they were kissing. You don’t care
about anything else in the world when you’re completely out of
your mind with ecstasy.

Cynthia was like a drug. And Greg was
already addicted.

Chapter
2

“
Should I leave the top
down or put it up?”

It was Saturday morning and Greg and Cynthia
were getting into his red 1965 Pontiac Bonneville convertible.

“
Leave it down. I want to
show it off to Mom. I told her about it and she thought it sounded
cool.”

“
Really? She used the
word
cool
?”

“
Hey, she’s 67—not
97.”