Hideaway Hospital Murders (13 page)

Nancie Jo’s glasses flew off her face as she
fell backward and collapsed onto the floor. The gun fell out of her
hand, but it was only a few inches away. As she focused every ounce
of her willpower, rolling to her stomach and reaching for the
pistol, Carnie leaped at her.

Nancie Jo picked up the gun and was about to
roll back to shoot Carnie. But Carnie snatched the knife off the
floor and thrust it into Nancie Jo’s back. And as always, once her
anger had been triggered, it quickly escalated into blind rage. She
twisted the knife and ripped it out sideways. Then she gripped it
with both hands and chopped at the corpse repeatedly with all her
might.

**********

“
Here’s your BLT and
Fritos.” Greg handed Cynthia the flimsy white cardboard box and
gave her a quick kiss. “And your diet Coke.”

“
Thanks. And I
suppose
you
got the turkey.”

“
That’s right. How’d you
guess?”

It was the only kind of sandwich he ever
ordered at Jane’s. Cynthia had come to realize that Greg was a
creature of habit. And he took comfort in his habits. Fortunately,
most of them were good ones.

“
I’m sorry we have to
rush,” said Cynthia.

“
That’s okay. It’s worth it
just to see my baby for a few minutes.”

“
Thanks. You too,
Sweetie.”

Greg said a blessing and they began to
eat.

“
Oh, yeah, you had a
funeral this morning, didn’t you? How’d it go?” said
Cynthia.

“
Fine—for a funeral. It
wasn’t so bad, really. But I would hate it if I had to do the
pastor’s job. Talking about how wonderful the person
was—especially if they weren’t. And you have to stand up the in
front of the family and try to convince them that it was for the
best—which is not so hard if the person was old and sick. But what
if they were young? What if it was little girl who got hit by a
car? I’m just glad
I
don’t have to do
it.”

“
I
couldn’t
do it,” said
Cynthia.

“
I couldn’t do
banking
. Loaning
poor unsuspecting souls a bunch of money and then foreclosing on
their house.” Greg frowned playfully.

“
I don’t do that. If they
can’t pay, I just politely suggest that they sell a
kidney.”

“
Wonder how much a kidney
goes for these days?”

They laughed. He checked his watch. His time
with Cynthia always went by so fast. “By the way, do you think your
mom will go to church with us on Sunday?”

“
I think so. I haven’t
talked to her about it, but she
is
Baptist. And it’s the only
Baptist church in town.”

“
Yeah, but she could drive
back to Marshall.”

“
I would try my best to
talk her out of that.”

“
Did you remember that we
have to take separate cars tonight?”

“
Yes. What time will you be
finished with your lessons?”

“
I should be done by
8:00—unless somebody cancels. If so, it might be a little
earlier.”

“
Okay. It seems like
there’s still an awful lot left to pack.”

“
Oh, I’m sure we can get
all done by Saturday, even if we have to pull an all-nighter
tomorrow night.”

“
I hope we don’t have to
do
that
,”
said Cynthia.

Greg agreed. He had often
pulled an all-nighter with Cynthia in his dreams. But in his
dreams they weren’t
packing
.

Chapter
17

“
Greg asked me today
whether I thought you would be going to church with us this
Sunday,” said Cynthia, as she wrapped another plate and put it in
the box.

She and her mother were in the kitchen,
packing dishes and cookware.

“
I guess so. To be honest,
that’s going to be the hardest thing about moving,” said Beverly.
“I could still go to church
here
if I really wanted to. It’s
only a fifteen minute drive.”

“
I know.”

“
But I don’t think I
should. If I’m going to move to Coreyville, I need to be a part of
that community. And that includes going to church there. So, I
might as well get started this Sunday.”

“
Well, I’m proud of you,
Mom. I think you’re doing the right thing.”

“
But don’t get me wrong—I
do plan to stay in touch with my friends here in Marshall. I just
won’t see them as often. But we can email and IM.”

“
IM? Y’all instant message
each other?”

“
Sure. We try to stay up
with the times. You think we’re too old for technology?”

“
No, I didn’t say
that.”

“
A couple of times I’ve
even sent a text message.”

Cynthia laughed. “You’re pretty cool,
Mom.”

“
You got
that
right, Dog.”
Beverly attempted a rapper pose. “Too much?”

“
Yeah—that’s a little
scary.”

Cynthia heard the Bonneville in the
driveway. “There’s Greg.”

She let him in the kitchen door and gave him
a long, tight hug.

But before he got too excited, he pulled
away.

She pretended to be hurt, but then gave him
a quick kiss on the lips and grinned at him. She understood. And
she loved the fact that she could turn him on so easily.

She checked the clock. It was 7:58.

“
You’re early. So I guess
your last student cancelled,” said Cynthia.

“
No, she didn’t cancel. She
just didn’t show up.”

“
One of your
teenagers?”

“
No, it was Nancie Jo
Gristel. She’s 81. And she never does that. She always calls me if
she has to miss. She was out for a couple of months because of her
Alzheimer’s. But the doctor put her on some new medication, and
she’s been fine ever since.”

“
One of my good friends
just found out
she
has it,” said Beverly. “It’s
a terrible disease.”

“
Did you try calling her?”
said Cynthia to Greg.

“
Several times. But then I
figured maybe she just fell asleep.”

“
It’s easy to do when
you’re leaning back in your recliner watching TV,” said
Beverly.

“
Yeah, that could be it,”
said Cynthia.

“
Well, I just hope she’s
okay. I’ll give her a call in the morning,” said Greg.

**********

Before going inside, she sat in her car a
few minutes to put on the blonde wig. She was wearing a hot pink
blouse, black leather mini-skirt, and knee-high boots. When she
walked in, every man in the bar was instantly seduced. Beer mugs
hung suspended at open mouths. She could have chosen any one of the
poor saps, and they would have gladly barked like a dog at her
command.

The anticipation faded in the eyes at each
table as she passed them by. She had no intention of spending time
with any of them, although her body language suggested otherwise.
The man sitting alone in the far corner was her ultimate
destination. He had taken a glance when she came in, but then went
back to studying the bubbles in his beer.

“
Well?” she
said.

“
Well, what?” said Jake, as
he finally looked up.

“
Remember me?”

“
Jennifer? Is that you?” He
stood.

Carnie had forgotten the fake name she had
used Sunday night. “Uh…yeah.”

“
Well, sit down and let me
buy you a beer,” said Jake.

“
Okay.”

Jake hollered to the bar tender, “Hey, Bill.
Two more beers, please.”

“
You look great as a
blonde.”

“
Thanks.”

“
Of course, you looked just
as cute before you bleached it. I like brown hair.”

“
Actually, it’s a wig. I
just wanted to try a different look.”

“
So, where have you been
keeping yourself?” said Jake. “I thought we had a lot of fun the
other night. But then you disappeared.”

“
Yeah. I’ve been
busy.”

“
Okay, I get it. Don’t
worry—I’m not looking for a wife, or even a girlfriend.”

Carnie shot him a wry smile. “Me either. So,
you’re just looking to get laid, huh?”

“
Well, no, not
necessarily.”

“
Then I’m wasting my time
here. See you around.” Carnie stood.

“
Whoa, wait a second. I
said I wasn’t
looking
to get laid. It’s not
that I don’t want it. I’m just not
searching
for it.”

Carnie sat down. “But what if it just came
along and bit you in the butt?”

“
Well, I wouldn’t put it
quite like that, but yeah, I’d be interest—if it was somebody I
really liked.”

A young waitress delivered their beers and
walked away slowly, hoping to hear more of the conversation.

“
Somebody like me?” she
said with a sexy smile.

“
Yeah.”

“
Then why are we wasting
our time sitting here, Jake?”

“
Good point, Honey. Let’s
go. I’ve got plenty of beer at home in the fridge.”

Jake threw some bills on
the table and they hurried out. The other men watched in envy and
amazement. What was so great about
him
?

**********

Carnie followed Jake’s
truck to his house. As soon as they were inside, he took her in his
powerful arms and started kissing her. He was twice her size, and
she barely knew him. Most women would not put themselves in such a
vulnerable situation. But Carnie was fearless. She kissed him with
enough passion to set a
dead
man on fire. But after a
few seconds she pulled away.

“
Let’s slow it down, Big
Boy.”

“
What? I thought you wanted
to have sex?” He knew he could have had her right then if he wanted
to. She wouldn’t have been able to stop him. But he wasn’t that
kind of man. He would never force himself on a woman.

“
Maybe I do. But first I’d
like to get to know you better. Let’s sit and talk a while, and
have a drink or two.”

“
Okay. Make yourself at
home and I’ll grab us some brewskis.”

Jake walked into the kitchen while Carnie
sat down on the couch.

The living room furniture looked like a page
out of a 1975 Sears catalog. But at least it’s clean, she
thought—except for a thousand dust mites living down deep in the
fabric. Yuk.

Jake handed Carnie a Coors Light. “So, what
do you want to talk about, Jennifer?”

“
How about a little
question and answer game. You can ask me any question, and I have
to answer it honestly. Then I ask you a question. And we take turns
until we both agree to stop.”

“
Sounds kind of
dangerous.”

“
Yeah. But
you
get to ask the
first question.”

“
Okay.” Jake thought for a
few seconds. “You acted sort of funny tonight when I called you
‘Jennifer.’ Is that really your name?”

“
Oh, good one, Jake. The
answer is ‘no.’”

He waited for her to go on.

“
So, what
is
your name?” he
said.

“
Sorry, it’s my turn to ask
a question,” said Carnie.

“
Ah, come on.”

“
You have to wait your
turn.”

“
Okay. Ask me a question,”
he said.

“
What is your favorite
position?”

“
You mean, for
sex?”

“
No, for the gearshift in
your truck.”

“
Okay. That would have to
be the missionary position,” said Jake.

“
So
predictable.”

“
Hey, I like what I like.
Now, my turn. What’s your real name? And remember, you have to be
honest.”

“
My name is
Carnie.”

“
Then why did you tell me
your name was Jennifer?”

“
Nope. My turn.”

“
Oh, alright.”

“
Have you ever killed
anybody?” She watched him closely for a reaction.

“
What?”

He’s stalling, thought
Carnie. He
has
killed. Good. “Have you ever killed anybody?”

“
Of course not. What kind
of a question is that?”

“
Hey, if you don’t ask
interesting questions, the game gets boring real fast. Could I get
another beer?” she said.

“
Sure.” Jake took her empty
can and headed for the kitchen. Then he stopped, spun around and
said, “Ah-ha! That was a question. So it’s gonna be
my
turn when I come
back.” He walked into the kitchen shouting back to her, “I got you
that time, Baby. You ain’t so smart after all.”