Hideaway Hospital Murders (30 page)

Elmo dropped to one knee, his left hand
still cuffed to the bed. “Macy Golong, will you marry me?”

Macy’s eyes erupted with
tears. After waiting so many years, she had not expected it to
happen all at once—in
one
day
. “Oh, yes, Elmo. You know I
will.”

But then she felt bad for Carsie. If things
had gone as planned, Elmo and Carsie would have been on their
honeymoon right now, she thought. And now poor Carsie was having
to watch her fiancé propose to Macy. She looked to see how Carsie
was handling it, but couldn’t find her. “Where’s Carsie?”

Mallie Mae said, “She’s right over—”

“—
she’s gone,” said
Elmo.

Hadley ran upstairs, shotgun in hand. On his
way up to the kitchen, he heard the engine starting. By the time he
made it through the foyer and out onto the porch, she was too far
away. He would have only shot at her tires anyway. She hadn’t
killed anybody—as far as he knew.

He ran to his car and jumped in. He would
call the police on his cell phone and follow her until they took
over. He reached for the ignition.

But his keys were gone.

Chapter
38

“
More popcorn, Beverly?”
Greg held up the big plastic bowl.

“
No, thanks—I’ve had
enough,” said Beverly from the other end of the couch.

It had been less than a week since their
underground nightmare. But now Greg was beyond just being grateful
to be alive. It was Friday night, and the three of them were
watching a movie in Cynthia’s living room. He and Cynthia should
have been out on a date—not stuck here at home with her mother, he
thought.

Cynthia wanted to pamper
her mom for a while. She had been abducted at knifepoint, after
all. And Greg was sympathetic to Cynthia’s feelings. But he hoped
she understood
his
feelings. And right now what
he was feeling was her warm leg against his. And her occasional
hand on his knee.

It was weird and mildly unsettling—as though
he existed in three distinct realms. Intellectually, he was dressed
in a business suit, reading a magazine, waiting patiently for a
scheduled appointment. Emotionally, he had reached the top of Mt.
Everest and was admiring the magnificent view. Physically, he just
wanted to pounce on her.

Greg really liked Beverly.
He enjoyed being around her. But he needed more
alone time
with his girlfriend.
He needed to hold her, kiss her, caress her back, legs,
breasts—stop! It was not a good time to get turned on.

**********

“
Good news, Sweetie. I just
got a call—we’ve got the room we wanted at the Hyatt Regency,” said
Elmo.

“
Great. Come in.” Elmo
walked into Macy’s bedroom and she shut the door. “I’m surprised
you were able to get it, with just a week’s notice.”

Mallie Mae had lied when
she told Sylvia the Mobleys were broke. It was true that Morford
had given away most of their money to help AIDS victims. But he had
never touched their Texaco stock. Macy wouldn’t have cared if
they
had
been
broke. She just wanted to be with Elmo.

“
Me too. I called the hotel
this morning and the lady told me they were booked up. But I
explained our situation, and that it would be for our honeymoon and
asked her to put us on the waiting list.”

“
And I suppose you
knew
somebody there
and they pulled some strings for you.”

“
No. But I think Cupid
might have had something to do with it.” He smiled. “Are you sure
you don’t mind just doing a weekend honeymoon in
Dallas?”

“
No, of course not. It’ll
be wonderful. And then we’ll do the cruise in a few
weeks.”

“
And you’re really okay
with Mom going on the cruise?”

“
Sure. She’ll have her own
room.”

“
But we’ll still see her a
lot. So, if you don’t want her to go, just tell me. There’s still
time to cancel her reservation. I know she’d
understand.”

“
No, really—it’s okay.
I
love
Mallie
Mae.”

“
Okay, good. I think it
will be great for her. It’ll give her a chance to meet some new
people her age.”

“
Baby, I’ve been wondering.
Do think anybody will actually show up for our wedding?”

“
Of course they will. What
are you talking about?”

“
Well, we’ve only given
them a few days’ notice. And you just cancelled a wedding last
week.”

“
Don’t worry. Mom has put
the word out. And believe me—her friends are spreading the news
like wildfire. In fact,
she
thinks the church will be
packed. It
is
a wonderful love story, you know—best friends finding love in
each other’s arms after so many years.”

“
It’s definitely
my
favorite love
story. And I can’t wait to be Mrs. Elmo Mobley—
Macy Mobley
.” She stepped in
close and put her arms around him.

“
It
does
have a nice ring to it.
Speaking of which…” he dropped to one knee and looked up at her,
holding her left hand. “It’s time to do it right.” He reached into
his pocket, pulled out a small box and flipped the top open,
revealing a dazzling diamond ring. “Macy Golong, will you do me the
honor of being my wife?”

Her face beamed with delight. “Oh, Elmo,
it’s so beautiful. Yes, I—“

“—
to live with me forever
in holy matrimony?”

Her smile broadened further. “Yes, Elmo,
I—“

“—
to love me with all your
heart, as I love you?”

She giggled. “Yes, of
course, Elmo, I
will
—“

“—
to make love to me day
and night as long as we both shall live?”

“
Yes, my dear sex maniac.
And I promise to
do
you
in every way known to
man.”

“
Then it’s a deal.” He slid
the ring onto her finger and stood up. “I love you,
Macy.”

She pressed her body against his and began
to kiss him as though it was already the wedding night.

He moved his hands down across her back and
slid his fingertips under the waistband of her pants, and then for
the first time, inside her panties. The feel of her firm, bare buns
made him want to pull off those panties and everything else, and
throw her on the bed.

There was a knock at the door.

Elmo’s hands were instantly out of her
panties and down at his sides—fast enough to make a magician
proud.

Macy tried to catch her breath and sound
normal. “Yes?”

Mallie Mae cracked the door
and stuck her head in. “I just got off the phone with my friend
Rachel. She says everybody in Coreyville is thrilled that you two
are getting married. First Baptist Church is going to be
the place to be
next Friday night.”

“
That’s wonderful, Mallie
Mae.”

“
Yeah. Thanks,
Mom.”

“
Oh, and one other thing,”
said Mallie Mae. “Try to save something for the
honeymoon.”

Macy and Elmo looked at each other, slightly
embarrassed.

Mallie Mae grinned as she closed the door.
“Goodnight.”

**********

Carsie knew the old couple who owned the
cabin. They lived down the road from her grandmother’s house. She
was sure they wouldn’t mind her living there for a couple of weeks.
They hadn’t used it in over a year—since the husband’s stroke.

Sylvia had talked about how they should have
sold the place to help pay the mounting medical bills. But the wife
still clung to the hope that her husband would recover. Then they
would spend nearly every weekend at the cabin like they used
to.

Carsie figured the police would eventually
question Sylvia’s neighbors, use a little common sense, and come to
the cabin looking for her. She had been a fugitive for six days.
But her time there would soon be over anyway.

It was 9:20 AM on Saturday,
and many of the folks from neighboring cabins were out fishing.
Some of them were probably hoping to hook the proverbial
big one
that always
gets away. She had her own big fish to catch. She planned to throw
it down and watch it flop around until it died. Oh, what revenge it
would be. What sweet revenge.

The Mobleys knew nothing of her high school
days, and her archery medals. She was a bit rusty, but after four
days of non-stop practice, her accuracy was coming back. And her
new Browning Mirage ZX compound bow was the best she’d ever used.
It was 33 inches, axle to axle, and weighed less than four
pounds.

She had pulled off many successful cons with
her sister and grandmother, beginning at age 20. She would lure in
some poor sap and make him fall in love with her. She had a talent
for it. Then, after they got married, Carnie would seduce him.
Soon, Carsie would divorce him for his infidelity and take him for
as much money as possible. The three women had worked as full-time
con artists for ten years. Now her partners and her family were
dead.

But for once in her life,
with Elmo Mobley, she had not been faking—except in the beginning.
She had foolishly fallen in love with him. But why? Elmo was 26
years older than her. It didn’t make sense. Maybe it was
because
he was so
much older. She had let her guard down because she felt safe. She
could relax since there was no way she was going to fall in love
with a guy old enough to be her father. But that was exactly what
happened.

Carsie despised Macy. If the woman had
wanted Elmo she could have had him years ago. Why had Macy waited
until Carsie came along to show her true feelings? She knew she
could never get Elmo back now. But she didn’t want Macy to have him
either.

If she had the opportunity
to poison Macy, she wouldn’t do it. If she had the chance to catch
her alone somewhere and stab her through the heart, she wouldn’t do
that either. Why? Because she wanted Macy to suffer
publicly
. And she
wanted Elmo to see his love die right before his eyes. She wanted
the whole world to witness the destruction of the happy couple who
had ripped the dreams of happiness from her soul.

They would pay for the
death of Sylvia and Carnie. And for
Carsie’s
death. Because she
would soon die also. There would be nothing left to live for…once
she had destroyed the Mobleys.

“
Yes!” Another bull’s
eye.

Chapter
39

Greg had never seen his church auditorium
filled to capacity. If any more people came, he thought, the usher
would be forced to open the balcony. Mallie Mae had insisted the
balcony not be used until the main floor pews were packed tight.
When her son and her new daughter-in-law turned to walk out as man
and wife, she did not want them to see any gaps in the
congregation. The more crowded it looked, the more love they’d
feel.

On the floor level, there were thirty
pews—fifteen on each side, with an aisle down the middle. And for
weddings, having a center aisle was always preferable. The official
seating capacity for the auditorium was 350, which included fifty
in the balcony. But because it was bench-style seating rather than
individual seats, nobody really knew exactly how many bodies could
be squeezed in. Certainly more people than they ever saw on Sunday
mornings. And probably a much larger number than the Fire Marshall
would approve of.

Greg, Cynthia, and Beverly
were sitting on the right side. It would have been just as
appropriate for them to sit on the bride’s side, since they hadn’t
met Elmo
or
Macy until two weeks earlier in the hideaway hospital. But it
didn’t matter since both sides were packed with the Mobleys’
friends and Elmo’s former patients and parents of
patients.

Greg checked his watch. In about four
minutes the pastor, Elmo, and his best man would come out and take
their places, and the organist would begin to play. Then something
to the left caught his eye. An attractive young woman with short,
black hair had opened the side door near the piano, and was looking
out into the crowd. She’s wondering if there’s any place to sit, he
thought. Then he saw her look up at the balcony.

“
Sweetie, does that woman
look familiar to you?”

Cynthia broke off the conversation with her
mother and turned to him. “What did you say, Baby?”

“
See that woman over—.
Never mind—she’s already gone.”

“
Mom and I were just
talking about what an amazing turnout this is.”

“
Yeah.”

“
The Cleggmores have a huge
family, don’t they?”

Greg didn’t answer. He looked as though he’d
just thought of something important he’d forgotten to do.

“
Greg?”

“
I’ve got to go check
something.” He stood and walked toward the front of the
auditorium.

“
But it’s about to
start.”