Hideaway Hospital Murders Read Online Free PDF Page A

pleasant day, so Hadley had
put them on the back porch near the kitchen.
    “ It’s such a nice day,”
said Carsie. “We should do something special.”
    “ Like what?” Elmo was
reading the business section of the Dallas Morning News.
    “ We could drive over to the
Dallas Zoo.”
    Carnie joined in, “I love animals. They’re
so primitive.”
    Elmo wasn’t sure what to make of Carnie’s
statement or the odd grin on her face.
    Macy walked out of the house, leaned over
and whispered into Elmo’s ear.
    Carsie did not appreciate the fact that she
was being left out of the loop. Why did Elmo need to hide anything
from his bride-to-be? As soon as they came back from their
honeymoon, she would fire Macy Golong. She didn’t trust her with
Elmo.
    “ Ladies, you’ll have to
excuse me,” he said to Carsie and her sister. He got up from the
table and walked into the house with Macy.
    “ I don’t like her,” said
Carsie.
    “ She’s harmless,” said
Carnie.
    **********
    “ What makes you think she’s
acting weird?” said Elmo.
    “ You’ll have to see for
yourself,” said Macy.
    Elmo rarely spent any time with his mother.
He only saw her once or twice a week.
    “ Come on in. I think she’s
still in the bathroom. Don’t let her see you.”
    “ Okay.”
    Macy led him through Mallie Mae’s bedroom,
to the bathroom door. Macy walked in, leaving the door open so
Elmo could see.
    “ Are you okay?” said
Macy.
    “ No. I can’t remember how
to make this thing start,” said Mallie Mae.
    Elmo was shocked by what he saw: his mother
holding a hairbrush in one hand and a tube of toothpaste in the
other. She had applied a line of Crest across the bristles of the
hairbrush.
    “ I know how to make it
work. I just need a little help.”
    “ That’s okay. I’ll help
you,” said Macy.
    “ I just need to wash my
things.” She pointed to her teeth. “These things.” She looked in
the mirror. “These little white things in my mouth. I just don’t
remember how to do it. I think my breakfast made me a little sick.
Tell Had…whatever that man’s name is—he cooks our food. You know.
Tell him he made me sick and now I can’t think right.”
    “ Mother?” said
Elmo.
    Mallie Mae turned and was surprised to see
him standing there.
    “ What are you doing in
here? Get out of my room and just leave me alone.”
    “ But, Mother, you seem to
be having a problem. I just want to help.”
    “ Get out! Now!”
    Elmo walked out of the bedroom and shut the
door. He stood in the hallway, stunned. He was about to go back
downstairs when Macy came out.
    “ See what I
mean?”
    “ Yeah. She’s in bad shape.
I had no idea. Has she ever acted like this before?”
    “ Well…”
    “ You mean she’s been like
this for a while and you didn’t tell me?”
    “ I’m sorry. But she swore
me to secrecy.”
    “ When did it
start?”
    “ She started having some
memory problems a couple of years ago. But I thought it was just
old age.”
    “ You should have told me,
Macy.”
    “ I know. But it wasn’t that
bad at first. It’s gotten a lot worse in the past few
months.”
    “ I can’t believe you didn’t
tell me.”
    “ I’m sorry. Do you think
it’s Alzheimer’s? She’s only 75.”
    “ It could be. Most people
don’t get until their mid-eighties. But sometimes it happens a lot
sooner.”
    “ I hope that’s not what it
is.”
    “ It could be something
else. Like a reaction to medication. What is she
taking?”
    “ Just her blood pressure
medicine. And sometimes a pain pill.”
    “ Or it could be a
nutritional deficiency. How’s her appetite?”
    “ Pretty good.”
    “ And sometimes people have
these symptoms after a stroke.”
    “ Oh, I think I would know
if she had a stroke. Wouldn’t I?”
    “ Probably—considering how
much time you spend with her.”
    “ So, what do we
do?”
    “ I’ll send her to the
hospital for testing.”
    “ Oh, I don’t think she’d
like that. She’s embarrassed. She’d