It was just after 2:00 AM, but nobody was sleeping in the Hideaway Hospital—except the drugged women in the four beds.
Sylvia was pacing the floor, having the time of her life. “Go ahead, Carnie. Do whatever you want with Macy.”
Carnie handed the pistol to Sylvia and walked slowly toward Macy. The fear in Macy’s eyes excited her. She wanted to stab her in the chest fifty times. Or rip her clothes off and have sex with her—right there in front of everybody.
“No, Carnie—please,” said Elmo.
Cynthia, Greg, and Mallie Mae joined Elmo, begging Carnie not to harm Macy.
Carnie reached behind her back and whipped out the knife and held it up. “Quiet!”
Dead silence.
Carnie turned her head toward the bathroom. “I heard something upstairs. Elmo, do you have own a gun?”
He didn’t respond quickly enough.
Carnie raised the knife over her head, ready to throw it at Macy’s heart. “I’m sure you have a gun. Where is it?”
“In my desk in the study—bottom left drawer. But it’s locked. My keys are—”
“—I don’t need the keys. But you’d better not be lying.”
Carnie ran through the bathroom and the lab, picking up a screwdriver she had noticed earlier. She ran up the stairs, through her bedroom and into the media room. Through the high window she saw the black ‘56 Buick in the driveway.
She flew up the stairs to the main floor and ran through the living room, which was barely illuminated, by light from the foyer. She flipped the light switch in Elmo’s study and hurried to his desk. It was more solid than others she had encountered, but she still managed to pry open the drawer with the screwdriver. Elmo better not have lied, she thought. She found it under some papers at the back of the drawer—a .22 caliber pistol.
She looked up and saw Hadley standing in the doorway staring at her. She pointed and fired. But he was gone.
He’s a dead man, she thought. Hadley was thin, and in good shape for a 77-year-old, but there was no way he could outrun her.
She ran into the living room and went toward the foyer. She would nail him on his way out the front door. But he wasn’t in the foyer. And the front door was closed. She darted into the dining room and flipped on the light. Then she checked the kitchen. He must have gone downstairs, she thought. She hurried downstairs to find him.
But when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard the front door opening. He tricked me, she thought. That old man tricked me! She ran up the stairs, through the kitchen, the dining room, and the foyer, and out the front door.
She expected to see Hadley driving away in his car. Where was he? She strained to find him out in the darkness. There was plenty of moonlight—but her eyes had not adjusted from the brightness of the foyer chandelier.
Then she thought she saw movement. Yes, there he was—running toward the woods. She took aim and fired. He went down. She watched carefully—he was not moving.
She was about to walk out to him and make sure he was dead, when she heard Sylvia calling to her. She ran back into the house.
*
Hadley had underestimated Carnie’s shooting skills. He had figured he’d be safe at that distance in the dark. Otherwise, he would have tried going for his shotgun in the trunk. But he thought it would take too long to get it out and load it. By then, she would have been close enough to hit him with her eyes closed.
He felt the blood oozing from his side. How long before he would fade to unconsciousness? Could he make it to the car? And even if he managed to get to the car, would Carnie be watching and waiting just inside—ready to finish him off?
Mallie Mae and Elmo were not just his employers. They were as much his family as his Horatio was. And Macy had become family too.
Now his family was apparently in grave danger. For all he knew, some or all of them were already dead. He prayed not. But if there was any way he could help them, he would.
But first he had to find out if he could stand up.
*
All eyes were on Carnie and the gun in her hand when she walked back into the hospital ward.
“Who’d you shoot?” said Sylvia.
“Hadley.”
“No,” said Mallie Mae, looking as though her husband had just been murdered.
Elmo hung his head.
“Why did you have to kill him?” said Macy.
“I thought he wasn’t coming home until tomorrow afternoon,” said Sylvia.
“He wasn’t supposed to,” said Carnie. She walked to where Sylvia was, across the room. Carsie was still standing with the prisoners, as though she wasn’t sure whose side she was on.
Sylvia walked up to Macy and gave her an evil grin. “So, where were we, Carnie? I believe you were about to start with this one. What’ll it be first—a shot in the leg? Or chop off a finger? What do you think, Carnie?”
“What about the money?” said Carnie.
“You heard Mallie Mae. There is no money. But that’s okay. We can still enjoy torturing her and her clan. Anyway, that was my number one goal.”
“That might have been your number one goal,” said Carnie, seething.
Sylvia spun around. “What do you mean?”
“The most important thing to me is the money. I’m getting tired of running your scams. I want enough cash so I can get away from you—once and for all!”
Greg thought this was his best chance—while Sylvia’s back was to him and the two women were arguing. He quietly flipped the latch and released the bedrail his handcuffs were attached to.
“But, Honey, we’re a team. And you don’t break up a great team,” said Sylvia.
“I don’t want to be on your team anymore,” screamed Carnie.
Greg eased the bedrail up and out of its slots, rushed up behind Sylvia and wrapped his right arm around her throat. The he slammed the bedrail across the front of her body, knocking the pistol out of her hand.
Macy jumped forward to reach for the gun, but Sylvia kicked it across the room.
“Looks like we have a change in plans. This one wants to go first. Let go of me right now!” said Sylvia. “Or Carnie will start shooting people!”
But Greg tightened his grip around her neck. It looked like they were all going to die anyway. He had to try something.
Carnie seemed ambivalent.
“Kill them, Carnie! Start with Macy or Elmo.”
Carnie stood frozen.
“Do it, Carnie! Now!”
“Only if you go along with what I want,” said Carnie coldly.
“Are you crazy? Shoot somebody!”
“No! I’m tired of following your orders. The woman in that bed right there is Marcia Cleggmore. Her family is very wealthy. We can get a huge ransom for her.”
“I don’t care about the money, Carnie. It’s all about making Mallie Mae suffer—for what she did to me.”
“That was 50 years ago, Old Woman! Why can’t you just get over it?” said Carnie.
“I’m not going to bargain with you—just do what I say!”
“No! I’m sick of it! You made me murder all those innocent people. And you made me kill Jake. I really liked him.”
“Quit being a baby, Carnie.”
“And you abused me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You started having sex with me when I was just a little girl.”
“You wanted it too. You know you did.”
“I didn’t know what I wanted. I was just a kid! You’re the one who turned me into a monster.” Carnie pointed the gun at Sylvia and walked toward her, getting angrier with each step.
“Just settle down, Sweetie. I love you.”
“Let go of her, or I’ll shoot…somebody,” said Carnie. From the look in her eyes, she just might have been ready to kill everybody.
Greg released her and stepped back.
Sylvia turned around and glared at Greg. “Mister, you’ve just earned yourself a bullet in the head for that foolhardy—”
Sylvia’s expression of glee turned to surprise and fear when she felt the bullet rip into her back. She stumbled and turned around to face Carnie. “What are you doing? I’m the only one who’s ever loved you.”
“Lady, because of you, I don’t even know what love is,” said Carnie in monotone.
Sylvia collapsed to the floor. “You can kill me, but you’ll never be free of your demons.” Even as she was dying, Sylvia found the strength for one last dirty, evil smile.
Carnie stood over her and looked down in disgust as she said her final goodbye. “You’re the Satan in my soul.”
She pulled the trigger without flinching.
Sylvia was gone, but her eyes stared at Carnie as though she could still see her.
Carnie stepped back and picked up the other gun. “Now, I’m in charge.”