Carsie came downstairs and met Carnie in the Pub Room as she walked out of her bedroom.
“I need a drink,” said Carsie.
“You don’t look so good. What’s wrong, Sis?”
They sat down at a table.
“The wedding is probably going to be postponed.”
“Why?”
“Elmo thinks Mallie Mae has Alzheimer’s disease. He sent her to a specialist in Dallas.”
“So, that explains the limo this morning.”
“Yeah. They ran a bunch of tests on her.”
“And?”
“They’re still waiting on some of the results, but the doctor believes that it is Alzheimer’s.”
“But we were so close,” said Carnie.
“I know. What do you mean we?”
“You know, uh, we were so close to all being family. One big happy family.”
“Yeah, that’s true. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about me.”
“That’s okay. You’re the bride. It’s your wedding.”
“But, now I don’t know when it will happen. Elmo says there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s.”
“So, what’s he gonna do? Wait until she dies?”
“Carnie!”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. But you and Elmo deserve to be happy. Y’all shouldn’t have to wait indefinitely.”
Carnie hated to see her sister so sad. But even more than that, she hated to wait longer for the money.
10 - WEDDING IN JEOPARDY
The Tuesday morning sun on Greg’s face sent mixed messages to his sleeping brain. The brightness urged him to wake up. But the warmth whispered ‘dream on.’ Like a mild summer day on a backyard swing.
He rolled over in bed to let the golden rays warm his back. Her sweet scent drew him near to her. He put his arm around her as he kissed her gently on the neck. She awoke with a lovely smile and rolled to her back. And even though she had not yet spoken, he knew what she wanted. As he began to make love to her, he heard something, but ignored it. In her arms, he could have ignored a tornado.
“Breakfast is ready.”
It was Beverly. Cynthia’s mother was standing beside the bed looking at them, as though they were sitting on the couch watching TV.
“Beverly! Do you mind? We’re trying to make love here!” said Greg.
“Now, Honey, don’t you talk to my mother in that tone of voice!” said Cynthia.
Greg woke up. Is that what it would be like if Cynthia and he got married, and Beverly was living with them?
Of course, he was getting way ahead of himself. He loved Cynthia. But he had never told her. Why did it take so much courage to speak three simple words? Because she might not speak them back to him. But he would be brave. He would tell her tonight. Or maybe Wednesday night would be better. No, tonight.
**********
Greg’s part-time job as music minister at First Baptist Church required him to be at the church Tuesday through Friday mornings. Staff meetings were held on Tuesdays at 11:00 AM in the pastor’s study.
Greg walked from his office, down the hallway to the pastoral suite. Anybody who wished to see the pastor had to go through Sadie Crumpet’s office. She had been church secretary for over 25 years. Sadie was the glue that had held the church together through six pastors. At least, that was her opinion. She had plenty of opinions, and was not shy about sharing them.
Greg could hear Sadie talking on the phone in a confidential tone as he approached her office.
“Well, I knew all along he was gay…I knew he wouldn’t get married. What’s the use? Everybody knows. Why doesn’t he just admit it?”
Greg thought, I am not gay. And how dare you gossip about me. Is this any way for a Christian to act? A church secretary?
He walked into her office and Sadie quickly ended her phone call.
“Is Pete already here?”
“Yes. Pete’s here. The pastor’s here. I’m here. We’re just waiting for you, Greg.”
Not that Greg was late. Pete was just early. He was always early.
The pastor, Dr. J. Marshall Huff, would lead the group in a prayer. They went over the list of prayer requests.
Dr. Huff said, “I got a call from Dr. Elmo Mobley this morning. He asked that we pray for his mother. He got the results of her tests this morning, and it’s not good. She has Alzheimer’s.”
“What about the wedding? I’ve got extra custodial staff lined up to work Friday night,” said Pete Termins. Pete was the volunteer chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee. He had been a life insurance salesman until a year earlier, when he retired at the age of 65. All of his energy, pushiness, and can-do attitude had been redirected to his work for the church. He was annoying at times, but you had to admire his dependability and determination to get the job done, and get it done right.
Sadie said, “The wedding has been cancelled.”
“Postponed,” said the pastor.
“They’ll never get married. And if they do, it won’t last,” she said.
“Now, I’m sure this is just a temporary setback,” said the pastor.
“He’s 56 years old. Never been married. He’s gay,” she said.
“Let just move on,” said Dr. Huff. He would have fired Sadie if he thought he could get away with it. She was always blunt, and always said too much. But she had too many friends whose husbands were deacons. Any attempt to force her out would end badly for him.
Greg felt better. Sadie’s phone conversation had been about Dr. Mobley—not him.
Greg said, “Who are the Mobleys? Are they members?”
Dr. Huff said, “Yes. But they rarely attend.”
“Only on Easter,” said Sadie.
“But they’ve given a lot of money to the church over the years. In the 70s they donated almost all of the funds to build the education wing,” said Pete. “Morford and Mallie Mae used to be regular attenders.”
“Until he died in a freak one-car accident,” said Sadie.
“Okay. Does anybody else have a special prayer request?” said the pastor.
**********
Elmo knocked lightly. Macy opened the door and let him into his mother’s bedroom. She knew his reason for being home at midday. There could be no other reason.
Mallie Mae was sitting at a table, staring out the window. She had eaten very little of her lunch.
“Mother?”
Mallie Mae looked up at him in confusion. Then recognition.
“Oh, hello, Lilman.”
Why couldn’t she learn to call him Elmo? Everybody else did. “Looks like you weren’t very hungry.”
“This fruit is too…” She struggled to find the right word. “It’s not ready,” she finally said.
“Well, I talked to the doctor in Dallas. You know—the one who ran all the tests on you yesterday.”
“I know. I’m not stupid, Son.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. The results came back positive for Alzheimer’s disease.”
“What?”
“He says you have Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Hogwash. There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Yes, there is, Mother. And you need to accept it.”
“That doctor doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“Okay. Then what’s this?” said Elmo.
“What do you mean? It’s my lunch.”
“But what kind of food is this right here?”
“Mashed potatoes and gravy.”
“And what about this?”
“It’s…that chewy stuff…you know, they make it from those things in the grass.”
“Cows?”
“Yeah.”
“Mother, you’re ill. But don’t worry. I’ve postponed the wedding and I’m taking a leave of absence from my practice. I want to do my own research. I’ll find the best treatment options for you.”
Elmo turned and walked across the room and out the door. Macy followed him.
Macy said, “But E
lmo—you don’t want to ruin your practice. What about all your patients?”
“My new partner, Dr. Edwards, will take care of things while I’m out,” said Elmo as he walked to the stairs.
Macy went back into the room and shut the door. Mallie Mae was standing, grinning at her. “See—I told you it would work. He’s postponed the wedding.”
“But what about his practice? He could destroy it if he stays away too long.”
“Nah. We won’t let that happen.”
“I still don’t understand how you fooled that doctor. He ran so many tests on you.”
“The blood test and urine test and even the brain scan only ruled out other causes of my symptoms. Apparently, I passed all of those, but I failed the memory tests, the problem solving, and the math and language tests. On purpose, of course.”
“So, there’s no way for a doctor to tell if you’re faking? Then anybody could do that.”
“True. But why would they? Why would you fake having Alzheimer’s?”
Macy said, “I guess you wouldn’t. Unless you wanted to stop your son from marrying the wrong woman.”
They both laughed.
“But I feel bad about doing this to Elmo. Putting him through the misery and worry,” said Macy.
“It won’t kill him. Besides I had no choice. It was the only way I could stop him from ruining his life.”
**********
Carnie needed some advice. The plan was going down the toilet. She paced the floor of her bedroom as she flipped her phone open and clicked the speed dial number.
“The old woman has Alzheimer’s and the wedding has been postponed,” said Carnie.
“It could be postponed indefinitely.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. But what can I do?”
“Have you considered taking her out?”
“Sure. But I’m too close to this one. I’d be the prime suspect.”
“I don’t know about that. I think you could pull it off. But it shouldn’t be your first option. Any idea how long she’s expected to live?”
“Several years, I think. Probably at least five.”
“We sure don’t want to wait that long. Just keeping thinking, Carnie. I have great confidence in you. You’ll come up with something.”
“Okay. Thanks, Grandma.”
Maybe she could poison Mallie Mae. Make it look like Hadley did it. But what would his motive be? Or what about Macy? She had easy access to the old hag’s food. After years of being ordered around by that old woman, she’d finally had enough. Might work. Probably not.
But Elmo would change his mind about postponing the wedding. Carnie would make sure of that.
11 - ELMO'S GUILT
Elmo’s study was on the main floor of the house, between the foyer and the master suite. But he spent little time there. On a typical day, by the time he made it home, after tending to his young patients for nine or ten hours, he was ready to feast on one of Hadley’s delicious meals and watch a movie in the Media Room or read in his bedroom recliner. The maid spent more time in his study than he did. At least she kept it free of dust and cobwebs.
He located the power button and started up the desktop computer. Surprisingly, it still worked. He would be forced to endure countless updates to his various software packages. He leaned back in his leather chair and watched as each file was downloaded and installed.
He had ignored Mallie Mae for years. Now his mother was condemned to slog through an increasingly disoriented life on her way to a slow, miserable death. Couldn’t he have found some way to make amends with her before now? He should have tried harder.
But she had nearly destroyed his plans to become a pediatrician. And she had interfered in his love life at every turn, never approving of any woman he dated. She was always there to disrupt his dreams with a punch in the gut. Because she had to awaken him to reality. Her reality. Still, he had held tight to his grudge far too long. And his bitterness had turned to overwhelming guilt after learning of her condition.
Finally, all software updates had completed and his computer had restarted. He opened a browser and went to the National Institutes of Health website and began to read about Alzheimer’s disease.
Drugs mentioned for early to middle stage Alzheimer’s were tacrine (Cognex), donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Razadyne). The effectiveness of these drugs was limited. At best, they would delay the symptoms for short period.
Another drug, memantine (Namenda), was approved to treat moderate to severe AD. Also being studied by researchers was the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, antioxidants, ginkgo biloba, and estrogen.
He printed the web page and made notes in the margins, circling the drug name Namenda, and adding the note try this first. Then he drew arrows to antioxidants, ginkgo biloba, and estrogen, and scribbled try these in various combinations and strengths.
**********
Greg had finished his lessons early, thanks to several cancellations. So, Cynthia had decided to wait and ride with him to Marshall. They had picked up a hamburger on the way out of town and eaten it in the car while driving. They would get to Beverly’s house by 6:30 PM.
“Have you ever heard of Elmo Mobley? He’s a doctor,” said Greg.
“Yes. He has accounts at the bank. I’ve seen him there a few times, but I’ve never met him.”
“Well, his name came up in church staff meeting this morning. He requested prayer for his mother, who’s just be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“Yeah. But something the church secretary said kinda stuck with me.”
“What?”
“She said Elmo’s father had died in a freak one-car accident.”
“And you looked it up on the internet.”
“Well, I was curious. So, I found a Coreyville Courier article from 1984.”
“I thought you were busy teaching lessons this afternoon.”
“I was. This was during one of my cancellations. And I had way too many today. Didn’t make much money.”
“Well, did you find anything interesting?”
“Actually, I did. It said that Morford Mobley had crashed his car into a concrete wall under an overpass.”
“That’s not so unusual. People drink too much and think they can drive. Or they fall asleep at the wheel.”
“Yeah, but he hadn’t been drinking. And it happened on a sunny morning.”
“But he still could have been sleepy.”
“That’s true. But here’s where it gets weird. He went to a gas station and filled up two five gallon cans of gas. A witness reported seeing him put the two cans in the front seat of his car without the caps. He said gas was spilling out of the cans as he put them in the car.”
“That is weird.”
“Yeah. And then, instead of driving back toward his house, he went the opposite direction. The investigators estimated that he was traveling at least 90 miles per hour when he hit the wall.”
“Whoa.”
“The car immediately burst into flames. There was barely enough left of him to make an identification. Of course, they knew it was him anyway.”
“It was suicide,” said Cynthia.
“Clearly. But the newspaper reported it as an accident.”
“The Mobley’s must have a lot of clout. Sounds like the police and the paper were trying to protect the family. And you can understand that.”
“But why would he want to kill himself?”
“I would imagine the only people who know the answer to that are his family.”
Greg pulled into Beverly’s driveway.
Cynthia said, “Well, let’s go in and pack some more boxes.”
It was a lot of work, but they were having fun with it. They got out of the car and started walking toward the back porch.
“Uh, before we go in, I have something I wanted to tell you.”
“Okay.” Cynthia stopped and turned around to face Greg.
&nbs
p; “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for while. I mean, I think you know how I feel about you, but…”
“Yes?”
“I love you, Cynthia, and maybe I’m just a fool, but…”
She moved close to him and put her arms around him.
Maybe she just feels sorry for me, he thought. She wants to let me down easy, but she doesn’t know how to do it.
“I love you too, Greg.”
“Really?”
“Couldn’t you tell? Couldn’t you feel it?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure. Sometimes I feel things that aren’t really there.”
“Kiss me, you silly man.”
Greg was more than happy to be a silly man. Yes, he would proudly be her silly man, and she could call him whatever she wanted to—as long as she loved him.
They walked into the house, beaming.
“What’s gotten into you two?” said Beverly.
“What you mean, Mom?” said Cynthia.
“You look like you’re on cloud nine.”
Greg and Cynthia smiled knowingly at each other.
“Does it have anything to do with that talking and kissing out in my driveway?”
“Mom, you were snooping on us?”
“It’s my driveway. I think I have the right to look at it any time I want. Aw, come here and give me a hug.”
As the three stood there hugging, Greg thought everything was going to work out just fine. Even if Beverly lived with them after they were married. But wait. One step at a time. She said she loved you. She didn’t agree to marry you. That’s okay, he thought. He would worry about that some other day. She loves you!
**********
After spending all afternoon and evening at his computer, Elmo finally dragged himself to his bedroom at 2:15 AM. He was so tired he didn’t even bother to shower or brush his teeth. He just fell across the bed, fully dressed, and was asleep by the time his head hit the bedspread.
Carnie waited for Elmo to leave, and then slipped into his study. She took his stack of notes to the copy machine and made a copy of each page. Then she placed the papers back on his desk as she had found them.
Greg Tenorly Suspense Series Boxed Set Page 23