Greg Tenorly Suspense Series Boxed Set

by Robert Burton Robinson

  But soon, he felt like he was right where he belonged. And when he married, his wife came on staff as a maid. The couple didn’t have children, although they tried. But they were never lonely living with the Mobleys. They were family.

  And the thing that had kept Hadley there for all those years, even after the passing of his dear Eloise, was respect. A mutual respect. Henderson Benjamin Hadley placed a high value on respect. So, even at age 77, he never had thoughts of leaving.

  These days, Hadley was primarily a cook, but readily accepted any duty that was entrusted to him. However, when Dr. Mobley had started to tell him about the trip to the Dallas Zoo, he was less than thrilled, though he didn’t allow his feelings to show. But then the doctor had surprised him by saying that Hadley wouldn’t need to accompany them.

  Dr. Mobley had suggested that Hadley take the day off and go visit his brother. And when he balked, the doctor insisted that he take a fishing holiday, and that he was not to come home until Sunday afternoon. Elmo knew Hadley loved to fish.

  It was now 6:45 AM. Hadley whistled a tune as he finished arranging the clothing and other items in his old tweed suitcase. He turned to the full-length mirror on the inside of his closet door and checked his attire. Oops. He removed the brown fedora and replaced it with his fishing hat.

  His bedroom was upstairs, at the rear. Mallie Mae’s door was open, so he decided to stop by. He took off his hat and looked in.

  “Good morning, Ladies.”

  “Morning, Hadley,” said Macy. She was brushing Mallie Mae’s hair.

  “Good morning, Hadley,” said Mallie Mae. “Wish you were going with us.”

  “Me too, Ma’am,” he said. “But Dr. Mobley insisted that I go to Karnack.”

  “To see your brother?” said Macy.

  “Yes, Ma’am. And do some fishing.” He held out his fishing hat.

  “I haven’t been to Caddo Lake in years,” said Macy.

  Hadley’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “It’s fabulous. We’ll spend the whole day out there. And then tonight for dinner, it’ll be all the Catfish and hush puppies we can eat.”

  “Sounds delicious, Hadley,” said Macy. “So, you’re spending the night?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Dr. Mobley told me to stay gone until tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Well, y’all have fun,” said Macy.

  “Oh, I intend to, Ma’am,” said Hadley with a big grin.

  He walked out of the room and down the stairs to the garage and out the back door. Hadley kept his vehicle in the old barn, which was also where he worked on the car from time to time. It was a shiny black 1956 Buick Roadmaster Riviera with red interior.

  He was surprised to see Carnie’s Malibu missing. She had been parking it in the barn the last couple of days.

  Hadley flipped open his cell phone as he drove away from the house.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Horatio’s Fish Camp?” said Hadley.

  “Hey, Ben. You on your way?” said Horatio.

  “Yes, Sir. And tell Alma she’d better be ready to cook up a huge mess of Catfish tonight.”

  “Oh, you wanna do some serious fishing, huh?”

  “You got that right.”

  “Well, I already hitched up the boat. So, hurry up.”

  “I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

  Hadley never drove his prized Roadmaster over 50 mph. He changed the oil every 2,000 miles and waxed it four times a year.

  “Sorry about the late notice,” said Hadley.

  “No problem. You know I’m always ready to throw a line in the lake. But why did Dr. Mobley wait until this morning to give you the day off?”

  He rarely had a full day off, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had done an overnighter. But he didn’t mind. He was part of the family, after all.

  “Well, just yesterday he planned an all-day trip to the Dallas Zoo with his mother and Macy, and I guess he realized this morning it would be a good time for me to get away too.”

  “Well, that was nice of him. But I’m surprised he didn’t want you to drive them to Dallas.”

  “Yeah, me too. It seems like everybody in the house is acting kinda funny lately.”

  “Really? What do you mean?”

  “We just found out this week that Mrs. Mobley has Alzheimer’s.”

  “Oh, Lord.”

  “Yeah, it’s awful.”

  “I hope me and Alma never get it.”

  “Only thing is, I’m not sure she actually has it.”

  “Well, didn’t she go to the doctor?”

  “Yeah. Dr. Mobley sent her to a specialist in Dallas, and he ran a bunch of tests on her, and they came back positive. But I haven’t seen her having any problems. Her memory seems fine.”

  “Yeah, but they say the memory kinda comes and goes. Especially when you first get it.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Well, hurry up, Man. We’re burning daylight.”

  “See you soon, Horry.”

  **********

  “I thought we were going to wear old, worn-out clothes today?” said Greg.

  “This is old,” said Cynthia.

  “It’s just not possible for you to look bad, is it?”

  “I’m not wearing makeup.”

  “See. That’s what I’m talking about.”

  “Quit.” She nearly blushed.

  “You wanna go through McDonald’s on the way out?”

  “Sure.”

  “Didn’t it feel good to skip the run this morning and sleep a little longer?” he said, as they walked to his car.

  “Well, I…”

  “You didn’t skip. You got up early and ran without me, didn’t you?”

  “I couldn’t help it. I never miss my run.”

  “I should have known. Well, I had no problem skipping it.”

  “I hope you’re not quitting on me.”

  “No, I’m just going to need a day off every once in a while.”

  “That’s fine. I’m so proud of you for getting in to it. I know it’s not easy.”

  They picked up some breakfast sandwiches and coffee at McDonald’s, and headed toward Marshall to pick up the rental truck, load it, and move Beverly to Cynthia’s house.

  “Did you see this morning’s paper?” said Cynthia.

  “Just the front page. I guess the police still don’t have a clue who did it.”

  “It just doesn’t make sense. They didn’t even take anything.”

  “Honey, shouldn’t we tell your mom about it? Especially since the murder on her street was one of the reasons she agreed to move.”

  “Not today. I don’t her to freak out. Besides, what’s she going to do—cancel the truck and unpack all the boxes?”

  “Yeah. I guess it’s too late for her to change her mind.”

  It was a mild late-September day—perfect for moving. It had been an easy decision to put the top down on the Bonneville. There was not a cloud in the sky. And the bright sun provided enough heat to compensate for the wind blowing through their hair. Not that Greg had much hair. He would throw on a baseball cap for the numerous trips between the truck and the house. On a day like this, an uncovered, balding head was guaranteed to get a sunburn.

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you about the car I saw yesterday.”

  “What car?”

  “When I walked down to Jane’s for lunch there was a white car parked in front of Coreyville Copy Shop. And it had a bumper sticker that read:

  “If ignorance is bliss, then you must be ecstatic.”

  “Oh, I’ve seen that one before. Or I heard it somewhere.” said Cynthia.

  “But do you remember what that man said? You know—the odd guy who lives across from Nancie Jo’s house.”

  “No. What?”

  “He said a nurse visited her in a white car, and something about the word ‘ecstasy.’”

  “Okay…,” said Cynthia, not sure what he was getting at.

  “Ecstasy. Sounds kinda like ‘ec
static.’ If ignorance is bliss, then you must be ecstatic.”

  “I don’t know, Greg. Seems like you’re grasping at straws.”

  “But here’s another thing: I’ve never seen that bumper sticker before. And you know I always read them.”

  “So, you think it’s somebody new in town? It could be somebody who’s lived here forever and just put on a new bumper sticker.”

  “I should have walked over there to see who it was.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because I didn’t think about the ecstasy/ecstatic thing when I first saw it. And once I did, the car was gone. But I think I’m gonna go over there Monday and see if I can find out who was driving that car.”

  “You really think they noticed? And that they’ll remember?”

  “Maybe. It’s worth a shot.”

  “Suppose they do remember, and the person was a stranger—what good will that do?”

  “Maybe they paid with a check or a credit card. I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve got to try.”

  “Yeah, it wouldn’t hurt to ask, I guess. But don’t you think you should tell the police?”

  “Not yet. Not after they embarrassed me in front of all those people. They practically laughed in my face when I suggested they interview the neighbor.”

  “Well, who knows? Maybe you’re on to something. You might just solve the case. Then who’ll be laughing?”

  22 - CARNIE'S PLANS

  Jake squinted at the clock on his nightstand through blurry eyes. What a night! Carnie had nearly killed him with her insatiable appetite for sex. He reached back to feel the passenger side of the bed. Of course she’s gone, he thought. No surprise. But then he smelled the irresistible aroma of fresh perked coffee. Was she still there?

  He was anxious to find out, but as soon as he stood, he felt the overwhelming urge to drain his bladder. He could barely hold it until he got the lid up. But when he released, an intense burning sensation nearly brought him to his knees. It was a little late to be questioning whether Carnie had any diseases.

  He inspected himself. No wonder he was in pain—it looked like somebody had taken a couple of pipe wrenches to the thing. But he knew it would regenerate. It always did. So, he let go, and the burning began to subside after a few seconds.

  Jake walked into the kitchen and saw Carnie sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the sports section.

  “Hey, Sleepyhead,” she said.

  “I thought you already took off.”

  “Nope. We’ve got to talk about our plans for tonight.”

  “What plans?” Hopefully she’s not talking about sex, he thought. He’d need a couple of days to recuperate.

  “The Mobley house is empty today. Nobody will be home until late tonight.”

  “I see,” said Jake as he poured a cup of coffee.

  “So this is the perfect time to go out and get volunteers for our clinical trial. We’ll wait until dark and then go over to the Wal-Mart parking lot. It’ll be easy to round up four old women.”

  “Hang on, Carnie. If I walk up close to an old lady in the parking lot at night, she’s likely to scream.”

  “You’re right. That’s why I’m gonna do it,” said Carnie. “I’ll smile and be polite until I get close enough. Then I’ll show them the knife. All you have to do is drive and hold a gun on the ladies until I’ve got them all in the van. That’s easy enough, huh?”

  “I guess. Wait. What van?”

  “Don’t worry—I’ll get us a van.”

  There must be some way out of this, he thought. Think harder, Jake.

  He picked up the main section of the paper and read the headline.

  Elderly woman brutally murdered.

  Then he read the details of how Nancie Jo Gristel had been stabbed to death in her own home. And that no valuables were taken. And that the police were clueless as to the killer’s motive. “This is awful.”

  “What’s that?” she said without lowering her paper.

  “This old woman who was murdered.”

  “Oh, yeah—I read that story. Terrible shame.”

  Jake’s body felt heavier by the second, as though he and his chair would soon sink down through the floor. He didn’t even have to ask. He knew Carnie had killed the woman.

  **********

  “Did they really love us, Grandma?” said Carsie. She was standing in her grandmother’s living room, looking at pictures on the mantel. Sometimes she seemed more like a child than a 30 year-old.

  Her grandmother looked up from her crossword puzzle. “Of course they did. Why do you always ask that?”

  “But if they had been home with us that night instead of…”

  “I know. But they weren’t, and what’s done is done.”

  Sylvia Slitherstone had been babysitting her grandchildren when her son and daughter-in-law were killed in a car crash. The girls were both under five years old when she became their new mother.

  Their parents knew they were taking a chance every time they went out in that old Ford station wagon. The power steering had grown erratic and the brakes were weak. Otherwise, they might have been able to avoid the dump truck that veered into their lane that rainy night. Sylvia knew that if her family had been wealthy, like the Mobleys, her son and daughter-in-law would still be alive. She was sure of it.

  “Were Mama and Daddy happy? I mean, you know—were they madly in love?” said Carsie.

  “They were crazy about each other. And about you girls. Y’all were a picture perfect family.”

  Carsie turned back to the pictures on the mantel.

  “Yes, we were, Grandma. We were picture perfect. We look so happy.”

  “And now you’ll have you chance for happiness with Elmo.”

  “Yeah, if he can ever learn to deal with the fact that his mother is dying. But Carnie thinks he’s coming around. I just hope she’s right.”

  “Carnie is determined to get you two married. And you know Carnie. She always gets what she wants.”

  Carsie smiled as she thought about it. “That’s right. Carnie does always get what she wants. How does she do that?”

  “She just never takes ‘No’ for an answer. That’s just the way she is.”

  Carsie walked over and sat on the sofa, slid her shoes off and stretched her legs out across the cushions. So, what’s going to happen after we get married? How are you going to get the money? Am I going to just write you and Carnie a check?”

  “Something like that. But we have to wait until you’ve been married a few months to avoid the possibility of an annulment. Then, if Elmo gives you any trouble over the money, you’ll simply divorce him and take your half.”

  “But I don’t want to divorce him.”

  “Well then you’ll just have to get him to cooperate. You’re sure you never signed a prenup?”

  “I haven’t signed anything.”

  “Good. Don’t.”

  “Grandma, I really love Elmo.”

  “I know you do.”

  “And I don’t want anything to hurt our marriage.”

  “I understand. But don’t forget you agreed to follow the plan. Without it, you never would have met Elmo in the first place.”

  “I know. But I did, and I fell in love with him.”

  “Falling in love was not part of the plan.”

  “I couldn’t help it. He’s wonderful. And I don’t want to lose him.”

  “Maybe you won’t have to.”

  **********

  “So, this is your best spot, huh?” said Hadley.

  “Yes, it is,” said Horatio.

  “I don’t know, Horry. We haven’t even had a nibble, and we’ve been sitting here for nearly two hours.”

  Horatio sat up straight, faking an air of dignity. “Sir, do you dare question the validity of my Catfishery proficiency?”

  Hadley took up the challenge. “On the contrary, Your Highness. I would never impugn the veracity of your asseveration.”

  Horatio slumped back
down. “I give. You win. I don’t have a dictionary on the boat.”

  “I always win.”

  “Okay, then. How about a little wager? Whoever catches the most fish gets to watch while the loser cleans all of them.”

  “What if the loser can talk Alma into doing it for him?”

  “That would have to be some awfully smooth talking,” said Horatio. “And you just might be able to pull it off, Brother—if you were thirty years younger.”

  They laughed softly, so as not to scare off the fish.

  “I’m afraid Elmo may be thinking about reopening the lab,” said Hadley.

  “Uh-oh.”

  “I told you he took a leave of absence from his medical practice so he could find the best treatment for Mallie Mae.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, he’s been on the internet all day long and half the night, trying to find some answers.”

  “So, he might go down there and start experimenting.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking. Of course, he’d have to restock. There are no chemicals or other supplies down there.”

  “But he’s a pediatrician, not a pharmacist,” said Horatio.

  “That didn’t stop his father. Morford was an emergency room doctor, remember?”

  “Yeah. Nothing could stop Morford. But Elmo doesn’t know about the other rooms, does he?”

  “Oh, no. Morford didn’t want him to know, so I never told him. Even Mallie Mae still doesn’t know.”

  “I can’t believe we actually got it done without them finding out,” said Horatio.

  “Mallie Mae was on vacation in Europe with her sister. Remember? And Elmo was working in a clinic in Dallas.”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Mallie Mae knew Morford was building a lab down there. But she didn’t know about the rest of it. And she was happy to be away while construction was going on.”

  “Yeah, I remember that.”

  “But I’m kinda surprised none of your crew ever let the secret slip,” said Hadley.

  “Hey, I handpicked those men, and I had a lot of faith in them.”