Carnie closed the door and walked around to the driver's side. Before she opened the door, she checked for another target. She spotted a woman who appeared to be in her 80's walking out. She had a purse on her left arm, but no bags. Carnie figured the woman couldn't find what she wanted. But if she was looking for a large, sharp screwdriver, Carnie would be happy to fix her up. She started walking toward the woman.

When she was twenty feet away, the woman yelled, "Hurry up."

Was she talking to me? wondered Carnie. Sure, I'll hurry up, lady. But then Carnie saw the old man with the shopping basket.

"I'll get there when I get there," yelled the old man.

Carnie walked past the woman, thinking she might try to take her andher husband. When she pa.s.sed the old man, he winked at her. The tight jogging suit showed off every inch of her curvaceous body. The old man turned his head as he walked to get a view of the back side. He crashed his shopping cart into a parked car.

"Jim, if you'd watch where you're going," said his wife, "instead of watching that woman's b.u.t.t-"

"-Hey, I'm just looking-I'm not buying."

"Oh, I know that-you're too cheap to spend any money on it."

Did they honestly think she was for sale? Carnie wondered. Maybe she would go stab a couple of old farts just for the fun of it. She made a U-turn and walked past the couple, who were still bickering. They didn't even see her this time.

"I won't be long," said Beverly as she walked out the door.

Cynthia and Greg were still sitting on the couch, finishing up their pizza.

"Where's she going?" said Greg.

"Wal-Mart. She's out of shampoo, and she won't use the kind I have."

"You're not worried about her going out at night by herself?"

"Yeah, a little bit. But she did it all the time in Marshall. How can I tell her she can't do it here?"

"Yeah, you're right. She'll be fine. And while she's gone..."

Greg set his paper plate aside and slid over beside Cynthia.

By the time he got to her, she was ready. They began to kiss.

Neither of them felt the usual fear of taking it too far. Just knowing that Beverly would be back in a few minutes would keep their hormones in check.

The beads of sweat on Jake's face were growing larger. The three women in the back of the van were having pretty much the same thoughts. They didn't know whether Jake's gun hand was shaky because he was scared or because he was just crazy. Either way, they figured their life was hanging by a thread. Any escape attempt would surely lead to a bullet or a screwdriver through the heart.

Carnie saw taillights in her rear view mirror. A car was pulling into the parking spot directly behind the van. Carnie stepped out and saw an older woman getting out of her car and locking it. She was alone. This would be an easy one, she thought.

Carnie approached the woman while she was still beside her car.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. I don't suppose you have any jumper cables, do you?"

"Uh, no. I'm sorry. I don't."

Carnie produced the screwdriver and said, "Just be quiet and come with me and I won't hurt you."

"I'm not coming with you. Get away from me. Help! Somebody, help me!" Suddenly she couldn't breathe. She looked down and saw the screwdriver stuck in her chest. Then she collapsed to the pavement, between her car and a pickup.

Carnie ripped the screwdriver out and wiped it across the woman's dress a few times to clean off the blood.

Greg's right hand had been at Cynthia's waist for a couple of minutes. Now it was inching upward. Cynthia knew where it was headed, and was afraid of the stimulation it would surely bring. But her mother had been gone for a good while. She would be driving up at any second. They would hear the car and stop what they were doing. So they were safe.

Greg was beginning to lose control. His body wanted Cynthia's, but he had promised himself he would wait until marriage. A marriage he had not yet even proposed.

But he began to realize that he was just a puppet. And testosterone was his puppet master. Although in his mind he ordered it to stop, his right hand continued to move up until it found her left breast. He felt the nipple with his thumb. It was very hard, and so was he.

Cynthia said, "Wait," and pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," he said.

Cynthia was looking at the wall clock. "Look what time it is. Mom's been gone for over thirty minutes. She should have been back by now."

"Call her cell."

Cynthia jumped up and went to her cell phone, which was lying on the kitchen counter. She walked back into the living room with the phone to her ear. "She's not answering. It's going to voice mail."

"Let's go find her," said Greg.

They rushed out of the house to Greg's car.

Chapter26.

"Is she asleep?" said Elmo softly, taking a glance at his mother in the rear view mirror.

Macy turned her head to look in the back seat. "I think so."

After Mallie Mae's accident in the restaurant, they had made a quick exit. They went to the first convenience store they could find to pick up some adult diapers. Mallie Mae had reluctantly put on a pair. Then they had stopped for hamburgers at a Sonic Drive In.

"She's been faking, hasn't she? he said.

Macy was glad it was too dark for Elmo to see her face turning red. "What do you mean?"

"She's been pretending to have Alzheimer's."

"Why would she do that?"

"To drive me and Carsie apart."

Macy didn't speak. She looked straight ahead.

"And you were in on it, weren't you?" said Elmo.

She had dreaded this moment. As soon as Mallie Mae had drafted her into the scheme, Macy knew it would end badly. Any chances she might have had with Elmo were about to evaporate. But she might as well get it over with, she thought. "Yes, I was. I'm sorry, Elmo."

"It's okay. I don't blame you. If you hadn't played along, she would have fired you. That is, she would have threatenedto fire you. But she wouldn't have actually done it. You're like a daughter to her. And I guess you're kind of fond of her too, or you wouldn't have stayed around for all these years." He paused for a second. "How many years has it been, Macy?"

"Fifteen."

"Wow. When you took the job as her nurse you were what? 21 years old?"

"22."

"I'm surprised you stayed so long. Why didn't you ever go back to the hospital? They would have gladly taken you back. And you know I would have recommended you highly."

"Well..."

He finally knew the answer. But how could he have been so clueless? he wondered. Earlier in the evening, on the dance floor, he had seen the love in Macy's eyes for the first time. Had it been there all along? For fifteen years? They had been great friends, spending most nights watching TV or movies together. At 22, she was a sweet, alluring presence. But because of the age gap, he had forced himself to think of her as a sister. It was the only way he could trick himself into keeping his hands off her. And it helped him quell the powerful fantasies of making love to her.

And why hadn't she been dating? She should have been married long before now. Maybe a better question was why he had not wondered about these things before. Had he been playing games with himself-and with her? Knowing he couldn't have her, but not wanting to lose her?

If Macy had not been living in the house, maybe Elmo would have found love years earlier. And if he got married, the wife would probably want Macy to go. Carsie had been aggressive in advancing her relationship with Elmo. She had made him realize he was letting his prime years slip away. He needed to make up for lost time-and she would help him do it. She had replaced Macy as his TV buddy. And she had been relentless in pushing him toward the altar.

"You stayed because of me, didn't you?" said Elmo.

"Well, I...yes."

"I'm sorry, Macy. I've been so unfair to you. I had feelings for you from day one. But I was 41 then. And you were only 22."

"I know."

"I was crazy about you, but it made me feel kinda like a dirty old man. You know?"

"I understand."

"You were so young and just starting out in life. I figured the last thing you needed was a father figure making pa.s.ses at you."

"But I never saw you as a father figure. You were just a kind, intelligent, funny, wonderful man. I never cared about the age difference."

"So, why didn't you say something?"

"Because I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same way. And then it would have been weird for you having me in the house and you'd end up asking me to leave. I couldn't risk it. I just hoped that someday you'd feel the same way I did."

Elmo glanced at her. At 37, she was at the height of her beauty and s.e.xual power. He felt incredibly lucky. He would not waste another day. He reached over and picked up her hand and brought it to his lips.

And when he kissed the back of her hand, she knew exactly what he was thinking. He was not going to marry Carsie. Apparently his feelings for Carsie held no comparison to his long-hidden love for Macy.

This was a scenario she had dreamed many times. Elmo finally saw the light, and they would live happily ever after. But this was not a dream. Was it? No, this was real.

Then Macy thought about Mallie Mae. She knew Mallie Mae would be happy about the breakup of Elmo and Carsie. But how would she feel about Elmo and Macy? And what about the accident at the restaurant? Had Mallie Mae faked it? If so, she had left Macy out of the loop. And that would be a first.

Mallie Mae lay content in the back seat with her eyes closed. Now maybe she really would go to sleep.

"Where are you taking us?" said one of the women.

"You two are going to spend the rest of your lives in prison," said one of the others.

"Unless you let us go-now," said another.

"You old hags better cool it back there. Or I'm gonna let my boyfriend go ahead and shoot you," said Carnie. "He's just itching to blow your heads off."

The women studied Jake. He looked like he really might do it.

Jake was living a nightmare. He should have just gone to the police and turned himself in for the hit and run. He hadn't meant to kill that man. And he didn't want to kill these women. But now he was in deep. Carnie had killed a woman in the parking lot, and he knew by Texas law he would be charged with murder too-as though he himself had plunged that screwdriver into that poor woman's chest. He wouldn't be any worse off if he shot all four of the old women and Carnie right now. He almost wished he could pull the trigger and get it over with. Maybe after that he'd turn the gun on himself.

Then he remembered the gun was not loaded. And why was he kidding himself? He couldn't kill anybody. Not on purpose.

"Hey, I know this place," said one of the women. "It's the Mobley estate."

"I should have gone with her," said Cynthia.

Greg was driving above the speed limit. "I'm sure she's fine. Probably decided to browse around for a while."

"But why isn't she answering her cell phone?"

"Maybe there's no signal. I've had trouble with that in certain areas of the store. Sometimes a call just doesn't go through. And it can be noisy in there. She might not hear it ringing."

"Oh, no," said Cynthia.

Red lights were flashing in the Wal-Mart parking lot. When they got closer they could see the ambulance and three Coreyville police cars. There were at least a hundred people trying to get a look.

Greg parked the car and they hurried toward the spectacle.

"No, no, no," said Cynthia.

"I'm sure it's not her."

They made their way through the crowd.

"Look," said Cynthia, pointing. "There's her car."