"But what about this?" He pointed to his receding hairline. "I'm losing it fast. And this?" He patted his protruding stomach.

"Yeah, but you can losethat. That extra weight doesn't have to be permanent. And a full head of hair is not that important to a lot of woman. Especially as they get older. I can tell you it's way low on mywish list."

Jane Appletree was the sole owner of the diner, and had run it by herself since her husband died a few years earlier. At age 60, she was still a very attractive woman. She took pride in her appearance, and the long days on her feet helped keep her thin. She would love to have had Greg for herself if she was a few years younger. Actually, many years younger, since Greg was only 34.

"Yeah, things have been going great, but-"

"-what happened?" Jane frowned.

"Her mother is moving in with her."

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, Greg."

"No. I think it's going to be fine. She's a very nice lady. We had lunch at her house on Sat.u.r.day, and I really liked her."

"Well, I wish you luck. I'm afraid you're gonna need it."

"I won't hold you for long, Ernie. I know you have lunch plans. But I just wanted to give you a heads-up."

It was Dr. E.J. Edwards' first day in the office with Elmo. He had relocated to Coreyville a few months earlier, but still had only a handful of patients. He knew that moving into the office with the popular pediatrician would help bring many new patients to his practice.

"What's going on?"

"I think my mother has Alzheimer's."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. How old is she?"

"She's 75. And I don't know for sure yet. I sent her over to a geriatric specialist in Dallas today. He's an old friend of mine."

"What are her symptoms?"

Elmo described what he had seen Mallie Mae doing with the hairbrush and the toothpaste.

"Yeah, definitely some type of dementia. Might not be AD though. Could be something treatable."

"Well, of course, I'm hoping for that. But I'm preparing for the worst. And here's the thing. If it is Alzheimer's, I'm probably going to want to take a leave of absence."

"I see."

"You think you could handle all of our patients for a while?"

"Well, considering how few Ihave right now, I'd say 'yes.'"

"Good."

"But if it is Alzheimer's there's really nothing you can do for her."

"I know. There's no cure. Only medicines to slow down the process of deterioration."

"But I can understand that you'd want to spend some extra time with her for a while."

"Actually, I haven't spent anytime with her in years."

"But don't you live in the same house with her?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"I know it sounds awful. And I guess it is. But you don't know what she's put me through. Every time I get close to her, she starts trying to run my life. She tried to make me feel like a fool for wanting to be a pediatrician. She still thinks I was an idiot for not becoming a neurosurgeon. That was herplan for me. And she is alwaysright.

"And she's ruined every chance I've ever had with women. She always finds a way to run them off. Years ago, I was engaged to a wonderful woman. She was a nurse. But Mallie Mae didn't like her for whatever reason. And you would never believe the horrible thing she did to break us up. She probably doesn't approve of my current fiance either. I don't know, since I never talk to her."

"But now you feel guilty. Now that she's probably terminal."

"Yeah. Big time."

"But you have to consider your practice. Already, this morning, I've seen how the parents and the kids love you. Take a few days off if you need to. But don't destroy what you've worked your whole life to build."

Carsie and Carnie were finishing a lazy, late breakfast on the patio.

"Where did the old lady go with her nurse this morning?" said Carnie.

"I don't know. Mallie Mae rarely goes anywhere," said Carsie.

"Well, I saw them leave in a black limo."

"Really? I can't imagine where they went. And I wonder why Macy didn't just drive the Mercedes. That's weird."

"Looks like it's just the two of us here-alone in the house with Hadley." Carnie raised one eyebrow mischievously. "And where is he, anyway? I wanted him to pour me some more orange juice." She could get used to a life of luxury.

"I don't know. But I'm gonna go take a very long bubble bath, Sis."

Carsie got up from the table and walked away.

"You'll turn into a prune."

Carnie went downstairs to her bedroom. She had been up since 6:00 AM. The Exercise Room was right next to the Media Room, just a few yards from her bedroom. She had been working out on one of the machines when she heard a car drive up to the house. The rooms along the front of the bas.e.m.e.nt were mostly underground, but had high windows facing the front yard. Carnie had looked out and seen Macy helping Mallie Mae into the black limo.

After exercising, she had taken a shower, made a pot of coffee in the nearby Pub Room, and plopped down in the Media Room to watch some TV while sipping her coffee. Later, Carsie had called her cell and invited her to come up for a late breakfast. The two had sat around in their robes, eating and talking for an hour or so. Now it was after noon-time to get dressed.

Carnie did a slow strip tease in the mirror. What a nice, tight body she had. Not bad for a 29-year-old, she thought. Any woman would be thrilled to have her body. Or any man.

She went to the closet, picked out a s.e.xy outfit and carried it to the bed. But as she walked past the dresser, she accidentally knocked something off. It was her favorite perfume. She cringed as it hit the wood floor. But the bottle didn't break. It just fell on its side and began to roll. She noticed that the rolling sound changed as the bottle went under the bed. As though the flooring under there was different.

She put her robe back on and knelt down to retrieve the expensive perfume, which was halfway under the bed. Once she had picked up the bottle, she ran her hand across the flooring. It felt the same as the rest of the floor. She knocked on it. It sounded hollow. Then she tested the floor where she was sitting. It sounded solid.

Carnie's curiosity was revved up to a cat-like pitch. She didn't know what she expected to find, but she could think of nothing else until she found it. She pushed with all her might until the heavy bed broke free and started to slide. She managed to move it over against the wall.

Carnie knocked on the floor in several place, identifying the hollow-sounding area. Then she went to her suitcase and pulled out a Bowie knife, and began to search for cracks in the seams of the flooring, near the edge of the hollow rectangle.

Finally, she found one. She dug the knife down into it and began to pry. She saw movement. Not much-but enough to convince her that she was looking at a secret door. Something was hidden down there. Something forbidden. She had to find out what it was.

After nearly an hour, she got the door opened just a crack and worked her fingers inside. She yanked on it with all her might, until every muscle in her well-toned body ached. Then she heard a ripping sound, as it flew up and open. The musty odor enveloped her body, and she fell away from the opening and started coughing. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom, covered her mouth and nose, and cautiously inched her way to the large hole in the floor.

All she could see was the top of a staircase, leading down into the creepy darkness.

Chapter8.

Carnie stood with the towel over her mouth and nose, looking down into the large opening in her bedroom floor. Well, it wasn't herbedroom. It was a guest bedroom in the home of her sister's fiance. Maybe even hedidn't know about this secret underground place.

She just hadto see what was down there. So, she pulled the towel away from her face a little, took a sniff, and decided she could bear the musty odor. Then she took off her robe and threw on some shorts, a shirt, and tennis shoes for her journey into the unknown.

There appeared to be a light switch near the bottom of the stairs. Hopefully the lights down there would work. Just as she was about to take the first step down, her cell phone rang and startled her. She went to the dresser and picked it up.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Hey, Sis. Are you going to the Longview Mall with me?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so."

"Ah, come on, Carnie-Elmo loaned me a credit card, and it doesn't even have a limit. We can go crazy. How can you resist that?"

"It's just that my stomach's feeling a little queasy."

"I'm sorry. You need some Pepto-Bismol?"

"No. I'll be okay. I just need to lie down for a while."

"Okay. Hope you feel better. I'll buy you something."

"Thanks. Have fun. But take it easy. If you come home with a couple of mink coats, he may have second thoughts about marrying you."

"Yeah, yeah. See you later."

Carnie put the phone in her pocket and began to walk down the stairs, half expecting a spider or a snake to attack her. She could cut the beating heart right out of a man's chest without flinching. But crawling critters gave her the creeps.

When she reached the switch, she flipped it, and lights came on. At the foot of the stairs was a wall. She made a U-turn and walked back past the staircase through a long hallway, and then to the left through a doorway.

"You're kidding me," she said to herself.

It was a laboratory, complete with Bunsen burners, test tubes, etc. There was a blackboard with some formulas written on it, and a few journals. Carnie picked one up, and thumbed through it, but couldn't make sense of the scientific jargon. She hadn't been in a room like this since high school chemistry, which she had flunked.

Across the room was a closed door. One of those large doors like they use on exterior walls. She twisted the k.n.o.b, and pushed the door open with her foot. It was just a bathroom. A very large bathroom. She flipped on the light and stuck her head in the door. But when she looked to the right, she saw a woman looking back at her. She gasped and yanked her head out of the room.

"h.e.l.lo?"

No answer.

Somebody was living down there, doing who knows what-underneath her as she slept. She should have brought her gun down with her, she thought.

She peeked in-and felt silly when she realized she had been scared by her own reflection. There was a full-length mirror on the wall. It was huge-she figured about six or seven feet tall and three feet wide.

So, why did the good doctor have a secret laboratory in his house? She couldn't wait to show it to Carsie. It was just weird.

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed.

"You're not gonna believe what I found under the bas.e.m.e.nt."

"Dead bodies?"

"What? No. It's another bas.e.m.e.nt. There's a lower bas.e.m.e.nt under the regular bas.e.m.e.nt. Weird huh?"

"What's down there?"

"Some kind of science lab and a big bathroom with a huge mirror."

"Is Carsie with you?"

"No, she's gone to the mall. There was a secret pa.s.sageway underneath my bed. I had to work like crazy to get it open."

"That's strange. But don't get distracted. It's just a few more days until the wedding."

"Yes, Ma'am. And our plan is working out perfectly. Nothing can stop us now."

Dr. Mobley's office hours were 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. At least that's what it said on the door. But there was usually a frantic parent or two, calling about their Johnny or Susie and a high fever, and could the doctor please work them in today. And, of course, Elmo would never turn them away. On a typical day, he got home at around 7:00 PM.

So, Carsie had been surprised when he had called her to set up an early dinner. They had agreed to meet at Johnny Caces Seafood & Steakhouse in Longview at 6:00 PM.

"How did you get away so early?"

"Dr. Edwards took my last couple of appointments."

"Oh, yeah-your new partner."

Once the waiter had taken their order, Carsie said, "Why couldn't I invite Carnie? She loves this place."