Blueberry Truffle Murder (A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Book 3)
Author: Meadows, Wendy
Date: 2016-07-18

Blueberry Truffle Murder

A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery #3

Wendy Meadows

Contents

Copyright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Be the First to Know

About the Author

Copyright © 2016 by Wendy Meadows

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Chapter One

Millin’s Gas Station was nothing more than a run-down, one-room, wooden building attached to a single-bay garage filled with cigarette butts and old tools. Two rusty gas pumps that somehow still managed to pump gas stood on a concrete island in front of the store. Sitting off Green Fair on a single lot littered with weeds and trash, the gas station was in direct contrast to the manicured stores in town. Nikki was appalled at the erosion of the gas station, which reminded her of something she would see in a gang-torn neighborhood back in Atlanta. “Who is Mr. Millin?” she asked Hawk as he pulled up next to Chief Daily's car. The sound of the jeep tires traveling over gravel sounded liked an angry person chewing nails.

“I don't know much about the man,” Hawk confessed, parking the jeep. With patient eyes, he studied Chief Daily standing next to a light green 1987 Honda Accord. Hawk spotted two cops near the gas pumps, both smoking cigarettes. He rolled his eyes and jumped out of his jeep. “You two put out those cigarettes and show some sense!” he yelled.

The two cops jumped, spun around, saw Hawk, and then dropped the cigarettes and quickly stomped on them with glossy black shoes. The coroner simply waved at Hawk and then looked away. Nikki grinned. “At least it's a nice morning,” she said, getting out of the jeep. Admiring the warm blue sky overhead, she allowed the morning to soak into her mind. It wouldn't be long before Chief Daily started bawling at her.

“Come on,” Hawk said as he walked over to the green Honda. The car was parked on the right side of the store, near the tree line, instead of the left side, where there was space for parking. “Let me do the talking, okay? Pop ain't too happy.”

“I can see that,” Nikki said, walking next to Hawk toward the car. From the distance, she could plainly see the frustration and anger on Chief Daily's face.

“What is this? Are we living in Atlanta now?” Chief Daily yelled at Hawk and then eyed Nikki. Watching his tongue, he drew in a deep breath. The last thing he wanted to do was fly off the handle and threaten the woman again. “Ms. Bates, you seem to be bringing my sleepy little town a lot of business...no insult implied.”

Nikki bit her lower lip as a cool breeze floated out from the woods and touched her face. Ignoring Chief Daily's remark, she eased her head down low enough to be able to see into the Honda. There, sitting hunched over in the driver's seat was a woman with long, dark gray hair. The woman's head was pressed against the steering wheel. What Nikki didn't see was any blood. No sign of broken glass. No sign of violence. The driver-side window was rolled up. The car was parked in the shade of trees. For all intents and purposes, the scene appeared very peaceful. As far as Nikki knew, the woman sitting inside the Honda could simply be asleep instead of dead. “Who is she?”

Hawk walked around to the driver-side window and looked in. His face froze. “Hey, this is—”

“Yep,” Chief Daily said, throwing his hands down into the pockets of his pants.

“Who?” Nikki asked, joining Hawk. With a better view, she peered down into the car. The interior of the Honda was clean. Nothing appeared abnormal or strange. The dead woman seemed peaceful. The blue blouse she was wearing over a pair of dark tan pants told Nikki she’d cared about her appearance. “Who is she, Hawk? Is she a local?”

“Tori's aunt,” Hawk replied, stepping back from the driver-side window. “Cause of death, Pop?” he asked.

Chief Daily shrugged his shoulders. “I haven't touched the body. Old Man Millin phoned me an hour ago. Said when he got here this morning he saw the car sitting where it is now. He thought Helen Brendale was passed out drunk but said something about the way she was sitting didn't seem right. He banged on the window a few times, and when she didn't respond, he called the station.”

“Where is he now?” Hawk asked, examining the exterior of the gas station with careful eyes.

“Inside,” Chief Daily said tossing a thumb at the run-down building.

“Tori's aunt,” Nikki whispered as she stared at the dead woman. “Oh dear, Hawk...”

“I know,” Hawk said. Shaking his head, he pulled Nikki away from the Honda with a gentle hand and then tried to open the driver-side door. The door clicked open. Nikki eased forward. The first thing she noticed was the faint scent of a man's cologne mixed with the scent of a heavy perfume that smelled like cinnamon and roses. “Stand back,” Hawk ordered Nikki.

Nikki nodded. Folding her arms together, she watched Hawk lean into the car and with caring hands, gently ease the dead woman's head off the steering wheel. “No signs of trauma,” he yelled over his shoulder at Chief Daily. “No signs of strangulation...no blood, face is cold...she's been here a while. Jewelry still intact, purse is on the passenger-side floorboard. Nikki, grab the purse.”

Hawk handed Nikki an evidence bag and a pair of latex gloves. As she put the gloves on, she hurried around to the passenger-side door. She opened it, looked down at the floorboard, spotted a purple and white purse, picked it up and placed it in the plastic bag. She took the opportunity to look into the dead woman's face as she picked up the purse. It was a bitter face, filled with ugly, angry wrinkles that told Nikki more than she needed to know about what kind of woman Tori's aunt was. Yet Nikki could not spot any sign that would point to the cause of death, except the faint smell of a man's cologne.

“Bring me the purse,” Chief Daily ordered Nikki. Hawk nodded as he continued to examine the dead woman.

Nikki walked over to Chief Daily. “Here you go,” she said, handing him the purse. “Any ideas?”

“Off the record?” Chief Daily asked. “I've heard about your new job at the paper.”

“Off the record,” Nikki said, offering a polite smile.

“Heart attack...maybe,” Chief Daily replied quickly, remembering the dead man at Elk Horn Lodge. “Ms. Bates, Helen Brendale was a bitter woman. No one really cared for her. She was a rich old bat and nothing more. Her husband knew the stock market and retired here. When he passed, well, Helen got everything.”

Nikki listened to Chief Daily, noticing the man was shifting uneasily from one foot to the other. “I don't bite,” she said.

“It's not you,” Chief Daily said. “It's the bodies that are turning up on my watch. First that German man, then that dead man at the Lodge, and now this. I just hope this is a simple case that a quick autopsy can clear up.”

“And if it isn't?” Nikki asked, appreciating another cool breeze.

“Ms. Bates,” Chief Daily pointed out in a stern tone, “our sleepy little town—and that includes your store—depends on tourists. Without tourists to pump life into this town during the spring, summer and autumn months, why, we would all go hungry in the winter. Winters are harsh here. The entire town seems to close down, and over fifty percent of the people leave for Florida.”

“I didn't know that many people left,” Nikki said, astounded. “Fifty percent?”

Chief Daily nodded. “I'd say closer to sixty percent, really. The town is maintained by a skeleton crew until spring. Anyway, my point is, if dead bodies keep turning up, it could affect tourism. You can appreciate that, can't you? I'm not seeming too...indifferent to murder, am I?”

“I understand,” Nikki assured Chief Daily.

“Our cozy community has already taken a severe hit from our German friend being run down in broad daylight. And then, to add sprinkles to the cake, you helped expose the identities of certain mafia figures hiding out in our town with the help of our ex-mayor. As if that wasn't enough, Ms. Bates, a man turned up dead at the Elk Horn Lodge, and then the Snowfield's turned up dead, too. What a mess,” Chief Daily finished in a disgusted tone. “I have my job to do, Ms. Bates, and my town to protect. But when people stop feeling safe, they leave...and the tourists stop coming.”

“I do understand,” Nikki assured Chief Daily for the second time.

“Do you?” Chief Daily asked Nikki, throwing his face at hers. “Do you know that so far eleven percent of the citizens of our fair community have left? Donna down at the real estate office is going to make a fortune on commissions if she is able to sell the houses that are now vacant. Do you also know that more people are considering leaving? Little towns like ours are a dime a dozen. New England is littered with towns like ours. So why stay in a place where dead bodies turn up, a corrupt mayor is sent to prison, and the local police force is considered nothing more than a joke? Let's not forget our esteemed hospital that can't even handle a simple ankle sprain.”

Nikki stared into Chief Daily's face. She saw a worried man. “I—”

“You nothing,” Chief Daily interrupted. “You moved here from Atlanta. You know nothing of this town or its people. You came here as some big-shot reporter who is more than happy to play slap-shot with the locals on a few crimes while the governor of this state is willing to pull any and all funding away from this town, which means I have to downsize an already minuscule police force, including my own son. To you this is just another story...you know nothing.”

Nikki watched Chief Daily storm off toward the run-down building. He barked a few angry words at the coroner and the two cops standing at the gas pumps. The two cops, uncertain what to do, remained standing in place. The coroner let out a miserable sigh. “He's right, you know,” Hawk said, walking up to Nikki. “Pop has a lot on his hands right now. We need to cut him some slack.”

“I will,” Nikki promised. “So, what's the verdict?”

“You smelled the cologne?”

Nikki nodded. “I did. What I smelled wasn't a cologne bought at your local shopping center, either.”

“Nikki, I can't be sure, but it looks like suffocation.” Hawk waved for the coroner to come over. “Check this woman's nostrils, mouth, lungs, anything and everything, for the smallest trace of fibers,” he told the coroner. “I believed she was suffocated to death.”

“Yeah, sure,” the coroner said, giving Hawk an I-know-my-job look. “Can I take the body now?”

“Yeah, go on,” Hawk said. Nodding toward the store, he motioned for Nikki to follow him. “Let me do the talking, okay? I don't know this Millin man too well.”

“Okay,” Nikki agreed, walking past the two cops, who looked away from her as if she were a dangerous black widow.

Chapter Two

Opening a creaky glass door dirty from the weather and years of neglect, Hawk stepped inside a single room lined with three dusty grocery shelves holding expired foods and loaves of bread harder than a diamond. At the front of the room sat a run-down wooden counter, and at the back Hawk spotted a broken-down cooler. Walking over a wooden floor covered with years of dust, he waved stale air littered with cigarette smoke from his face. “Pop,” he said, walking up to the front counter.

Nikki followed Hawk to the counter. An old man who had to be in his early eighties sat behind the counter on a wooden stool, smoking a cigarette. The old man was bald and had the face of a pit bull. Wearing a dirty red and gray checkered shirt over a pair of gray trousers, he looked like an ex-con who had waited years in order to find his perfect victim. Eying Nikki with suspicion, the old man took a drag on his cigarette. “Who is she?” he asked Chief Daily.

“Nikki Bates...we've called her in as a special adviser,” Chief Daily explained, leaning against the dusty counter.

Nikki offered a polite smile as she searched the top of the counter with her eyes. Sitting on the far left of it was an old cash register with a box of cheap cigars next to it. Other than those two items, the counter was bare. Nikki didn't even spot an ashtray. When the old man dropped the cigarette in his hand and put it out with his loafer, she knew why. “It's very nice to meet you.”

“Is it?” Nelson Millin asked in a gruff voice. “You're that newspaper woman, aren't you? I read the paper.”

“I'm Nikki Bates,” Nikki explained. “I have been hired by the paper to—”

“Mr. Millin,” Hawk interrupted, “did Helen Brendale come to your station a lot?”

“Never saw her here before,” Nelson Millin answered Hawk, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket along with a yellow lighter. After lighting a cigarette, he focused his attention back on Nikki. “I don't like what you did to the mayor, Missy.”

“We don't like that he was hiding criminals in our town,” Chief Daily came to Nikki's defense. “Now listen, Nelson, a woman is dead. As far as I know, you could have killed her.”

“So arrest me,” Nelson Millin said refusing to take his eyes off Nikki, “and send me off to the big house, Chief. Just make sure I have my smokes.”

“What a rude old man you are,” Nikki scolded Nelson.

“I'm eighty-two years old, Missy,” Nelson Millin snapped at Nikki, “and I'm not in the business of being nice to people who rock the boat. I've been in town. I hear what people are saying...a few traitors are saying some good things about you, though. Enough to make me sick.”

“So go vomit,” Nikki snapped back. “Your opinion of me is meaningless,” she promised. “And let me make one thing perfectly clear, if you killed Helen Brendale, I will find out, and you will stand in a court of justice. Have I made myself clear, Mr. Millin?”

“That woman is dead because someone wanted her dead, and that is none of my doing,” Nelson Millin fired back at Nikki and thumbed his cigarette at her.

“Hey!” Hawk yelled, watching Nikki slap the lit cigarette off of her dress. “That's it, you’re under arrest for assault.”

Nikki watched as Hawk pulled Nelson Millin out from behind the counter and walked him out of the store. “Read this man his rights and take him in,” he ordered the two cops standing at the gas pumps. “Handcuff him, too.”

Nelson Millin threw a pair of angry eyes at Nikki. “I'm not done with you, Missy.”

“You're done,” Hawk promised. “Handcuff this man. I'll be at the station shortly and write up the charge.”

“My goodness,” Nikki said, feeling shook up, “why is that man so hateful?”

“Like you,” Chief Daily sighed, “he moved up from the south. Nelson Millin was the head of a hate group in Mississippi, and before you ask, yes, it was the KKK. He spent some time in prison for burning down a black church. The white people of the town he was living in didn't like that Millin wanted to cause division and racial hatred, so they ran him out of town when he tried to come back after his prison term was done. And...”

“And what?” Nikki pressed, looking down at a burnt spot on her dress that the cigarette created.

“A white preacher turned up dead, but no one could pin the murder on Millin. Twenty-two years ago, give or take, that man turned up here, opened this gas station, and that's it. No one has ever had an ounce of trouble from him,” Chief Daily explained. “Now don't go hosing down a fire that's already been put out years ago, do you hear me?”

“Sure,” Nikki said watching one of the cops handcuff Nelson Millin while the second cop read the man his rights. Nelson Millin cast a deadly glare at Nikki. The man's eyes caused her blood to turn cold. “Hawk, let's get out of here, okay?”

“Suits me just fine,” Hawk said and with a caring arm led Nikki back to his jeep.

Chapter Three

“How am I supposed to tell Tori?” Nikki asked, struggling to forget Nelson Millin's angry face.

Hawk swung his jeep into a parking space in front of the local diner downtown. From what he could see, the diner wasn't too packed. Turning off the jeep, he studied the flow of tourists walking around. “Thinner than yesterday.”

“Lidia should have the store open by now,” Nikki said. Leaning forward, she removed a 9mm Luger from her right ankle. Opening the glove compartment, she slid the pistol inside. “I don't need the gun now. For a minute, back at the gas station, I wasn't so sure, though.”

“Put the gun back on,” Hawk ordered Nikki.

“But—”

“Now,” Hawk said in a voice that left no room for argument. “I want that gun attached to your ankle at all times, Nikki, I mean it. When Millin makes bail, he'll be angrier than a wet hornet and with his eyes set on you.”

“Oh Hawk, you don't think that hateful old man will try to harm me, do you?” Nikki asked.

“Put the gun back on,” Hawk answered.

Nikki sighed and reattached the Luger to her right ankle. “Happy?”

Hawk shook his head no. “Nikki, Helen Brendale was suffocated to death, I'm sure of that. So either the killer is still around or long gone. But what worries me is that the woman found dead this morning is the aunt of a young girl who is both working for you and living in your home. Get it?”

“I got it when I found out who the dead woman was,” Nikki told Hawk, fighting back fear. “Anyone could be the suspect, too.”

“Some folks in this town are mighty upset with you, Nikki,” Hawk confessed. “Millin said he didn't like anyone who rocked the boat.”

“I caught that,” Nikki told Hawk, glancing around at the people walking past. Most of them seemed to be tourists, but a few were obviously locals who tossed a curious eye at the jeep. “Anyone could have killed Helen Brendale in order to pin the murder on me.”

“Anyone could be out to kill you,” Hawk said in a more serious tone. “From this point forward I'm your shadow. Pull out the roll-away bed at your cabin, because I'm sleeping over.”

“Is that final?” Nikki asked giving Hawk a grateful smile. “Please don't expect me to play the strong damsel role at this point, because I'm really scared.”

“It'll be okay,” Hawk promised. “Come on, we'll go get some coffee and see where we're at and then get to the station.”

“Leave me at my store,” Nikki told Hawk. “I'll be okay with Lidia and Tori. I have to tell Tori, Hawk.”

Hawk considered Nikki's request. “All right. But don't leave your store, are we clear? Now let's go inside and get some coffee.”

* * *

Nikki followed Hawk into the diner. The smell of home-style food attacked her nose. She took a deep breath of freshly brewed coffee that was dancing with the delicious aromas of the daily lunch special. She followed Hawk to a back table. Walking over a brown tiled floor and past tan walls littered with old yearbook photos, Nikki kept her eyes low as she moved past both locals and tourists. Sitting down, she slowly exhaled. “Hawk, I can't go around suspecting everyone, but that's the first rule of the game—suspect everyone.”

“Could be more than one person,” Hawk told Nikki as he snatched up a menu from the table and opened it. “I'm hungry. I know we just ate a little while ago at your cabin, but it might be a long day. We need our strength, and coffee might not do it.”

Nikki hesitantly picked up a menu. In all honestly, she did feel hungry. Only having picked at her breakfast, she felt that a good meal might do her good. As she studied the menu, a woman in her early sixties wearing a brown waitress uniform approached the table. “What will it be, Hawk?”

Nikki looked up at the woman. The woman tossed an authentic smile at her. Nikki smiled back as she took in the woman's short reddish-gray hair, chubby face, and red rosy cheeks. “Coffee…black...and a plate of chicken tenders and fried onions.”

“Nope,” the waitress told Hawk, shaking her head, “you're getting some steamed veggies and baked chicken. Ms. Bates, what will it be for you?”

“You know who I am?” Nikki asked.

“Who doesn't?” the waitress smiled brightly. “Honey, you're a hero to a lot of regulars. You rid our town of some rats, and we're grateful.”

“Not everyone feels the way you do,” Nikki pointed out.

The waitress quit smiling. Looking over her shoulder, she nodded. “Not everyone,” she agreed. “So what will it be?”

“Coffee, sugar and cream please...and a cheeseburger, no French fries.”

“Nope,” the waitress told Nikki, “you're getting some steamed veggies and baked chicken, too. By the way, my name is Mira.”

Nikki smiled as she watched Mira walk off. “She's a character.”

Hawk rested his chin in his hands. “One of the best,” he agreed. “She's real, Nikki. Not a fake bone in that woman's body.”

“Tell me about her, please.”

Hawk closed his eyes and thought about Mira. “Well, her husband owns this diner. He's a nice enough fella, I guess. It's mostly Mira I see. She's from Iowa and moved here...oh, fifteen or sixteen years ago when her son got a scholarship to Vermont State. Her husband was a school teacher, and she was a homemaker who gave kids cheap piano lessons—Mira's words, not mine.”

Nikki glanced toward the back of the diner. She saw Mira vanish into the kitchen through two swinging wooden doors. “Keep going.”

“Nothing more to tell, really,” Hawk said, opening his eyes. “I come in here often enough, I guess, but Mira doesn't sit and spill the beans about her personal life. She gives me a few tidbits here and there, though.”

“Okay, got it,” Nikki told Hawk. “So, now we have to sit on our hands until the autopsy is finished.”

“I'm afraid so,” Hawk said. “I checked out the car. The gas gauge was at three-quarters of a tank. The hood was cold. As you know, there was no sign of any violence. The car doors were unlocked. The body had no signs of trauma.”

“So Helen Brendale did not run out of gas. She was not in danger, or she would have locked the car doors. She arrived sometime during the night, parked out of sight, probably waiting for someone. Whoever killed her did so without causing any signs of trauma, and because the car doors were unlocked, she probably knew the killer. But because of the cologne smell, I'd say the killer is a man.”

“Give the lady a gold star,” Hawk told Nikki, impressed with her deductive reasoning.

“No thanks,” Nikki told Hawk. She studied the yearbook photos on the walls. The photos hung on the walls with care instead of being thrown up in a tacky manner. “This town has history.”

“Every town has history, Nikki. Every town has murders. Every town has robberies. Every town has drugs. Every town has criminals.”

Nikki continued to stare at the people in the yearbook photos. “1944, War World II, the graduating class...I count nineteen people. This town belongs to them, Hawk, not me. I'm just a troublemaker.”

“Don't buy into that lie,” Hawk scolded Nikki. “Yeah, Pop is right about the governor pressing his thumb down on this town, but everything that has happened would have taken place with or without you here.”

“But I shone the light under the dark rock.”

“Good,” Hawk told Nikki. “If people in this town can't handle the truth,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear, “then let them leave and go whine their sob stories in some other town.”

Shocked at Hawk’s brazen action, Nikki reached across the table and patted his hands. “Thanks...partner.”

“Anytime,” Hawk said, spotting Mira carrying two cups of coffee. “Here comes the coffee.”

As Mira set the two cups of coffee down, Nikki saw Tori enter the diner. Immediately spotting Nikki, Tori hurried to the table. “Is it true?” she asked.

Chapter Four

“Sit down, honey,” Nikki told Tori, spotting hungry eyes watching them.

Tori sat down next to Nikki. “Chief Daily called the store. I know I'm fired, but I knew Lidia would need some help and—”

“You're not fired,” Nikki told Tori and gently brushed her bangs away from her eyes. “Honey, Lidia and I want you to go to college, that's all. Our store is your store, you know that. Now about your aunt...yes, it's true.”

Tori looked at Hawk and then back to Nikki. “How...how did she die? I'm supposed to go and identify her body, but I don't want to if Aunt Helen's body is really...bad.”

“We don't know yet,” Nikki spoke softly, “but your aunt's body is normal. Hawk believes she was suffocated.”

“Oh my,” Tori gasped.

Mira patted Tori on the shoulder. “I won't say a word,” she whispered to Hawk and walked away.

“Tori,” Hawk said in a stern voice, “your aunt was murdered. We don't know who killed her. What we do know is that you and Nikki could be the next targets. I'm afraid to say I think it's most likely you.”

“Why me? I've never hurt anyone,” Tori asked in a scared voice. “Ms. Bates, I've never hurt anyone. I promise.”

“I know, honey,” Nikki said and gently took Tori's hands into her own. “It might be that someone may try and hurt you in order to hurt me.”

“I don't understand,” Tori said, confused.

“Your aunt just happened to turn up dead as soon as you moved out of her house and moved in with Nikki,” Hawk told Tori. “Before I go any further, maybe I should ask you some questions. For instance, Tori, did your aunt have any enemies?”

Tori shook her head no. “Aunt Helen was a hermit, Detective Daily. She wasn't the best at making friends. The only person she ever spoke to was her sister who lives in Miami. Aunt Fiona is crippled from the waist down and lives in an assisted living center with my Uncle Edward. I don't know them that well, just what Aunt Helen told me about them.”

“Was she mean to you?” Nikki asked.

Tori shrugged her shoulders. She watched Hawk grab his coffee and take a drink. “Not really mean—just cold, you know. After I came to live with her, she...well, it just felt like she wanted me to know that I was receiving charity from her. Aunt Helen never did want me living with her. I tried to make her like me. I cleaned her house, did whatever she asked of me, and even paid rent. It was never enough. I was so happy when you asked me to come live with you, Ms. Bates.”

“I'm happy to have you living with me,” Nikki assured Tori. “You're like a daughter to me.”

“Any stranger ever come around?” Hawk said, breaking up the moment.

Tori shook her head no. “Detective Daily, I promise, I never saw a single soul in my aunt's house. People didn't like her and she didn't like them. The only person I ever saw come to the house was the UPS man. The internet was my aunt's best friend.”

“Why did she drive that old Honda?” Hawk asked. “It's clear Helen had money. Your aunt could have afforded a brand new BMW if she wanted one.”

“My aunt was sentimental over her Honda because it once belonged to her husband,” Tori explained. “When you walk into her house all you see are photos of her husband hanging on every wall and sitting on every table.”

“I see,” Hawk said, taking another swig of his coffee. Nikki let go of Tori's hand and picked up her own coffee. “I'll check the phone and internet records,” he told Nikki.

Nikki took a careful sip of her coffee. “Good idea. In the meantime, though, if it's all right with you, I want to go see the house together.”

“Sure,” Hawk said, “Millin can just sit in a cell and wait.” Hawk looked at Tori. “Young lady, did your aunt have a will?”

Tori shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know. If she did, I very seriously doubt if she mentioned my name to anyone. My aunt probably left all of her money to some foundation that takes care of cats. Oh, that was hateful, wasn't it? I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” Nikki told Tori.

“No, what I said was wrong. I didn't like my aunt, and she didn't like me. She made me feel so...awful. But I never hated her. She's dead, and that's that. I should watch my tongue and offer my aunt the proper amount of respect.”

Hawk nodded at Nikki. “She's a good girl,” he said, finishing off his coffee. “Not many like her around.”

“I agree,” Nikki said and patted Tori's hand. “Tori, honey, you don't have to feel guilty if you're not upset by your aunt's death, okay?”

“I'm trying to feel some remorse, but I can't,” Tori admitted miserably. “I feel hungry instead. Is that awful?”

“No,” Nikki promised, spotting Mira carrying three plates to the table.

“Here you go,” Mira said, setting a plate with a cheeseburger and fries down in front of Tori. “I can spot a hungry face a mile off. Hawk, here is your food, and Ms. Bates, dig in.”

“Thanks, Mira,” Hawk said and tipped her a wink. “Mum's the word, okay?”

“Make sure you leave me a big tip,” Mira told Hawk and then focused on Tori. “Dear, I didn't know your aunt, but I am sorry. If there is anything I can do, please, let me know.”

“Thank you,” Tori told Mira in a sincere voice, “and thank you for the cheeseburger. I am hungry.”

“I know.” Mira smiled and walked away.

“Let's eat,” Nikki said, looking down at her plate of veggies and baked chicken.

“Yeah, let's eat.” Hawk looked around the diner at the curious eyes watching their table. The faces he placed his worried eyes on all appeared normal. At one table sat a middle aged man with his wife eating meatloaf. At another table sat a woman in her mid-fifties eating a salad and reading the morning newspaper. At a third table sat a man with his wife and two twin boys, all eating cheeseburgers. The diner was filled with normal people eating normal food and talking about normal things. At least, Hawk thought to himself and taking a quick glance at Nikki, that's how it seemed. Somewhere a murderer was loose. Hawk didn't feel that murderer was more than one person. No, he thought, a single person was after Nikki, and if they didn't catch the murderer in time, more people were going to die.

Chapter Five

“It's like a museum in here,” Nikki told Hawk as they stood in a spacious living room. Looking down at a glossy hardwood floor that didn't have a speck of dust, she shook her head. The living room was immaculate. Expensive antique furniture stood in ideal locations, covered with plastic. The walls were covered with burgundy wallpaper that pushed out all light. A large bay window overlooking a beautiful lake was covered over with thick, heavy, dark green curtains. The walls were covered with photos of a young and handsome man who never seemed to smile. “This must have been so hard on Tori.”

Hawk walked over to a hardwood mantel, kneeled down, and studied a white marble fireplace. Reaching out his hand, he examined the floor of the fireplace for ash. “Clean as a whistle,” he told Nikki. Straightening up, he studied the photos lining the mantel. “The rest of the house is the same. Every room is clean as a whistle. The attic is bare. The basement is bare. Tori's old room has been stripped. This house is a dud.”

“I'm not so sure,” Nikki objected, walking over to a white and green antique chair. “Hawk, Tori's room was stripped. You heard Tori—she said all she took was her clothes and personal belongings. But the bed and other furnishings are missing from her room.”

“Maybe Helen donated them? I can check with the local charities.”

“Our town doesn't even have a Goodwill store, Hawk. I hate to admit it, but our little town is a bit snobbish when it comes to thrift shops,” Nikki pointed out.

Hawk didn't argue. He scratched the back of his neck and looked around the living room. “Yeah, I kinda got that,” he said. “I'll still make some calls. Maybe she called in an out-of-town charity?”

“Maybe, but I don't think so,” Nikki said, running her fingers over the plastic covering the antique chair. “Tori said her aunt used the internet a lot. I'm interested in seeing her phone and internet records. But for now, I'm more interested in where the furnishings in Tori's room disappeared to. There is no way that woman could have lugged a bed downstairs by herself. The staircase is too steep.”

“This house gives me the creeps,” Hawk admitted. “I feel like I'm in a morgue. How can someone live like this? Come on, let's get out of here.”

“Tori is waiting outside on the front porch,” Nikki told Hawk, reluctant to leave. Something in her gut was chewing at something important. “Hawk, can you tell Tori to come back inside?”

“Nikki, that girl hates this house. I'm not—”

“Please,” Nikki insisted.

“Okay,” Hawk said in a voice that told Nikki he didn't agree.

Nikki watched Hawk leave the living room. Alone, she leaned forward and examined the plastic covering the chair. “Someone sat down on this chair,” she whispered to herself, running her fingers over the plastic covering the seat. “The plastic covering the rest of the furnishings is as smooth as a baby's butt...”

“Ms. Bates, you wanted to see me?” Tori asked, walking into the living room.

Turning around, Nikki looked at Tori. The young woman looked beautiful in the dress she was wearing. So much better than the t-shirts she used to wear. “Tori, any idea where your aunt might have taken the furnishings in your old bedroom?”

“No,” Tori replied, hugging her arms. Easing her eyes around the living room, she felt a shiver come over her. “Ms. Bates—”

“Honey, call me Nikki.”

Tori stopped her eyes at the fireplace. “Nikki, I always stayed up in my room. My aunt and I barely spoke to each other unless she had a chore for me to do.”

Nikki looked past Tori. “Where is Hawk?”

“On the phone with Chief Daily,” Tori explained. “Is something the matter?”

“Come here,” Nikki said, and Tori walked over. “Look,” Nikki pointed down at the seat of the chair, “see how the plastic is disturbed. Someone sat here.”

“My aunt didn't allow anyone in this room,” Tori told Nikki in a serious voice. “You didn't dare come in here and, oh boy, if you sat down on anything, the end of the world would come.”

“Someone sat in this chair,” Nikki confirmed to Tori, “and I believe that someone is the killer. But,” she continued, “look at the floor. The floor is spotless.”

“I'm confused.”

“Tori, your aunt was compulsive about cleaning, wasn't she?” Nikki asked.

“Oh yes!” Tori said and made a sick laugh. “She spent hours cleaning things that were already spotless...especially in this room. How many times did she sweep and mop this floor over and over again? My goodness, that woman could have bought stock in a disinfectant company.”

“So,” Nikki told Tori, “if someone sat in this chair, and I'm sure that's true, then that means that person was in this living room, which means—”

“My aunt would have scalded this living room as soon as that person left,” Tori said, catching on. “But that would mean my aunt cleaned over any evidence, right?”

“I'm afraid so,” Nikki sighed. “But it is clear that someone sat in this chair.”

Tori rubbed her chin. “Nikki, my aunt would have never sat down on any of this furniture.”

“I know,” Nikki told Tori. “A lot of people might say the imprint made on this plastic could have come from your aunt. What we have here is evidence that would never hold up in a court of law. However, this helps us.”

Hawk walked into the living room. “What are you two talking about?”

Nikki called Hawk over and showed him the imprint. “Someone sat here.”

Hawk kneeled down and studied the imprint. “Yeah, someone did,” he said, standing back up. Drawing in a deep breath he stood in silence for a few seconds. “Pop called me. He went through your aunt's purse, Tori. It appears nothing was missing.”

“But…” Nikki said, watching Hawk's face.

“Where is her house key?” Hawk asked, frustrated. “The set of car keys we pulled from the car had no house key attached to the key ring. Pop had the car hauled down to the tow-yard. He went through the car with kid gloves trying to find the house key and came up empty-handed.”

“I gave my aunt back the house key I had,” Tori promised.

“Let's check Helen’s bedroom again,” Nikki told Hawk and hurried upstairs before he could object.

Chapter Six

After climbing a steep set of stairs covered with a deep red rug, Nikki turned right and walked down a long hallway that reminded her of a scary museum. The hallway was lined with photos of Helen Brendale's husband, staring down at unsuspecting people with creepy eyes. Hearing her pumps hit the hardwood floor as she made her way to Helen's bedroom, Nikki quickly looked over her shoulder and felt relief when she saw Hawk appear. “Creepy,” she said.

“Yep,” Hawk agreed.

Stopping at a closed door, Nikki drew in a deep breath, reached out, grabbed the crystal door knob, and twisted it. The bedroom door clicked open. With nervous hands, Nikki pushed the door open and walked into a room that might as well have been a funeral parlor. Before Nikki could take two steps, she paused. “Hawk!” she exclaimed.

“What?” Hawk said, alarmed.

“How could I have been so dumb? Look for the missing house key; I'll be right back.” Turning away from Hawk, Nikki ran back downstairs into the living room where Tori was standing. Without saying a word, she dropped down to her knees and began to smell the plastic covering the sitting chair. “Ah, there it is,” she said excitedly.

“What?” Tori asked, watching Nikki smell the plastic like a bloodhound.

“You'll see,” Nikki said, shooting to her feet and running back upstairs. Dashing into Helen Brendale's bedroom she saw Hawk going through a dresser sitting next to a large four-poster bed with heavy red curtains. Running over a white carpet free of stains, she slid to a stop next to Hawk. “The cologne we smelled in the car, the same scent is on the plastic covering the chair.”

Using a pen from his pocket, Hawk grabbed a pair of white granny panties and made a disgusted face. “You look through these dresser drawers, okay?”

“Did you hear what I said?”

“I heard,” Hawk promised Nikki, dropping the panties.

“You don't seem too excited.”

“Nikki, I figured the killer was the one who sat in that chair,” Hawk explained. “We both think the killer is a man.”

“Oh,” Nikki said, disappointed that the information she had given Hawk fell flat.

Hawk sighed. Gently, he put his hand on Nikki's shoulder and looked her in the eye. “Hey, you found an important clue, be proud of that. You keep that bloodhound nose of yours alert for that scent, and I'll do the same, okay?”

“Well, at least we know—or think—the killer is a man,” Nikki said and eased Hawk to the side as she began to go through the drawers with methodical hands.

“Seems that way,” Hawk agreed. “I'm going to have that plastic run for fingerprints, okay? And maybe the lab can identify what brand of cologne we're smelling, too.”

“Good idea,” Nikki told Hawk. “I would also have this entire house dusted for prints. I'm sure Chief Daily is having the Honda dusted down.”

“Yeah, Pop is on his game,” Hawk explained. “He's really not a bad fella, Nikki. Yeah, he's rough around the edges, but he's getting old and has his retirement to think about.”

“I understand.”

Hawk watched Nikki go through the drawers. Standing back, he admired her beauty as well as her brilliance. Crossing his arms together, he began to wonder about the woman standing in the strange bedroom with him. Sure, she had ruffled a few feathers, but who would be after her? Whoever it was had a plan that would end with Nikki being sent to prison. The killer wanted Nikki to suffer instead of die. “After we leave here we'll take Tori to identify the body, and then we hit the station. Tori can go back to your store and help Lidia. It'll probably be close to closing time anyway.”

“I just hope Lidia wasn't too overwhelmed at the store today,” Nikki worried. “I'm sure putting a lot on her. Besides that, I haven't even reported to the paper today to speak with Mr. Picardo. I was supposed to have a meeting with him at three.”

“Are you sure you want to work for the paper?” Hawk asked Nikki in a voice that clearly told her he was against the whole idea of her becoming a slave to the press again. “Your store is a full-time job, you know.”

“So is solving these crimes. I haven't been spending a lot of time at the store, Hawk. Besides, when winter arrives, I'll need an extra source of income.”

“Your store will bring in enough income during the spring, summer and fall months to get you through the winter, I'm sure,” Hawk pointed out.

“Maybe,” Nikki said, suddenly feeling the need to defend her desire to work for the paper. “Hawk, I'm a grown woman. I can make my own decisions.”

“I know, I know,” Hawk said, throwing his hands into the air the way a tired boxer does when he's backing away into a corner. The last thing Hawk wanted—or needed—was to stir Nikki into an argument. If the woman wanted to take a position at the paper, well then, that was her choice. Sure, Hawk knew that by Nikki taking the position, trouble would follow, but what could he do? “Let's just keep hunting for the house key, okay?”

Nikki agreed. For the next half hour, they searched Helen Brendale's bedroom in silence, only to come up empty-handed. “Off to the morgue,” Hawk said, walking out of the bedroom.

“We're already in one,” Nikki replied, closing the bedroom door.

Chapter Seven

After taking Tori to the hospital morgue to identify her aunt, Hawk drove her back to Nikki's store and then headed toward the police station. “That was tough on her,” Nikki told Hawk, looking out the driver-side window as Hawk maneuvered his jeep through town.

“Yeah, it was,” Hawk agreed. “I didn't expect her to begin crying. She has a good heart.”

“I'm going to take care of her,” Nikki promised. “Hawk?”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“What?” Hawk pressed Nikki.

Nikki remained silent for a couple of minutes and then turned in her seat. Looking at Hawk she absorbed the man's honest features. “Was it really safe to leave Tori at the store?”

“She's being watched by a plain-clothes cop,” Hawk said. “Pop sent James to watch Tori. He's the best cop in town.”

“Besides you,” Nikki replied and then felt herself blush.

“Well, I'm not so sure about that.” Hawk smiled and then nudged Nikki with his right elbow. “We can't let the killer think we're onto him. If we secure Tori, and we're being watched, then the killer might take a different path. We need to try and keep this guy on the path he's on.”

“Are we really so sure this is all about me?” Nikki asked. “Hawk, couldn't Helen have been killed by a private romantic partner that Tori was unaware of?”

Hawk glanced at Nikki. “Maybe, but we both know that's probably not true. Whoever this killer is, he lured that woman out to a remote gas station and killed her.”

“But why Millin's Gas Station?” Nikki asked, puzzled. “Certainly people know of that awful man's past.”

“I've chewed on that,” Hawk confessed, “and I think the reason the killer lured Helen Brendale out to that gas station is because it's the only gas station in town that has no security cameras. Also, the killer knew Millin would find the body.”

“Why didn't the killer just kill that strange woman in her home and call it in anonymously?”

“Exactly,” Hawk said and glanced at Nikki.

Something in Hawk's eye sent a chill down Nikki's spine so powerfully that she had to look away. “The killer wants me to investigate this case...cat and mouse, right?”

“That's my way of thinking,” Hawk said, turning right on Fall Leaf Drive, easing farther away from the downtown district and closer to the police station. Traffic was light and the tourists were thinning out as late afternoon approached. The atmosphere in town felt different somehow. Even though the air was warm, it felt cold. The tourists seemed uneasy, anxious to drop cash on worthless junk and hurry out of town as quickly as possible. “The story of Helen Brendale's death is still under wraps, but something tells me people know.”

“I got that same feeling,” Nikki said, catching Hawk's meaning. “Lidia told me the store had only a trickle of customers today. Usually it’s packed.”

“Yeah,” Hawk said and grew quiet. Pulling up to a long, one-story, brown building serving as the local police station, Hawk parked next to Chief Daily's car. “Home sweet home,” he told Nikki.

Nikki surveyed the police station. Definitely small-town stuff. The police station sat on a quiet road facing the back of a local shopping center housing only antique shops. Behind the police station stood a beautiful open field leading down to a forest line. Four police cars were parked in front of the station. Nikki was reminded of an old black and white movie she had seen as a teenager where a small town came under attack from aliens from space, and the only defense the town had was its small police force. “Cozy,” she said.

“Come on,” Hawk said and walked her inside the police station.

* * *

Walking through a double set of wooden doors, Nikki followed Hawk into a medium-sized lobby lined with thick brown carpet and wooden chairs. A long marble counter stood at the front of the room. Sitting behind the counter was a woman in her late sixties with short gray hair. The woman was wearing a blue and gray cop uniform that was obviously too large for her small frame. “You've got an angry old man back in holding,” she told Hawk, taking a cigarette from her mouth and placing it down on a metal ashtray.

“Yeah, I guess I better go write up the charge and let that old geezer make bail,” Hawk told Nikki, nodding. He walked to a door and opened it. The door opened into a long hallway lined with three doors on each side. At the end of the hall stood a metal door that opened up into a concrete room holding jail cells. Hawk stopped at the first door on his right.

“Detective Hawk Daily,” Nikki said, reading a name written on the frosty glass. “Impressive.”

Hawk blushed some. “Go on in. I'll be with you in a bit. I need to go to the processing room and make sure Millin was processed correctly and then write up the charge on him. Give me thirty minutes, okay?”

“Okay,” Nikki smiled. Standing still, she watched Hawk walk down the hallway, open the metal door, glance over his shoulder at her, and then hurry off to complete his chore.

Chapter Eight

With Hawk out of sight, Nikki opened the door to his office and walked in. “Oh my,” she gasped, walking into an office that resembled a city after a tornado had ripped it apart. A wooden desk stood at the back of the office with messy papers and files slung all over it. A metal cabinet sitting next to the desk had papers sticking out of it. A bookshelf that held books ranging from law to old movie classics stood on the east wall; the bookshelf looked as if a kindergartener had organized the books resting on its shelves. Posters of tropical islands, frozen tundra and scorching deserts were pinned up on the walls at awkward angles. A trash can overflowing with paper coffee cups finished off the messy office decor. At least, Nikki thought, the blinds hanging over the window seemed intact. Shaking her head, she walked to Hawk's desk and looked down at the mess. “Messy,” she said and then simply sighed. “Well, let's straighten up some.”

Methodically, Nikki began to pick up one piece of paper after another and organize them into neat little piles. Then, she stopped. Underneath a pile of papers sat a photo of Hawk holding the hand of a beautiful woman. The two of them were standing on a warm beach, a breathtaking sunset behind them. Nikki picked up the photo and examined Hawk's face. Hawk was smiling—really smiling—and seemed so happy. The woman standing next to him seemed equally happy. “Oh Hawk,” Nikki said in a sad voice. Putting down the photo, she leaned against the desk and closed her eyes.

There she was, Nikki thought, investigating another murder, while beautiful beaches and tropical sunsets passed her by. Didn't she leave Atlanta to find her own piece of tranquility in the world? Didn't she leave Atlanta to escape the crime, the violence, the politics, betrayal, and oh yes, the traffic? So what was she doing caught up in another murder investigation? Why couldn't she leave her old life behind and melt away into her new life of baking and selling delicious chocolates to willing tourists who always complimented her store? “Why didn't I escape to a tropical beach and start selling smoothies?” Nikki sighed.

Hearing the door open Nikki was startled to see Chief Daily. “Oh, I was looking for Hawk.”

“He went to the processing room,” Nikki explained.

“Good. Millin is threatening to sue if he doesn't make bail soon,” Chief Daily replied. Instead of leaving he stared at Nikki. “Hey, I am sorry about the threat I made against you. Ms. Bates, I... well, I'm sorry.”

“Wait,” Nikki said before Chief Daily could close the door, “stay around a minute. I... let’s talk, okay?”

Chief Daily looked over his shoulder and then walked into Hawk's office, closing the door behind him. “My son is a pig,” he told Nikki, shaking his head at the messy office. “But he's a fine detective. New York would take him back in a second.”

“I bet,” Nikki agreed. “Chief Daily, I... Hawk and I believe the person who killed Helen Brendale is a man.” Nikki explained about the cologne smell in the car and on the plastic covering the chair.

“I'll get some men over there ASAP. We'll dust the entire house down,” Chief Daily told Nikki. “Good work.”

“We really need the phone and internet records along with the autopsy report,” Nikki told Chief Daily, feeling hopeful that the man was finally accepting her as part of his team.

Chief Daily walked to the window, pulled back the blinds, looked out at the open field, and then turned back to face Nikki. “I have the report. Traces of fiber were found in her throat and nose. Helen Brendale appears to have been suffocated to death. My son hit the ball out of the park on that assumption.”

Nikki stood silent. She imagined a woman being suffocated to death with a pillow. “Chief, Helen Brendale would have fought her attacker.”

“Not if her attacker used chloroform on her. That's right,” Chief Daily informed Nikki. “Whoever killed Helen Brendale knew exactly what he was doing. We now have an unsolved murder, Ms. Bates. We also have a killer on the loose in our fair town.”

“I know what you're thinking and—”

“That you're the target? Hawk and I talked about that, and I agree,” Chief Daily told Nikki. “Helen Brendale's niece is now a resident in your home. As soon as that young lady relocates, her aunt turns up dead. Doesn't take much to see how this points to you, especially because the young lady living with you is now set up to receive over three million dollars.”

“What?” Nikki gasped.

“Helen Brendale left the young lady living with you everything she owned. I guess she had a heart after all. I checked with her attorney, and he showed me the woman's will. You have a very rich young lady living with you. I would raise her rent if I were you. But in the meantime, I would worry about the suspicion that has now been thrown into your corner.”

“But I—”

“Look at it from my eyes,” Chief Daily interrupted Nikki. “You take a young woman into your home—a young woman who works for you, by the way—and soon after her aunt is found dead. As of now, you and that young woman are now suspects in the murder of Helen Brendale.”

Nikki stood in shock. Trying desperately to gather her wits, she shook her head and then began to pace around Hawk's office. “The killer must have known Helen had money...”

“Before we go there,” Chief Daily told Nikki, “maybe you better tell me where you and Tori were last night?”

“At home, making chocolate...alone,” Nikki answered in a miserable tone. “That's not good, is it?”

“No, I'm afraid not,” Chief Daily agreed. “Ms. Bates, I know you didn't murder Helen Brendale. If I thought you had, I would place you under arrest right now. Besides, your SUV is still in the shop, so unless you had someone drive you to Millin's Gas Station, I seriously doubt you murdered Helen Brendale. But, Ms. Bates, you're still a suspect and...”

“And what?” Nikki asked worriedly.

Chief walked back to the window. With his back turned to Nikki, he spoke. “The governor of Vermont doesn't like the fact that three murders have been committed in this town in the last month. He's sending a special investigator from the capital to look at you. This man, Ms. Bates, isn't coming here to shake hands. He's coming here to make sure he leaves with you in handcuffs. The game has now turned political, and the governor's office is going to do all it can in order to please the public eye, including destroying your life.”

“But I didn’t have anything to do with—”

“I know that, Ms. Bates,” Chief Daily said in a strong voice, “but the fact is, there have been three murders since you arrived in town, and those odds are not in your favor. This man the governor is sending here has one purpose: To make sure you are somehow found guilty for all three murders or are least tied into them somehow.”

“The governor will use me to wipe the smudge off his record, is that it?”

“Yes,” Chief Daily answered honestly. He turned to face Nikki to see her upset face. “This man will be arriving in two days. Let’s solve this case by then. It's your only chance, Ms. Bates. If you find the killer, I'll handle the rest and make sure the governor leaves you alone for good. I know a man, okay? He owes me a favor. We walked the streets of New York together back in the day.”

“I need the phone and internet records,” Nikki pleaded with Chief Daily. “I have my son to think about. He's away at college. If something happens to me, it will destroy him. And there's Tori to think about, too. The killer—I'm afraid Tori is his next target.”

“I’ll get them for you,” Chief Daily said, softening his tone. “In my opinion, the killer is a local. Someone upset with you because you got the mayor canned.”

Before Nikki could reply, Hawk walked into the office. When he saw how upset Nikki was, he looked at Chief Daily. “What's going on, Pop?”

“Helen Brendale was suffocated to death,” Chief Daily told Hawk, “and unless you find the killer in two days, Ms. Bates life will be suffocated, too.” Without saying anything else, he walked out of the office.

“Well,” Nikki said in a shaky voice, “I guess we better find the killer.”

Hawk watched a tear fall from her eye. He walked over to her and took the scared woman into his arms. “Hey, it's all right. We're going to find out who is behind this, okay?”

Nikki wrapped her arms around Hawk as tears spilled from her eyes. “Okay...” she managed to say and then closed her eyes. In her mind, she saw her son. And then she saw the cruel face of Nelson Millin. Good and evil, evil and good…

Chapter Nine

Cruising past the police station in a black sedan, Larry Reelington narrowed his murderous brown eyes. “I found you, Nikki. Oh yes, I found you,” he hissed. “Now it's time to pay the piper.”

Driving away from the police station, he drove into town and parked right in front of Nikki's store. He turned off the sedan, opened the car door and got out. Dressed in an expensive gray suit with his short black hair glistening in the late afternoon sun, he appeared authoritative and dignified, handsome and brilliant. “Time for some chocolate,” he said, spotting a plain-clothes cop pretending to bend down and check the front tire on a backcountry truck. “Hello, cop.”

Grinning, Larry walked into Nikki's store. “We're closing up,” Lidia called from behind the front counter when she heard the bells over the front door clatter.

Tori, who was sweeping the store, paused and looked at Larry. “Can I help you?” she asked.

Larry offered a pleasant smile and spoke in a voice so soothing that Tori immediately melted into the man's deadly hands. “My wife visited this store yesterday. She said the chocolate here was so delicious that she had to have more for our drive back to Buffalo.”

Lidia hurried out onto the floor. When she saw Larry she eased her body in front of Tori. “I'm sorry, we're closed for the day.”

Larry smiled at Lidia. “I like that shirt,” he said and pointed at the pink blouse Lidia was wearing over a long white skirt. “The color matches your features quite well.”

Lidia didn't accept the compliment. Something in her gut told her the strange man standing before her was dangerous. “We're closed. Please leave.”

Larry looked past Lidia to Tori. “Oh, what a shame. My wife was really wanting some more of Nikki Bates’ delicious chocolate.”

Tori grabbed Lidia's hand, now feeling fear grip her chest. “How do you know Ms. Bates?” she demanded in a shaky voice.

“Oh, we're old friends,” Larry explained, maintaining his smile and then, with hands that struck as quick and deadly as a viper, he snatched a gun from a shoulder holster hidden under his jacket. Pointing the gun straight at Tori, he grinned. “My, this day is turning out to be nice.”

“Don't...” Lidia pleaded as she moved her body completely in front of Tori’s. “Mister, please put the gun down, please.”

“I'm not interested in you, old woman,” Larry answered Lidia and stopped grinning. “Move away from the girl and walk into the back office. I've been in this store before. I know the layout. Now move.”

Zach eased his head up over the counter just far enough to see Larry pointing a gun at Tori. With only moments to think, he made a plan. As soon as Larry got close enough, he would attack the man and try to take away his gun. Lowering his head, he duck-walked to the end of the counter and waited. “Time to be a hero,” he whispered. “No more being a coward.”

Lidia took Tori's hand and walked her back toward the back office. As soon as she walked past the front counter, she saw Zach in position to launch an attack. Opening the office door, she led Tori in. As soon as Larry passed the front counter, Zach pounced. Like a lion, he shot forward and threw a hard punch into Larry's jaw. Startled, Larry stumbled backward. As he did, Zach used his left hand and slapped the gun in Larry's hand down onto the floor. Unfortunately for Zach, that was all he was able to do. Larry quickly stabilized, charged at Zach, and using his mixed martial arts skills, had Zach on the floor in a choke-hold within seconds. Intent on killing Zach, he didn't see Lidia charge out of the back office with a glass coffee pot in her hand. Lidia smacked Larry in the back of the head as hard as she could and then yelled for Tori to run from the store.

Tori ran out of the office on shaky legs and managed to get outside. “Help!” she yelled.

Officer James ran up to Tori. As he did, Larry exploded out of the store. When he saw Tori standing with the plain-clothes cop, he jumped into his sedan and sped away. Officer James pulled his gun, ran out into the street, and fired off four shots. One shot struck the sedan's back right taillight, while the other three missed their target. “Lidia!” Tori yelled, seeing Lidia wobble out onto the front sidewalk.

“I'm okay,” Lidia promised Tori, “he pushed me down. My head hit the floor.”

Tori wrapped her arms around Lidia and held her tight. “What about me?” Zach asked, stepping outside and rubbing his throat. In his right hand, he held up a gun. “He forgot his gun.”

Officer James ran up to Zach and took the gun from him. “I need to call this in,” he said, reaching for his cell phone in his pocket.

“My hero,” Lidia said, grabbing Zach. “You saved our lives, son.”

“Yes, you did,” Tori said, hugging him. Scared and shaking violently, she closed her eyes and began to cry. “That man was going to kill me.”

“Not on my watch,” Zach promised, knowing that he had come close to dying, as well. Acting tough, he wrapped his arms around Lidia and Tori and walked them back inside the store. Once back inside he locked the front door. “We're safe now. It's okay.”

* * *

Speeding out of town, Larry struck the steering wheel of the sedan with violent fist. Exploding with rage, he raced to Millin’s Gas Station and drove down a narrow trail leading into the woods. Like a dark shadow vanishing back into its pit, Larry drove into the woods and parked his sedan under a camouflage canopy. Breathing hard, he knew that the rules of the game had just changed, and not in his favor, either. “Stupid boy...you'll pay,” he promised Zach. “You'll all pay. Wait and see. The game has changed. Sorry Nikki, it looks like I'm going to have to kill you after all instead of making you suffer the way you made me suffer.”

* * *

Two hours later Nelson Millin returned to his gas station. He found Larry sitting inside behind the front counter. “I lost my gun,” he grumbled, sitting in the shadows.

“You idiot,” Millin snapped, slamming the front door closed. “Your description is all over town. Those cops down at the station were buzzing around like hornets when I left. I told you to wait until nightfall.”

“Listen, old man,” Larry warned Nelson, “I do as I decide, got it?”

“Sure,” Nelson Millin said walking up to the counter and staring down at Larry, “and look what your way got you.”

“I needed the death of that girl to be in Bates’ store, old man,” Larry growled. “What I need from you is a gun.”

“I don't have no more,” Nelson Millin fussed. “The one you lost better not turn up anything, let me tell you that much.”

“It won't.”

“And where is my money? You told me that if I helped you, you would pay me ten grand. Where is my money? I want out of this pit. I want to take my last breath back in the town I grew up in,” Nelson Millin told Larry.

“You'll get your money,” Larry lied. Standing up he stared at Nelson. “I need a gun. Find me one. I know you have guns so don't make me take one by force.”

With an angry hand filled with brittle bones, Nelson Millin reached across the counter and grabbed Larry by his jacket. “Get rid of the woman, and then get out of town and don't ever cross my path again, do you hear me? Forget the money. Forget our deal. Just do your business and get. As a matter of fact, get off my property altogether.”

Larry looked at Nelson with shadowy eyes. “Why of course I will,” he said and then grinned.

Chapter Ten

Nikki rushed into her store. When she saw Tori and Lidia, she embraced them both. “I'm so thankful you're both all right,” she said through warm tears.

“We're fine,” Lidia told Nikki, feeling her own tears begin to fall. “I have to admit that I'm pretty shook up, Nikki. That man intended to kill us.”

“Zach saved us,” Tori told Nikki.

Nikki looked at Zach. She saw the young man standing against the front counter, wearing a black t-shirt tucked into a pair of jeans. But instead of seeing a street thug, she saw a young man changing for the better. Letting go of Tori and Lidia, she walked up to Zach and hugged him. “Our hero and—” Nikki stopped speaking. Leaning closer, she began to sniff Zach's shirt. “Hawk, get over here.”

“What?” Zach asked alarmed.

“Smell,” Nikki ordered Hawk pointing at Zach's t-shirt.

Hawk leaned forward and smelled the t-shirt. “The cologne,” he said.

“I tangled with that guy,” Zach explained. “Heck, he tangled with me. I got in a lucky shot and managed to knock the gun out of his hands, but after that, he tore me up. I was in a choke-hold before I could blink. If Lidia hadn't hit him with the coffee pot...shoot, I'd be on the other side right now.”

“You were very courageous,” Lidia complimented Zach.

“Not like at the Inn, huh?”

“Sounds to me like you redeemed yourself.” Hawk winked at Zach. “Well, at least we got a lead on the killer.”

“He wasn't a local,” Lidia informed Hawk. “This man had a southern accent, like Nikki.”

“He did?” Nikki asked.

“He also knew your name,” Tori told Nikki. “And he said he's been in the store before, too.”

“Staking the place out,” Hawk told Nikki. “Sounds like this guy has been in town a while. Which might explain how he knew Helen Brendale.”

“He seemed charming at first, but then he turned really creepy,” Tori told Hawk, standing next to a shelf full of delicious chocolates. Even the cozy atmosphere of the store didn't help calm her down. The smell of chocolates that filled the air now seemed suffocating. “Can we go home?”

Hawk patted his back pocket and pulled out a roll of papers. Unrolling the papers, he looked at Tori. “These papers contain the phone and internet records of your aunt for the past year. Tori, the phone records are all local. The internet records are mostly to online stores, except for the e-mails. For the past three weeks, your Aunt has been corresponding with a man she met on a dating site.”

“A dating site? My aunt?” Tori asked, amazed. “No, not Aunt Helen.”

“We all get lonely,” Nikki told Tori and quickly glanced at Hawk. “From what Hawk learned, this man contacted your aunt.”

“I managed to get a quick look at his profile before rushing here,” Hawk explained. “Tori, this man made his profile photo look a lot like your uncle.”

“We assume that's how he managed to lure Helen out of her home,” Nikki continued. “Chief Daily is searching your aunt's house for fingerprints right now.”

“Forgive me for sounding thick-headed,” Lidia cut in, “but honey, that man knew your name. He had a southern accent. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's pretty important, right?”

Hawk focused on Nikki. “Anyone you might know?” he asked.

“Hawk, I made a lot of enemies in Atlanta,” she explained and slowly began to walk around her store. She loved every square inch of it; she adored the shelves of chocolates, the cozy atmosphere, the smells, the warm feeling of a small town, and even more, her new friends. But her store had been violated by a deadly killer, and like Tori, she now felt that the store seemed dangerous, unfriendly and cold. “A lot of enemies,” she said again, walking up to Hawk. “I need to make a call.”

“Do it,” Hawk said.

Nikki nodded and made her way into the back office.

* * *

She sat down at the desk and called her detective friend in Atlanta. “Detective Dalton, please. Tell him Nikki Bates is calling.”

Grateful to be in a closed office, Nikki slowly let out a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. The last thing she wanted was for an old friend to find out that she was scared. “Bates, is that you?” a familiar voice said.

“Hey, Dalton,” Nikki said, almost melting into tears at the sound of her friend's voice. “How are you?”

“The question is, how are you?” Detective Dalton asked, sitting in a smoky office with his gray tie loose around his neck. Speaking through the cigar in his mouth, he reached for a cup of hot coffee.

“I'm...well, to tell the truth, Dalton, I'm not doing so great.” Nikki drew in a deep breath and carefully explained to Detective Dalton about the killer loose in her new town. She finished with the killer attempting to murder Tori and Lidia. “Zach said this guy had him on the floor in a choke-hold in a matter of seconds, but bless that boy's heart, he saved Lidia and Tori from being killed.”

Detective Dalton grew silent. At the age of sixty-eight and slightly overweight, he felt tired, but with age came the process of slowing down. “Bates, does the name Larry Reelington ring a bell?” he finally asked.

Nikki froze. Terror gripped her heart. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. “I know...I mean, are you talking about ‘Stealth’ Reelington, the hitman we brought down last year?”

“Bingo,” Detective Dalton said, taking a drink of his coffee. “It was your brain that led us to him, Bates. You remember what that lunatic said in court?”

“I remember,” Nikki whispered. “He said he was going to destroy my life and make me suffer.”

“Bates, you better sit down if you haven't already and brace yourself. Reelington broke out of prison two months ago. Now this is just between us, because the governor doesn't want to cause panic. There is a statewide manhunt out for him, but I've been telling everyone that lunatic ain't in the Peach State no more.”

“Dalton...Reelington...he's here, in Vermont,” Nikki said. “His description seems different, but it has to be him.”

“He's not alone.” Detective Dalton threw more miserable news at Nikki. “He has some girl with him. This girl helped him escape from prison.”

“Dalton, Reelington killed over seven people in Atlanta,” Nikki replied, feeling a cold chill slither down her spine. “He was a hired hit man sent to kill ten judges. He got close to the judges by manipulating their family members.” Nikki thought about Tori and how Larry had immediately charmed her. “It's not shocking that he manipulated some poor girl into helping him escape.”

“Poor girl or not, when we catch her, it's off to the big house,” Detective Dalton promised Nikki. “Listen, kiddo, sit tight. I'm on my way up to you. We'll catch this slime ball and—”

“No,” Nikki almost yelled at Detective Dalton. Standing up she pressed her back against the office door. “Dalton, listen, I'm in a lot of hot water right now. If the governor of this state finds out a deadly hitman invaded this town to seek revenge on me, my goose is cooked. I have to bring down Reelington my way, okay?”

“Are you insane? Listen, Bates, this lunatic is a killer. And from what you just told me, he's on a warpath.”

“I know,” Nikki said, “but I think I have a lead. Listen, there is this old man named Nelson Millin...” Nikki told Detective Dalton about her encounter with Nelson. “He told me he didn't like people who rocked the boat. At first, I thought he was talking about what happened with the mayor, but now I'm wondering if he was hinting at the judges Reelington was sent to kill. I remember the names of every one of those judges, Dalton. They were the type of judges that would have gripped Millin’s mind.”

“You sit tight. I'm on my way. I'll—”

“I have two days before a state investigator gets here to ruin my life,” Nikki exclaimed angrily. “Dalton, if you come charging up here, I might as well jump into a pot of boiling water. I have to catch Reelington without anyone finding out who he is. I have my son to think about.”

“Then let me come up to you,” Detective Dalton insisted. “Bates, we can catch this lunatic, and I can haul him back to Georgia just as quietly as a mouse sneaking a breadcrumb at midnight.”

Nikki considered her friend's request. In all truth, she knew she needed his help. “I... yes, okay, Dalton, get up here. But please, we have to catch Reelington my way. The governor is sending someone to destroy my life in order to make his office look squeaky clean.”

“Look,” Detective Dalton told Nikki taking the cigar from his mouth, “we've always worked well as a team, haven't we?”

“Yes.”

“I know your ways and you know mine, right?” Detective Dalton asked.

“Yes.”

“So stop running through red lights on me like a stupid teenage girl,” Detective Dalton finished. “If you're in hot water, then we play it cool until the stove is turned off. But don't expect me to play nice with a killer, Bates. I'm going to bring him back to Georgia and make sure he rots in prison. Are we clear?”

“We're clear, Dalton. When will you get here?” Nikki asked.

“I can leave in three days.”

“Three days?” Nikki asked, upset. “But—”

“Stacey got her appendix removed yesterday, Bates. Cut me some slack, okay? I can't leave her at home to pee on herself in bed,” Detective Dalton explained. “I need a few days to get my affairs in order and make sure I leave Stacey in good hands.”

“A lot can happen in three days, Dalton,” Nikki pointed out. “I only have two days until the state investigator arrives. It'll be all over by the time you arrive.”

“Okay, okay...I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning,” Detective Dalton complained. “Bates, you always were a pain in my butt.”

“I know,” Nikki said and felt a nostalgic smile touch her lips. “Hey, Dalton, thanks. I'm grateful you're coming, I really am. When you drive into town, come out to my cabin.” Nikki gave Detective Dalton the directions to her cabin. “I'll see you then.”

“Sure, Bates,” Detective Dalton said, “just make sure you have some coffee going, huh? And don't ask me to go outside and smoke my cigars ’cause I ain't doing it.”

Nikki smiled again. Hanging up the phone, she sat back down. “How in the world am I going to catch Reelington?” she whispered. Feeling her hands begin to shake, she closed her eyes. In her mind's eye she saw a deadly man turn to her in court and yell, “Nikki Bates, you're a dead woman, do you hear me? I'm gonna make you suffer...”

* * *

“Everything okay?” Hawk asked, opening the office door.

Startled, Nikki jerked her eyes open. Seeing Hawk calmed her down. “Close the door,” she whispered.

Hawk closed the door. “Speak to me, Nikki.”

“Have you ever heard of a man named Larry Reelington, AKA ‘Stealth’ Reelington?” she asked.

Hawk’s face went pale. “Yeah,” he said, slowly nodding. “Nikki, that man killed three detectives in New York before vanishing into thin air.”

“Well,” Nikki said, making a painful face, “he's our killer. Hawk, I helped track that man down in Atlanta. I don't really know how, but I caught onto his system. Detective Dalton and I began to follow Judge Griffith's daughter—Reelington was sent to kill ten judges, you see.”

“Keep going.”

“Well, it was a rainy night when we saw Reelington pull up to a house that Judge Griffith's daughter was sharing with her friends. Detective Dalton and I were across the street in an empty house. Long story short, Dalton sneaked up to the house Judge Griffith's daughter was staying in, hid behind a tree, waited for Reelington to come out, and, just like in the movies, took Reelington off guard—nice and easy, not a single shot fired.”

“Where were you? I'm sure you didn't stay in the empty house,” Hawk asked.

“I was with Dalton. While he held Reelington at gunpoint, I put the cuffs on him,” Nikki explained.

Hawk whistled. “Nikki, do you know how many cops wanted to take that guy down?”

Nikki looked down at her trembling hands. “Hawk, Reelington is a trained killer. After today, I doubt he's going to stick to the rules of his game. He's going to come at me with full force.”

“Not on my watch,” Hawk told Nikki. “I'm going to call in some extra help and—”

“No,” Nikki begged. “Hawk, if the governor finds out who killed Helen Brendale and that it was because of me, my life will be destroyed. I have my son to think about. Please, keep this between us. We...Hawk, you and I have to capture Reelington.”

“Nikki, are you insane?” Hawk asked. “We have a trained assassin on our hands. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not trained to take this guy down. We can't go at this alone.”

“If you make this public,” Nikki promised Hawk, “my life will be over. Hawk, you know I can't fight city hall on this one. My only hope is taking Reelington down and getting him back to Georgia.”

“What about Helen Brendale?” Hawk asked Nikki. “I can't cover up her murder, Nikki. I'm sorry, but I have to call in backup on this one. Now before you go ballistic on me, don't worry. Pop and I won't let the governor touch you. The fact is, if we stand our ground and threaten to go public with his threats, he'll back down.”

“Will he?” Nikki asked Hawk in a worried voice. “What about the people in this town? Will they stand down? Oh, Hawk...I'm going to have to leave here and go back to Georgia.”

Before Hawk could say anything, Lidia knocked on the office door. “Chief Daily is outside. Hawk, Nikki—he said someone called the police station and said they found the owner of Millin’s Gas Station dead. He wants you two to go with him to investigate.”

Hawk looked at Nikki. “Let's go,” he said taking her hand.

Nikki threw her eyes at Lidia. “Stay close to Tori. Stay in the store with the front door locked,” she begged.

“I guess I better call Herbert,” Lidia replied and quickly patted Nikki's shoulder as she walked by. “Be careful, honey. Please, for the love of everything good, be careful.”

Chapter Eleven

Twenty minutes later Nikki walked back into the smoky, run-down building where a hateful old man had assaulted her with a lit cigarette earlier in the day. Following behind Hawk and Chief Daily, who had their guns drawn, Nikki cautiously searched the shadowy room for any signs of movement. Expecting an ambush, she pleaded with Hawk to be careful. With her own gun in her hands, she wondered what her reaction would be if Reelington began shooting at her from the shadows? Would she run for cover? Drop to the floor? “We're easy targets,” she whispered under her breath.

“There,” Hawk said pointing to the front counter.

Nikki froze. She watched Hawk approach the front counter and lean over a slumped body. Nelson Millin sat on the floor like a man asleep. Only he wasn't asleep. He was dead. Terrified, Nikki waited as Hawk examined the body. “I'll secure the room,” Chief Daily told Hawk. “Ms. Bates, you stay right behind me.”

“Okay,” Nikki promised. Slowly, she followed Chef Daily as he checked every nook and cranny in the room before returning back to Hawk. “All clear, Hawk,” she said. “But we both know we could have easily walked right into an ambush. It was stupid to come in here like this.”

“I know,” Hawk agreed. “Pop,” he said looking up at Chief Daily, “he's just like Helen Brendale, suffocated to death.”

“I can feel the hair on my neck stand up, Hawk,” Nikki pointed out. Feeling like a mouse caught in the sight of a deadly owl, she glanced around the shadowy room.

“I know,” Hawk agreed for a second time. Standing up, he studied the room. With only a couple more hours of daylight left, he felt an urgent need to get back into town. “We're on his turf, Pop. We better get Millin’s body into my jeep and get out of here.”

Chief Daily snatched a cell phone from his front pocket. “I'm calling in backup. This is our town; we don't run from anyone,” he told Hawk in an angry voice.

Nikki began to speak, but then she froze as her nose caught the faint scent of gasoline. “Oh no... everyone out!” she screamed. Running to Hawk, she grabbed his arm and dashed toward the front door. And then everything went black.

* * *

“Where am I?” Nikki asked in a groggy voice, struggling to open her eyes. “Hawk...”

“I'm right here,” Hawk told Nikki, leaning against her bedroom wall. “Take it easy. You took a nasty bump to your head.”

Feeling as if someone had whacked her head with a baseball bat, Nikki allowed her eyes to close. The familiar feel of her bed gave her a well-needed sense of comfort and safety. The smell of her perfumes, mingled with flour and chocolate, eased into her nose like old friends. “What happened? I remember smelling gasoline and...”

“We were set up,” Hawk said trying to cover up the anger in his voice. “Reelington tried to blow us up. He failed.”

“Are you okay?” Nikki asked Hawk, keeping her eyes closed.

Hawk didn't immediately answer. A lamp sitting on a white wood nightstand next to Nikki's bed was casting dim light into the bedroom—just enough light for Hawk to see and dim enough for Nikki to rest. Looking around Nikki's bedroom, he admired the way she had mixed in antique furnishings with modern designs. He liked the heavy green and white throw rug sitting in front of the queen bed, which was wrapped with silk curtains. He liked the antique vanity and the modern flat-screen television sitting on an old wooden coffee table that somehow seemed better suited to hold the flat screen than a modern entertainment system. Heck, Hawk thought, he liked the entire bedroom—the way it looked, smelled, felt—because the bedroom represented Nikki. And Nikki, he thought miserably, was almost killed. “You need to rest, okay? You're safe now. I have two men outside on foot patrol.”

“Hawk, we're playing into his fear,” Nikki groaned in pain. “Can you get me some aspirin, please?”

Hawk leaned up from the wall. As he did, Nikki slipped back into a deep sleep. Walking over to her bed, he gently brushed her bangs away, bent down, and kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered.

Chapter Twelve

When morning arrived, Nikki found she was able to get out of bed. Even though her head hurt and she had a nasty bump, she was able to move around. Spotting Hawk asleep in the white and blue chair in the bedroom, she felt an immediate affection for the man that she had not felt before. “He looks so tired,” she thought, sitting on the edge of her bed. Looking down at her dress, she noticed parts of the material that were burned and covered with dark smudges of smoke. Easing up to her feet, she began to walk to the bathroom connected to the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Hawk asked with his eyes closed.

“I need to take a shower,” Nikki replied, holding her head with her right hand.

Hawk opened his eyes, looked at Nikki, stretched his arms, and stood up. “I guess I'll go see if there's any coffee.”

Nikki reached out and touched Hawk's hand. “Someday you and I are going to take a trip to a tropical island and have our picture taken.”

Hawk gave Nikki a confused look. “Okay,” he said and excused himself.

* * *

After showering, Nikki changed into a simple light green dress, allowed her hair to flow freely, and put on a pair of brown sandals. She found her gun sitting on the night stand, attached it to her right ankle, and walked out to the living room. “Good morning,” she said spotting Chief Daily sitting on the couch with Zach. “Where are Lidia and Tori?”

“Asleep,” Zach said, tossing a thumb at Tori's bedroom. “I've been telling the Chief here that we would all be better off at the Lodge. A lot more room.”

Chief Daily rolled his eyes at Zach. Standing up, he stretched his back. “I'm going to go get a few winks, change my clothes, and grab a bite to eat. I've been at Millin’s Gas Station for most of the night. I'm bushed.”

“We'll be down to the station in about an hour, Pop,” Hawk said, walking into the living room carrying a coffee mug in his hand.

“Yeah,” Chief Daily nodded at Hawk and then yawned, “you do that. From this point forward I want Nikki and Tori both living in a jail cell until we catch this guy.”

“What?” Nikki exclaimed.

“For your own protection,” Chief Daily ordered Nikki. “Hawk, see that it's done, do you hear me?”

“Sure, Pop, I hear you,” Hawk said giving Nikki an apologetic look. “He's right, Nikki, it's for your own safety.”

“I still say we hide out at the Lodge,” Zach suggested again.

Chief Daily rolled his eyes again. “Young man, you go back to the Elk Horn Lodge and do what you need to do there.”

“No way,” Zach objected. “I'm staying next to my girl—I mean, Tori,” Zach blushed. Trying to appear tough, he stood up, shoved his hands down into the pockets of his jeans, and walked to the front door. “I have to protect her. I know I'm no match for this guy, but I'm not a coward, either.”

Hawk took a sip of his coffee and nodded at Nikki. Nikki understood. “We know, Zach,” she said. “Come into the kitchen. I'll cook us some breakfast.”

“We'll eat in town,” Hawk told Nikki. “Let's just all have some coffee for now, okay?”

“Hawk, I can cook—”

“Nikki, as far as we know Reelington could be watching your cabin right now. I want to get to the station,” Hawk explained.

Nikki sighed. Once again the beautiful land surrounding her home had become a dangerous landscape for a killer to hide in, forcing her to become a prisoner in her own home. “I understand.”

Chief Daily walked to the front door and paused. “Ms. Bates, I don't care who the governor sends to us and what he tries to do, I'm going to stand by you tooth and nail. I want to make that clear. I'm the law in this town, and no one is going to take you away in handcuffs unless I say so. I'm not going to allow an innocent woman to be bullied by a bunch of corrupt politicians. I may lose my job and my retirement, but this badge I wear and upholding the oath I swore to obey are more important.”

Without saying a word, Nikki walked up to Chief Daily and softly kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Chief,” she said with a grateful heart. “I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”

“You didn't kill that German, and you didn't kill the man we found dead at the Elk Horn Lodge or Zach's grandparents. You have nothing to be sorry about. If some psycho is after you because you helped the law track him down, that's not your fault, either. Yeah, sure, I think you're a jinx, but I can live with that,” Chief Daily finished and tossed Nikki a wink. Opening the front door, he excused himself and left.

“He's warming up to you,” Hawk told Nikki and drained his coffee. “Zach, go wake up the girls. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Zach walked to Tori's bedroom door, eased it open and yelled: “Wake up in there!”

Tori and Lidia jerked awake so quickly that they both fell off the twin bed they had squeezed their tired bodies onto. Lidia hit the floor, threw her head up at Zach, and began screaming at him. Zach slammed the door. “They're awake,” he told Hawk and hurried away to the kitchen.

Hawk grinned. “He's gonna be just fine.”

“But are we?” Nikki worried. “Hawk, Nelson Millin was a hateful old man, but I didn't want him dead. Now two people are dead...because of me.”

“Don't buy into that lie,” Hawk scolded Nikki. “Listen to me, you're not responsible for who dies and who lives. Reelington is a trained killer. He's a person without a soul, Nikki. And that has nothing to do with you. What you need to be doing now is the same exact thing you did in Atlanta: Out-think this lunatic.”

“In a jail cell?” Nikki asked Hawk. Feeling exhausted, she placed her head down onto Hawk's shoulder.

Surprised by Nikki's action, Hawk hesitated and then put his arm around her tender shoulders. “Okay, no jail cell. I'll take the heat from Pop. But I do want Tori, Lidia and Zach camped out at the station from this point forward.”

Nikki didn't reply. Instead, she closed her eyes and began to wonder how she could outsmart a trained killer for a second time. The first time she stood in the shadows, where Larry Reelington was unaware of her. Now, his sights were fully on Nikki. How could she outsmart a killer who was charging at her like a raging bull? Confused, scared, and worried about her son, Nikki fought the urge to leave Vermont and never look back. She knew, though, if she left, Reelington would only follow her. In the end, he would kill her if she didn't stay and fight.

“Where is that boy?” Lidia yelled, running out of Tori's bedroom dressed in pink bunny pajamas. “I'm going to kill him!”

Tori followed behind Lidia, carrying a baseball bat. Wearing her favorite cartoon pajamas with her hair in a mess, she spotted Hawk, looked down at herself, and ran back into her bedroom. “He's in the kitchen,” Hawk said.

Lidia paused. When she saw Hawk holding Nikki, she eased back into Tori's room and closed the door.

Chapter Thirteen

Larry Reelington walked under the camouflage tarp and sat down on a white five-gallon bucket he had flipped over. After going through Millin’s old shack, which the old man called a house, he located a Smith & Wesson .38 special and some extra bullets. Frustrated that the trap he had set for Nikki had failed and that the woman had escaped the explosion at the gas station, he looked up at a gray sky growing with rain and began to formulate a new plan.

As he sat, tossing the .38 special back and forth in his hands, he heard a twig snap in the distance. Shooting to his feet, he jerked around. Throwing his eyes into the woods, he searched for any signs of movement. Cautiously, he eased behind the black sedan and crouched down. Sure, he was close to the torched gas station, but it was better to stay under the noses of your enemy rather than stay at a distance. But, Larry thought, surveying the woods, could the local hayseed cops have located him? “No way,” he said, unable to locate any movement.

Standing up, he decided the sound of the twig breaking had come from an animal. He walked back to the five-gallon bucket and began to sit down. As he did, a rifle erupted in the distance. A bullet tore through Larry Reelington's chest. Falling down to the ground, Larry looked up. “But...how?” he asked seeing the face of his killer appear. “It's not...possible...” he struggled to say and then lay silent.

“Larry Reelington, the great hitman...what a joke,” a voice said and then laughed. “Nikki Bates doesn't need to know that you're dead, though. Not yet anyway.”

Back in town, after forcing Lidia and Tori to remain at the police station with Zach, Hawk and Nikki drove to her store, checked inside for any signs of criminal trespass, and then walked down to the diner. As soon as Nikki walked into the diner she felt angry eyes slice into her. “What's she doing here?” she heard a thin woman with short gray hair ask another woman.

“I thought she was going to work out, but instead she has cast an ugly shadow over our town,” the second woman replied, glancing at Nikki over her salad. “Two people have been killed, and it's her fault. We're losing our tourists because of her.”

“Come on,” Hawk told Nikki, spotting an empty table near the back.

“Sure,” Nikki sighed miserably. Sitting down at the table, Nikki once again focused on the yearbook photos hanging on the walls. “I'm ruining these people’s lives.”

Hawk waved a hand irritably at the table holding the two snotty women. “Who cares what they think, Nikki? The fact is, no matter where you moved to, Reelington would have tracked you down. It would have been the same in any town.”

“I guess,” Nikki said in a sad voice. “Hawk, I'm going back to Atlanta. I'm not welcome here anymore.”

Hawk stared at Nikki from across the table. “Then run away, you coward.”

“Excuse me?” Nikki asked, shocked.

“Run,” Hawk said and waved his hand toward the front door. “Run like a scalded dog back to Atlanta and hide there like a coward. Hide like a coward among thousands of people with no faces instead of staying here and holding your ground. Man, did I have you pegged wrong! I thought you had guts.”

“Hawk, I only want what’s best for everyone and—”

“You only want what's best for you,” Hawk scolded Nikki. “This is America, isn't it? A person has the freedom to live where they want, don't they? Man, I can just see all the good men who shed their blood and died for your freedom turning over in their graves. Did they back down in the face of danger? No, they held their ground and moved forward. Oh, heck, I'm wasting my breath. Run away, you coward.”

“I'm not a coward,” Nikki said, feeling anger begin to boil in her chest.

“Sure you are.”

“Be quiet,” Nikki demanded. “You don't know what you're saying. You don't know anything about me, Mr. Daily. I'm—”

“A coward,” Hawk said and called for Mira to bring him a cup of coffee.

Steaming, Nikki squeezed her hands together. “If you call me a coward one more time, I'm going to slap the living daylights out of you!”

The tone of Nikki's voice caused people to turn away from their food and look at her. Hawk grinned. “Here you are standing up to me, but what about them?”

Nikki yanked her eyes away from Hawk and locked eyes with everyone staring at her. Before she could prevent her body from moving, she shot to her feet and yelled: “If anyone in this diner doesn't like my presence in this town then they can leave, because I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay. My store is here to stay. My cabin is here to stay. Does everyone understand that? Nikki Bates isn't going anywhere, and if that upsets anyone then hit the road, Jack!”

Hawk began clapping. Nikki looked down at him. That's when she realized that Hawk had deliberately angered her in order to bring out a sleeping tiger. “Let's eat, champ.”

Nikki slowly sat back down. Breathing hard, she grabbed a napkin and then, realizing she had no use for it, dropped it. “Okay, so you got me riled up and made me speak my mind. Happy?”

“I sure am, so let me warn you if you talk about leaving again, I'm going to shoot you in both of your legs. Now let's focus on the case,” Hawk told Nikki.

Mira approached the table with two cups of coffee, smiled at Nikki, placed the cups down and walked away as a few people got up from their tables and left. Nikki watched the people pay their checks and storm out of the diner. Mira simply told them to have a nice day and come back real soon. “Hawk,” Nikki admitted, “I don't know how to out-think Reelington this time. Last time...Hawk, last time he didn't even know I was alive. I was a shock to him, which worked to my advantage.”

Hawk sipped on his coffee and nodded for Nikki to begin working on her coffee. “James was able to memorize the tag on the black sedan Reelington is driving. The car is stolen. The gun Zach knocked out of his hand was reported stolen, too.”

“Not surprising,” Nikki said.

Hawk bit his lower lip. “The car was reported stolen by a Judge Matthew Stewart who, by chance, just happens to be a judge in Atlanta, Georgia.”

“Matthew Stewart, he was one of the judges on Reelington's hit list. His daughter was with Reelington the night Detective Dalton captured him,” Nikki said in a strained voice.

“The car belongs to one Tara Stewart,” Hawk continued. “Now I wonder why the judge reported his daughter’s car stolen instead of his daughter filing the report?”

“Dalton did say a girl helped Reelington escape prison,” Nikki told Hawk.

Hawk rubbed his chin. “I'm going to run a background on this girl.”

“Don't,” Nikki told Hawk, taking a sip of her coffee. “Tara Stewart is into the 'bad boy' type. She's also a heavy drinker but stays away from drugs. She's about twenty-two years old, I guess. Long blond hair, dresses in black a lot, black lipstick and eye shadow.”

“A real smudge on the Judge's plate, huh?”

Nikki told Hawk yes. “She has a criminal record, too. Mostly she's been arrested for assault.” Nikki looked down at her coffee. “Oh Hawk, I should have guessed it might have been Tara Stewart that helped Reelington. She stood by him in court, against Judge Stewart's wishes. I'm not batting too well on this one.”

“Your mind is focused on your son,” Hawk pointed out. “I can read your face, Nikki. You're extremely worried about your son, and I don't blame you. My mind would be on my family, too, if I were in your shoes.”

“I'm just worried Reelington might go after him,” Nikki confessed. “Hawk, we have to take this killer down.”

As Hawk began to speak, the front door to the diner opened. A tall, thin, man in his early thirties walked in. Hawk raised his head and looked at him. The man appeared normal enough. His short blond hair was combed neatly. The white and green striped shirt he was wearing was tucked into a pair of nice jeans. As far as Hawk could see, the man appeared to be a tourist. “We need a plan,” Hawk said, ignoring the man and returning his attention to Nikki.

“I'm flat broke in that area,” Nikki confessed. “Hawk, maybe I can lead Reelington out of town somehow? I mean, he is after me. We could pick a certain motel—a small one, you know—and use it as bait. I could pretend to hide there and hope Reelington will show up, and then you could grab him.”

Hawk considered Nikki's plan. He liked it. “Any motel in particular?”

“Well,” Nikki said biting down on her lip, “there is that old motel south of town.”

“The Guitar Inn?” Hawk laughed to himself, “Nikki, that place has been closed for years. A bunch of hippies opened it back in the day. After the hippies floated away into the wind, a man from China bought the motel and made a run at it but failed. Those rooms have been sitting empty for years.”

“Exactly,” Nikki told Hawk. “I'm going into hiding, remember? I'm not going to go check into a Hampton Inn, am I?”

“No, I guess not,” Hawk said following Nikki's lead. “Well...” Hawk was forced to make a quick decision, “I think we have a plan. I'll get word around town that you left and that someone spotted you hiding at the Guitar Inn.”

Mira walked up to the table carrying two plates holding delicious cheeseburgers and salted fries. “I know what you need,” she smiled at Nikki.

“Thanks, Mira. Say, can you do me a favor?” Nikki asked.

Hawk began to object but Nikki shook her head at him. “I need you to casually get word around that I'm leaving town.”

“But you said—”

“Please,” Nikki pleaded.

“Okay,” Mira promised and looked at Hawk. Hawk nodded his head. Mira sighed and walked away.

“Let's eat and get you out of town,” Hawk told Nikki.

As Nikki began to eat, a heavy rain started to fall from the sky outside. The afternoon turned dark and dangerous. Nikki looked toward the front door. “It's really starting to pour outside.”

“Yep,” Hawk said chewing a bite of cheeseburger, “weatherman said it's going to rain for a few days. Eat, okay? We have a lot of work to do. Someone out there—”

Before Hawk could finish, Chief Daily entered the diner, spotted Hawk, and hurried to the table. “Reelington has been found dead. Come on,” he told Hawk and Nikki.

Chapter Fourteen

“What?” Nikki gasped.

“Someone called the station and said they found a dead body out behind Millin’s Gas Station, about two miles back on the old trail. I sent James out there to investigate. He found Reelington's body,” Chief Daily told Nikki in an exhausted voice. “My, what a mess. At least I got a shower and a fresh change of clothes, though.”

“And a cheeseburger,” Nikki said, handing Chief Daily her food. “I'm not hungry anymore.”

“Why? This is good news,” Chief Daily said, confused. Looking at the cheeseburger in his hand he decided to take a bite. “Hey, Mira, bring me a diet soda,” he yelled. “I need something to wash this burger down with.”

“Chief Daily, whoever killed Reelington will still come after me,” Nikki explained, feeling a horrible fear grip her chest.

“Could it be Tara Stewart?” Hawk suggested.

“Maybe,” Nikki agreed, “or maybe not.”

Mira ran a diet soda over to Chief Daily. “Food is on the house, you guys,” she said, reading the worry on Nikki's face. “Oh dear, not another one?”

Nikki didn't reply. Instead, she stood up, excused herself, and walked away to the bathroom. “Is she okay?” Chief Daily asked, sitting down.

“Nikki is under a lot of strain. We all are, Pop,” Hawk sighed. “You look tired out. I can go out to the scene if you need to grab a few winks.”

“I can sleep tonight,” Chief Daily told Hawk. He finished off his cheeseburger and then drained his glass of diet soda. “Who is this Tara Stewart you mentioned?”

Hawk quickly explained to Chief Daily about who Tara Stewart was. “Pop, run her for me, okay? I'll go out to the scene.”

“Well,” Chief Daily said, fighting back a yawn, “okay, son. But be careful. We still got a killer loose.”

“I know,” Hawk said standing up. “Pop, call Judge Stewart, too. Tell him what's going on here and that we've found his daughter's car. Stay under the radar on this, okay. We need to operate in the shadows for now.”

“You're telling me,” Chief Daily agreed. “Tell Ms. Bates that we're going to solve this case, okay?”

“You don't sound so sure.”

“I wish I could,” Chief Daily answered his son and left the diner.

When Nikki returned from the bathroom, Hawk dropped a ten-dollar tip on the table and walked Nikki outside. “You don't have to come,” he said, standing under a green metal awning.

Nikki studied the heavy falling rain. She felt cold even though the temperature was well above seventy degrees. “When you stick your nose where it doesn't belong, you have to be prepared to face the consequences,” she told Hawk. “I made enemies. My ex-husband warned me that I would make enemies, but I didn't listen. I've put my son's life in danger. I have to catch this killer, Hawk, for my son's sake.”

“After you, then,” Hawk said pointing to his jeep.

Nikki pushed her fear aside. She had work to do. “Let's go, Hawk.”

“Yes ma’am,” Hawk said. Leaving the protection of the awning, he jogged to his jeep and snatched open the driver's side door. Nikki followed close behind. Ignoring the rain, she ran to the jeep and jumped into the passenger's seat. “Seems to always rain on us, doesn't it?” Hawk asked as they pulled away from the diner.

“Yes, it does,” Nikki replied and grew silent as her mind began to chew on something. The rain was reminding her of something, but she couldn't remember what.

Hawk let Nikki sit in silence and think. He needed to think, too. By the time he reached Millin’s burned down gas station, the rain had let up some. Easing his jeep around the gas station and down the old trail, he glanced at Nikki. “Get your gun out and keep it at the ready.”

Nikki did as Hawk asked. They saw James standing in front of a cop car wearing an orange rain poncho and waving a flashlight in the air. Hawk pulled up to James and rolled down the driver-side window. “Where's the body?” he asked.

Wet from the rain, James tossed a thumb over his shoulder at the black sedan. On the other side of the car, under the tarp. Guy took a bullet to his chest,” James explained, using his left hand to wipe rain from his thin mustache. “Hawk, this guy has been out here a while. Good hiding place, too.”

“I bet,” Hawk agreed, turning off his jeep. Reaching around into the back seat, he fished out a black umbrella and handed it to Nikki. “Ready?”

“Yes,” Nikki said, desperately trying to recall a memory that was tugging at her gut. Getting out of the jeep, she opened the umbrella and placed it in her left hand while holding her gun in her right hand. Following Hawk around the black sedan, she saw a dead body lying next to an overturned white five-gallon bucket. Pausing, she examined the camp site. She spotted a propane stove, a sleeping bag, plastic bags holding canned groceries, and other assorted items that clearly told Nikki that Reelington had been around for a few weeks. When she spotted the .38 special lying on the ground next to Reelington's dead body, she shivered.

“Did you check the car?” Hawk asked James kneeling down next to the dead body.

“Yeah,” James said, standing next to Hawk, “found two suitcases in the trunk. One with men's clothing, the other with women's clothing. The glove compartment had a map. Nothing else.”

Hawk looked down into Larry Reelington's dead face. “Okay, who killed you?” he asked, biting the corner of his lip.

“Clean shot,” James pointed out. “I'd say the kill shot was made by a hunting rifle.”

“When the coroner digs out the bullet, we'll know,” Hawk told James, “but yeah, I have to say it seems that way.” Hawk remained kneeling down. Taking his eyes off Reelington, he examined the ground. “You see the extra set of footprints?”

“I did,” James told Hawk. “They disappear about a hundred meters west. They end near a spot that was heavily disturbed. I hunt a lot, Hawk. I know these woods. I figure someone was waiting for this guy, crouched down out of sight. When he got a clear shot, he took it.”

Hawk continued to examine the ground. “These prints were made by boots...say size eleven.”

“Judge Stewart's daughter doesn't wear a size eleven,” Nikki told Hawk, kneeling down next to him. “I saw this woman, Hawk. There's no way she wears a size eleven.”

“What does that mean?” James asked.

“It means that a woman didn't kill Reelington,” Hawk explained standing up.

“Or maybe Tara Stewart has someone with her?” Nikki also suggested. “Officer, can you show me where you think the shooter was hiding?”

“This way,” James pointed. Grateful the rain was letting up, he turned off his flashlight and led Nikki and Hawk to the spot that showed signs of disturbance. “See the grass, and those branches...and over there, not meaning to be rude ma’am, but there's scent of urine.”

Nikki floated her eyes around the woods, spotted broken branches, and then she looked down at the ground. A grassy area clearly told her that someone had been kneeling down in that spot. She saw more boot prints and even a used match on the ground. “What do you think?” she asked Hawk.

“You're the smart one,” Hawk replied. “Nikki, does Tara have a brother?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Nikki told Hawk forcing her mind to dip into old files and gather dusty information. “I believe she is an only child. Could it be that Tara wanted to make it appear like the shooter was a man?”

“Boot prints are too heavy,” James told Nikki. “See how the toe of the boot is equal to the heel?”

Nikki bent down and ran her finger over a boot print. “Yes, I see.”

“Millin doesn't have any relatives here, so this is not a revenge killing,” Hawk pointed out. “All right, no sense standing out here making easy targets of ourselves. James, go call the coroner and tell him to get his butt out here. Nikki and I will look around some more.”

“I'm at a loss,” Nikki confessed, handing Hawk the umbrella. Raising her face up into the soft falling rain, she closed her eyes. “Hawk, if Tara Stewart did not kill Larry Reelington, who did?”

“I have no idea,” Hawk said, closing the umbrella.

Nikki opened her eyes. Shaking some rain off of her face, she walked to the used match, bent down, and picked it up. “Box match,” she told Hawk. “Look around for a cigarette butt or a smoked cigar.”

Hawk began to search the ground. Nikki looked around, shoved her gun down into the ankle holster, and then, against her own desire, walked to the spot that had a scent of urine oozing up from the ground. Bending down, she began to move a few bushes aside. “I'll bleach my hands afterward,” she promised herself. Holding her breath, she searched the ground with her hands more than her eyes. The ground was wet from the rain, muddy in some spots, thick with brush and bushes in other spots. Overhead, tall trees that would blossom into beautiful colors once autumn arrived stared down at her with curious eyes. “Come on...be here...be here...” Nikki whispered as she searched the ground. Just when she was about ready to give up, her hand came across a cigarette butt lying under a bush. “Yes,” she said, cupping her hand over the cigarette butt. “Hawk, I got it!”

Hawk jogged over to Nikki and bent down. Nikki removed her hand. “You're a gem,” he said, smiling, and he quickly kissed Nikki on the cheek before he could stop himself. Nikki simply smiled. “Yeah, well,” Hawk said, blushing, “we better get back to the station and see if we can grab some prints off this cigarette butt. James, bring me a plastic evidence bag!”

James didn't respond. Nikki looked at Hawk. “He might not have heard you. Maybe I better go—”

Hawk froze. With stealthy eyes, he told Nikki to be quiet. “Stay right here, and do not move,” he whispered. “Get your gun out, too.” Staying low, Hawk moved through the woods until the black sedan came into view. Using a tree for cover, Hawk searched for James. James was nowhere to be seen. Not wasting any time, Hawk made his way back to Nikki. Only Nikki was now missing, too. Panicked, Hawk held back the urge to yell out Nikki's name. “Stay calm,” he told himself as the sky overhead opened up and heavy rain began to pour down.

Chapter Fifteen

Feeling groggy and drugged, Nikki slowly opened her eyes. “Where am I?” she asked in a weak, confused voice.

“Close to death,” a cold voice promised her.

Nikki fought to keep her eyes open. Everything around her was blurry and spinning. Only the strong, overpowering scents of dust, dirt and mold were stable to her senses. Lying on what seemed like a lumpy mattress with springs sticking up through the bedding, she tried to move her arms. Feeling her wrists tied together behind her back, she attempted to move her ankles, only to find that her ankles were tied together, too. Unable to hold her eyes open anymore, she closed them. “Who are you?” Nikki asked as the sound of pouring rain and distant thunder began to fill her ears.

Standing at a window covered with a dark, dirty curtain eased back just enough to see out into a weed-infested parking lot, Judge Matthew Stewart searched the rain with angry eyes. “You ruined my life,” he told Nikki in a strained voice.

Forcing her eyes open again Nikki looked through a shadowy room. Desperate to make out who the voice belonged to, she struggled to see her captor. She saw a tall man wearing a black rain jacket standing at the window. The man, as far as Nikki could see, was wearing a gray baseball cap. But the voice, Nikki thought, didn't match the clothes. The voice was old, belonging to a man in his late sixties. “Who are you?”

“My name is Judge Matthew Stewart,” he replied, remaining at the window.

“Judge Stewart?” Nikki asked confused.

The man glanced over his shoulder at Nikki. “Are you surprised, Ms. Bates?”

Unable to answer, Nikki felt her mind begin searching for any logical and rational explanation that might bring clarity to her confusion. Listening to the sound of the heavy rain, she also began to wonder where she was. But then, somehow, she knew. “This is the Guitar Inn, isn't it?”

“You're very own suggestion,” Judge Stewart replied. “My son thought the suggestion you made to Detective Daily earlier at the diner was quite ingenious. Jason will be joining us shortly after he kills your detective friend.”

“No!” Nikki cried out and began to struggle against the ropes holding her wrists and ankles together.

Judge Stewart ignored Nikki's attempt to break free. “You see, I helped Reelington escape from prison. I sent him to Vermont with a set of instructions. His task was simply to watch you until I gave him the green light to proceed. You've been very busy, Ms. Bates...quite the busy little bee, sticking your nose where it didn't belong.”

“Please—”

“Shut up!” Judge Stewart exploded. Letting go of the curtain he ran to the bed and kicked it. “I sent Reelington to watch you until I arrived. But he stopped playing by my rules. He and my daughter came up with a plan of their own.”

“A plan?” Nikki asked, realizing that pleading for her life was futile.

“Yes,” Judge Stewart hissed. “They devised a plan that would have ensured you and I both spent the rest of our lives in prison, on death row. My daughter got cold feet in the end. She placed a private call to my office. She's safely back in Atlanta now.” Judge Stewart paused, checked the rope wrapped around Nikki's ankles and continued. “Reelington was so arrogant, he believed he could carry out his plan without me interfering.”

Nikki dove into her inner reporter and began to ask questions. “Where did Mr. Millin fit in?” she asked, sounding confused and weak.

“Who knows?” Judge Stewart replied in a disgusted voice. “Reelington had a talent for searching out the worst in humanity. My concern was with Reelington. To my knowledge, this Millin person is now dead.”

“Yes,” Nikki said. “Judge Stewart, I—”

Judge Stewart waved his hand at Nikki impatiently. “I hired Reelington to kill those judges, Ms. Bates. I put myself on the list of targets as to divert suspicion from myself. Each judge, you understand, was to be replaced with people who would make sure the interests of certain individuals were cared for. But you ruined my plan. You ruined my family, my career, my life!”

Nikki felt anger rise in her chest. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to die like a whimpering coward. “You hired a hitman to murder innocent people. You deserve to be in prison!” she yelled back, feeling her mind begin to clear.

“Oh, Ms. Bates,” Judge Stewart said, breathing hard like a pit bull preparing to attack, “you are the one who is going to prison. I assure you. You're going to suffer for your crimes against me and my family That's right, you heard me very clearly. After Reelington was arrested, he remained silent to the press. However, he sent me many letters threatening to go public if I did not assist him in breaking out of prison. My wife suffered a mental breakdown. My son was forced to leave college to take care of his mother. I was forced to leave the bench. Only my daughter was all too happy to help Reelington. You have no understanding of the mental anguish my family and I have suffered because of Reelington. In the end, I devised a plan to rid myself of him and you.”

“Only Reelington stopped playing by your rules,” Nikki said as the sound of thunder grew closer.

“My daughter,” Judge Reelington said in a heavy voice, losing some of his anger, “never wanted to see me in prison. She and I are at constant odds, but when Reelington told her he wanted to see me rot in prison, she couldn't stand the idea and called me. I suppose,” he said walking back to the window and easing back the curtain, “Reelington did suspect I was up to something. The wicked, Ms. Bates, never trust each other.”

“You blame me,” Nikki told Judge Stewart staring across the shadowy room, “yet you hired a cold-blooded killer to murder innocent people. I exposed Reelington. At the time I thought I was protecting you. Reelington left a curious trail that I was able to follow. He managed to become chummy with the family of every murdered judge. You were next on the list. Your daughter is very pretty; I put two and two together.”

“Of course, I was next on the list,” Judge Stewart hissed at Nikki. “I was going to take a bullet to the shoulder to make it appear that Reelington attempted to assassinate me.” Judge Stewart forced calmness to his voice. “That viper had been romancing my daughter long before you caught them together. You were lucky to catch Reelington at my daughter's home. Usually, they met at nightclubs and bars,” he explained.

“When Reelington arrived here in Vermont, he saw me involved in a case?” Nikki asked changing the topic.

“I told him to stand down,” Judge Stewart replied. “I could not risk being caught while you were involved in a murder investigation. And then, to my dismay, you poked your nose into a second murder investigation. By then, Reelington had become restless, according to my daughter.”

“I'm sorry that I have a conscience,” Nikki said, quietly struggling to get free. “When people are murdered, the humane part of me comes out, Judge Stewart.”

“The humane part of you?” Judge Stewart laughed. “Ms. Bates, I have served on the bench for over thirty years. I have seen the worst humanity has to offer arrive in my courtroom while the innocent suffered. The time arrived for me to act, Ms. Bates. I had to eliminate judges who obeyed the law and replace them with judges who would protect the rights of the rich.”

“The rich?” Nikki asked, confused.

“Yes, the rich,” Judge Stewart told Nikki, looking out at the rain-soaked parking lot. “How many criminals over the years was I forced to set free because of technicalities in the law? Criminals who returned to high-class neighbors only to rob homes, steal cars, bring drugs in. A group of powerful businessmen and I had a private meeting and decided that it was time to do away with the law and enact our own law. But nine judges objected to the proposal; those nine judges were spoken to privately, of course. Those judges, Ms. Bates, had to be eliminated. It was time to create a system of justice in Atlanta that would serve to protect the rich—the people who created jobs, built companies, convinced foreign companies to relocate to Georgia, established safer school systems, safer communities for our children. Every time I was forced under the law to allow a criminal to go free because a cop forgot to read him his rights or a vehicle was searched unlawfully or some other meaningless technicality, it only harmed what those men struggled so desperately to build.”

“Your duty was to uphold and enforce the law, not change it,” Nikki told Judge Stewart, standing her ground.

“While criminals turn playgrounds into drug factories and homes are forced to have bars over their windows,” Judge Stewart replied, ripping at Nikki with angry teeth. “Ms. Bates, you lived in Atlanta. You saw with your own eyes what I’m speaking of. You, of all people, should appreciate what I was attempting to do.”

“I understand your frustrations. I got tired of riding the political roller coaster. But murder is no excuse,” Nikki replied.

“The mayor of Atlanta is a murderer, yet he sits in office,” Judge Stewart told Nikki. “That's right, I'm aware that he sent a woman to your town to murder his wife. All I wanted to achieve was placing people on the bench who would make playgrounds safe for children and homes safe to rest in at night. The mayor of Atlanta...that criminal never cared about anything except how much blood money could fit into his pockets. It didn't matter to him that because of the increasing violence companies were leaving Atlanta, causing good men to lose their jobs—men who moved away in order to find work, leaving only the criminals behind. Criminals who walked into my courtroom like cocky roosters. No, it was time to act.”

Realizing that struggling against the ropes holding her wrists and ankles together was useless, Nikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Time to murder, you mean,” she corrected Judge Stewart.

“Time for change,” Judge Stewart informed Nikki. Leaving the window, he walked to the left wall, picked up a hunting rifle, and approached Nikki. “You ruined everything, Ms. Bates. Now I'm going to ruin your life. You're going to take the blame for Detective Daily's death and go to prison. Once you are in prison, I'm going to kill your son. You are going to suffer for your crime.”

Instead of panicking, Nikki grew angry. “You're a coward,” she yelled.

“Because of you, three foreign companies left Atlanta. Millions were lost in investments. Four very influential businessmen closed shop and relocated to Texas. Why? Because judges who allow criminals to go free remain on the bench. The violence in Atlanta is out of control. People cannot even ride the public buses in safety, for crying out loud. The judges who remain have become lethal enemies of mine. They do not dare go public, of course, but they forced me from the bench.”

Nikki grew silent. She was sick of hearing Judge Stewart justify his reasons for murder and then whine like a pouting child when he was forced to pay the piper. With her eyes closed, she thought about Hawk and prayed that he was alive.

Miles away, Hawk and Jason Stewart were in a fierce battle.

Chapter Sixteen

After finding Nikki missing, Hawk decided to return to James' car and call in backup. As soon as he reached the police car, the same man whom he had seen at the diner stuck his hand out from under the car and sliced Hawk's ankle with a hunting knife sharp enough to cut the air in half. Grabbing his ankle, Hawk backed away from the police car, tripped on the white five-gallon bucket, and tumbled down to the wet ground. The force of his fall caused his gun to dislodge from his hand. Before he could go for his gun, Jason Stewart was charging at him.

With no other weapon but the five-gallon bucket at his disposal, Hawk grabbed the bucket and threw it over his body just as Jason dived down onto him. The knife in Jason's hand tore into the bucket. With the strength of a lion, Hawk threw his right fist into Jason's face while grabbing the man's right wrist with his left hand. Jason, dazed from the punch, struggled to pull the knife out of the bucket but found that Hawk was holding his right wrist down. With the rain falling as if Hoover Dam had broken and visibility poor, he knew that tangling with Hawk on the ground would lead to defeat. Using his left hand, he sucker punched Hawk in the face and rolled onto the muddy ground.

Using all of his skill and strength, Hawk jumped to his feet at the same time Jason stood up. With his ankle bleeding, Hawk watched Jason reach behind his back. Running forward he grabbed Jason and slung him up against the patrol car. Jason hit the car so hard that the breath was knocked out of him. Going into warrior mode, he waited until Hawk attempted to grab him and then, with the skill of a trained fighter, he dived at Hawk's ankles, grabbed them, and yanked Hawk off his feet. As soon as Hawk landed on his back, Jason was on top of him, throwing one punch after the other.

Feeling his nose break, Hawk knew he was in trouble. Whoever this guy was, he knew how to fight. Struggling to block the punches, he forced a quick plan in his mind. His only chance was to get to the gun tucked away in the pants Jason was wearing. After blocking a few more punches, he grabbed Jason around the waist, went for his gun, and managed to grab it. Jason reacted and brought an elbow down onto Hawk's head. Feeling as if someone had dropped a brick on his head, Hawk felt his world go black for a second. Holding onto consciousness, he managed to yank the gun free, fall back, and shove the gun into Jason’s chest. “One more move and you're dead,” he warned.

Freezing with a punch in mid-air, Jason looked down at Hawk. Hawk's eyes told him all that he needed to know. “Okay...okay,” Jason said and slowly eased off of Hawk.

Hawk leaned up onto one knee. “Turn around with your hands in the air,” he ordered Jason.

Jason did as Hawk ordered. “Don't kill me—I was just doing what I was told.”

“By whom?” Hawk demanded, standing up. “I want answers, and I want them now!”

“My father, Judge Stewart,” Jason caved in. “Listen, it's nothing personal. I was told to kill you because my father was going to blame your death on Nikki Bates. I'm here because of the pain that woman caused my mother. I don't care about my father. He and I never saw eye to eye, but my mother, she deserved better.”

“Where is she?” Hawk asked stepping forward. Pressing the gun against Jason's back, he demanded an answer.

“You're tough with a gun,” Jason told Hawk, “but I would have taken you in a fight.”

“Maybe,” Hawk agreed, “now talk.”

“Why couldn't she have left well enough alone?” Jason yelled over the sound of the heavy rain. “I told my father his plan wouldn't work, but he was all fired up to hire Reelington and carry his plan through. My mother and I begged him to reconsider, but did he? No. My mother—she's a fragile woman, you know and—”

“Where is Nikki Bates?” Hawk asked as rain water poured down his face.

“I'll tell you if you promise to help my mother, please,” Jason begged. “Send me to prison, but leave my mother out of this, okay?”

“I'll do my best,” Hawk promised.

“Okay, my father took Nikki Bates to the Guitar Inn. I was in the diner earlier, I heard you two talking.”

Hawk nodded his head. “Where is James, the other officer?”

“I knocked him out cold and pulled him into the woods.”

Not wasting any more time, Hawk walked Jason over to a tree. “Sit tight,” he said, handcuffing Jason's hands together behind the tree. “I'm sure when James wakes up he'll deal with you.”

“Hey, you can't leave me here. Hey…hey!” Jason yelled, watching Hawk limp to his jeep, jump in, and speed away.

* * *

“Got my butt kicked,” Hawk said, feeling his broken nose. “Getting too old for this.” Focusing on his driving, Hawk raced toward the Guitar Inn, trying not to think the worst. Speeding through dangerous puddles of water sitting in the road and through two stop signs, he counted his blessings when the Guitar Inn came into view. Slowing down, he pulled over to the side of the road and jumped out of his jeep. With no time to waste and with a cut ankle that would need stitches later, he moved into the woods and approached the Guitar Inn from the back.

* * *

“My son should be here any minute now,” Judge Stewart told Nikki closing the curtain. “Your detective friend will be no match for Jason. He is trained in the martial arts. I ordered him to stab your friend to death. Your friend's body will be found in your cabin much later.”

“You're insane,” Nikki told Judge Stewart.

“Am I?” Judge Stewart replied, walking back to the bed. Sitting down at the foot of the bed, he carefully studied Nikki. “You are responsible for the destruction of hundreds of innocent lives, yet I am insane? Because of you, criminals will remain free. Because of you, the justice system—”

“Enough!” Nikki yelled. “I'm tired of hearing you justify your reasons for murder while blaming the innocent. Yes, I hate it when a criminal goes free, and yes, the justice system is far from perfect, but that does not excuse murder. You took it upon yourself to hire a professional killer to murder innocent people, and that, Judge Stewart, is inexcusable. You, sir, are a criminal deserving prison!”

“Shut up,” Judge Stewart warned Nikki, raising the hunting rifle in his hands and pointing it at her. “If you say another word, I will kill you.”

“So kill me,” Nikki said and locked eyes with Judge Stewart. “Before you do, let me point out something to you, Judge Stewart. The world was here long before we were and will be here long after we're gone. You can kill me, but others like me will grow in my place, and others like you will grow in your place, and the battles will continue. But in the end, Judge Stewart, justice will prevail.”

“Today,” Judge Stewart told Nikki, standing up, “my justice will prevail. I will punish the woman who destroyed my life, the life of my family, and the lives of others. While you sit and rot in prison, think about the innocent children being sold drugs on playgrounds and innocent families being victimized by burglars and—”

“And men like you who search out professional killers to murder innocent people,” Nikki added. “Judge Stewart, you stand there holding a rifle in my face like the coward you are. You're nothing but a common street thug hiding behind the illusion that somehow you're different, above the law, special. The truth is, you are a common street criminal...a thug.”

“Shut up!” Judge Stewart screamed. Hearing a knock on the motel room door, he froze. “That's Jason. Not a word,” he warned Nikki. Hurrying to the door, Judge Stewart disengaged the lock. Turning the rusted doorknob, he peered out into the rain, only to be met by a gun in his face.

“Drop the rifle,” Hawk ordered Judge Stewart in a voice that sent chills down the man's spine.

With shaky hands, Judge Stewart dropped the hunting rifle and backed away from the door. Hawk moved into the room, spotted Nikki, and smiled. “This ain't no time to be resting, partner.”

“Hawk,” Nikki said as tears began to fall from her eyes, “I thought you were dead. Oh my, that sounds like a line out of an old movie.”

Judge Stewart slowly began to ease his hand into the front pocket of the jacket he was wearing. “Detective, we can talk. I'm afraid you do not understand the situation. I was simply assisting Ms. Bates and—”

Hawk fired off a single shot from his gun. The bullet tore past Judge Stewart's head and dug into the wall over the bed. “If you keep moving your hand toward that gun in your pocket, the next bullet will be one you won't soon forget, Judge.”

Judge Stewart quickly moved his hand away from his jacket pocket. “You'll pay for this,” he warned Nikki. “I'm going to see to it that you suffer, Ms. Bates. I'm going to spend the rest of my life….my life...” Judge Stewart stopped talking. Throwing his hands to his chest, he dropped to his knees. “Heart...attack...” he managed to say before collapsing.

“Help him, Hawk,” Nikki said. “He's a criminal; we're not.”

Hawk sighed, put away his gun, and began CPR on Judge Stewart. Twenty minutes later he gave up. “The man is dead,” he told Nikki. Standing up, he pulled a pocket knife from his pants pocket and cut Nikki loose. Nikki wrapped her arms around Hawk. “Hey, it's okay.”

“Your nose—and you were limping,” Nikki said.

Hawk laughed to himself and explained how Jason had kicked his butt and nearly killed him. “I'm too old,” he laughed. “Come on, let's get out of here.”

“Wait,” Nikki said keeping her arms around Hawk. “Make me a promise, okay?”

“Sure,” Hawk said, breathing in Nikki's perfume. Closing his eyes, he rested his chin on her soft shoulder.

“Hawk, let's go away to an island together, as friends who care deeply for each other,” Nikki said. “I was thinking maybe we could go to Bermuda, my treat. Maybe for a week? We can swim, enjoy the sun, collect sea shells—old people stuff.”

“Well,” Hawk said, straightening up and looking Nikki in the eyes, “how about a cruise instead? A while back a buddy of mine gave me two cruise tickets that I can use anytime I want. If you want to get away, how about a cruise?”

“Sounds great,” Nikki smiled and then took a deep breath. “This case sure took a dangerous twist, didn't it?”

“It sure did,” Hawk said looking down at his ankle. “I'm sure Pop is going to be glad to get us out of town for a while.”

Nikki grew silent. “I still have the governor to worry about and that investigator. Oh, Hawk, why can't life be simple?”

“Well,” Hawk said, standing Nikki up, “if life were simple, there wouldn't be any need for aspirin, now would there? Now don't you go worrying about the governor. Pop and I will handle those clowns. All I want you to do is contact your people in Atlanta, the people you know at the paper there, and have them high-tail it up here. Pop and I are going to hold a press conference that is going to knock the wind out of the governor, and for good.”

Nikki followed Hawk as he limped toward the motel room door. Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared. Hawk went for his gun. “No!” Nikki yelled, identifying the figure. “It's my friend—Detective Dalton.”

“You okay, Bates?” Detective Dalton asked, peeking his head into the room with his gun at the ready. Wearing a black rain jacket, he appeared dangerous. But as soon as Hawk saw the man's wet face, he relaxed. Detective Dalton clearly had a caring face.

“Hawk?” Chief Daily yelled, bursting past Detective Dalton. “Oh, son, it's good to see you alive, both of you alive,” he said, spotting Nikki.

“How did you know we were here?” Hawk asked.

“When Detective Dalton arrived, I took him out to the trail to meet Nikki,” Chief Daily explained, putting his gun away. Wiping rainwater off his brown poncho, he sighed miserably. “While I was helping James load Jason Stewart into my car, the guy went for James' gun. I was forced to shoot him. He will sleep in the morgue tonight.”

“Same for his old man,” Hawk said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. “Guy had a major heart attack.”

Detective Dalton walked over to Judge Stewart's body. Squatting down he shook his head. “Bates, you're going to have to explain to me what Judge Stewart is doing here. I have a feeling I'm not going to like your explanation.”

“Come on,” Nikki told Hawk, “let's get you to the hospital.”

Walking out into the rain, Nikki looked up into the dark gray sky. Back in Atlanta a woman who had already suffered a mental breakdown would soon receive news that was surely going to put her into a mental hospital. Meanwhile, her daughter would probably shrug her shoulders, dress up very prettily, and go dancing at a nightclub. And in Vermont, Nikki thought, allowing the pouring rain to soak her face—in her new little town—a woman who owned a store that sold delicious chocolates would have to begin her own personal battles against opinions that hurt just as much as brutal punches. “I won't back down,” Nikki whispered.

“What?” Hawk asked as they walked across the weed-littered parking lot toward Chief Daily's car.

Nikki simply smiled. “Nothing, you big lug,” she told Hawk. “I think tonight, after a long hot shower, I'm going to make some wild blueberry truffles and have some hot coffee.”

“Sounds good,” Hawk agreed. Pausing, he looked into Nikki's face. “In time,” he said, raising a gentle hand and touching her cheek, “I'm going to tell you that I've fallen in love with you.”

“In time,” Nikki smiled.

Chapter Seventeen

“Sit down,” Nikki fussed at Hawk.

“I've got to stand up,” Hawk fussed back, trying to stand up.

Using her arms, Nikki pushed Hawk back down onto her couch. “You have seven stitches in your ankle. Sit!” she ordered.

Hawk held up his arms and surrendered. “Okay, okay,” he said.

Nikki nodded, straightened out her blue dress, moved her bangs out of her eyes, and looked at Lidia. “What are you smiling at?”

“You two,” Lidia said, relaxing in the chair next to the couch. “Here you two are, acting like an old married couple.”

Hawk grunted something and then looked down at the baggy gray t-shirt he was wearing over a pair of old green sweat pants. “Well,” he said, taking back what he grunted, “maybe I'm getting to that point more than I realize.”

Nikki didn't reply. She walked away into the kitchen and returned with a tray holding three cups of coffee. After serving the coffee, she walked to the fireplace. “Hawk,” she said, “will the press conference you and Chief Daily held really help me?”

“That investigator left town in a hurry, didn't he?” Hawk asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yes, he did,” Nikki agreed. Looking at Lidia, Nikki smiled. Lidia sat in peace, sipping her coffee, wearing a pretty purple blouse that was a bit too large, but that didn't matter. “Our store is still open, too.”

“And doing just fine,” Lidia promised Nikki. “Yes, tourism is below average, but that's all right, honey. Next year we'll bounce back. All that matters is that we're all okay, alive, and together.”

Nikki braced herself and asked: “How's Herbert taking this?”

Lidia rolled her eyes. “My dear husband is now a permanent security guard in our store,” she told Nikki. “Right now he's in town buying us all dinner. He'll be here shortly. Tori and Zach will be back from the movie in time for dinner, too. Those two are really hitting it off.”

“I'm afraid Zach is a bit overwhelmed,” Nikki told Lidia. “Managing the Elk Horn Lodge alone is a huge responsibility.”

“He'll be fine,” Lidia assured Nikki. “Now, tell me where you two are going. I just love cruises.”

“Alaska,” Hawk said and tipped Nikki a wink. “We flipped on it. I won.”

“Alaska!” Lidia gasped in excitement. “Oh my, I wish I could go. I love Alaska.”

“Well,” Nikki said taking a sip of her coffee, “now that you mention it, Hawk and I do need to speak to you. You see, Lidia, Hawk and I have talked and decided that since you have been such a wonderful friend and have been through so much on account of me, that you deserve a rest. So we bought you and Herbert and Tori cruise tickets, too. We leave in one week.”

Lidia almost dropped her coffee. “Nikki, honey—I'm speechless!”

“Don't be,” Hawk said. “We have one week. Anything could happen in one week.”

Nikki wrinkled her nose at Hawk. “Don't make me slap you in the nose,” she warned him.

“Go ahead, it's already broken,” he said and quickly stuck out his tongue.

Before Nikki could reply, Chief Daily knocked on the front door and let himself in. “Well,” he said, hitching up his pants, “I've just got a call from the governor.”

Nikki tensed up. “Should I begin packing?”

“The governor was very displeased that Hawk and I went public without his permission. But now that the press has chewed your story, Ms. Bates, he doesn't have a leg to stand on. In order to save his hide, he has turned into a local hero. It seems that the top dogs in Washington like how he turned a dark smudge in his record into a gold star. In other words, you're off the hook. I don't think the governor will ever look in your direction again,” Chief Daily explained. Smelling fresh coffee, he asked Nikki for a cup.

“Be right back,” Nikki said. Walking away to the kitchen, she felt a thousand pounds lifted off her shoulders. Now all she had to do was get the people in her town to accept her. “Oh, pooh on them if they don't,” Nikki said, pouring coffee into a white cup, “I'm here to stay.”

Nikki walked back into the living room and handed Chief Daily his coffee. Without thinking, she walked to the couch and sat down next to Hawk. Chief Daily gave Lidia a “those two belong together” look. Nikki caught her action, glanced at Hawk, blushed, and stood back up. Hawk rolled his eyes, grabbed the back of Nikki's dress, and pulled her down next to him. “Sit down,” he told her and gently put his arm over her shoulder.

Nikki didn't fight. Instead, she nuzzled up next to Hawk and began to sip her coffee. “Chief Daily, Herbert is bringing dinner if you would like to stay.”

“No,” Chief Daily replied, draining his coffee, “I'm going to go home, take a long hot shower, watch a rerun of Bonanza, and go to bed. I just thought I would drop over and tell you that the governor backed down. Oh,” he said and smiled a strange smile, “I did have a bite to eat over at the diner earlier. I overheard a few conversations that might interest you, Ms. Bates.”

“Why, Chief Daily, eavesdropping, you should be ashamed!” Lidia scolded him and then said, “What's the dish?”

Chief Daily handed Lidia his empty coffee cup, shoved his hands down into the front pockets of his pants, walked to the fireplace, lingered a moment, and then looked at Nikki. “Ms. Bates, our cozy little town is made up of regular people, people who have good qualities and bad qualities, but deep down, they aren't all that bad.”

“They still hate me,” Nikki said miserably.

“Some, yes,” Chief Daily admitted, “but some think you are what our fair town needed. You have guts, Ms. Bates, and that counts for something. Most people here, even when they know something is wrong, do nothing because they are afraid they might be marked as a trouble-maker. But you, Ms. Bates, you stood up to everyone. The fact is, Ms. Bates, you're someone I admire. Sure, I still think you're a jinx, and I'm waiting for the next body to show up, but when it does, I'm sure you'll be right there to solve the case.”

“You still think I'm a jinx?” Nikki asked heartbrokenly.

“Oh now,” Chief Daily said in a soft voice, “I was only kidding. I don't really think you're a jinx.”

“Yeah, you do,” Nikki said.

“Maybe a little,” Chief Daily teased Nikki. He walked over to the couch and patted Nikki on the shoulder. “I'm glad you're on my team, Ms. Bates. Hawk, I want you back to work tomorrow. Learn how to use that crutch.”

“Yeah, Pop, sure,” Hawk said, looking at him leaning against the fireplace.

Chief Daily began to leave but then heard the cell phone in his jacket pocket begin to ring. He snatched the phone from his pocket and answered the call. “Chief Daily...What? Where? No, close off the scene...Yeah, I'm on my way.” Putting the cell phone away, he looked at Nikki.

“Don't tell me...” Nikki said, feeling her heart begin to race.

Chief Daily nodded. “Yep, Mira is giving away free pie at the diner,” he said and tipped Nikki a wink.

Nikki looked at Hawk and then at Lidia. Together they all began laughing.

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About the Author

Wendy Meadows is an emerging author of cozy mysteries. She lives in “The Granite State” with her husband, two sons, two cats and lovable Labradoodle.

When she isn’t working on her stories she likes to tend to her flower garden, relax with adult coloring and play video games with her family.

Get in Touch with Wendy

- @wmeadowscozy

- AuthorWendyMeadows

www.wendymeadows.com
wendy@wendymeadows.com