Hawk and Nikki stopped walking, and with his hand on Nikki's shoulder, he turned and looked at Dellington. Haim walked to the limousine and waited. “What do you want?”
Dellington approached Hawk the way a snake slithers up to a weak animal. “If you value your life and the life of this woman, forget everything that was told to you. Haim and I have the situation under control. Matting, Norris, and Packard will take full responsibly for what has happened. Your only duty is to leave and never look back.”
“You import illegal immigrants as if these people are nothing more than a tool to use and discard,” Nikki told Dellington, staring directly into his eyes. Ignoring the falling rain and the threat to her life, she continued. “You have no soul, Mr. Dellington. Someday, you will pay for your crimes against humanity.”
Dellington leaned close to Nikki. “Ms. Bates, my business is making money. I do not care about people. I never have and I never will. People serve one purpose, and that is to work for men like myself. Yes, I hire men to bring me workers...people you call illegal immigrants. These people save me billions in labor costs. And that is the bottom line, Ms. Bates. It's all about money. Money is power. I have the power to let you live or to end your life. I am offering you a chance to live. Of course, if you refuse, I can simply send someone to pay a visit to your son, Ms. Bates...and men to say hello to Chief Daily, Detective. Or perhaps I can send men to pay a visit to your friends Lidia and that sweet girl Tori. Oh yes, we know all about them.”
Nikki balled her hands into tight fists. “You make me sick.”
“Go home, Ms. Bates,” Dellington replied with a wave of his hand, “and forget about what you know. If you refuse, I will ensure you suffer a great deal before I end your life. The same applies to you, Detective.”
“We can't fight you,” Hawk admitted, “and I'm sure you can and will carry out your threat. Nikki and I are going home. We have no interest in this case anymore. But know this, you lousy scum bag, there are still good men in this world, and someday, you're going to face off with one of them and that man is going to bring you and Haim to justice.”
Dellington smiled at Hawk. “Until then,” he said and turned to walk away. “Go home and dry off,” he called over his shoulder.
“Come on,” Hawk told Nikki.
Nikki stared at Dellington as she felt all of her strength leave her exhausted body. Too tired to speak, she took Hawk's hand and walked away into the rainy night wondering what she and Hawk had really accomplished. Dellington and Haim won the battle. She and Hawk lost. That was life, though, Nikki concluded. You didn't always win a case. In the end, people lived, people died, some bad guys went to jail, others remained free, and the heroes walked away into a rainy night.
15
Two weeks later, Nikki walked into the kitchen of her cabin wearing her pink, fuzzy robe. Yawning, she made a fresh pot of coffee. Hearing someone knock on the back door, she called out, “Door is open, Hawk. Come on in.”
Hawk opened the back door and walked in carrying a box of donuts and a newspaper. Smiling from ear to ear, he hurried to the kitchen table and sat down. “I have to show you something.”
“Oh honey,” Nikki complained, “it's too early in the morning for me to see you wearing that bright orange jersey. Show me anything but that.”
“Funny,” Hawk told Nikki, opening the newspaper. “Sit down, Ms. Pink Bunny.”
Nikki glanced down at her robe. “I guess we do make quite the fashionable pair,” she told Hawk. Before sitting down, she kissed Hawk on his forehead.
“What was that for?” Hawk asked, staring up into Nikki's eyes.
“Just because, you big lug,” Nikki smiled and sat down. “So what is so important?” she asked, opening the box of donuts. Examining the contents, she decided on a simple glazed donut.
Hawk drew in a deep breath of the brewing coffee. “Well,” he smiled, showing Nikki the front page of the newspaper, “read and you will see.”
Nikki leaned forward and read the headline. “‘Dellington and Haim die in jet crash,’” she read aloud.
Hawk beamed happily. “The article states the private jet those two vermin were flying in crashed due to sudden engine trouble. They crashed and burned over the Rocky Mountains. Ironically, the two pilots lived. Only Dellington and Haim were killed.”
Nikki sat back in her chair. “Hawk, do you think someone sabotaged their jet?”
Hawk shook his head. “I don't think so,” he answered. Grabbing a chocolate donut, he stood up. “It's possible, but I really think the jet crashed due to actual engine problems. The pilots stated in the article that the engines suddenly lost power. The jet was flying through a storm.”
“Poetic justice,” Nikki smiled up at Hawk.
“Seems that way,” Hawk smiled back. “Anyway, now that our morning has begun on a positive note, I have some more good news for you. Since you have declined your position at the newspaper and have decided to begin writing books, I have made a decision.”
“Oh?” Nikki asked, intrigued. “Okay, you big lug, do tell.”
Hawk munched on his donut. “Before you begin writing your book, I have decided that we need to take a trip. Remember, we still haven't sipped iced tea on a back porch watching lightning bugs play or explored your hometown, either. So I talked to Pop, and he's allowing me some personal time off.” Hawk finished off his donut, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out two plane tickets. “We leave this afternoon, so you better start packing. I have the rental car all set and two rooms reserved at a hotel in your hometown for one whole week. Now before you begin fussing, I didn't pay a cent for the trip. This trip is compliments of Pop.”
“Chief Daily...really?” Nikki asked, amazed.
Hawk nodded. “I told Pop all about how you saved my life out on Long Island when you smacked William upside the head with that stick. He figures he owes you one.”
Nikki couldn't believe her ears. Standing up from the kitchen table, she poured two cups of coffee. “I...well, please tell Chief Daily thank you for me, Hawk.”
“What's the matter?” Hawk asked, watching Nikki sit back down at the kitchen table and slide one cup towards him, wrapping her fingers around the other. “I thought you would be excited.”
“Sit down,” Nikki told Hawk, patting the kitchen table. Hawk walked to the kitchen table and sat down. “Hawk, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but I don't want to go back home right now. My son is coming here next week. I...I miss Georgia, I really do, but this is my home now. You, Lidia, Tori...Chief Daily...you guys are my home, now. Someday we'll visit Georgia, sip iced tea, catch a few lightning bugs...but for now, it's nice being home. You see, as much as I miss Georgia, I am looking forward to autumn in Vermont. I am excited about seeing the leaves change colors, taking walks on brisk autumn evenings, sipping hot apple cider, snuggling in front of the fireplace. I'm excited about covering my store with autumn decorations. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can always look back, but I also want to look forward to the life I have in Vermont now.”
Hawk nodded. “Nikki, you are an amazing woman, do you know that? Here I was worried that you might move back to Georgia. I told Pop if you did, I would move with you.”
“Really?” Nikki asked.
Hawk rubbed the back of his neck and blushed. “Well, yeah...I...would miss you, Nikki.”
“You big lug,” Nikki said affectionately. “Say, how about I make us a picnic? We can go up to the lake at the Elk Horn Lodge, eat, and take a paddleboat out on the lake. It's Labor Day. The store is closed. Lidia is with Herbert and Tori is antique shopping down state. It's just you and me.”
Hawk picked up his cup of coffee. He began to think about what he told Nikki while they were trying to solve their last case. He had told Nikki all he wanted to do was sit in her kitchen, drink coffee, and watch her make some of her famous Georgia peach truffles. And now, he was sitting in the kitchen with Nikki. The two of them were safe. Their enemies were dead. Life was good. “Okay,
” Hawk said, “but only on one condition. After the picnic, we come back here. I want to sit right here at this table, drink coffee, and watch you make your famous Georgia peach truffles. Afterward, we can make popcorn and watch a movie.”
“Deal,” Nikki smiled. Hearing the phone ring, she excused herself. “Hello? Oh, hi Lidia...what? Oh dear...of course, we'll drive right down! Hawk is here with me…we'll hurry...” Nikki hung up the phone.
“What?” Hawk asked, alarmed.
“Herbert got mugged,” Nikki told Hawk in a dazed voice. “He was standing outside an antique store; a man walked right up in broad daylight and mugged him. Herbert resisted, and the man knocked him over the head with a gun. He's at the hospital now, getting a few stitches. Lidia wants us to drive down and be with her.”
Hawk sighed. “Maybe someday we'll get to have some peace. Come on, we have friends who need us.”
Nikki began to walk out of the kitchen when the back door opened. Chief Daily stepped into the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee. “I'm glad I caught you two,” he said.
“What's the matter, Pop?” Hawk asked.
“Well, nothing so far. There was a prison break in upstate New York. Twenty-four convicts escaped. Some of them might be heading our way.”
“Maybe that's who mugged Herbert?” Hawk suggested to Nikki.
“Herbert was mugged?” Chief Daily asked with a chuckle. “Old Herbert was mugged, now there's one for the papers.”
“Pop, the guy got knocked over the head with a gun! He's at the hospital getting some stitches,” Hawk said, “it's not funny.”
“Maybe not to you,” Chief Daily laughed. “Anyway, son, I'm afraid I have to cancel your vacation. I'm going to need you around town for now. Sorry.”
Hawk looked at Nikki. “Still want me to be your big lug?”
“Of course, I do,” Nikki beamed. “I'll go get dressed.”
Walking into her bedroom, Nikki sat down on her bed. For a few minutes, she stared out of the bedroom window, thinking back to her life in Georgia. She missed her ex-husband, her old house, her old life, and her old friends. She missed chasing stories around Atlanta, finding trouble at every corner. Of course, it was then that she and her husband separated and eventually divorced, causing Nikki to leave Georgia and relocate to Vermont. “I came here to start all over. I have started all over,” Nikki whispered to her room. Smiling, she stood up from her bed and changed into a soft purple dress. “Alright, Nikki Bates,” she said, “let's go check on Herbert and see what kind of trouble we can get into now. As long as you don't give up the fight, you'll win.”
Nikki walked back into the kitchen. She saw Hawk and Chief Daily talking. Chief Daily looked at Nikki. He smiled a warm, sincere smile at her. “Ms. Bates...Nikki...come here.”
Nikki walked over to Chief Daily. Chief Daily gently put his right arm around Nikki's shoulder. “Please don't leave us, okay? I've grown fond of you. Yes, we didn't see eye to eye to begin with. I thought you were a black cat, to be honest. But I have come to see the goodness in you. I know I can be a stubborn old mule at times, but that doesn't mean I don't care. I hope you decide to stay, because if you leave, well, I'm afraid it might get a little too boring around here.”
Nikki began to speak but the cell phone in Chief Daily's pocket rang. Chief Daily answered the call. “Be right down,” he said.
“What is it, Pop?” Hawk asked.
Chief Daily patted Nikki on the shoulder. “A man just held up the bank. The man's description matched one of the escaped convicts. Ms. Bates, shall we go?”
“Uh...” Nikki said and smiled. “Let me go be with Lidia first, and I'll meet you later. Hawk, you better go with Chief Daily.”
Hawk kissed Nikki and hurried out the back door. Nikki drew in a deep breath. If anything, her new life was certainly not boring.
Gold Flake Chocolate Murder
Book Six
1
Nikki was glad Herbert was all right; he was grumpy, upset, and temperamental, but still alive. Sitting at a wooden picnic bench under the shadowy branches of a large oak tree that stood outside a small brick hospital, she watched Lidia fiddle with a gum wrapper with nervous hands. “He's okay,” Nikki assured Lidia, enjoying a cool breeze playing in her hair. The sky was dimming, allowing a stage of dazzling colors to dance across the eastern horizon; soft and bright shades were mingling together like old friends sharing a warm hug. The soft green grass surrounding the hospital was yawning and tucking itself in for the night as crickets chirped.
Lidia slid the piece of mint gum out of its silver wrapper and tossed it into her mouth. Having Nikki with her helped, but the fact remained that her husband had been mugged by an escaped convict. Watching the wind play with the fabric of Nikki’s blue dress, she sighed. Nikki sat beautifully, as always. Looking down at the white shirt and tan skirt she was wearing, Lidia wondered how she appeared in Nikki's eyes. Age and worry sure took their toll. “Why are they keeping Herbert overnight?” her voice cracked as she asked Nikki.
Nikki smiled. Leaning across the picnic table, she patted Lidia's hands. “Honey, Herbert insisted they admit him for a one-night stay to observe him. You heard what Dr. Rewer said, Herbert is fine...mad as a wet hornet maybe, but fine. Dr. Rewer admitted Herbert only to avoid a lawsuit.”
“Herbert was being quite adamant, wasn't he?” Lidia asked Nikki and then smiled. “I guess that old fart is okay.”
“Sure, he is.” Nikki smiled back and then spotted Tori walking towards them. “There's Tori,” Nikki said and waved.
Lidia spotted Tori. My, how beautiful the young woman looked in her yellow summer dress! No more baggy shirts and jeans. “Here we go,” Tori said, reaching the picnic table. She put down a cardboard drink carrier holding three strawberry and banana smoothies and sat down next to Lidia. “What have you two decided?” she asked.
Nikki watched the breeze playing in Tori's hair. For a few seconds, she saw a young woman who was going to become a wonderful mother. “Well,” she said, picking up a cup from the drink carrier, “Herbert is going to remain in the hospital overnight for observation, so we will need to get a hotel room.”
“No,” Lidia sighed, taking the second smoothie and handing it to Tori. “You girls go on home. I'll stay with Herbert and drive him home tomorrow.”
“No way,” Tori objected. “We're staying with you.”
“That's right,” Nikki agreed. “Friends do not desert one another. Besides, considering those twenty-four convicts who escaped from the North Hill Prison, we're staying together.”
“Oh, honey,” Lidia said, “the police have this town on lockdown. I'll be fine, I promise.”
Nikki handed Lidia the third smoothie. “Lidia,” she said in a loving but stern voice, “we're staying together. If I left and something happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”
“Me, too,” Tori told Lidia. Dropping a straw into her smoothie, she took a drink. “We're staying with you, Lidia. Friends till the end. That's us, girls.”
Nikki looked at Tori. Noticing the young woman's eyes become troubled, she carefully eased into the question. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
Tori nodded her head. “I'm fine. Why?”
“You look a little...upset, all of a sudden,” Nikki cautiously answered.
Tori lowered her eyes. Staring down at her smoothie, she sighed. “I saw that awful man hit Herbert. Herbert was being brave, but the bad guy was the one with the gun. It makes me mad to see criminals hurt innocent people.”
“Me, too,” Nikki assured Tori. “On our last case, Hawk and I thought the bad guys had won. But then Hawk brought a newspaper to our cabin.” Nikki smiled. “Sweetie, sometimes the bad guys get exactly what they deserve...a punishment the law of this land just isn’t capable of serving.”
Lidia started to speak, but then held her lips together when she saw a man approaching the picnic table. “Ladies,” the man said in a pleasant voice.
Nikki put down her smoothie. Having a stranger
approach after a prison break stiffened her nerves. “Can we help you?” she asked the man, quickly studying his features and clothing. The man was short, plump, and had a face that reminded her of the fat little man always promising Popeye he would pay him back if only Popeye would loan him money to buy a hamburger. He had fuzzy brown hair and a chubby face that held blue eyes and a stubby nose. A decent but modest brown suit covered the man, making him appear humble.
“My name is Mayor Brown. I'm here to offer my condolences,” he said, looking straight at Lidia. “I want you to know the town of Fall Cliff is going to cover your husband's hospital bills. I know our actions cannot begin to compensate for the physical, emotional and mental suffering that has been inflicted on you and your husband. I wish there were more that we, the community of Fall Cliff, could do for you.”
Nikki rolled her eyes. Here was a short, fat man, greasing the political wheels to prevent an innocent, upset woman from suing his town. Instead, she spoke for Lidia. “Actually, there is. We will be staying the night, Mayor Brown, and leaving as soon as Herbert can travel. Perhaps you can make accommodations for us at the Snow Flake Lodge I saw driving into town?”
Mayor Brown offered Nikki a greasy smile. “I don't think that will be a problem, Ms. Bates,” he answered. “As a matter of fact,” he continued, “I will call Phil over at the Steak House and make a private dinner reservation for you three ladies as well. Compliments of Mayor Brown.”
Nikki was surprised Mayor Brown knew her identity. He seemed eager to get her out of town while making sure he filled Lidia with enough fake kindness to choke out any intention she might have of suing his town. “The sun is setting, so perhaps we should eat first and then drive out to the Lodge?” Nikki suggested to Lidia and Tori.
“Well, Herbert is asleep,” Lidia said, biting down on her lip. “Sure, I'm hungry. Let's go. The pain medicine the nurse gave him will have him snoring until noon tomorrow.”
Maple Hills Mystery Box Set Page 8