Blueberry Truffle Murder (A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Book 3)

by Wendy Meadows

  “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 di
m 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.”