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

by Wendy Meadows

  “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.”
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  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