“Well, I came here on Simms Street. That is the way the taxi would have taken Brian to get here. Nikki will probably drive that way,” Hawk said.
“Okay, I am going to set up a roadblock.”
“Is that a good idea? It sounds like he has a knife to her throat. If he sees you, he may kill her.”
“He won’t kill his driver,” his dad sounded confident. Hawk wished he was feeling as confident as the chief was. He signed off and turned the conversation in the car back on. It was surreal listening to Nikki talk to Brian. Hawk could tell she was delaying and buying time. He just hoped she had enough time to come up with a plan. Just then a police car pulled up.
“Are you Hawk?” the officer asked. Hawk said he was. The officer told him to jump in. Hawk thanked him and got in the car. He told him to head for Simms Street. The officer put on his lights and raced off after Nikki and Brian.
Nikki was getting closer to town. Her mind was racing. Where is Hawk?
“So, why did you kill Susan?” she asked Brian. “You seem like a nice young man. What turned you into a killer?”
Brian moved a little in his seat. He turned to face her when he answered.
He spat out his words. “It is all my father’s fault.”
He waited for Nikki’s reaction. She just kept driving with her eyes on the road trying not to think about the knife.
Brian went on. “I was never good enough for him. He told me so many times. No matter what I did, I was too slow or too stupid. I made A’s in high school, but it wasn’t enough. Why didn’t you take up fencing? he would ask. Why aren’t you going to Yale?” Brian laughed a mirthless laugh. “Even this trip they are on. I wanted to go. I begged to go. But do you know what he said?” He paused and looked at Nikki. She kept on driving. “He told me I needed to stay home and study. He told me I was not good enough to be class valedictorian. He told me I was going to lose to a girl. He said if I lost to her he would disown me. What else was I supposed to do? With her out of the way, the prize was mine. I would be the class valedictorian and my father wouldn’t disown me.”
“Why were you going to kill the girl you were with today?” Nikki asked.
Brian looked at Nikki and laughed. He practically howled. Nikki moved her head back as far as it could go so he would not accidently cut her.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“We were coming to save the student.”
“I wasn’t going to kill her.”
It was Nikki’s turn to be shocked. She tried to turn her head, but he held the knife closer.“You weren’t trying to kill her? What were you doing there, then?” Nikki asked.
“I was asking her about her GPA. I wanted to make sure I was far enough ahead of her. She was close, but I figured out she was not a threat. Really. I had this in the bag until you and Hawk showed up.”
Nikki was stunned. She was glad the student was not going to be hurt, but she thought for sure Brian was going to kill her.
“Now, don’t get me wrong, if she had passed me an accident would have had to be arranged,” Brian said.
Ah, there he is, thought Nikki.
“And, sorry to say, Seth will have to go. He knows too much, and so do you. It won’t be easy for me. I liked him. He was the one who introduced me to Susan. I’m not sure how I would have approached her if it wasn’t for him. All those times we had lunch together and studied. It was easy to grab Susan’s notebook and rip out a few pages. I knew Seth’s fingerprints would be on the notebook paper, so I thought I would be able to frame him. Or, at least, he would be involved in the investigation. I did not know that you would stick your nose into this. I thought Susan would have died in a car accident on the way to her aunts. I must not have cut the brake line enough. I did not even expect you to be in this car. I was going to steal it and drive back to town to kill Seth and Tori. I won’t hurt you, though. Not right now, at least. I still need you.”
As Brian was talking, Nikki noticed something down the road. She thought she saw flashes of red and white. She thought about slowing the car down, but then it hit her. She sped up.
“Hey, why are you going so fast all of a sudden?” Brian asked.
“I just want to get home,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“You want to hug your baby one more time?” Brian leered.
“Something like that,” she said as she sped up and got over the hill. Brian’s eyes opened wide. It was his turn to be shocked. There were about twenty cop cars blocking the road with their lights flashing.
“Slow down, or I’ll cut your throat,” Brian threatened, but there was a tremor in his voice.
“Try it, you punk! I have dealt with stronger, meaner men my whole life. Be ready to die because I can’t drive in snow!”
Brian lunged for the wheel, but Nikki was faster. Nikki spun the truck quickly. It skidded sideways for a moment and then momentum won, and the truck tipped and rolled. It rolled again and shot sparks as it slid along the road. It came to a halt about twenty feet from the cop cars. The chief was already running. He got to the truck and yelled for paramedics. EMT’s were there in a hurry. There was a lot of blood. The windshield was smashed. Suddenly another cop car arrived sirens blazing. Hawk jumped out of the car and ran to the truck. He looked in. Nikki opened her eyes. “It’s about time you got here,” she said before passing out.
Chapter Thirteen
The snow gently dropped from the sky. The trees had been coated with white fairy dust. A cardinal hopped from branch to branch looking for something to eat. Nikki saw all this through her front window. Hawk came up behind her.
“Enjoying the view?” he asked while very gently touching her shoulder.
“Yes,” Nikki answered, holding his hand.
They stayed there for a little while They watched the snow blow in circles as it descended to the earth. I am glad to be home for Christmas. Seth called them to eat from the other room. Nikki stood up, and Hawk walked her to her seat in the dining room. Seth, Tori, and Lidia and her husband were all there. They feasted on some southern delights that Seth and Tori had prepared for them.
“I wanted everyone to know that Brian is in jail and will be there for a very long time,” Hawk announced to the table.
“That is where he belongs,” said Seth, giving Nikki’s hand a squeeze.
“Yes,” agreed Lidia and Tori.
“So, are you going back to college in a couple of weeks? If you want to take the semester off, I am sure your professors would understand,” reassured Nikki.
“No, I want to go back. What happened to Susan and Brian has made me more determined to get my degree. I want to be able to walk across that stage with all of you watching,” said Seth with a smile.
“I like that idea,” replied Lidia.
“Well . . . we would have to close the store,” pondered Nikki and then she grinned.
Everyone laughed. Nikki was glad to hear real heartfelt laughter in the house once again. All of a sudden Nikki heard something. There was a knock on the door.
Hawk told Nikki to stay sitting and that he would answer the door. Nikki sat at the table and listened. She heard Hawk say “thank you, she’s right in here.” Her interest was piqued, and she tried to look down the hall. Hawk came back followed by a bunch of children.
“What is going on?” asked Nikki. She looked at the children and recognized the boy and girl that had been in her shop buying chocolates for their mother for Christmas. Another customer had helped them pay and had complimented Nikki on her patience.
“Look what the snow blew in,” exclaimed Hawk.
The group of children were shivering and wet from the snow. There was a woman with them that Nikki recognized from the shop. The woman looked at the children and lined them up. She lifted her hand up in a sweeping motion and then brought it back down. The children started singing “Away in a Manger.” Hawk leaned over to Nikki and explained “They were caroling, and the two youngest children insisted they needed to carol at you
r house. When they heard you were here, they wanted to come inside. Besides, it is cold out there.” Nikki smiled. This is beautiful. I could have gotten up, but Hawk is very protective. He hasn’t let me out of his sight since the accident. Nikki squeezed Hawk’s hand. The children sang “Little Drummer Boy,” and Nikki laughed. They were very enthusiastic about the “Rump a pa pum’s.” Then they sang “Silent Night,” and a tear ran down Nikki’s cheek. Hawk looked over and gently put his arm around her shoulder. Nikki had walked away from the accident after passing out with a dislocated shoulder. The doctor insisted she wear a sling for a couple of weeks, but she would not need surgery. Brian had knocked his head on the glass and had received a mild concussion. He was led away from the car in handcuffs. Nikki focused on the children. When the song ended, the little girl and boy came over to see Nikki.
“We made these for you. You made our mom really happy.”
The little boy handed Nikki a couple of homemade ornaments. They were beaded Christmas candy canes. Nikki smiled and thanked the children. She asked Hawk to show them the Christmas tree and help them hang the ornaments.
There were oohs and ahhs when the children saw the tree, and Hawk boosted them up to put the candy canes near the top. The children thanked him, and he led them back to the kitchen. Lidia and Tori distributed some freshly baked cookies, and the children thanked everyone.
“Thank you!” Nikki said enthusiastically. This had helped bring the spirit of Christmas back into her home. The children left, and Hawk cleaned up the wet snow from their boots with some help from Seth and Tori.
Everyone sat down, and Nikki asked Seth, “What will you do after you graduate? Are you going to move to Boston or New York?” Seth had mentioned both as possibilities at one time or the other. He had also contemplated moving back to Atlanta.
“Actually, I would rather move back here to Maple Hills,” he replied to the delight of Nikki and Tori. Tori kissed his cheek. “I cannot think of any other place I would rather be than right here with my two favorite ladies,” he added.
Nikki smiled. She wanted Seth to have the life he wanted, but she was secretly glad he wanted to be in Maple Hills.
Hawk cleared his throat a bit, and Nikki looked at him.
“You know, I would love to be a part of this family, too,” he said.
Nikki took his hands in hers and said, “You already are.” Hawk kissed her, and they watched the snow continue to fall and cover the world around them.
Dear Reader,
Hi there. Thank you for reading.
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Thanks again,
Wendy Meadows
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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.
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