"That's it!" Nikki yelled.
"What's it?" Lidia yelled back.
"That's the key," Nikki said and hugged Hawk. "That's how Hanz met Wendy in Atlantic City. He was there to meet her husband. Hanz had to flee New York before the German authorities could catch him, and I bet he called Wendy's husband. How else could they be in Atlantic City at the same time?"
"Keep going, you bloodhound," Hawk grinned.
Nikki began pacing. "Hawk, remember what Dr. Mayton confessed to me, about stealing money from the mob? I think he said it was in 1982."
"Yeah," Hawk nodded his head, "I squeezed that out of him, too. The rat claims he didn't steal from the Bonaduci family, though--some other New York mob family. That guy has many faces and a lot of lies. Who knows?"
"Every person Hanz targeted in the paper..." Nikki said, thinking. And then every piece of the puzzle fell into her lap. "Hawk, in 1984 the Bonaduci family left New York and relocated to Boston. My father always kept up with the mob families. He took down the DeDonato family in Atlanta--a small crime family trying to dig in, never made headlines."
"Everyone the German wrote about is from Boston," Hawk said, rubbing his chin. "Nikki, are you trying to say we have members of the Bonaduci family living right here in Maple Hills?"
"Run their prints and find out. It's possible Dr. Mayton did steal money from another mob family. The Bonaduci family was falling apart at that time and had to rebuild in Boston," Nikki told Hawk. "My gut is telling me Hanz and Brent Phillips came up with a real get-rich-quick scheme. Hanz would write the stories, shake the people he targeted up a little, demand money, and then kill Wendy. He would then blame her murder on the people he wrote about, exposing them as a mob family. Wendy's husband collects her money, splits it with Hanz, and they're gone with the wind. That's why Brent Phillips had been out of town in Atlantic City and just so happened to come back the night Hanz burned down the paper. Hanz called him back into town."
"Why?" Hawk asked running just a tad behind Nikki's thinking.
"Why didn't Mayor Slokam shut down the paper when the first story appeared? Lidia, you told me he seemed very interested in protecting the stories. He was probably in on the entire deal, being paid off to keep the paper open instead of having it shut down." Nikki replied.
"So why kill Hanz Hochberg?" Hawk asked.
"Well, I'm sure the mayor wasn't the man behind the wheel of the black SUV that ran Hans Hochberg down. The man behind the wheel was Brent Phillips. The black SUV was a rental, probably from Atlantic City."
"I'll check into that," Hawk promised.
"The mayor had Hanz Hochberg killed because suddenly, trying to frame the Bonaduci family for murder didn't seem like such a good idea," Nikki continued, going off on a gut feeling. "My bet is he got a nasty call from an angry old man wearing a very nice Italian suit in Boston who told him to try thinking differently, which would explain why Mrs. Slokam acted the way she did. I guess she was only worried about her husband's welfare, really. Check the mayor's cell phone, okay, Hawk?"
"I will. Now answer me this: Why did Brent Phillips return to town the night Hanz Hochberg torched the newspaper?" Hawk asked.
"Hanz must have called him. The mayor probably called Brent Phillips and demanded a meeting and called the whole thing off, throwing out some threats," Nikki explained. "Most of this is speculation, but we'll soon back it up with proof. Let's go see the mayor, after you run his cell phone. I'm sure you know some people in New York who can do you that favor and save us the time of having a judge issue a court order for Mayor Slokam's cell phone records."
"I do," Hawk grinned. "I'll also have some of my old buddies send me every photo of the Bonaduci family. Maybe that will save us the time of running the fingerprints."
"My goodness," Lidia said rubbing her head, "what a tangled mess. I could never be a detective."
Nikki threw her arm around Lidia and walked her inside the cabin. "Let's go have some coffee and chocolate and wait to see what Hawk comes up with on his end. We can't push the mayor into a tight corner without proof. A smart detective waits to pounce only when he--or she--has a trap set."
"I guess Herbert's dinner is really going to be late," Lidia told Nikki. "Oh well, I guess we can grill some burgers under the moon later tonight."
As Nikki and Lidia walked inside, Hawk snatched out his cell phone and made a call. "Okay pretty woman," he whispered at Nikki, "let me see what I can do, and maybe win your heart in the process."
Chapter Sixteen
Wendy Phillips hated pulling down the long concrete driveway leading to the dark, two-story home. It wasn't that she didn't like her house--the house simply was cold, devoid of love and warmth, and sad. She only wanted a man to love her and help her fill a home with the sound of many children laughing and playing, Wendy felt like crying as she parked her car in front of a wooden carport. "I guess you're still in Atlantic City," she said looking at the dark front windows of the house. "Someday I'll find love...wait and see."
Wendy turned off the car, got out and started to walk down a pebbled pathway leading to the front door. Movement caught her eye. Pausing, she glanced to the far corner of the carport. "Hello?" she called out. Only the whisper of wind playing in the sleepy trees answered. Suddenly living eight miles from town at the end of a long road surrounded by woods didn't seem like such a good idea. Sure, her husband had insisted on the house because of the privacy it offered, but the jerk never left enough money to install outside lights and complained if she left on a single light when she left the house. And now, there she was, standing in the dark with only a half moon sitting in a partly clouded sky as her only light. "Hello?"
Slowly, a tall, thin, old man walked into the open. "Hello, Mrs. Phillips," Mayor Slokam said in a voice that sounded like an undertaker.
"Mayor Slokam?" Wendy asked, feeling her blood turn cold.
"Yes, it's me," Mayor Slokam said, slowly approaching Wendy.
Resembling a mortician, Mayor Slokam walked forward like a man preparing to steal a corpse. With thin gray hair and a skeletal face, he always appeared creepy to Wendy. Never caring for the man, she kept her distance from him. But now here he was, walking toward her through the dark. "How...can I help you?"
"I'm in quite a mess," Mayor Slokam informed Wendy in a calm tone. "What began as a simple plan has transformed into a complicated matter."
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Wendy said, beginning to back away toward the front door of her home.
"Oh, you do," Mayor Slokam said. "You assisted our friend, Hanz Hochberg, in blackmailing certain members of the community. Members, I might mention, who have been pressing me into the floor for years. Foolishly, due to Mr. Hochberg and your husband, I thought I saw a way to be free of those vermin. They're like roaches really--one comes into town, and then another. I ended up with five roaches in my town and two very sneaky skunks who believed I was a fool. Oh, I let you write the stories, Mrs. Phillips. I also knew I was your last victim. Oh yes, I knew what Mr. Hochberg and your husband were up to. They were going to betray me in the end, blame the articles on me..."
"I don't understand," Wendy said, becoming even more frightened.
"Mr. Hochberg was going to kill you, and your husband was going to split your money with him. Your death was going to be blamed on me. Oh yes, your husband told me," Mayor Slokam explained, stopping a few feet from Wendy. "You were going to expose the Bonaduci family in the article you were going to write about me, casting full blame on myself, clearly making me the target. Out of revenge, I kill you and then kill myself. Quite a clever plan Mr. Hanz and your husband came up with."
"Please..." Wendy begged, watching Mayor Slokam pull a gun from the pocket of his blue suit.
"I saw Nikki Bates enter the paper's office earlier today."
"I didn't talk to her, I swear. I only told her what she wanted to hear. She knew about Hanz," Wendy said as tears began to fall from her eyes. "Please, don't kill me. I'm sorry..."
"You
r husband had a change of heart, though. I started to become suspicious, so I made a little call to Boston and spoke with Mr. Bonaduci. He, in turn, sent someone to Atlantic City to have a chat with your husband. Your husband was, let's say, persuaded to confess the truth. I must admit, it was foolish to play with the children of a black widow, but I convinced Mr. Bonaduci that I was the victim. I was given a choice, one simple choice: Kill Hanz Hochberg."
"So why do you want to kill me?" Wendy cried.
"Your articles did have quite an effect," Mayor Slokam smiled. "Mr. Bonaduci was none too pleased about having his hidden children written about, his bad little children he has to hide. Now, poor Mr. Bonaduci has to relocate his children to another town. You can clearly see my disappointment of losing such quality citizens who have spent years forcing me to do their bidding, including forcing the hospital to hire a doctor whose license was revoked for malpractice. Do you realize the criminal punishment I could face?"
"So they're splitting town," Wendy said flinching as Mayor Slokam aimed the gun at her. "That's good news, right? Hanz is dead, and that's good news, too...right?"
"Your husband is now also among the deceased," Mayor Slokam added. "He did my bidding. He ran down Hanz Hochberg and returned to Atlantic City like a good boy, only to face his own demise. You're the only loose end I have. You see, I had your husband convince Hans Hochberg to burn down the paper and forget the entire...shall we say, deal."
"Hanz wasn't stupid," Wendy said waiting to be shot. With her heart racing, she held her hands up in front of her face.
"Oh, your husband convinced Hanz that the FBI got wise to the situation and was moving into town. Hanz was warned to leave, but he didn't, did he?"
"He blackmailed me for money. He was hanging around until I could get the money for him," Wendy explained, hoping her words would buy her a few more precious seconds of life.
"Ah, so he didn't want to leave empty-handed, was that it?" Mayor Slokam said, amused. "Well, he should have left town when he had the chance. I arranged for your husband to take him back to Atlantic City and...dispose of him. But then, Hanz simply vanished into thin air, now didn't he?"
"I...he was staying at a cabin I rented for him."
"I see," Mayor Slokam said, "I assumed you had something to do with it. I had your husband watch your house. We saw the German couple visit you. Very curious. That's when I devised a plan. You see, I had your house wired. I heard you arrange for Hanz to meet his parents in town. With it being tourist season, well, a hit-and-run seemed just right. Your husband runs down Hanz Hochberg and makes a quick escape back to Atlantic City."
"Please..." Wendy said, begging for her life again. "I was wrong to help Hanz...I was wrong to..." With nothing left to say, she dropped to her knees. Throwing her hands over her face, she cried, "Oh, go ahead and kill me then."
"In time. But first, I want the blackmail money. Oh yes, I know you have it."
Wendy shook her head no. "No, I don't. Hanz took it...I don't know where the money is."
"Young lady, I can either make your death very painful or very easy, the choice is yours. Now tell me where the blackmail money is," Mayor Slokam said, turning his voice dark and cruel.
"Check the cabin, maybe it's all there," Wendy cried. "I promise you, I don't have the money. I drove to Boston to get the money, but I gave every cent to Hanz."
Mayor Slokam shook his head irritably. "This is my town, Mrs. Phillips. I am finally free of the vermin that has infested Maple Hills. I, too, had an agenda. That is why I supported the writing of the articles against the wishes of the town while creating the idea that any citizen could be targeted next. I played the town against itself, forced people to lose trust in each other while at the same time allowing the stories to continue in order to benefit myself. Of course, I was being hammered by Mayton and the others on my end, but I played dumb well enough. I told them I had to let the stories continue or else Hanz Hochberg--or Steven Denforth--might print the actual truth about their identities instead of just a few damaging tidbits connected to their past lives. They, of course, did not know I knew they were being blackmailed."
"Please, I won't say anything," Wendy begged, raising her head.
"Oh, how sweet it was watching those vermin sweat," Mayor Slokam smiled, keeping the gun in his hand aimed at Wendy. "But the time came to end the fun when Mr. Hanz made the horrible mistake and cast suspicion on himself."
"What did he do?" Wendy asked, realizing that begging for her life was futile.
"His body language changed," Mayor Slokam answered Wendy. "I may be old, but I am not foolish. Hanz Hochberg believed himself to be a genius, but with age comes the ability to read the human body. Hanz Hochberg was the fool in the end. Now, enough talk. Mrs. Phillips, I want to know where the blackmail money is. I will not ask again."
Before Wendy could speak, the sound of approaching sirens filled the air. Mayor Slokam spun around and peered down the long driveway. With his back turned, Wendy eased to her feet, darted forward with her hands out and shoved Mayor Slokam in the back as hard as she could. The old man went flying forward and then tumbled down onto the concrete driveway. Not wasting any time, Wendy ran for her house and managed to get through the front door.
Moaning in pain, Mayor Slokam grabbed his back. Unable to move, he knew it was over. Yes, he thought he had outwitted his enemies, but in the end a simple bad back had ended him. A minute later, a red Jeep with a red bubble flashing on the dashboard zoomed up the driveway, followed by three police cars. Hawk jumped out of the Jeep with his gun drawn. "Don't move," he yelled at Mayor Slokam.
"My back," Mayor Slokam moaned in pain.
Easing forward, Hawk grabbed the gun Mayor Slokam had terrorized Wendy with. "Nikki, check the house."
Climbing out of the Jeep, Nikki ran to the front door of the house and called out Wendy's name. The front door flew open and Wendy ran into Nikki's arms. "He tried to kill me!" she cried.
Wrapping her arms around Wendy, Nikki pulled her close. "It's all right. We knew something was wrong when he wasn't at home or at his office. When Hawk found out your husband had been killed in Atlantic City, I knew you were the next target."
"Am I going to jail?" Wendy cried.
"No," Nikki promised. "But a few people are. The FBI's on their way to town right now to arrest five people who Mayor Slokam has been protecting. They'll be going to jail together."
"So he'll be in jail with them...guess the creepy old man never got rid of the roaches after all," Wendy said and began laughing through her tears.
Confused, Nikki held Wendy in her arms.
Chapter Seventeen
Mr. and Mrs. Hochberg sipped hot tea from their mugs. Sitting at Nikki's kitchen table, they thanked her for the peace of mind they now had. "Oh, I didn't do much," Nikki admitted, brushing a piece of lint off the green dress she was wearing. "This case had a few twist and turns to it. There was a lot going on behind the curtains that I wasn't aware of. I did a whole lot of guessing."
"Your experience told you what path to follow," Johan corrected Nikki.
Smiling, Nikki admired the old man and how brilliant he looked in the brown suit he was wearing. Adal, even though old, sat wearing a lovely light brown dress that brought out her beautiful features. Feeling a fondness for the old couple, Nikki regretted that her time with them was coming to an end. "Can't you stay?" she begged.
"Our son was murdered in this village," Adal told Nikki sipping her tea, "so it is not good for us to remain here. You will come to Germany and visit us, yes?"
"Someday," Nikki promised. "I have my store to run, and if I don't call my son soon he might send out a search party for me."
Johan sipped at his tea. "The people arrested, they were part of this Bonaduci family?"
"Yes, all five of them. Looks like the only medicine Dr. Mayton will be practicing will be in in the prison hospital," Nikki explained. "Mayor Slokam was forced to protect those criminals against his will. Mrs. Slokam confessed a lot to
Hawk. The Bonaducis were sent here from Boston because Mayor Slokam owed Mr. Bonaduci a favor. Seems like when they were young, Mayor Slokam got himself into some trouble, and Mr. Bonaduci helped him out of that trouble."
"Even in a small village such as this," Adal said sadly, "crime flourishes."
"What will happen to this Mayor Slokam?" Johan asked Nikki, putting down his tea. "And Mrs. Phillips, what is her fate?"
"Mayor Slokam will die in prison, and Wendy Phillips, due to the fine legal team she was able to hire, will not serve any jail time. In time, she will heal, but not here in Maple Hills. She has decided to move to Maine and be close to her cousin. I think that decision is for the best. I wanted to become her friend, but there is no life for her in Maple Hills anymore," Nikki explained to Johan. Reaching across the table, she patted his wrinkled hands. "You're such wonderful people. I am so sorry for your miseries."
"We all have our sorrows," Johan told Nikki, producing a weak smile. "It is time for us to go, yes? You will drive us to Boston, please."
"Of course," Nikki said, feeling her heart break. Standing up, she took her purse and walked the two broken-hearted old people out of her kitchen.
After returning from Boston, Nikki settled down on the couch and spent the rest of the night listening to a gentle rain fall outside. "I had to choose this town, didn't I? I wonder what's next." she yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Eighteen
"You're all over the papers," Seth told his mother as he stood in a messy dorm room that smelled of dirty socks. Sitting down on an unmade bed, he pressed his cell phone up against his ear. "Mom, really, I can't leave you alone for a minute. Bonaduci family, German Mafia, murder...I thought you moved away from Atlanta to get away from all of that stuff!"
Sitting on the wooden bench in front of the duck pond, Nikki grinned at Hawk. "My son," she said, "he worries."
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