“Because she wanted me dead,” said Nikki.
The man laughed. “I guess I took care of that problem for you.” Nikki cringed. “What, no thank you?” The man laughed and stroked Nikki’s hair again, firmly. He looked her over. “Why did I find you outside this cabin?” the man asked Nikki.
Nikki wanted to reply, but the nausea hit her again. She looked at Hawk pleadingly.
“I’ll tell you,” said Hawk. The man turned to face Hawk, but he kept his hand on Nikki’s neck.
“This had better be the truth, or I will hurt her again,” the man threatened. Hawk kept his composure. Nikki felt like throwing up on the guy’s shoes but thought better of it. She gulped for more air.
“Andrew texted us when you took him. He told us you were holding him in a cabin. We started searching for you as soon as we got the text. This is the second cabin we searched.”
“How did you get a text out?” the man asked Andrew.
“I did it when you left me in the truck to search the cabin. You had me tied up, but I managed to grab the phone and send out one text. I threw the phone out of the truck before you came back. When you searched me, it was gone.”
The man moved toward Andrew.
“Don’t,” Nikki pleaded.
Just then they all heard a car approaching. The man told them to be quiet or he would hit them again. As they waited, they heard three car doors open and slam shut. Heavy feet were heard on the front porch. Nikki, Hawk, and Andrew waited quietly while the man moved toward the front window. I hope it’s the police, Nikki thought. Her hopes were dashed when the man turned around, smiling.
“Mr. King is here,” he announced.
11
As the man stepped back from the window, two armed men came through the front door. They were tall, well-muscled, and well-armed. They took their places beside the door. Behind them was another man. After he entered, the bodyguards shut the cabin door. The man who entered behind them was tall and intimidating, too. He didn’t carry a gun, and he was wearing a designer suit with heavy gold chains. His dark hair was combed back, and when he smiled at the man holding them hostage, Nikki noticed he had a gold tooth. There were heavy gold rings on his fingers, and Nikki guessed they were not just for show. She looked over at Andrew. He looked pale.
“What have you gotten us in to?” she hissed.
“I don’t know who that is,” insisted Andrew. Nikki rolled her eyes. The man who had taken Andrew walked over to the tall man. He shook his hand.
“Hello, Mr. King,” said the man.
“Hello, Jim,” said Mr. King. “Why do we have three hostages? Which one is Andrew?”
“I was holding Andrew, and these other two thought they would be heroes,” explained Jim. “The one in the suit is Andrew.”
Mr. King glanced at Nikki and Hawk. He shook his head, and then he turned and stared at Andrew. He walked over and hit Andrew with a closed fist. Andrew whimpered. Mr. King took out a handkerchief and wiped off his hand.
“Let me tell you a story, Andrew,” Mr. King began as he slowly paced around the room. “Quite a few years ago, you were living in New York. I’m not sure why you chose New York, and I only learned later that you had come from Atlanta. You enjoyed living in my city. You gambled and had some fun with some women. One day you gambled a bit too much, didn’t you?” he stopped pacing and looked at Andrew. Andrew looked sullen and confused. Mr. King continued. “You needed some help. You went to a shop recommended by your bookie. That shop was owned by me.”
Andrew looked up suddenly and turned paler than he already was.
“Ah, it seems you’re getting your memory back. For those in the room that are still confused, let me continue. Andrew went to the shop and told his tale of woe. My associate agreed to loan him the money. All Andrew had to do was deliver some packages around the city for me. He didn’t have to pay the money back. Andrew thought this was a fair deal and arrangements were made to pay off his debts. Andrew was given times and places to pick up and drop off my packages. Andrew completed his tasks in a timely manner, and we called it a day. That would have been the end of the story. It’s a nice story, no? We have the down-and-out man working to make his debts go away. We have me, the generous businessman who agreed to help him. Debts were paid, and the story ends. Right? Well, it seems that Andrew has a bit of a gambling problem. Instead of being happy with his debts being paid off and leaving the city, he decided to stay and start gambling again. Sure enough, he got himself into trouble again. He went to see my associate, and my associate told him it would be the same deal, although this time he would have more deliveries. Andrew agreed, and my associate paid off his debts. This would have been fine, except Andrew decided he didn’t want to work for my money this time. He skipped town. I have been waiting for him to show his face back East. I’m confident I won’t be getting my money back from him, so it seems I’m going to have to make an example out of him.”
Nikki was listening to what Mr. King was saying. She felt nauseous and angry at Andrew. How dare he put her and Hawk in this situation! She looked over at Andrew. His head was hanging down, and she knew what Mr. King had said was true.
“What were you thinking?” she cried out to Andrew.
“I wasn’t,” he mumbled in reply. “I didn’t want to deliver his packages again. The last time I delivered one, something happened at the delivery point the next day; it was raided by cops. I didn’t know what I was delivering, but I figured it was probably something illegal.”
Hawk was listening to all this shaking his head. “What did you think would happen?” he asked Andrew. “Did you think your problems would disappear when you went to California?”
“Actually, yes,” Andrew replied. “I hadn’t heard anything about this debt until now. I figured if they hadn’t come after me by now then I was in the clear.”
Mr. King shook his head. He paced around the room and turned towards Andrew. “Not too smart,” Mr. King said. “So, the question now is, how do I do it? What would make up for all of the running you did? Should I just shoot you in the head, or should I make it hurt? Maybe I will make it last. I could start with breaking some fingers or a hand and then shoot you in the kneecaps. We’re a long way from anyone out here. Do you think anyone will hear you scream?” Mr. King bent over Andrew. He spit the last words in Andrew’s face. He grabbed Andrew by the hair.
“Wait,” said Nikki and Hawk. Mr. King let go of Andrew’s hair. He turned toward Nikki and Hawk.
“What business of yours is this anyway? Why did you come out here looking for him? Does he owe you money, too?” Mr. King asked.
“No, he doesn’t,” Nikki confessed. “I’m his ex-wife.” Mr. King raised his eyebrows.
“Are you from New York? I don’t remember hearing about you,” he said.
“No. I’m from Atlanta.”
“That’s surprising. What are you doing up here?” Mr. King asked.
“Andrew walked out on me one night. He abandoned me. I moved up here to start a new life and get away from Atlanta.” Nikki purposefully did not tell Mr. King about Seth or the shop. The less he knew, the better.
“Who is this guy?” Mr. King pointed at Hawk.
“He’s a friend of mine. He came along to help me find Andrew,” Nikki explained.
“He’s the one that said the police are coming,” Jim said.
“What police?” Mr. King asked.
“Don’t worry, I checked out the department. It’s small. They’re still trying to find this cabin. We’ll be out of here before they show up,” reassured Jim. Mr. King smiled.
“I’m glad you did your homework,” he said to Jim. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, let’s break some fingers, boys.” The guards took a step away from the door. Andrew was shaking his head over and over.
“Wait,” Nikki said to Mr. King. His guards stopped and looked at him. “How much money does Andrew owe you?”
“I wouldn’t worry about that, darling. It’s out of your price range,” Mr.
King replied.
“Humor me,” Nikki demanded.
“Oh, a feisty one?” Mr. King asked as he approached Nikki’s chair. He took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to his. Nikki frowned, and Mr. King laughed. “Okay, I’ll tell you. He owes me $10,000.”
“I have that,” said Nikki. Mr. King looked at her. He bent his face close to hers. “No, you don’t. You’re lying, trying to buy time.”
“I am not lying,” Nikki said, looking right into Mr. King’s red–rimmed eyes. “Take me into town, and I will get it for you.”
“I don’t believe you,” Mr. King said.
“It’s true. Check my account. You’ll see it’s all there.” Mr. King let go of Nikki’s chin. She maintained eye contact with him.
“You have $10,000?” Mr. King asked.
“Yes. Take me to town, and it’s all yours.” Nikki never took her eyes off of Mr. King. She wanted his attention to be on her, not Andrew.
“Why would you help this creep? He abandoned you,” said Mr. King, sneering at Andrew.
“Despite what he’s done, I don’t want him to die,” said Nikki.
Mr. King paced a bit and turned to Jim. “Do you have a cell phone?”
“Yes, Mr. King.”
“What is the bank’s number?” Mr. King asked Nikki.
“It is 555-257-2575,” said Nikki.
“Jim, dial that number and see what happens,” Mr. King commanded. He looked at Andrew, Hawk, and Nikki. “I do not want any funny business. No speaking out of line. Do not scream. Do not tell them what is happening here. If you do, I will kill you.”
Jim dialed the number and put the phone on speaker.
“Thank you for calling First United Bank, how can I direct your call?” Mr. King looked at Nikki. He signaled her to speak.
“Hi Jenna, this is Nikki,” she said.
“Hi Nikki, what can I do for you?”
“I would like to check my savings account balance.”
“Sure thing, Nikki, hold on just a minute.” The phone was put on hold. Mr. King threatened to kill Hawk and Andrew if Nikki tried anything. She said she understood. Jenna got back on the line. Nikki gave Jenna her password and account information. Jenna told her she had a balance of $12,000.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Jenna asked Nikki.
“No, thank you, Jenna,” Nikki replied. She wanted to scream for help, but she knew that would not end well. Jenna ended the call, and Jim put the phone back in his pocket.
Nikki looked at Mr. King. “I will give it all to you. All you have to do is let us go,” she said. “Andrew was my husband and I loved him, once. We had a good life in Atlanta. Andrew skipped out on me. I didn’t know where he had gone. I was devastated. I decided to move to Maple Hills to start over. Andrew has a life in California, and I have one here. Just let us live our lives, please,” she begged Mr. King.
Mr. King had been listening. He cocked his head and thought for a moment.
“There’s a problem with your story,” he said. “Why would you move to a small town up north? Why didn’t you move somewhere else? No. I don’t believe you. I think what happened,” and here Mr. King looked right at Nikki, “is this: Andrew and you did not split up. You moved up here when he was in New York. He gave you some of my money. That is how you have that much cash in your savings account. You stole from me, too. That’s why you’ve been living up here. I’m surprised we didn’t know about you. You covered your tracks well.”
“That is not it at all!” said Nikki. “I covered my tracks because I didn’t want Andrew to find me. I didn’t know why he left, but I was sure it was something I didn’t want to be involved in. I have saved up my money on my own. I did not steal from you. Like I said, this is the first time I’ve seen Andrew since he walked out on me.” Nikki ended this by glaring at Andrew.
“She’s telling the truth,” Andrew said. “I haven’t seen her since I left her in Atlanta. The stuff in New York was all my doing. Please don’t hurt her. It’s me you want. Do whatever you want to me. Take her money and let her and her friend go.”
“That is tempting,” said Mr. King, turning on his heel and pacing away from the group. He turned around. “But no. It’s too late. Your friends have seen me. Sure, I’ll get her money on my way out of town. I can be persuasive when it comes to bank tellers.” His guards chuckled. “I don’t need any of you. You have taken up enough of my time. Now, hand me your gun,” he said to Jim. Jim handed him his gun. “I will shoot Andrew. After that, you can take care of these two. Now, untie them and let’s get this over with.” His bodyguards walked over and helped Jim untie the hostages. Hawk tried to get up, but the bodyguard held him down. Mr. King turned around. “It’s a pity. You are kind of cute,” he said to Nikki as he pointed the gun at Andrew’s head. Just then, there was a loud noise, and the door burst open.
12
The door broke in, and the guards jumped back. It was the SWAT team. They rushed in. Andrew and Hawk stood up. They both tried to get to the bodyguards. The SWAT team yelled and aimed their guns at the guards, Jim, and Mr. King. Mr. King dove for Nikki. Nikki had started to get up and felt nauseous again. She had sat back down. Next thing she knew she was being lifted from the chair. She could feel a large arm around her neck. Mr. King had grabbed her and had the gun pointed at her head.
“Everyone stop,” he commanded. “I have a hostage. I will shoot her. Let me walk out of here, and I will think about letting her go.” He pulled Nikki toward the back porch door. Nikki regained her footing. She looked at Hawk. She smiled and winked at him. Hawk smiled back. Nikki raised her right foot and brought it down hard on Mr. King’s loafers. Mr. King yelled and let go of Nikki. He dropped his gun. Hawk ran over and tackled him. Nikki grabbed Mr. King’s gun and pointed it at him. Hawk then quickly threw some cuffs on Mr. King. The SWAT team put the others in cuffs. At that moment, the chief walked in. He saw Hawk and walked over to him.
“Are you okay, son?”
“Yes, Dad, I am okay. Here,” he shoved Mr. King toward the chief. “I cuffed him for you.” The chief smiled and hauled Mr. King out of the room. Nikki gave Mr. King’s gun to the police. She turned around and saw Andrew. She walked over to him. Andrew opened his arms as though he honestly believed she would hug him. Nikki stopped, reached up her arm, and slapped him. She turned around and walked over to Hawk.
“I’m ready to leave now,” she declared. Hawk smiled and took her hand. They walked out in the woods to his truck.
“Hey, how about me?” yelled Andrew.
“Get a ride from one of the cops,” suggested Hawk.
“Yeah, you deserve to be in the back of a cruiser,” said Nikki. Andrew’s shoulders slumped, and he walked over to the police. One officer said he would give him a ride, and he stuck him in the back of the car. Nikki and Hawk smiled, and they continued on their way to Hawk’s truck.
“You know, you were very brave back there,” said Hawk.
“Thank you,” said Nikki. “I was scared out of my wits. I cannot believe Andrew brought that into Maple Hills.”
“It’s okay,” Hawk soothed her and stopped. He held her close and kissed her.
Nikki relaxed in Hawk’s arms. “Well, we need to go to the station,” she said. “The chief will want our statements,” she said.
“Okay,” said Hawk. “We can get someone to look at your head while we’re there.”
“That sounds good,” said Nikki, instinctively reaching to touch the back of her head where she had hit. “I have a wicked headache.”
Hawk opened the truck door for her. He helped her in. They drove down to the station where they were met with police and SWAT vehicles. Hawk parked near the station and got out of the truck. He helped Nikki out, and they went into the precinct. Andrew was there waiting, and he got up when they came in. Andrew started to walk towards Nikki, but he was interrupted.
“Mom!” Seth called out, darting right past his father without even noticing the man’s presence.
He walked over to Nikki and gave her a gentle hug. “What happened? Where’s Dad?” Nikki said it was a long story, and she nodded towards Andrew. Seth spun around, realizing he had walked right by him. Andrew smiled at Seth and held his arms open. Seth just shook his head and walked away. Nikki felt a lump of pride in her throat, but she was still saddened because she knew Andrew’s presence alone was enough to hurt Seth. She swallowed her tears and wiped her eyes. The chief walked over.
“We’re ready to take your statements.”
“I’ll go first,” Andrew pushed ahead. Hawk stopped him.
“No. Nikki goes first. She needs to see a doctor,” he insisted. Andrew agreed and sat down. Nikki thanked Hawk and followed the chief back into the interrogation room.
Later, after Nikki had seen a doctor and everyone had given their statements, the FBI appeared. The chief said they wanted to talk to Andrew some more. Hawk and Nikki waited while the FBI talked to him. Nikki was sitting down by the chief’s desk when Andrew walked back in. A bureau officer was with him.
“Usually, we do this in private, but Andrew wanted you to hear this,” said the bureau officer. He closed the door and sat down by Nikki. Andrew and Hawk remained standing in the room. “We have offered Andrew a deal,” the officer said. “If he testifies against Mr. King, any charges he has coming will be dropped. Now, this will involve witness protection.” Nikki looked up at Andrew.
“I want to take the offer,” he said. “I’m just concerned about Seth.”
“Seth will be fine here with us,” said Nikki. “Hawk and I will keep him safe.”
“Okay,” Andrew agreed. “Can I talk to him? The officer said we have to leave soon. I… I might never see him again. I have some things I want to say.”
“I’m not sure,” said Nikki. “He didn’t want to talk to you earlier.”
Maple Hills Mystery Box Set 3 Page 23