Maple Hills Mystery Box Set 3 Read online

  “I think we need to go and say hello to those people over there,” Susan said while guiding Tim away from Hawk.

  “It was nice meeting you, Hawk.”

  “You too, Tim.” Nikki laughed as Susan led him to the next group.

  Soon enough, the waiters had finished serving the trays of the filet mignon skewers and the main course was almost through. She knew they were getting ready to serve her chocolates next. Nikki held her breath. She knew her chocolates were good, but she hoped everyone would like them. She saw the door to the kitchen open and the waiters started walking out with their trays. Nikki gasped.

  5

  Nikki looked at the trays in amazement. They are beautiful, she thought. Each tray had two tiers with an array of small, delicate spoons. On each silver spoon was one of Nikki’s chocolates. The glass reflected the light of the room, and the trays glittered while the waiters carried them around. Everyone turned and complimented the presentation with enthusiasm. Everyone in Nikki’s group helped themselves to chocolates, and they all praised Nikki on the flavors and designs. Nikki was happy with the displays and was encouraged by the acclamations everyone was throwing her way. She blushed and said thank you a few times.

  “See, I told you everyone would love them,” said Hawk, giving Nikki’s hand a squeeze. Nikki was about to thank him when they heard a clang and the sound of glass breaking. Nikki looked up and saw her chocolates strewn across the floor in a sea of glass. She was livid and embarrassed. Nikki went over to the back corner of the room to give the waiter a piece of her mind, but then she noticed he looked like he was in shock. She stopped and looked where he was staring. Someone was slumped over at the corner table. Nikki recognized her as one of Susan’s bridesmaids, whom she’d met earlier that evening. She ran over to the table, her footsteps crunching over the glass. Hawk called after her and then followed to see what the commotion was about. The waiter was feeling for the girl’s pulse. He looked pale. The woman looked even worse.

  “I just thought she was drunk,” the waiter told Nikki. Nikki turned and saw Hawk. She shook her head back and forth. Hawk moved the waiter to the side and checked for a pulse. There was none. Hawk quickly got on the phone, and Nikki could hear him calling the precinct. She heard him explain what had happened and affirm that he was taking control of the scene. Nikki told the waiter to have a seat at a nearby table. When Nikki turned around, she saw a wave of people approaching with Susan and Tim at the crest. Nikki physically stopped them and told Tim to take Susan across the room and have her sit down.

  “That’s Kim,” Susan exclaimed while Tim held her back. “Is she okay?”

  “Please get her out of here,” Nikki pleaded. Tim held Susan close and guided her to the other side of the room. He sat her at a table and asked a waiter to bring them some water.

  Nikki asked the other guests to have a seat. She let them know that the police were on the way and that they all needed to stay in the building. The chief appeared, and Nikki explained to him what was happening. He thanked her for calming the crowd down and told her he could take it from there. Nikki decided to see how Susan was doing. She walked over to the table where Susan was sitting with Tim.

  “I am so sorry, Susan,” Nikki started. “I know this is shocking for you, but I need you to try to stay as calm and as focused as you can.” Susan nodded, but she had a vacant look in her eyes.

  “We are not sure what has happened yet, but Kim is dead,” Nikki told her. She hated having to tell people their friends and relatives had died. She admired Hawk more every time she had to relay this news. Nikki only had to do this occasionally, but for Hawk, it was part of his job.

  “The police will be here soon,” she continued, holding on to Susan’s hand. Tim had his arm around her. Susan was looking pale. Nikki was afraid she might faint. “Do you have her parents’ number so we can notify them?”

  “Could you get me a bag of ice?” Nikki asked a nearby waiter. He left and returned with a small bag. “That is fine,” Nikki said. She instructed Tim to hold this on the back of Susan’s neck.

  “I can’t just sit here,” Tim said angrily. “What happened to Kim? She was fine an hour ago. Who is in charge?” Tim started to get up, but Nikki took him by the hand.

  “Please. Susan needs you right now. Hawk and Chief Daily are in charge of the investigation. I know they will fill you in as soon as they have any answers,” Nikki reassured him. Tim sat back down and held Susan. Nikki noticed the crowd getting a little louder. She got up and found Chief Daily.

  “I think people may be starting to panic,” she told the chief.

  “I think you’re right,” he said. The chief raised his voice and asked for silence. There was the sound of muffled weeping, but everyone’s attention was on the chief.

  “I know this has been a rough evening. I ask you for your continued patience. We will need to interview everyone here before you leave. I will set up an interview table in the back hallway. Nikki will come and get you when I want to speak with you. Everyone just remain calm, and we will get through this in an orderly fashion. Once I have talked with you, you will be cleared to go home.”

  The guests seemed to calm down. Nikki was going to ask the chief who he wanted to talk with first when she saw Becky, Susan’s maid of honor. She was crying, so Nikki went over to talk to her. Nikki gave Becky a hug.

  “I know this must be hard. Can I ask you for a favor, though?” Becky looked at Nikki, sniffed, and nodded.

  “Could you please keep an eye on Tim and Susan? She really needs you by her side right now.”

  Becky nodded again, wiping away her tears and looking a little heartened to have a task to do, and Nikki left the three of them at the table together. Nikki talked to the chief, and they decided to talk to the bridal party first, then the families, other guests, and staff. While the chief was questioning the witnesses, Hawk was talking with the local police. Nikki did not have a chance to go near him, as the chief had her hopping. Nikki did notice when the medical examiner arrived and the body was bagged. They took Kim to the morgue for an autopsy. It was a long night with a lot of paperwork to get through – so many statements. Finally, the last guest was questioned, cleared, and sent home. Hawk and the chief talked for a few minutes, and then Hawk came over to where Nikki was sitting, sipping some water a waiter had brought her.

  “Are you ready to go home?” Hawk asked.

  “Absolutely,” Nikki said, exhausted. Hawk helped her up, and they went to his truck. He drove her home and followed her into the house. Seth and Tori were there. They looked anxious.

  “We heard what happened,” Seth said. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” said Nikki, giving Seth a hug. “I’m sorry to have worried you, I should have called earlier, but we were so busy. I’m just stopping by the house to get changed. Hawk and I are going to head to the station.”

  Seth started to interrupt her, “But Mom, you look exhausted…”

  “I will be fine,” Nikki reassured him.

  “I tried calling you, and you didn’t answer,” he said.

  “I’m sorry. I was caught up in the middle of everything. I will try to remember to check my phone next time.”

  “Okay. I’m just glad you are both okay,” he reiterated. Tori squeezed Seth’s hand in solidarity and they sat on the couch, talking in low tones about the events of that night.

  Nikki went up to her bedroom. The bed was calling to her, but she knew Hawk would need help with this case. She had helped him before, and he had appreciated it. She was not only a witness, she was an experienced investigator by this point, and she was needed by the man that she loved. She changed into jeans and a warm, blue cable-knit sweater and went back downstairs.

  “You know, if you need to rest, I can take care of this,” Hawk said.

  “I will be fine,” said Nikki, feeling the rush of adrenaline she always got when working on a case. Nikki knew this would keep her awake, so she might as well be awake by Hawk’s side.

  �
��Okay,” Hawk answered. His fierce hug told her that he appreciated her fortitude in the face of such a perplexing case.

  “Let’s have a cup of coffee before we go,” suggested Nikki.

  “I already have a pot brewed,” answered Tori, appearing with four cups. Nikki thanked her, and they sat at the table and drank their coffee.

  “How was business today?” Nikki asked.

  “We had quite a few customers after you left,” said Tori. “Seth was a big help, of course.”

  “Good. I am so glad you are home on break,” Nikki said to Seth.

  “Perfect timing,” he replied with a smile.

  “Okay, we had better get to the station before I get too comfortable,” Hawk said, passing a hand over his eyes. He and Nikki put on their coats and said goodbye to Seth and Tori, heading back out into the icy winter night.

  When they got to the station, Hawk headed right for the chief’s office. He looked up wearily and told them to sit down. He gave Nikki a weary but grateful smile. Hawk asked what the chief had learned from questioning the guests.

  “Well, most of them had not noticed Kim except when the wedding party came over to talk to them. Becky and Susan told me that Kim was acting strange, but they thought she had just had one too many cocktails. She was weaving around and slurring her words, saying she was tired. Her friends sat her at the table with a glass of water, hoping she’d sober up enough to enjoy the dessert course with everybody. Her friends went back to mingling with the party, and they were just as shocked as everyone else when she was found dead. I will be talking to them again tomorrow morning.”

  “Was the cause of death alcohol poisoning?” asked Nikki.

  “We’re not sure. The cause of death is still to be determined. We do not think it was alcohol poisoning, but it was some kind of poisoning. Her lips and fingernails were blue. Other things can cause a person to appear drunk. I am going to run some samples to the lab right now and put a rush order on things.” He tapped the open box on his desk that contained a number of glass vials of tissue and serum samples.

  “Can you call us when you get the toxicology report?” Hawk asked him.

  “Absolutely,” the chief replied, standing up with the box of vials, ready to leave.

  “What do you want us to do right now, Chief?” Hawk pressed.

  Chief Daily paused and looked at him and Nikki. “Son, we have so many statements to review…there’s no sense in you two trying to stay up overnight. You’d never get through it all. I’d much rather you got a good night’s sleep so you can be fresh for tomorrow.” Hawk nodded at his father’s words.

  They all stood and put on their coats. Hawk and Nikki followed the chief down the hall and out to the parking lot.

  “Drive safely, Dad,” Hawk said to the chief. They shook hands, and the chief got in his car and pulled out of the parking lot.

  Hawk turned to Nikki. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Thank you. Why don’t you stay on my sofa tonight?” Nikki suggested. “Who knows when the chief will call, and this way you and I can come back together.” Despite her love for Hawk, she was still old-fashioned about some things in a relationship, and so was Hawk. The sofa was the best option.

  “That sounds like a good idea,” answered Hawk. He opened the car door for Nikki. They got in and he pointed the car towards her house. When they got to the house, Seth was still waiting up, but said goodnight with a yawn and left for bed. Hawk made up the sofa and said goodnight to Nikki. Nikki went to her room, her feet dragging on the stairs. I hope I can get some sleep tonight, she thought. She turned off her light and closed her eyes.

  6

  Nikki was sleeping soundly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Someone was shaking her gently. She opened her eyes and saw Hawk standing over her.

  “What time is it?” Nikki asked.

  “It is around 4 a.m.,” Hawk told her. “The chief called. The toxicology report is in.”

  Nikki woke up quickly. “What were the results?”

  “It looks like a heroin overdose,” Hawk told her.

  The shock woke Nikki completely. “A heroin overdose?” she asked, sitting up.

  “Yes,” Hawk said.

  “Had Kim ever done heroin before?” Nikki asked.

  “I did not think so,” Hawk replied, “but you would be surprised at the number of people who use drugs and no one ever knows. It seems we have a new line of questioning to investigate with her friends.”

  “Let me get dressed and we can go in,” Nikki told Hawk. He left, and she threw on some jeans, a sweater, and boots. Nikki rushed down the stairs where Hawk was waiting with her coat. She left a note for Seth on the kitchen table and shrugged on her coat, adrenaline racing through her once again. It was so early that as Hawk drove them to the station they encountered no traffic. It was still dark, and the moonlight lit up the snow, turning it bluish in color. Nikki watched the snow out her side of the truck and it was a grim reminder of Kim’s face and hands.

  Hawk rushed to the station, and they went inside. The officer at the front desk told Hawk his father was talking to the medical examiner. Hawk and Nikki went down the hallway to the medical examiner’s office and went in. He and the chief were talking in the corner. They stopped when they saw Hawk and Nikki.

  “Come on in,” the medical examiner said to Hawk and Nikki.

  “What have you found out?” asked Nikki.

  “Well, there does not appear to be any evidence of prior heroin use,” said the examiner. “There are no track marks present on her arms, no injection wounds on her arms or feet. She appeared healthy, except for the large amount of heroin in her system. I did, however, find a puncture mark in her neck.”

  “That is odd,” said Nikki.

  “That’s what I thought,” said the chief.

  The medical examiner took them over to the body. He showed them her clear arms and feet. He showed them the puncture mark in her neck. It was small. Nikki was impressed that the medical examiner had found it.

  He explained further that he would send some of Kim’s hair to be tested for prior heroin use, just in case. Strands of hair could show opiate use from a month ago, or longer. “Based on the lack of injection sites, however, I’m doubtful about that. Her medical history doesn’t show any prescribed opiates, either. My theory,” said the medical examiner, “is that someone injected this young lady with pure heroin. They injected it into her neck, and it caused her to overdose.”

  “That’s so awful,” said Nikki, feeling sick to her stomach.

  “It would explain why her friends thought she was drunk,” said Hawk. “A heroin overdose is similar to alcohol poisoning. It can cause some similar symptoms, like sleepiness, slurred speech. I can understand why her friends thought she was drunk.” The medical examiner covered up the body.

  Nikki nodded. “We should go talk with Susan, Becky, and the rest of the wedding party,” she suggested. Hawk agreed. The chief said he would send deputies to pick up a few of Kim’s friends and bring them in for questioning. Hawk and Nikki volunteered to go to the hotel where the wedding party was staying. Nikki remembered that Susan had told her they were staying in the hotel so they could be together the night before her wedding. “She told me that at the party,” she told Hawk and the chief.

  “If we go there, we can question them quickly and figure out if anyone else has a history of drug use,” Hawk said. The chief agreed. Hawk and Nikki quickly left in Hawk’s truck and drove to the hotel.

  When they got there, the front desk was abandoned. Hawk rang a bell on the desk, and a sleepy manager appeared after a few minutes. Hawk showed the man his badge and asked what rooms the wedding guests were staying in, specifically the bride, groom, and their attendants. The man gave Hawk the room numbers. Hawk requested to use the conference room, and the man agreed. He also asked the manager to brew some coffee and have it ready in the conference room. It was going to be a long morning.

  Hawk and Nikki split up. Nikki went to Su
san’s room, which was near all her bridesmaids, and Hawk went to Tim’s room, near the groomsmen and best man’s rooms. They woke up the guests and asked them to go to the conference room for more questioning. Susan was upset, and Nikki reassured her that everything was going to be okay. She explained that she and Hawk just needed a little more information. Susan agreed, and Nikki ushered her and her gaggle of sleepy, tearful girls down to the conference room. Tim was already there, and Susan rushed over to him. They hugged and sat together at a table.

  Hawk and the manager talked, and the manager set up a room for Hawk to question the guests. Although usually they would separate people before questioning so they could not coordinate their stories, Hawk had suggested that the group atmosphere might relax everyone’s nerves and help convey the message that no one was a suspect yet. This was true. But Nikki desperately hoped they would find a clue that would lead them somewhere today. She suggested they talk to Susan and Tim first so they could get back to sleep.

  “It is her wedding day, after all,” said Nikki. Hawk agreed. When it was clear that Susan was still shaky and tearful about her friend’s death, they also agreed to question them together. Nikki called Susan and Tim back to the smaller room set up by the manager.

  “I am so sorry to be doing this right now,” said Hawk to the couple.

  “That’s okay,” said Tim. “We are willing to do anything you need, right sweetie?” he asked Susan.

  “That’s right,” said Susan, putting on a brave face despite her tears.

  Hawk proceeded to question Susan and Tim. They both had alibis for the day, which was expected. A bride and groom on the day before their wedding were never alone, what with final fittings at the tailors for the men, and hair and makeup consultations for the ladies, and a dozen other errands. The couple had always been with someone, and the questioning went quickly. Neither had seen anything to indicate that their dear friend had struggled with any addictions, either. Hawk finally thanked them and told them they could go back to their rooms. With obvious relief, Susan and Tim thanked him and quickly left.