Maple Hills Mystery Box Set Page 16

  Slowly, Perkins stood up to his feet. “I could kill you all,” he said in a painful voice, “but I won't. I saved your lives, so remember that. I'm not all bad.”

  “You're still a monster,” Tori yelled at Lionel with tears flowing from her eyes. “You'll always be a monster.”

  “Maybe so,” Lionel agreed and eased back toward the office door. “Brown, if you're smart, you'll vanish like me. If you stay here, you're a dead man.”

  “But the gold,” Mayor Brown said.

  “Mate, forget the gold, it's...fool’s gold, now.” Lionel turned and ran but ran right into Hawk's fist. Stumbling back into the office, he tripped over his feet and tumbled down onto the floor. Eric quickly grabbed his bat and swung at Lionel's gun, knocking it out of his hands.

  “I was wondering when you were going to get here,” Nikki said in a shaky voice. Running to Hawk, she wrapped her arms around him as a dozen state troopers rushed into the office. Eric grabbed Tori and pulled her out into the hallway.

  “I was called to the hospital as soon as I returned to town. Something about a customer claiming she became very ill after eating one of my cheeseburgers. A customer who matched Tori’s description. And when the nurse told me she suddenly left the Emergency Room with Warden Wayberry, I knew something was wrong. I began driving around town and saw Ms. Bates’ SUV parked in front of the City Hall.”

  “Thank you,” Nikki told Eric and hugged him. “You saved our lives.”

  “No,” Eric said, looking down at Trally's dead body, “you saved mine. Come on, let's go to my restaurant and have a cheeseburger.”

  “Sounds great,” Nikki said.

  Tori wasn't so sure. “Three men were shot and killed...” she said, looking at the hectic commotion taking place in Mayor's Brown office. “I...just don't understand any of this.”

  Nikki gently wrapped her arm around Tori's shoulder. “Sometimes, honey, the bad guys kill the bad guys. This case wasn't an easy one. I was even fooled by Agent Ringston. I truly believed I had bluffed him, when in fact, he’d bluffed me. But in the end, he didn't fool the one man that truly needed to be beat.”

  Tori wiped at her tears. “I guess I shouldn't be crying for criminals...it's just all so sad to me.”

  “You have a heart.” Nikki hugged Tori. “Come on, let's go.”

  “Hawk looked into the office at Lionel Perkins. “Let it end here or else,” he warned him.

  “It's over, mate,” Lionel assured Hawk as the state trooper handcuffed him. “But not for you. Someday we'll play again.”

  “Anytime,” Hawk promised and walked away with Nikki and Tori.

  “You promised after this it's making chocolate and working on your book,” Hawk told Nikki.

  “I intend to keep my promise, too,” Nikki sighed in an exhausted voice. “Hawk, you promised to treat me to dinner. Do you plan to keep that promise?”

  “You bet,” Hawk smiled. Leaning over, he kissed Nikki on the cheek. As he walked through the front lobby, he saw the old woman still working on her Sudoku puzzle. The old woman looked up, smiled at him, and went back to working trying to figure out what columns her numbers belonged in.

  14

  “What about the gold?” Herbert insisted, standing in Nikki's chocolate store.

  Nikki rolled her eyes. Putting a fresh rack of peppermint chocolate into the front display case, she wondered what she would do about Herbert. “Lidia, will you handle Herbert for me?”

  Lidia snapped at Herbert. “No one knows where the gold is, Herbert. Drop the matter.”

  Herbert watched Nikki wipe powdered sugar off the pink dress she was wearing. He would not let the matter of the gold rest. “You know where the gold is. I know you do.”

  Tori giggled. “Herbert, the good guys won the battle. And as long as the gold remains hidden, we'll continue to win the battle.”

  Lidia patted Tori on the shoulder. She was pleased Tori was back in the store helping out. “You tell him, dear.”

  “Can you at least tell me why in the world you made Tori fake being sick?” Herbert asked Nikki. “What were you really planning to do?”

  “I feared Eric might try and kill Trally. I wanted Tori to trap him at the hospital, that's all. It's a good thing I did make Tori do it, because Eric saved our lives.” Nikki smiled at Tori.

  “Ah,” Herbert said, frustrated, and walked outside. “You women and your silly plans.”

  Hawk laughed. Leaning against the front counter, eating a piece of homemade peppermint bark, he watched Herbert fuss to himself out on the front sidewalk. “Poor guy,” he said.

  “Speaking of poor guy,” Nikki said and cuddled up next to Hawk, “where's my dinner? I'm starving.”

  Hawk leaned forward and kissed Nikki. “Dinner is waiting at the diner, beautiful. But before we go, I need to tell everyone something.”

  “Oh no,” Lidia said and nearly plugged her ears.

  “As it stands, no one knows that the gold is hidden down in the cave. Nikki and I went to the cave last week and rappelled down into it.”

  “You did what?” Lidia burst out.

  “We were safe,” Nikki assured Lidia. “The cave is very deep, and if you keep going straight down, you won't reach the bottom. But, there are side caves all along the wall. We...well, I'll let Hawk tell you.”

  “We found the gold...all of it, melted down into tiny marbles, settled in wooden crates,” Hawk explained.

  “We didn't find anyone down in the caves,” Nikki told Tori and Lidia. “Anyway, the gold appears to be safe and well-hidden for now. Hawk and I...well, we committed a crime.”

  “I took some dynamite with me,” Hawk confessed. “The tunnel leading into the cave is now caved in.”

  “We nearly got ourselves killed,” Nikki said and rolled her eyes at Hawk. “You and your dynamite.”

  Hawk blushed a little. “Guess I used too much. But hey, we learned how to run and climb real fast, didn't we?”

  “Remind me to stay home next time,” Nikki told Hawk and nudged him in the side with her elbow.

  Lidia listened, amazed. “My goodness,” was all she could say. But Tori smiled. She whistled and went back to work.

  “Sometimes the good guys win, and no one gets the stolen gold,” Tori whispered to herself. “And sometimes the smell of sweet chocolate is all the gold you need.”

  Nikki, Lidia, and Hawk looked at each other and then looked back at Tori. They all shrugged their shoulders and smiled. Far away, Lionel Perkins, sitting in a prison cell, carved Hawk's name on a gray wall with the edge of a broken dinner spoon. “Someday, mate, someday. But don't worry, it'll be Nikki Bates I go after first.”

  Coconut Chocolate Murder

  Book Seven

  1

  Nikki hummed sweetly as she took inventory of the chocolates resting in the front display case. Feeling pretty in the blue autumn dress she had purchased the day before, she hoped that Hawk would pay her a compliment when he dropped in for lunch. “This is lovely,” Nikki murmured, smiling and hugging a wooden clipboard to her chest as she admired the window display. Walking away from the front counter, she made her way to the front door and looked outside. Autumn leaves were playing in a crisp, cold wind. The days were getting shorter and colder. The landscape surrounding the town was blossoming with bright colors falling from the eyes of a sleepy autumn morning. Nikki was in love.

  Drawing a deep breath of chocolate, peppermint, and coffee, she smiled and watched the leaves dance across the empty street. Glad to be at the store before Lidia and Nikki arrived, Nikki cherished the time alone. She loved her new family very deeply—but standing alone in her store, she watched the autumn morning whisper gentle promises of days filled with strolls in warm sweaters and chilly nights huddled around a campfire with hot cocoa. Nikki also cherished this solitary, quiet time. “So lovely,” she whispered.

  Closing her eyes, Nikki walked ahead in time until she arrived in a snowy, cozy little Vermont town covered with icicles and children building sn
owmen. She imagined smoke coming from warm fireplaces attached to cozy homes filled with laughter and love; she saw the smoke rising up into a winter sky dropping strange and wonderful snow down onto the world. Then Nikki saw herself walking with Hawk, hand in hand, down the sidewalk toward her store, sipping hot cocoa, talking, and laughing. “Time to rest,” Nikki told herself. “No more cases. Time to work on my book, spend time in my store, and rest.”

  Opening her eyes, Nikki smiled. Outside she saw a grumpy Mr. Wipinski stroll past her store toward his own shop. The old man was holding a brown cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. “Good thing I declined the job at the paper,” Nikki giggled sweetly. “Mr. Wipinski isn't one of my biggest fans.”

  Sighing, she returned to the front counter and continued with her inventory. As she worked, the autumn winds outside filled her store with music. Outside, two vicious eyes appeared across the street and looked at Nikki's store. Two furious hands tugged on a gray coat, whispered a low threat, and walked away just as Lidia pulled down the Main Street and swung her car into a parking space next to Nikki's SUV.

  “Morning, dear,” Lidia said, walking into the store wearing a thick, heavy, brown coat.

  Nikki turned and took a look at Lidia’s coat. “My, you look like you're ready to go explore the North Pole in that!”

  Lidia locked the front door behind her and then turned to Nikki. “I'm not a cold-weather person,” she replied, smelling the coffee roaming through the air like a warm, welcoming friend. “The Farmer's Almanac is calling for penetrating cold and blizzard-like conditions this winter.”

  “How cozy,” Nikki beamed. “We didn't get much snow in Georgia.”

  Lidia took off her coat, revealing a yellow sweater hanging over a thick, gray, woolen dress, and placed it on a wooden coat rack next to the front door. “Dear, let me explain something very carefully to you. Winters in Vermont, especially northern Vermont, are nothing to sneeze at. The windchill factor alone can steal a person's body heat within minutes. And as far as the snow is concerned, let me tell you, it's pretty at first, but then it becomes a serious hazard. You have to continually dig out your car in the morning, be careful on the roads...and the children and their snowballs!”

  Nikki giggled at the frown on Lidia's face. “That bad, huh?”

  “Little rascals love to ambush you,” Lidia fussed and hurried away to the back office. After making herself a cup of coffee, she joined Nikki at the front counter. “Our business will cool down this winter, too. Not many people in the market for chocolate when it's freezing outside. Autumn is our last drizzle to bring in some dough.”

  Nikki bit her bottom lip. “I've been thinking, partner.”

  Lidia calmly sipped her coffee. “I figured as much,” she told Nikki. “You want to run a hot chocolate shop during the winter, right? You want to offer different flavors of chocolate—Nikki Bates’ homemade versions, of course—and even toss in a bookshelf or two and a couple of cozy reading chairs and café tables.”

  Nikki's eyes grew wide. “How did you know that, Lidia?”

  Lidia smiled. “Because I've been thinking the same thing. Listen, partner, if we move some of the display shelves into storage during the winter, we'll have just enough room to transform the main floor into a cozy seating area. The back counter is perfect for making hot cocoa. We can even make some pastries. I was thinking we could offer—prepare yourself—chocolate muffins.”

  Nikki loved the idea and hugged Lidia happily.

  “When the snow arrives, we'll be ready,” Lidia promised with a warm smile.

  “I can't wait for the snow,” Nikki said excitedly. “I may even throw a snowball of my own.” She winked.

  “I thought as much,” Lidia winked back at her. “Oh, speaking of children, here comes our dear little Tori.”

  Tori unlocked the front door and stepped inside the warm shop. “Good morning,” she said sweetly. Taking off a thin, pink coat, Tori quickly pirouetted in the pink and white polka-dotted dress she was wearing. “I know the dress is old fashioned,” she blushed, “but I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.”

  Nikki gently brushed Tori's bangs away from her eyes. “You look beautiful, honey.”

  “Like a princess,” Lidia chimed in.

  Tori blushed some more. Smelling the coffee in the air, she looked toward the back office. “I think I will have some coffee.”

  Nikki and Lidia watched Tori walk away. “Too bad Zach put the lodge up for sale and moved to Minnesota,” Nikki said. “Those two made a sweet couple.”

  Lidia sighed. “There's a good man out there waiting for our Tori. We have to work on her self-esteem more, though. Still, I think she's much stronger now.”

  Nikki agreed. “Tori is no push-over. She's not going to be sweet-talked by any two-cent loser, that's for sure.”

  “Speaking of romance,” Lidia turned to Nikki and grinned, “when is Hawk going to place a ring on your finger?”

  Now it was time for Nikki to blush. “Oh, Lidia,” she said and hurried away to finish her inventory.

  2

  Later, when the store opened, the person wearing the gray coat stepped into Nikki's store. Cynthia Grove marched up to the front counter. “Nikki Bates,” she hissed.

  Nikki carefully slid a tray of peppermint chocolate into the front display case and straightened up. “Hello, Mrs. Grove,” she said, forcing her voice to be pleasant. “How are you this morning?”

  Cynthia stared at Nikki, her hateful, gray eyes and thin lips giving her face an almost skeletal appearance. Nikki found the woman repulsive. Maybe it was the way she kept her dark gray hair tied up in a tight bun? Or maybe it was the drab, colorless dresses she wore that cried out depression? Or maybe, Nikki thought—dismissing her earlier opinions—it was the hate spilling out from a pair of poisonous eyes and coming from a hollow, bitter heart. “So the governor came here and personally congratulated you, did he?” asked Mrs. Grove. “You, who forced disgrace on my sister and her husband.”

  “The governor wished to thank me for helping solve a case involving some very dangerous, corrupt men,” Nikki explained in a calm voice. “As far as disgracing your sister and her husband, you're very wrong, Mrs. Grove. The mayor of our town was a criminal.”

  Nikki's words caused Cynthia to explode. “How dare you! Because of you, my sister suffered a mental breakdown. I had to hire a full-time caretaker for her.”

  Nikki braced herself. “Mrs. Grove, please leave my store if you can't talk calmly to me.”

  “Calmly,” Cynthia hissed. “Listen to me, I'm going to make you suffer for your crimes against my sister and her husband. Everything was fine until you showed up.”

  Lidia and Tori stepped out of the back office. Nikki shook her head at them. “It's okay, girls. Mrs. Grove was just leaving.”

  “Before I do,” Cynthia snapped at Nikki, “I want a piece of peppermint chocolate. My cleaning lady needs a snack.”

  Nikki rolled her eyes. Taking a piece of brown parchment paper from a box on the counter, she bent down and retrieved a square of peppermint chocolate. “On the house,” she told Cynthia.

  Cynthia snatched the confection out of Nikki's right hand. “I hope she doesn't vomit after eating this garbage,” she snapped and walked away.

  Nikki, Lidia, and Tori watched Cynthia leave the store and go toward the main square a couple of blocks up the street. “That woman never set well with me,” Lidia told Nikki. “She has more money than she has sense. Her husband was a very wealthy man whom people respected. Why Mr. Grove married a venomous spider like Cynthia, I'll never know.”

  “Cynthia probably blackmailed him,” Tori said in a serious voice. Even though she didn't mean to be funny, Nikki and Lidia both began to laugh.

  “Come on, girls, we've got work to do,” Nikki laughed, pushing Cynthia's threat from her mind.

  The rest of the morning went calmly. A few customers drifted in, purchased some chocolate, and drifted back out into the wind and faded
away. Hawk wandered into the store around lunchtime. “Hello, ladies,” he said, munching on a carrot.

  Nikki and Lidia were talking about how they were going to transform the center of the shop into a seating area for the hot cocoa café when he walked in. They both stopped talking and smiled. “Well, Hawk Daily, are you wearing a suit and tie?” Lidia asked, shocked.

  Hawk looked down at the shiny pair of black shoes he was wearing. He didn't mind wearing the gray suit, but the shoes were torturing his feet. “I feel silly,” he complained, “but you know how Pop is. He insisted I look my best for Mr. Fancy Lawyer.”

  “Speaking of lawyers,” Nikki said, admiring how handsome Hawk looked in his suit, “how did everything go?”

  Hawk finished his carrot. “Where's number three?” he asked.

  “Oh, Tori went down to the diner for an early lunch, and then she's going home to study. Slow morning,” Nikki admitted.

  Hawk examined the cozy chocolate shop. “You know, if you moved some of the shelves out, you could maybe turn this place into a coffee shop for the winter.”

  Nikki and Lidia looked at each other and laughed. “We were thinking more along the lines of a hot chocolate shop,” Nikki explained.

  “If you girls need an investor, I might just be the guy,” Hawk told them. “My Aunt Frawly,” he said, “left me quite a bit of the green stuff. I didn't even know the woman. I mean, I saw her a few times growing up, but that was it. To be honest, she was a bit creepy.” Hawk rubbed the back of his neck.

  Lidia nudged Nikki with her elbow. “Better marry this man before the women in this town find out he's rich.”

  Nikki blushed and quickly changed the subject. “Why are you eating a carrot?”

  “Huh?” Hawk asked. “Oh, uh...well, after I met with the lawyer, I went and had an eye examination. I might need reading glasses sometime in the future.”