Maple Hills Mystery Box Set Read online

  “I'm assuming this Dr. Falton has no idea that Agent Norris is dead?” Hawk asked.

  “If he did, I wouldn't be here,” Jack pointed out. “I also figure, if anyone got any information out of Agent Norris, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now,” Jack added. “I feel safe here. But I can't stay. I also can't turn to anyone for help, except you, Hawk. The NYPD has so many holes in it now...you don't really know who you can and can't trust. The FBI...yeah, that's a joke.”

  Hawk rubbed the back of his neck. “Get dressed, Jack, and let's get out of Atlanta. You're coming back to Vermont with Nikki and me. We can make a game plan there.”

  “Hey,” Jack said, clapping his hands, “that sounds like a plan. Hawk, you have no idea how glad I am that you're on my side. I knew I could count on you.”

  Nikki walked over to Hawk. “Jack, before we leave, please tell us the names José mentioned to you,” she asked.

  “Not here,” Jack told Nikki. “Let's get on the road first. Once I get a couple burgers and a few shakes down, we'll talk.”

  Hawk gently took Nikki's hand and walked her to the hospital room door. “Jack, hurry and get dressed. We'll be out in the hallway.”

  “In a flash,” Jack promised.

  3

  Hawk walked Nikki out into the hallway. He politely smiled at a middle-aged nurse who was obviously putting on a few pounds. Taking in a deep scent of air that smelled like disinfectant, he looked deep into Nikki's eyes. “I'm driving you to the airport. I want you on the first—”

  “Don't you dare,” Nikki warned Hawk. Hugging Hawk, she pressed her head against his chest. “I'm not leaving you, you big lug. Jack needs both of our help.”

  “Yeah, he does,” Hawk admitted, wrapping his arms around Nikki. Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes. “Nikki, someday you and I are going to go to Antarctica, sit on an iceberg, and watch the penguins play; maybe then trouble won't find us.”

  “The iceberg would probably melt, a polar bear would try and eat us, and we would end up being chased by a deranged hunter that thinks we're trying to arrest him for illegal hunting,” Nikki joked.

  Hawk laughed. “Probably,” he said. Opening his eyes, he looked down the carpeted hallway toward the nurse's station. How easy would it be to leave? he wondered. How easy would it be to just take Nikki and leave an old friend behind to deal with his own problems? Sure, he could take Nikki, leave Atlanta, have a nice dinner at her parents’ house, and the following day let Nikki show him around her old stomping grounds while he sipped cold lemonade. But leaving was not an option. A real cop never deserted his friend, no matter what the danger was.

  Twenty-two minutes to the second after Hawk and Nikki left the hospital with Jack, a man in his mid-fifties with thin, gray hair and wearing a black suit walked into Jack's room. Finding the room empty, he snatched a cell phone from his jacket pocket. “The cop is gone,” he barked into the cell phone. “I was informed that he would be here.”

  “Agent Norris assured us of the location,” a man answered in a submissive voice.

  “I am a professional killer,” the man lowered his tone, “I am not a hound dog. Find this cop or tell Dellington and Haim that I will walk with half of my payment. I do not think they will be pleased with losing half a million dollars.”

  “Yes, sir, we'll find Jack,” the man promised.

  Ending the call, William Grense tucked the cell phone back into his jacket pocket. “Jack, Jack,” he whispered through gritted teeth, “you play a dangerous game. Now it's time to pay the penalty.”

  “Can I help you?” the middle-aged nurse asked William as she walked into the hospital room.

  “Yes,” William answered in a calm and pleasing voice, “I was under the impression my friend was admitted to this room? Was I misinformed?”

  The nurse walked to the hospital bed and began pulling off the bed covers. “Your friend left about half an hour ago with a man and a woman. He was supposed to have the whole list of tests conducted on his heart. He left ADA.”

  “ADA?”

  “Against Doctor's Advice,” the nurse explained. “Anyway, he's gone. Sorry I can’t be more help.”

  “Uh,” William said, pulling out a phony FBI badge and presenting it to the nurse, “can you describe the man and woman my friend left with?”

  The nurse looked at the phony badge. Believing William was an actual FBI agent, she gave him the exact description of Nikki and Hawk. “I wish I could be more help.”

  “You've been extremely helpful,” William assured the nurse. Excusing himself, he left the hospital room. Out in the hallway, he whipped out his cell phone again. “Jack left with a man and woman. I want to know who they are, is that clear? Contact Jack's partner; I want that man squealing by sunset. And get Norris back on the hot seat, too. Between the two of them, I'm sure one of them will be able to tell us who Jack left with.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Hawk aimed his jeep toward South Carolina instead of aiming it back toward North I-75. “We'll go back home using the back roads,” he explained, fighting his way through traffic.

  “Turn on the air,” Jack begged. Sweating up a storm in the backseat, he glanced down at his gray suit. Pulling off the jacket, he saw sweat stains appearing on the white undershirt. “Hawk, turn on the air before I melt.”

  “It doesn't work,” Hawk apologized.

  Nikki turned in her seat. “Jack, I'm not exactly sure how we can help you right now. If the FBI is protecting Dellington and Haim as Agent Norris claimed they were, that really limits our ability to outreach.”

  Jack mopped sweat from his forehead. “Not every FBI agent is a bad chicken,” Jack told Nikki. “I have a friend out in Los Angeles. I was tempted to call him, but I wanted to wait for Hawk to show up. Hawk, you have to be my go-between man, okay?”

  “Sure,” Hawk said, speeding past a green semi-truck. “I have to take I-20 East, Nikki. Don't let me get turned around, okay?”

  “Okay,” Nikki whispered, feeling sadness enter her heart. She really did want to see her parents and her hometown. Instead, she was now in the midst of another case that involved deadly people who prized money and power over human life.

  “Are you okay?” Hawk asked Nikki, reading the tone in her voice.

  Nikki turned in her seat. Allowing the wind coming in from the open passenger's window to play in her hair, she closed her eyes. “The thought of seeing my parents, sitting on the front porch and sipping cold iced tea while watching the sunset... Hawk, I really wanted that. I love my new home in Vermont, I really do. But I miss Georgia. I miss my parents. I miss my hometown. I miss...what I know as my own. Lately, I feel as if I have been thrown into a chaotic whirlwind. My only stability has been you, Lidia, and Tori...three murders...the cruise ship...all of the confusion, danger, fear, threats…and now, here we are again.”

  “There's always penguin watching,” Hawk tried to joke.

  Nikki fought back a grin. “Not funny...well, maybe a little.” Opening her eyes, Nikki looked at Hawk. “Hawk, I really do want to see my parents, okay? I want to come back to Georgia after we help Jack...if we live through this. We'll fly down next time, rent a car that has an air conditioner, and have a relaxing time. We'll sip sweet tea on the back porch, walk around my home town while eating ice cream cones...that sounds nice, doesn't it?”

  Hawk patted Nikki's knee. “More than you know,” he promised. Looking in the rear view mirror, he saw Jack wiping sweat from his head. “Okay, Jack,” he said, “what names did José give you?”

  Jack tried to find a cool spot in the back seat of Hawk's jeep. “José gave me two names. The first name belongs to a dirty cop in New York. The second name belongs to a human smuggler who brings the illegals into New York. Once the illegals arrive, the dirty cop takes them to Dellington and Haim's slum quarters. Once the illegals arrive there, they are processed, marked, and assigned to duties.”

  4

  Hawk and Nikki listened to Jack talk. Jack mentioned the
name of the dirty cop and the human smuggler. Nikki quickly made mental notes. Overhead, storm clouds began to form. By the time they stopped to eat in a small South Carolina town, heavy rain was pouring down. Parking in front of a small restaurant sitting off by itself from the main highway surrounded by tall pine trees, Hawk turned off the jeep. “I'm starving,” he confessed to Nikki.

  Nikki studied the wooden restaurant. A white and brown sign attached to the roof read: Edna's Home Cooking Kitchen. Feeling her own tummy grumble, she smiled at Hawk. “I'm hungry, too.” Before getting out of the jeep, Nikki took a second to admire how the heavy rain fell down through the tall pines in a perfect, harmonic melody. The gravel parking lot held only a red truck and a white car. Nikki pretended that she and Hawk were on a cozy date, stopping at Edna's on a rainy day for a warm, delicious meal. “Let me out,” Jack barked, popping Nikki's bubble.

  Nikki shrugged her shoulders at Hawk. Without any concern for getting wet, she opened the passenger's door, stepped out into the rain, and walked up to the front door of the restaurant. Hawk and Jack followed. “Ladies first,” Hawk said, pulling open a wooden door.

  “Thank you,” Nikki said. Stepping through the door, she entered a cool, refreshing dining room lined with wooden tables and red and white checkered walls holding everything from a deer's head to black and white photos of old celebrities. Nikki noticed the delicious aroma of food filling around the dining room like an open pizza box being wafted through the air, teasing the noses of hungry customers.

  “You have to spot me,” Jack informed Hawk in a low whisper, “I only have my bank card. I can't use it.”

  “Not a problem,” Hawk whispered back.

  “Hey y’all,” a smiling woman wearing a brown waitress uniform said in a cheerful voice. “Only three today?”

  “Just three,” Nikki smiled back. Finding the nametag attached to the waitress uniform, she noticed the woman's name was Kelly. Kelly, Nikki thought happily, was probably a typical southern homegrown woman in her mid to late forties, and a little wide around the rear, who spent every Thursday at the beauty parlor having her short red hair tended to while she caught up on all the latest gossip.

  “Right this way, Hun,” Kelly told Nikki. Walking to a table sitting next to a window overlooking the parking lot, Kelly smiled. “What can I get you folks to drink?”

  “Sweet tea,” Nikki said, sitting down with her back toward the window.

  “Soda,” Hawk said, sitting next to Nikki.

  “Soda for me, too,” Jack said, sitting down across from Hawk. “Whew, it sure feels good in here. I nearly melted in the backseat.”

  Nikki pulled a napkin from a metal dispenser and blotted some rain off her forehead. “It's lovely in here,” she told Kelly. “I'm surprised there aren't more customers.”

  “Usually, this place is crammed full at this time of day,” Kelly confessed, “but there's a tornado watch out right now. Folks are staying home.”

  Nikki looked over her shoulder. The sky outside did seem like it was growing darker. Something in her gut told her not to worry about a tornado, though. No, she thought, turning back around in her seat, at most there would be strong winds and heavy rain, but nothing more. She had experienced enough storms in the south to be able to read the weather. “I think we'll be okay.”

  “Me, too,” Kelly replied, and tipped everyone a wink. “I'll be right back with your drinks.”

  Jack picked up a green menu and opened it. “Let's see...fried okra...Lima beans...meatloaf...chicken and dumplings...fried green tomatoes...”

  Hawk sighed. He picked up his own menu. “Nikki, I'm exhausted. I think after we leave here, we'll grab a hotel room.”

  “I agree,” Nikki said, feeling exhaustion infiltrate her mind. “We woke up at five this morning. I don't think I could go another mile.”

  “I agree to that,” Jack said, studying the menu. His face became solemn.

  “What's wrong?” Hawk asked.

  “Here I sit with a menu offering all kinds of good food...and all around this country, people are hungry; forced to live in conditions that a rat would stick its nose up at... I've seen it, Hawk. José took me to his living quarters, if that's what you want to call a building that's so run down that wood maggots go to eat somewhere else. Ah...forget it.”

  Hawk patted Jack’s shoulder. “You care, Jack. A man with a conscience has no business being a cop. Remember who told us that?”

  “Sergeant Cape,” Jack sighed.

  “Who is Sergeant Cape?” Nikki asked.

  “The meanest man ever born,” Jack explained.

  “Sergeant Cape was one of the instructors at the academy Jack and I went to,” Hawk told Nikki. “The man was mean, but he cared. Sergeant Cape turned two smart mouthed kids into cops.”

  “Two smart mouthed know-it-all kids,” Jack added. “But Sergeant Cape molded Hawk and me into the cops you see today.”

  “Remind me to slap that man if I ever see him,” Nikki teased Hawk. Feeling a yawn attack her, she placed the back of her left hand to her mouth.

  “Here you go,” Kelly chirped, bringing the drinks over to the table on a brown serving tray. “Sweet tea...and two sodas.”

  Nikki took her sweet tea from Kelly. “Can you recommend a good hotel, Kelly?” she asked.

  “Oh,” Kelly said, handing Hawk and Jack their drinks, “there's the usual chain hotels out by the interstate. But down the road, about four miles, you'll find the Green Log Inn. It's not fancy, but Mr. Bosely keeps the rooms clean. A lot cleaner than any room you'd find at one of those chain hotels, if you ask me.”

  Nikki looked at Hawk. “What do you think?”

  “Works for me,” Hawk told Nikki.

  “Are you ready to order?” Kelly asked.

  Nikki nodded her head. “We'll all have a chicken and dumpling plate with okra, green beans, and cornbread. For dessert we'll have banana pudding.”

  “You got it.” Kelly smiled and hurried away.

  “How did you know I wanted chicken and dumplings?” Hawk asked Nikki.

  “I'll never tell,” Nikki winked at Hawk.

  Jack put down his menu. “You got my number, I'll say that. I'm impressed.”

  “Don't be impressed yet,” Nikki told Jack. “Forgive me for saying this, but I'm not sure how Hawk and I are supposed to help you, Jack. As far as I can see, the only logical path is to contact the FBI agent you know in Los Angeles.”

  “I agree,” Hawk supported Nikki. “Jack, we can hide you in Vermont, but for how long? An agent of the law has been killed. It's not likely these people are going to forget about you. We both know Dellington and Haim have people out searching for you, Jack.”

  “I know,” Jack told Hawk, picking up a red plastic glass and taking a long sip. “I hate being on the tail end,” he said in an angry voice. “I don't like running from criminals. Sure, I took a bullet, but I'm alive to fight back.”

  “What about the day you got shot?” Hawk asked Jack. “You said you were set up?”

  Jack put down his soda. “Matting set me up. He called me to the construction site early. When I arrived, Matting was nowhere to be seen. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. Didn't take me long to realize that I had been set up...and like a blind bat, I fell for it.” Jack bowed his head. “I was standing next to a concrete mixer when I saw a red dot appear on my chest...before I could blink, I was on my back, lying in the mud, staring up at the sky.”

  “And you're sure it was this Matting guy that set you up?” Hawk asked, feeling his body start to relax into his chair. The heavy rain falling outside, mixed in with the dark sky and the southern environment of the restaurant, seemed to reach inside of his tense mind and lather its troubled chambers with a soothing lotion.

  “It had to be that slime ball,” Jack assured Hawk through gritted teeth. “Matting must have found out that José talked to me. Matting isn't stupid, Hawk; I felt the guy was beginning to suspect that I was a cop.”

  Hawk too
k a sip of his soda. “Did you ever talk to the two people José told you about?”

  Jack shook his head. “Nah,” he said and looked at Nikki. “José talked with me on a Monday. Tuesday morning, I was lying in the mud with a bullet caught in my protective vest. Matting acted fast.”

  “After you were shot, I'm assuming the shooter thought you were dead, right?” Nikki asked.

  “I guess,” Jack answered Nikki, looking back at Hawk. “The next thing I remember was hearing sirens.”

  “Jack,” Hawk asked, “this is kind of a dumb question...but did you see anyone?”

  “No one,” Jack told Hawk. “I've been doing some thinking, though. The shooter shot me from a northwestern location, which means he was stationed up near the supply shed. Security is heavy around the construction site, which means no one could just waltz past the guard shack. My gut tells me that Matting was the shooter, Hawk. Matting knows the layout of the construction sites. The slime ball is clever, Hawk.”

  “Matting shoots you, security calls the shooting in, makes sense,” Hawk told Jack.

  “Matting must have really thought he did me in,” Jack told Hawk. “Agent Norris must have been listening to the police monitors because he was waiting at the hospital when I arrived. When he found out I was alive, well, you know the story.”

  Nikki stared at Jack, confused. “Did you know Agent Norris before the shooting?” she asked.

  Jack shook his head. “Never saw the guy before. I learned his story later on.”

  Hawk looked at Nikki. Nikki's eyes told Hawk that Jack's words had just created a crack in his story. “Well,” Nikki told Jack in a tired voice, “let's rest our minds for now, okay? After we eat dinner, all I want is a calming shower and a nice, soft bed.”