Maple Hills Mystery Box Set Read online

“Excellent,” Oliver said, not realizing that Nikki was manipulating him. “I assumed you despised your ex-husband.”

  “Hearts never stop loving,” Nikki sighed and focused on the file in her hands.

  “Perhaps,” Oliver agreed.

  Nikki felt a shiver crawl down her spine. Bracing herself, she eased forward with extreme caution. “Could I dare to ask you who you worked for, Mr. Bates?”

  “You could,” Oliver replied. “I will make it very simple for you, if you wish.”

  “Nothing is simple, but please try.”

  “I worked for the Center for Disease Control,” Oliver explained. “My position will not be revealed, but I will state that I was a very powerful man. Early last year, I came to realize that my services at the Center were being questioned by a certain group of people in Washington.”

  “In other words, you were about to be eliminated,” Nikki said.

  “Yes,” Oliver replied.

  “I never had any dealings with the Center for Disease Control,” Nikki admitted. “I'm afraid I'm not educated in that department, but I suppose you must have dealt with some very deadly diseases.”

  “Not dealt with...created,” Oliver corrected Nikki. “Before my services were terminated, I made certain, shall I say, deals to obtain certain...items.”

  “I don't need to hear that,” Nikki scolded him. “My job is to find a killer and clear myself of a murder. I just needed to know who you worked for to help me. It seems that if you were going to be eliminated by force, then it's possible that the person who killed your wife was sent to kill you. Now that I think about it, I'm sure of that.”

  Oliver sat quietly for a minute. “Perhaps,” he finally answered in a disappointed tone. “I will leave you alone, now, Ms. Bates. I will be in touch tomorrow.”

  Nikki didn't say anything in reply. She watched the man put on his coat and hat and leave the room. “The games we play,” Nikki whispered. “Okay, Jane Bates, you may not be in these files, but your parents might be. All I have to do is locate them while making Oliver think I'm searching for your killer. At least Oliver showed up on time and took the bait.”

  9

  Rolling up her dress sleeves, Nikki went to work. Going through file after file, Nikki searched through one record after the next with a determined mind. When Hawk walked into the records room, she barely noticed. “Hungry?” he asked, examining all the files scattered across the sitting table.

  “Huh? Oh, hi, Hawk,” Nikki said wearily.

  Hawk closed the door behind him, shook the brown coat he was wearing, and then ran his hands through his damp hair. “How are things here?”

  “Oliver showed up like I expected. He was actually waiting for me,” Nikki explained and began rubbing her neck. “I managed to squeeze some juice from that lemon, but not much. I have to admit, I was terrified the whole time. That man has done something awful to me and I don't know what. But I will. Until I do, I have to play his sick game.”

  Hawk walked over to Nikki and began massaging her shoulders. “I did some digging for you, Nikki. Oliver Bates worked for—”

  “The CDC, yeah, I got that much from him,” Nikki said.

  Hawk nodded. “The man was in charge of the Contagious Diseases Research department. Mr. Oliver Bates began his career with the CDC after leaving the Navy in 1976. Now here's the kicker. Are you ready?”

  “Oliver Bates was originally assigned to the Vermont CDC, not the Atlanta CDC,” Nikki told Hawk, “and that's how he met his wife, Jane, who is from Maple Hills.”

  Hawk sighed. “Well, you popped my balloon.”

  “Not really,” Nikki explained. “I've been searching for confirmation of my theory. I'm trying to locate Jane's parents to confirm that she once lived in Maple Hills. It would help if I had the woman's maiden name.”

  Hawk beamed. “Funnel,” he announced proudly.

  Nikki turned in her seat and looked up into his eyes. “You've been on the job,” she said, impressed.

  “My fingers are more exhausted than my mind,” he admitted.

  Nikki smiled. “You’re great.” Standing up, she ran to a filing cabinet and pulled out a property tax file that belonged to a man named Lionel Funnel. “I've got an address.”

  “So do I,” Hawk said, “and a graveyard. Nikki, you know Jane Funnel's parents are dead by now, don't you?”

  “Oh, of course,” Nikki said, “but I also want to see who is living in her old home.”

  “The house you're looking for is owned by a local rental company,” Hawk explained. “After lunch, I was going to find out if anyone was renting the house.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Nikki said and turned to face Hawk. “I believe Mr. Oliver Bates may be the current resident, Hawk.”

  Hawk patted the gun hidden under his coat. “Yep,” he said.

  Nikki looked past Hawk toward the table. “Thanks for your help, Hawk. I don't know why I didn't call you to begin with. Silly of me, really, to make all this mess when a simple phone call could have saved me time and trouble.”

  “Maybe you just needed time to think,” Hawk suggested. “When my mind is tangling with a problem, I become distracted, too, and end up going around my elbow to get to my thumb.”

  “I guess,” Nikki said. “Help me put these files away, and we'll go have lunch.”

  “Lidia and Tori are waiting at the diner for us,” Hawk said as he began helping her clear the files.

  Nikki suddenly stopped and looked at Hawk. She froze as her mind swung a bright, shiny object in front of her eyes. Only this time, the object was shaped like a needle. “Hawk?”

  “Are you okay?” Hawk asked, alarmed.

  “I...” Nikki struggled to speak, “I...”

  “Sit down.”

  Nikki took Hawk's arm and sat.

  “Want some water?”

  “No, I'm...” Nikki closed her eyes. As she did, she saw herself standing in a gray light. Suddenly, a hand appeared and jabbed a needle into her neck. Nikki jerked and threw her eyes open.

  “What is it?” Hawk asked, watching Nikki begin to breathe in short, panicked gasps as her eyes grew wide with fear.

  “I'm not sure,” Nikki whispered. “Please, let's leave. I need some fresh air.”

  Hawk helped Nikki stand up. With shaky hands, she put on her coat and ski cap. “Ready?” Hawk asked.

  Nikki nodded. “And a little hungry. Maybe some food will help.”

  As Nikki walked out of the records room, she walked away from certain memories that were whispering into her mind, breaking away from frozen screams and melting into a nightmare.

  10

  After lunch, Nikki and Hawk drove to the rental house while Lidia and Tori headed back to the police station. “Weather is getting worse,” Hawk said, leaning forward in the driver's seat.

  Nikki listened to the screaming winds lashing sleet against the jeep. “I trust your driving. I do not trust icy roads,” she told Hawk in a worried voice.

  “Good thing the rental house is right here in town,” Hawk replied. “There's no way we could have driven out into the country. I'm not even sure we're going to make it back to your cabin tonight. We may have to pitch a tent in my office.”

  Nikki braced herself as the jeep slid to a stop at a four-way intersection. The business district was now a block behind her. Cozy, warm townhomes stood before her, lining comfortable streets that any writer would imagine with delight. “Keep going,” Nikki urged Hawk even though her heart was running laps.

  Hawk looked to his left and then to his right. “Ice is sticking to the power lines. My guess is this part of town will lose power before morning. Your cabin could be without power by now, too.”

  “One problem at a time,” Nikki begged him. “First, let's drive by the rental home.”

  Hawk nodded and eased through the four-way stop. “The house isn't far. I bet ten bucks that’s how Oliver Bates vanished from sight the other day. All he had to do was cut through a side street and wander off toward the
rental house.”

  Nikki looked to her left as Hawk drove past a cute brick house. Smoke was rising from a stone chimney attached to the side of the house. Instead of imagining loving families gathered around a blazing fire, sharing stories, drinking hot chocolate, and eating popcorn, Nikki saw a dying woman struggling to crawl across a bedroom floor toward her. Nikki...get help...Nikki, call for…help. Nikki…

  “Nikki?” Hawk asked.

  “Huh?” She jumped in her seat.

  “I said we're one street away from the rental house.”

  “Oh, okay. Drive slowly.”

  Hawk glanced at Nikki. Her face was pale, and her eyes were filled with horror and fear. “I wish I could walk inside your mind and save you from whatever monster is chasing you.”

  “Me, too,” Nikki replied, her voice shaky.

  Hawk slid the jeep to a stop at a second four-way stop. “There,” he said and pointed to a little yellow house sitting on the right-hand corner of Pine Street. Nikki leaned forward and studied it. “I see lights on.”

  “Me, too,” Hawk said, fixing his eyes on a gray, two-door car sitting in the driveway. I'm going to turn right, ease past the house, and get a look at the tag on that car.”

  Nikki drew in a deep breath. “Okay, let's go.”

  Inside the house, Oliver Bates was taking a hot shower. Having caught a chill from the icy weather, he feared that he might come down with a cold. Soaking up the hot steam, he was focused on his health and was completely unaware that Nikki and Hawk had located his hideout.

  After his shower, Oliver took two Vitamin C pills, drank three cups of hot honey water, and settled down into an armchair with his laptop and waited for Nikki to return to her cabin. “I must make you more aware of the true killer,” he whispered hideously. “The true killer is out there, Ms. Bates. Tick-tock, the sand is running out...for both you and me. We must hurry and play.”

  Back at the police station, Nikki walked into Hawk's office and plopped down in a cushioned chair in front of his desk. “Hey, guys,” Nikki said in an exhausted voice.

  Lidia and Tori were sitting in two chairs placed next to the window. “There is no way we're driving home tonight,” Tori said, looking out the office window into the deep gray, icy day.

  “I agree,” Lidia confirmed. “And this wind, my goodness, I've never seen it this strong.”

  “Me neither,” Hawk agreed, walking into his office and closing the door. “Okay, Nikki, I ran the tag.”

  “And?” Nikki asked anxiously.

  “The car belongs to a rental company in New Jersey,” Hawk explained, walking to his desk and sitting down.

  “Oliver can't use credit cards,” Nikki said, “and you need a credit card to rent a car.”

  “Not at Anywhere, Anytime Car Rental Service,” Hawk told her. “You can rent a car with cash just as long as you pay the cash deposit.”

  “Surely this company would have taken a copy of Bates’ driver's license,” Nikki mused.

  “Maybe, maybe not. I ran the company through the system, and let's just say the feedback is enough to make you cringe. Basically, the company rents lemons that aren't worth two cents.”

  “Okay, so Oliver got away with renting a lemon,” Nikki replied in a tired voice, “but I'm sure he's not going to be driving a lemon for the rest of his life. Hawk, the man is a dangerous killer. He's not walking blind here. That man has probably purchased a new vehicle and home on a tropical island somewhere.”

  Hawk crossed his ankle over his left knee. “With the Canadian border right up the road, he can make a hasty escape, too. I have nothing to charge him with at this point, though,” he muttered. “Sure, we found a few bread crumbs to stuff in our pockets today, but where does that leave us?”

  “Well,” Nikki said, attempting to sound positive, “let's count our bread crumbs. We know that Jane Bates was from Maple Hills and that Oliver Bates went to work at the CDC in Vermont after he left the navy. It's likely that he met Jane in Maple Hills somewhere along the line. Oliver was probably transferred to Atlanta, which explains how he ended up in Georgia.” Nikki rubbed her eyes. “Jane was murdered and managed to scrawl a few lipstick letters on her bedroom floor, leaving behind some form of a clue. Oliver believes her killer lives in Maple Hills, but I'm not so sure. I believe the man is playing a game. I also believe he killed Mrs. Grove.”

  “I'm going to run the marriage license,” Hawk told Nikki, “and find out where Bates married his wife. I'm also going to check with Atlanta and see what they have on Oliver and Jane. Maybe Atlanta might have a breadcrumb for us?”

  “Good idea,” Nikki agreed. “Also, Hawk, find out if Oliver went hiking in South America with someone...anyone. I have to believe he has a friend in his back pocket somewhere.”

  “I'll call a friend of mine in New York and see what he can come up with.”

  Nikki continued to rub her eyes. As she did, the image of a dead woman reappeared in her mind. Nikki...call for help...help...help... Nikki yanked her eyes open. “Oh my,” she whimpered.

  “What is it, honey?” Lidia asked and rushed over to Nikki.

  Nikki looked up into Lidia's worried eyes. “Oh Lidia!” She began to cry and threw her face into Lidia's stomach. “It's so awful...I can see her!”

  “Who?” Hawk asked.

  Lidia placed her right hand on the back of Nikki's neck to comfort her. “Who, honey? Who do you see?”

  “A dead woman, lying on a floor and begging me to call for help,” Nikki cried.

  Hawk looked at Lidia and then at Tori. Tori stood up and walked over to Lidia. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked worriedly.

  Lidia shook her head. “I'm afraid not.”

  “I keep seeing this shiny object going back and forth in front of my eyes. And earlier today, I saw the object turn into a needle...and I saw a man stick the needle into my neck,” Nikki explained through tears.

  “Oh my,” Lidia said and looked to Hawk for help.

  Hawk rubbed his chin. “Nikki, look at me.”

  Nikki lifted her head and focused on Hawk. “Yes?” she asked and wiped at her tears.

  “I think it's possible that somewhere down the line you were hypnotized. I think you realize that by now, too.” Hawk stood up and walked to Nikki. Taking her hands, he looked softly into her tear-filled eyes. “I have an idea.”

  “I'm listening,” Nikki promised.

  “This may sound silly, so bear with me.” Hawk drew in a deep breath. “When I was a cop in New York, I watched a doctor hypnotize a woman who witnessed a murder. The woman was so traumatized that her mind blocked out every detail of the murder. Needless to say, the doctor was able to help the woman bypass her trauma and remember what she had seen. I was pretty amazed because, well, I was skeptical about the whole hypnotism act.”

  “You want to hypnotize me?” Nikki asked Hawk.

  Hawk nodded. “Your mind is leaking out what you were programmed to forget,” Hawk explained. “Sooner or later you're bound to remember everything that you have forgotten, but we don't have time to wait around.”

  “Isn't that kind of dangerous?” Tori asked, concerned. “Hawk, playing with someone's mind can cause a lot of harm. Are you really qualified to hypnotize someone?”

  “Nope,” Hawk said simply, keeping his eyes locked on Nikki, “and I probably never will be qualified, either.”

  “I want to remember,” Nikki pleaded. “I need to remember. I think Oliver Bates killed his wife, Hawk. I know he killed Mrs. Grove. And now he's after me, playing some kind of sick game. The man is a dangerous killer...and he's set his sights on me, and I don't know why.”

  “Could it be because you saw him kill his wife?” Lidia asked Nikki. “How old is this weirdo?”

  “Early seventies,” Nikki answered.

  “What age was he when his wife was murdered?”

  “Forty-eight,” Hawk told Lidia.

  “So do the math...that would have put Nikki in her early twenties, right?” Lidia ask
ed.

  Nikki nodded. “I would have been twenty-one or twenty-two, I guess. I was in journalism school at that age.”

  A bell went off in Hawk's mind. “Nikki, what if Oliver's wife called you to her home to report something to you concerning her husband? And what if Oliver found out and killed his wife before she could tell you? And what if you walked in and found the woman dying on her bedroom floor? And,” Hawk finished, “what if Oliver appeared and injected you with something and then programmed your mind to forget?”

  “It's... possible,” Nikki answered Hawk, “but those are a lot of ‘what if’s. I didn't even know Jane Bates.”

  “Maybe you did, and you just don't remember it,” Hawk said. “You're seeing this woman in your mind because you're remembering her. And if you're remembering her, then you knew her somehow.”

  “Hawk is right,” Lidia told Nikki.

  “Yeah, I think he is,” Tori added. “Hawk, we trust you.”

  Hawk bit down on his lower lip. “Nikki?”

  Nikki stared into Hawk's eyes. “I have to know. I have to defeat Oliver Bates.”

  “Okay,” Hawk said and let go of Nikki's hands. Rubbing his neck, he studied his office. “Tori, close the blinds. Nikki, pull a chair into the middle of the room.”

  Nikki became very nervous. She watched Hawk hurry to his computer as she pulled a chair into the middle of the office. Hawk jumped online and brought up a website that played relaxing piano music. “That should do it,” he said as a soft, soothing melody floated into the air. “Nikki, sit down. Lidia, Tori, stand outside my office door, and don't let anyone disturb us.”

  “Come on,” Lidia said and grabbed Tori’s hand.

  “You can do this,” Tori told Nikki and hugged her neck.

  Hawk waited until Lidia and Tori had left his office before he reached into his front pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch. “This watch belonged to my dad,” he told Nikki.

  Nikki stared at the watch as the winds howled and screamed outside. “Hawk, are you sure you can do this?”