Maple Hills Mystery Box Set 3 Page 22

  “Follow me,” said Hawk. Nikki followed right behind Hawk, careful not to make any noise or step off the trail. The sides of the trail were grown up, and Nikki did not want to step on anything she could not see. Hawk picked up the pace and as they got closer, the woods thinned a bit. The cabin was small and worn down. There were a few small windows. One of them appeared cracked. There was no sign of the truck. Nikki pointed that out to Hawk.

  “They could have parked the truck further away,” suggested Hawk. Nikki nodded. Hawk moved slowly toward the back of the cabin. Nikki followed. Hawk got to the side of one window and looked in. He shook his head and moved aside. Nikki looked in. There was an old wooden table and a chair and a lot of dirt and dust. It looked as if no one had been in that room for years. If Andrew was in this cabin, he was not in that room. Hawk moved toward the side of the cabin. He looked in the window and shook his head again. Nikki looked in. There was a kitchen that had obviously not been used by any human being in quite a long time. There was an open cabinet with boxes strewn around the floor and some canisters on their sides. There was no food to be seen, and Nikki supposed it had been eaten by some critters. Everything in the room had a thick layer of dust. Hawk walked around to the front door and found it open. Nikki figured that is how the critters would have gotten in. Hawk walked in with his gun drawn. Nikki followed him and looked around. This was an old fishing cabin. A few stuffed fish hung on the wall, and there was an old cot in the corner of one of the rooms. There was room for one or two people to live here comfortably for a week at most. The only prints on the floor were from raccoons and other forest animals that now called this cabin home.

  “I guess the raccoons enjoyed the food,” Nikki said as they walked through the kitchen. They searched the cabin, but there was no sign of anyone ever being there. Nikki opened a closet and was startled by a squirrel that had made a nest there. Nikki jumped and shut the door quickly. She walked back to the front of the cabin. She noticed the cabin was not wired for electricity. She asked Hawk about that. He explained that this was one of the older fishing cabins. The man that owned it would use candles and lanterns to light the cabin.

  “They came out here to fish, not watch television,” Hawk explained.

  Nikki remembered a cabin Andrew had rented outside of Atlanta by a large lake. They had rented it before Seth was born. The area was quiet, but the cabin had a television, refrigerator, stove, and shower. Nikki preferred that cabin to this one. Thinking about Andrew made Nikki worry more. She turned to Hawk and voiced her concern.

  “Now where do we go?” asked Nikki. She was starting to worry about Andrew. Yes, she did not like him, but she didn’t want Seth’s father getting hurt. Or, if he did get hurt, she wanted to be the one to inflict the pain.

  Hawk came back toward the front door. “Let me check in with the chief. I seem to remember another cabin nearby.” Hawk pulled out his cell, but there was no reception.

  “We’ll have to get back to the car to call him,” Hawk said.

  “What about your radio?” Nikki asked.

  “I left it in the car. I didn’t want it to go off while we were approaching the house.”

  “That makes sense,” said Nikki. She and Hawk started back toward the car. Suddenly, Nikki heard a rattle. It sounded like a baby’s rattle but more intense and close by her feet. She stopped. Hawk had heard it, too. He stopped and they looked around. Nikki knew that sound from hikes she had gone on. That was the sound of an angry rattlesnake. They needed to find the snake so they could avoid stepping on it. Hawk pointed about a foot off the trail. There was the snake, poised to strike. On the end of the tail was its rattle. It was shaking it hard trying to scare the humans away. Nikki knew if they continued down that trail, one or both of them would be bit. Hawk took Nikki’s hand. He led her off the trail in the other direction about three feet. They walked in a half circle and got back on the trail about five feet from the snake. The snake settled back down, and Nikki and Hawk walked back to the car.

  “That was too close,” said Nikki.

  “I can take you back to the station if you want me to. These deep woods can have some unpleasant creatures in them. Someone told me they saw a bear here once. As close as the trees are here, I believe him. If you don’t want to be out here, I can find this guy on my own,” said Hawk.

  “No. I want to go with you. I just don’t want to get bit by a poisonous snake or by a bear,” Nikki replied.

  “Okay. Let me call the chief.” Hawk and Nikki climbed into his truck. He got on his radio and called his father.

  “We checked the cabin, Chief. There was no one there.” Hawk talked to the chief for a few more minutes.

  Hawk hung up and started the truck. “The chief agreed that we should go to the next cabin. It’s only about five miles from here.”

  “Is the road there any better?” Nikki asked. Hawk laughed.

  “Nope,” he replied. He turned the truck around and they bounced down to the road. Hawk asked how Nikki was holding up. She said she was fine. She told him she was still being objective; however, she was concerned that they had not found Andrew yet. Hawk reassured her that they would find him soon. He reminded her that the chief had different patrols checking out all the nearby cabins. About four miles later, Hawk pulled the truck off the road into what appeared to be high grass again. As they drove deeper into the woods, the tall grass disappeared, and shorter grass and moss surrounded them. The trees were just as thick here as they were by the other cabin. Hawk pulled the truck off the trail. Hawk stopped the truck before they could see the cabin. He got out of the truck and told Nikki to follow him. They walked along a small path that was just discernible through the undergrowth. At one point, they crossed a small stream. It was a bit too wide to hop across. Hawk helped Nikki across a stone path. Nikki was glad her feet were still dry when she reached the other side. She followed Hawk to where the trees thinned. Hawk stopped. He pointed, and Nikki looked. She saw a truck. It looked like the same truck that had almost run her over at the motel. She nodded to Hawk. The woods stopped, and there was a small meadow. On the other side was the cabin. This was a larger cabin. The front door was closed.

  “We cannot approach from the front; there’s no cover,” said Hawk. “We’ll have to follow the tree line to the back. The forest is close to the back porch. We can check in those windows first.” Nikki agreed. She followed Hawk. This took longer than Nikki had anticipated. There was no trail, and they had to be careful of fallen trees and holes that animals had dug. Nikki stepped in one of the holes and turned her ankle. Hawk caught her.

  “You should go back to the truck,” he said.

  “I’ll be alright. It was just a quick turn,” she reassured him.

  “Okay,” said Hawk, and they started walking again. Hawk helped Nikki over a fallen tree and under some low hanging branches. After what seemed like hours, they reached the back porch. It was a small porch that could fit about three or four people. There were three steps on the side leading up to the porch. There was a small bit of grass, but Hawk had been right. They had forest cover almost to the porch steps.

  “Let me go first,” said Hawk. He ducked and carefully walked slowly up the back porch stairs. He looked in the windows and motioned for Nikki to follow him. She carefully ascended the three steps. She ducked down beside Hawk and looked in the room. It was empty. Nikki could see the front door, and there was enough light from the other windows to realize no one was there. Nikki was getting very concerned. Andrew and the stranger should have been there. Nikki was sure that was the truck she had seen at the hotel.

  “Where are they?” she whispered to Hawk.

  “I’m not sure. We should go around and check the side windows.” Nikki agreed. She and Hawk started to stand up. Just as Hawk and Nikki rose up to move to the side, the front door opened and a man walked into the cabin. He looked toward the back porch. Hawk pulled Nikki back down just in time.

  9

  Hawk pressed his finger to his lips
. Nikki kept quiet. They listened outside the porch window. Nikki adjusted her feet and craned her neck so she could hear what was being said.

  “So, Andrew, are you tired of running yet?” Nikki heard a strong New York accent coming from the cabin.

  “What do you mean, running? Why am I here?” asked Andrew.

  “I told you why. My boss is on his way. It would be easier if you went along with me. I don’t know why you insist that you don’t know him.”

  “Who is your boss?” Andrew asked.

  “Mr. King,” the man said.

  “I don’t know any Mr. King,” Andrew insisted. There was a thud and a noise like air exhaling rapidly. Nikki tried to get up, but Hawk held her down. He shook his head.

  “I really don’t want to keep hitting you. I wish you would just cooperate.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” insisted Andrew.

  “You do know, and you will tell me where it is.”

  “I have told you over and over; I don’t have that kind of money.”

  “I’m sure Mr. King will not be happy to hear that,” the New York accent replied. “Maybe you need some more incentive.”

  “No, no, please don’t hit me again. I’ll tell you what you want to know,” Andrew gasped. There was silence.

  “Well?” asked the man, “Where’s the money?”

  “I would tell you if I knew, but I don’t. I don’t know what money you’re talking about. I don’t know any Mr. King.”

  Nikki heard the sound of a gun being cocked. She tried to look, but Hawk held her down.

  “Maybe this will jog your memory,” the man said.

  “Don’t shoot me!” yelled Andrew. Nikki twisted, but Hawk held her firmly.

  “You are lucky Mr. King wants you alive.” She breathed a sigh of relief, now understanding the gun was only a fear tactic. Nikki and Hawk kept on listening. Nikki could hear Andrew whimpering. She didn’t blame him; he’d just had a gun in his face.

  “Mr. King wants to get back what you owe him.”

  “How can I give something back that I don’t have? And who is Mr. King?” Nikki heard the other man pacing.

  “You owe Mr. King a bunch of money. He has been waiting for you to come back East. He’s at the airport right now. He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  Nikki looked at Hawk. She wished he had his radio. She knew his cell phone wouldn’t have reception here. Hawk was listening with his gun out of his holster.

  “What are you talking about? How did he know where I was? Why would he care?”

  “You owe him money. He wants his money back. You were smart to run to California; he couldn’t get to you there. I’m surprised you came back East.”

  “How did this Mr. King know where I was?” Andrew asked.

  “He kept tabs on you. I found out you were flying back East, and Mr. King sent me to meet you. That woman got in the way, though. She kept interfering with my plans. I had to shoot her.”

  “Karissa? You shot Karissa?” Andrew moaned.

  “Was that her name? Yes. I shot her in the alley. I was going to grab you at the park, but the old lady started screaming. Can you believe my luck? I thought no one would find her for a few hours. That would have given me time to grab you and run. As it turned out, when she screamed she drew all sorts of attention to the alley. I had to get out of there. That’s when I decided to wait in your hotel room.”

  “I didn’t know you were there in the closet,” Andrew said.

  “Obviously,” the other voice boomed. “You nearly knocked me out with that lamp, and you grabbed my gun! I’m just glad I had the silencer on the gun from when I shot Karissa, or the cops would have come in shooting, you idiot!” Nikki heard a firmer thud, and Andrew wailed; she suspected the man had hit Andrew with the barrel of his gun. “You were easy, though,” the man said with a laugh. “One swing, and you were down. It was a pain getting you through that bathroom window, but I got you out just in time. I should have run that woman over at the hotel. She was lucky you grabbed the wheel. Who was that woman?”

  “No one. I… I just didn’t want her to get run over,” Andrew replied.

  Nikki slipped from Hawk’s grasp and peeked over the windowsill. She could see the man standing in front of a table. She didn’t see Andrew. Hawk tried to pull her down, but Nikki stayed. The man at the table took a step away, and Nikki finally saw Andrew. He was tied up and bleeding. She gasped. The man turned and fired a shot, just missing Nikki. Hawk got up but didn’t fire. He didn’t want to hit Andrew. Nikki started running off the porch. The man fired at Hawk, and the bullet managed to graze Hawk’s gun, knocking it from his grasp. The man dashed out the back door and caught Hawk in a neck grasp, placing his gun to Hawk’s head. Nikki froze.

  “That’s it, honey. Come back here slowly and carefully,” the man said to Nikki. “If you don’t, I’ll put a bullet in his head.”

  Nikki turned around. Hawk was in a headlock, and the gun was right at his temple.

  “Okay, just don’t shoot him,” she pleaded.

  “I won’t, yet,” the gunman threatened. Nikki walked back to the porch and climbed up the stairs.

  “Get into the cabin and sit by the table,” the man ordered. Nikki did what he demanded. The man roughly dragged Hawk into the cabin. He sat him on a seat and had Nikki tie him up. The man then tied Nikki to the other chair. Andrew was watching the whole scene; his eyes seemed to apologize to Nikki when she sat down. Nikki just looked worried. How are we going to get out of this, she wondered.

  “Are you okay?” she asked Andrew.

  “Shut up,” the man said. Andrew nodded quickly while the man was tying Nikki to the chair.

  “You will never get away with this,” said Hawk. “The police are on their way. They’ll be here soon. It would be easier for you to just let us go now.”

  The man laughed. “What police?” he asked.

  “The chief will be here. He and the other police who are out there looking for you will be here soon. There’s a manhunt on for you,” Nikki insisted.

  “I don’t believe that. Why would they bother looking for this guy?” he pointed at Andrew.

  “They will be here soon,” Hawk warned. The man scoffed and shook his head.

  “We’re safe,” he said. “No one will find us out here.”

  Unfortunately, Nikki was starting to believe him.

  10

  Hawk, Nikki, and Andrew were sitting at a kitchen table. Their hands and feet were bound to the chairs. Up close, Andrew looked worse. It seemed to Nikki like he had been hit quite a bit. She told him everything was going to be okay. The man holding them hostage strode over. He threatened to hit Nikki. He told her to keep her mouth shut.

  “Leave her alone,” Hawk cried.

  “What’s it to you?” the man asked, clearly annoyed.

  “I told you, the police are on their way. Things will go more smoothly for you if you let us go. You do not want to harm us.”

  “Don’t tell me what I want to do,” said the man, turning to Hawk. He backhanded Hawk and Nikki gasped.

  “See,” said the man. “That is what happens when you don’t shut up.”

  Nikki looked at Hawk. There was blood trickling down his chin. She felt awful. This is all my fault, she thought. I should not have dragged Hawk into any mess involving Andrew. She closed her eyes and tried to think of a way out of the situation. She felt a hand on her neck. The man jerked her head up.

  “I recognize you. You and police guy were at the park today with Andrew. What were you doing there?”

  Nikki did not answer him. She looked at him defiantly. The man shrugged and turned to Hawk. He hit him again, hard. Nikki still didn’t say anything. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she didn’t say a word. She didn’t want to give this man any information.

  “So, you two won’t answer me?” he questioned and then gave Nikki a taunting stare. “Didn’t your mama tell you it’s not polite to ignore someone?”

  �
�Didn’t your mama tell you not to hurt people?” Nikki said. The man frowned and raised his fist.

  “Don’t!” yelled Hawk as the man’s fist hit Nikki’s cheek.

  Nikki felt her head snap back quickly. The back of her head hit something. She saw stars and then darkness. She heard Andrew and Hawk yelling, but she could not make out what they were saying. She opened her eyes at last and saw the ceiling. Hawk was trying to break out of the chair. Andrew was yelling at the man. The man leaned over Nikki. She could feel his breath on her face.

  “Are you ready to talk now?” he asked. Nikki did not answer him. Her whole head was throbbing, and the room was spinning. The man pulled his foot back and kicked Nikki in the ankle. She gasped and cried out. Hawk roared, “Stop!”

  “How about you? Are you ready to talk now?” the man asked Hawk.

  “Yes. Just please stop hurting her,” Hawk said between clenched teeth.

  The man lifted Nikki and her chair. He sat her upright. Nikki clenched her teeth but did not cry. “Don’t tell him anything, Hawk,” she pleaded.

  The man turned to her. “You’re stronger than you look. What is it they say down south, maybe I’ll have to break this filly?”

  He grabbed Nikki’s hair and Hawk yelled at him.

  “We were meeting Andrew to talk about Karissa!” Hawk cried.

  “That’s better,” said the man, letting go of Nikki’s hair and stroking it. She cringed at his touch. The room was steadying itself slowly. A wave of nausea washed over Nikki, but she gulped some air and held it down. I probably have a concussion, she thought. I must have hit my head on the wall when he hit me. She heard Hawk talking and tried to listen to what he was saying.

  “Yes, we were meeting Andrew to talk about Karissa, the woman you killed,” Hawk said.

  “Oh, you heard that?” the man asked. “That’s too bad. We’ll see what Mr. King wants to do with you now that you know what I’ve done. Why would you want to talk to Andrew about Karissa?”