Sea Salt Caramel Murder (A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Book 4) Read online

  Nikki nodded her head. “If Matt is innocent, he'll go free. If he's guilty, he'll answer to a court of law,” she told Tara, watching Hawk close the cabin door and step out into the hallway.

  “Well,” Hawk said, “I think we caught our killer and his accomplice.”

  “No,” Tara shook her head. “We told you, Matt was in the kitchen making pudding bowls when the lights went off.”

  Before Hawk could reply, Nikki heard the door to the stairwell click shut. “Hawk, someone is in the stairwell!”

  Hawk looked down the hallway and took off running. Nikki grabbed Tara's hand and followed Hawk. Reaching the stairwell, Hawk burst in with his gun ready. Looking upward he caught a glimpse of someone exiting the stairwell onto the deck above. Giving chase, Hawk raced up the stairs. Nikki chased after Hawk, pulling Tara with her. Storming out of the stairwell onto the passenger deck where their own cabins were located, Hawk looked to his left and then to his right. “No one,” he said breathing hard. “Whoever it was is gone.”

  Nikki ran out of the stairwell. Looking to her left and then to her right, she saw only empty space. “The elevator is running. Whoever it was is in one of the rooms.”

  “It's no good,” Hawk told Nikki. “It'll take all night to search each cabin. By then this ship could be at the bottom of the sea. Come on, let's get this girl to her quarters and then get back to the bridge. But first, let me go talk to Herbert.”

  Knowing that Hawk was right, Nikki examined the empty passageway once more. Maybe, she thought, Mr. Lei Johnson might not be the killer after all.

  Chapter Ten

  After locking Tara in her quarters, Hawk and Nikki hurried back to the bridge. Brody was standing outside in the hallway, waiting for them. “Matt called me from Mr. Johnson's room. He told me you handcuffed him to Mr. Johnson. Is that true?”

  “Yep,” Hawk said, proud of himself.

  “We saw Tara leave the dining room. We found her knocking on Mr. Johnson's cabin door. Matt was inside,” Nikki explained. “Mr. Lane, you have to admit, that is very suspicious.”

  “I guess it is,” Brody admitted.

  Hawk explained about Matt returning the diamonds to Lei Johnson after Captain Mayfield's murder and then requesting reward money. “At first, I thought the boy was lying, and I made him believe I thought he was lying.”

  “Matt was telling the truth?” Brody asked.

  Hawk shrugged his shoulders. “Mr. Lane, right now, I have two people handcuffed together, and I have an armed guard standing outside in the hallway ready to shoot them if they try and leave. I actually have old Herbert standing guard. I gave him a gun. He'll shoot at anything, so be careful if you go down there.”

  “His wife, Lidia, is with him. She has my gun,” Nikki told Brody. “We owe them big time, Hawk.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Hawk agreed. Shaking his head, he peered out of a window into the storm. “Ship is really taking a hit.”

  “The full force of the storm is almost on us,” Brody explained. “I...have just enough time to push this ship west and out of the direct path of the storm.”

  “No,” Hawk said, “we have to stay on course. If Johnson isn't the killer, then we still have a real problem on our hands.”

  “Then who is the killer?” Brody asked, feeling the ship ride up a huge swell. “Forget my question. I have to return to the wheel. I'll keep us on course as long as possible.”

  Nikki watched Brody open the door to the bridge and run inside. “Who is the killer?” she asked Hawk. “I think we both know Mr. Johnson isn't the killer, Hawk. It seems like Captain Mayfield was strong-arming a lot of people, people who might have wanted him dead.”

  Hawk balanced himself against the passageway wall. He began to answer Nikki but caught a glimpse of an approaching person. Pulling out his gun, he saw Dr. Rowen jogging up to him. “Detective,” Dr. Rowen yelled in an urgent voice, “Detective Daily, I—” Dr. Rowen suddenly stopped jogging. With an agonizing cry, he grabbed his neck, and then he dropped dead.

  Hawk ran up to Dr. Rowen's body. “Look...another dart,” he told Nikki.

  Nikki leaned down next to Hawk, fully aware they were easy targets. With nervous eyes, she examined the bamboo dart lodged in Dr. Rowen's neck. “He's dead, Hawk,” she said.

  Hawk shot to his feet. “Stay right here,” he ordered Nikki and ran off down the hallway, fighting to keep his balance as the ship fought its way through the storm.

  “What were you going to tell Hawk?” Nikki asked Dr. Rowen, hugging her shoulders with shaking hands. After a few seconds, she drew up enough courage to lean back down and examine Dr. Rowen's pockets. And there, in the dead man's front pocket, she found a crinkled-up piece of paper with someone's handwriting on it. She grabbed some latex gloves from her pocket. Never leave home without them, she thought, as she put them on. “Oh dear,” Nikki said, recognizing the handwriting on the piece of paper.

  Standing up, she backed away from Dr. Rowen's body until her back was pressed up against the door leading into the bridge. Using her left hand, she reached down into the front pocket of her dress and drew out the letter the killer had left taped to the bridge door. Comparing the letter to the piece of crinkled-up paper she found on Dr. Rowen's body, Nikki was able to clearly see the handwriting on both pieces of paper. “The handwriting matches,” she said. Wishing Hawk was with her, Nikki looked down the hallway as the ship struggled over another large swell. Barely able to keep her balance, Nikki began to feel fatigue set in. “No time for sleeping,” she told herself, thinking of her warm bed back in her cabin.

  A few minutes later, Hawk appeared. “No good,” he said out of breath. “I lost him.”

  “Look,” Nikki said, showing Hawk the piece of paper she had retrieved from Dr. Rowen's body and then the note the killer had taped to the bridge door. “Hawk, the handwriting matches.”

  “Seasick pills ordered,” Hawk read from the crinkled-up piece of paper.

  “Hawk, the killer is a crew member,” Nikki said. “We need to ask Mr. Lane who orders the medical supplies for Dr. Rowen.”

  Hawk agreed. With a hard fist, he banged on the bridge door. Brody opened the door with impatient hands. “I don't have time to speak with you—”

  Hawk tossed a thumb over his shoulder at Dr. Rowen's body. “Dr. Rowen has been murdered,” he interrupted Brody. “The killer was just in this passageway.”

  Brody froze. Unable to speak, he stared at Dr. Rowen's body. “Mr. Lane, who orders the medical supplies for Dr. Rowen?”

  “I...uh...” Brody attempted to speak. Forcing his mind to think, he eased around his shock and answered Nikki. “The home office. Dr. Rowen makes a list of what he needs after each cruise and drops it off at the home office.”

  “You didn't recognize the writing on the letter the killer left on this door, did you?” Nikki asked.

  Brody shook his head. “No.”

  Hawk showed Brody the wrinkled-up piece of paper Nikki found in Dr. Rowen's pocket. “The handwriting matches,” he said, showing Brody the killer's letter.

  Brody examined each piece paper with nervous eyes. “I don't recognize the handwriting, I'm sorry. But it does appear the handwriting on both pieces of paper matches.”

  “Mr. Lane, do you have a pen?” Nikki asked. Brody took a pen out of his jacket pocket and handed the pen to Nikki. Nikki put an X on both pieces of paper and handed the pen back to Brody. “Thank you.”

  “Sure,” Brody replied as he tilted his head and wrinkled his brow.

  Nikki took the killer's letter and the piece of paper she found on Dr. Rowen and shoved them down into the front pocket of her dress. “We need to get his body to the medical bay.”

  “I understand,” Brody said as a huge wave bashed up against the ship, sending water racing over the bow, temporarily submerging it completely. “I have to get back to the wheel.”

  “Go on,” Hawk said, shaking his head. “You handle keeping us above water, and we'll handle the rest.” Brody nodded and hurri
ed back into the bridge. “Nikki?”

  “Yes?” Nikki asked, fighting to keep her balance.

  “How did Dr. Rowen know we were up here?”

  Nikki considered Hawk's question. “The killer,” she answered as the truth struck her mind like a powerful wave crashing down. “Hawk, Dr. Rowen was led here.”

  “But why?” Hawk asked. “The killer could have put that poison dart in Dr. Rowen's neck anyplace.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “The medical bay,” Nikki erupted. Grabbing Hawk's hand she ran toward the stairwell and descended to the deck the medical bay was located on. Reaching the door to the medical bay, she stopped. Hawk pulled out his gun, motioned for Nikki to stand back, and kicked the door open. And there, attached to Captain Mayfield's chest, was a note. “What does the note read?” Nikki asked Hawk.

  Hawk leaned over Captain Mayfield's chest and read it. “Back off or die, Detective Daily,” he read the note aloud. “The next dart belongs to you.”

  “Now we know why Dr. Rowen was led to us; the killer wanted you to see him kill Dr. Rowen, to scare you,” Nikki said, closing the door to the medical bay.

  “Ah, I ain't scared,” Hawk said in a tough voice. He pointed at the handwriting on the note. “The handwriting matches the other two in your pocket.”

  Nikki stared at Hawk. For a second she saw him lying dead with a dart stuck in his throat. Not fully understanding why, she broke down and began crying. “No...” Nikki wept.

  “Hey,” Hawk said, alarmed, “it's okay, you don't have to cry. There ain't nothing gonna happen to me.”

  Nikki walked over to Hawk and wrapped her trembling arms around his shoulders and hugged him. “Be safe,” she begged as tears dropped from her scared eyes. And then, out of the blue, she looked up into Hawk's eyes, leaned up on her tippy-toes, and kissed him.

  Hawk closed his eyes and kissed Nikki back. “Oh Nikki,” he sighed, “I know this isn’t the right time to tell you this, but you've taken my heart.”

  “Ditto,” Nikki whispered, laying her head down on Hawk's shoulder. “If we make it through this, I'm going to kill you, you big lug. I didn't want to care about anyone else.”

  “Me neither,” Hawk admitted, holding Nikki in his arms.

  Listening to the storm attack the ship, Nikki pushed the awful image of Hawk lying dead out of her mind. A killer was on the loose, and it was their job to find him. “Hawk, what people say about the man who owns this ship, that he's a mystery… Do you suppose he could be the killer?”

  Hawk considered Nikki's question. Letting go of her, he put his hands gently down onto her shoulders. “I'm all ears, partner,” he smiled.

  “I was just thinking that the killer has escaped us twice. Once in the stairwell and then up on deck. He knows the layout of this ship, Hawk. He also wants this ship to stay on course for some dangerous reason. I'm inclined to believe the killer might want this ship to sink.”

  Hawk stared into Nikki's beautiful eyes. “For insurance money?”

  Nikki nodded. “It's possible.”

  “But the killer would go down with the ship?” Hawk asked, confused.

  “Would he?” Nikki asked as alarm bells went off in her head. “Hawk, would he? What if there is a bomb on this ship set to go off at a certain time? The killer can jump ship and set the bomb off by remote control.”

  Hawk bit down on his lower lip. “The killer knocked off Captain Mayfield...but why? Maybe because Mayfield knew too much or crossed a line? The killer then took out Dr. Rowen as a message for me to back off, but Dr. Rowen seemed awful anxious to tell me something, didn't he?”

  “Yes,” Nikki agreed.

  “Okay, Nikki, let's go through the process of elimination. We'll start checking this ship for a bomb.”

  “What about the killer?” Nikki worried.

  Hawk bit down on his lower lip again. Shaking his head, he walked over to Dr. Rowen's desk and pulled out the bottle of Brandy. “Well, Dr. Rowen, you old boozehound, you had an awful end and—” Hawk stopped talking.

  “What?” Nikki asked, alarmed.

  “Look,” he said, handing her the bottle of brandy. Staring at the bottle, he pointed to a plastic bag holding a note. “We have a message.”

  Nikki ran to the cleaning station sink, emptied the bottle of brandy and pulled the plastic bag free. Handing Hawk the empty brandy bottle she nervously glanced around the empty medical bay, expecting the killer to somehow materialize out of thin air, waited until the ship fought through a thunderous swell, and then pulled the message out of the plastic bag. “The ship is doomed. Get off it while you still can. BOOM,” Nikki read the message aloud to Hawk and then grew silent as all the color drained from her face. “It is a bomb,” she whispered, terrified.

  “A bomb... Maybe the killer didn't take out Dr. Rowen as a warning to me after all,” Hawk told Nikki, shaking his head. Rubbing the back of his neck, he began to pace around the medical bay. Having a dead body lying on a bed in the middle of the bay made Hawk feel uneasy. The dead body could have been himself, or even worse, Nikki. “Nikki, it's too late to turn around. We're stuck in this storm but good. So the killer wants to sink this ship in the storm, collect the insurance money, and walk away free as a bird. It's a good plan, too. The killer can blame the storm for sinking the ship, and who would be able to say otherwise? All the witnesses will be dead.”

  Nikki began biting on her thumbnail. Feeling like a mouse caught in an impossible maze, she watched Hawk pace around. “Hawk, if Mr. Johnson and Matt aren't the team we're looking for, that means the killer's accomplice is still loose on this ship. The more I think about it, the more I believe that Mr. Johnson isn't the killer. Yes, the man fits the role, and I'm sure he has some skeletons in his closet. But I don't think he killed Captain Mayfield or Dr. Rowen.”

  “I'm listening.”

  “Hawk, Matt took Mr. Johnson his diamonds after Captain Mayfield was killed. Why would Mr. Johnson kill Captain Mayfield before retrieving his diamonds? That would be like killing a man who owed you money. You would never collect,” Nikki explained.

  Hawk considered Nikki's explanation. It made sense to him. “Yeah, he's also handcuffed to Matt in his cabin. There's no way he could have killed Dr. Rowen, either.”

  “Which leaves us back at square one,” Nikki sighed miserably. “We have a killer on the loose and someone—or a group of people—helping him. I'm just wondering how Dr. Rowen came to find out the ship is doomed.”

  “Maybe he had a little chat with the killer,” Hawk attempted to joke.

  Nikki froze. “Hawk, that's not so far-fetched,” she said. “Maybe Dr. Rowen knew the killer all along? Maybe—come on!” Nikki grabbed Hawk's hand and dashed out of the medical bay. Taking a dangerous chance of throwing her body into the open where a poison dart could easily come flying at her from any direction and take her life, she ran toward the stairwell and made her way back to Tara's quarters.

  Chapter Twelve

  “What are we doing back here?” Hawk asked catching his breath.

  “You'll see,” Nikki said, knocking on the door. A few seconds later Tara opened the door with tears in her eyes. “Oh, it's you, Ms. Bates and Detective Daily. I was hoping it was Matt.”

  “Tara,” Nikki said quickly, “when you were in the kitchen before the lights went out, did you happen to see Dr. Rowen?”

  “Dr. Rowen?” Tara asked, wiping at her tears. “Let me think...” Tara pushed her mind back into the kitchen. “It was really busy. The cooks were talking and laughing, people were taking orders out to the front tables. Matt was filling the pudding bowls, and we were talking about getting our apartment. I was really excited.”

  “Keep going,” Nikki told Tara in a patient voice. She had been Tara's age once, too, and understood how the mind of a nineteen-year-old girl operated.

  “Well, Matt and I were talking about saving money for the security deposit, and the lights went off,” Tara explained, straining her memory. “I...wait,” she exclaimed. �
��Ms. Bates, Detective Daily, I did see Dr. Rowen in the kitchen. He was standing near the walk-in cooler, eating a chocolate, as a matter of fact. He was talking to a cook. I really didn't think much of it. I mean, it was dinner time.”

  “And the switches that control the dining room and kitchen lights?” Hawk asked.

  Tara looked at Hawk. “Detective Daily, the main control panel is located in the kitchen.” Tara stopped. Her eyes grew wide. “Near the walk-in cooler.”

  “Bingo,” Hawk told Nikki. “We've found the killer's accomplice. Nikki, remind me to put a ring on your finger and sweep you away to a romantic island someday.”

  Nikki smiled. “I'll settle for making sea salt chocolates together in my kitchen,” she told Hawk. “Okay, Tara, you've been a great help. Now I have a job for you and Matt. A very important job. Come with me.”

  Hawk gave Nikki a confused look but trusted in her plan. Taking out his gun, he followed Nikki and Tara back to Lei Johnson's cabin, Nikki immediately hugged Lidia, who was standing guard there with Herbert. “We believe there is a bomb on the ship,” she explained in a low voice.

  “A bomb!” Herbert yelled.

  Lidia slapped Herbert across the chest. “Can you say it any louder?” she fussed. “Quiet down, you big oaf. Nikki, what makes you think there's a bomb on the ship?”

  The word 'bomb' caused Tara to fall into panic mode. She ran for Lei's cabin door. Hawk grabbed her. “Whoa, girl, not so fast. You can't go broadcasting what you're hearing.”

  “But a bomb!” Tara said, panicked. “We have to get off this ship.”

  “Tara,” Hawk said in a stern tone, “if you abandoned ship on one of those flimsy lifeboats attached up on the main deck, the sea will swallow you whole.”

  Tara knew Hawk was right. What chance did a small wooden lifeboat have against the raging storm outside? “What do we do?” she begged.

  Nikki put her hand on Tara's shoulder. Soothingly, she spoke in a low and caring voice. “Tara, I need you and Matt to locate the bomb. I know that Matt knows this ship inside and out.”