Blueberry Truffle Murder (A Maple Hills Cozy Mystery Book 3) Page 7

  Chapter Fifteen

  Feeling groggy and drugged, Nikki slowly opened her eyes. “Where am I?” she asked in a weak, confused voice.

  “Close to death,” a cold voice promised her.

  Nikki fought to keep her eyes open. Everything around her was blurry and spinning. Only the strong, overpowering scents of dust, dirt and mold were stable to her senses. Lying on what seemed like a lumpy mattress with springs sticking up through the bedding, she tried to move her arms. Feeling her wrists tied together behind her back, she attempted to move her ankles, only to find that her ankles were tied together, too. Unable to hold her eyes open anymore, she closed them. “Who are you?” Nikki asked as the sound of pouring rain and distant thunder began to fill her ears.

  Standing at a window covered with a dark, dirty curtain eased back just enough to see out into a weed-infested parking lot, Judge Matthew Stewart searched the rain with angry eyes. “You ruined my life,” he told Nikki in a strained voice.

  Forcing her eyes open again Nikki looked through a shadowy room. Desperate to make out who the voice belonged to, she struggled to see her captor. She saw a tall man wearing a black rain jacket standing at the window. The man, as far as Nikki could see, was wearing a gray baseball cap. But the voice, Nikki thought, didn't match the clothes. The voice was old, belonging to a man in his late sixties. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Judge Matthew Stewart,” he replied, remaining at the window.

  “Judge Stewart?” Nikki asked confused.

  The man glanced over his shoulder at Nikki. “Are you surprised, Ms. Bates?”

  Unable to answer, Nikki felt her mind begin searching for any logical and rational explanation that might bring clarity to her confusion. Listening to the sound of the heavy rain, she also began to wonder where she was. But then, somehow, she knew. “This is the Guitar Inn, isn't it?”

  “You're very own suggestion,” Judge Stewart replied. “My son thought the suggestion you made to Detective Daily earlier at the diner was quite ingenious. Jason will be joining us shortly after he kills your detective friend.”

  “No!” Nikki cried out and began to struggle against the ropes holding her wrists and ankles together.

  Judge Stewart ignored Nikki's attempt to break free. “You see, I helped Reelington escape from prison. I sent him to Vermont with a set of instructions. His task was simply to watch you until I gave him the green light to proceed. You've been very busy, Ms. Bates...quite the busy little bee, sticking your nose where it didn't belong.”

  “Please—”

  “Shut up!” Judge Stewart exploded. Letting go of the curtain he ran to the bed and kicked it. “I sent Reelington to watch you until I arrived. But he stopped playing by my rules. He and my daughter came up with a plan of their own.”

  “A plan?” Nikki asked, realizing that pleading for her life was futile.

  “Yes,” Judge Stewart hissed. “They devised a plan that would have ensured you and I both spent the rest of our lives in prison, on death row. My daughter got cold feet in the end. She placed a private call to my office. She's safely back in Atlanta now.” Judge Stewart paused, checked the rope wrapped around Nikki's ankles and continued. “Reelington was so arrogant, he believed he could carry out his plan without me interfering.”

  Nikki dove into her inner reporter and began to ask questions. “Where did Mr. Millin fit in?” she asked, sounding confused and weak.

  “Who knows?” Judge Stewart replied in a disgusted voice. “Reelington had a talent for searching out the worst in humanity. My concern was with Reelington. To my knowledge, this Millin person is now dead.”

  “Yes,” Nikki said. “Judge Stewart, I—”

  Judge Stewart waved his hand at Nikki impatiently. “I hired Reelington to kill those judges, Ms. Bates. I put myself on the list of targets as to divert suspicion from myself. Each judge, you understand, was to be replaced with people who would make sure the interests of certain individuals were cared for. But you ruined my plan. You ruined my family, my career, my life!”

  Nikki felt anger rise in her chest. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to die like a whimpering coward. “You hired a hitman to murder innocent people. You deserve to be in prison!” she yelled back, feeling her mind begin to clear.

  “Oh, Ms. Bates,” Judge Stewart said, breathing hard like a pit bull preparing to attack, “you are the one who is going to prison. I assure you. You're going to suffer for your crimes against me and my family That's right, you heard me very clearly. After Reelington was arrested, he remained silent to the press. However, he sent me many letters threatening to go public if I did not assist him in breaking out of prison. My wife suffered a mental breakdown. My son was forced to leave college to take care of his mother. I was forced to leave the bench. Only my daughter was all too happy to help Reelington. You have no understanding of the mental anguish my family and I have suffered because of Reelington. In the end, I devised a plan to rid myself of him and you.”

  “Only Reelington stopped playing by your rules,” Nikki said as the sound of thunder grew closer.

  “My daughter,” Judge Reelington said in a heavy voice, losing some of his anger, “never wanted to see me in prison. She and I are at constant odds, but when Reelington told her he wanted to see me rot in prison, she couldn't stand the idea and called me. I suppose,” he said walking back to the window and easing back the curtain, “Reelington did suspect I was up to something. The wicked, Ms. Bates, never trust each other.”

  “You blame me,” Nikki told Judge Stewart staring across the shadowy room, “yet you hired a cold-blooded killer to murder innocent people. I exposed Reelington. At the time I thought I was protecting you. Reelington left a curious trail that I was able to follow. He managed to become chummy with the family of every murdered judge. You were next on the list. Your daughter is very pretty; I put two and two together.”

  “Of course, I was next on the list,” Judge Stewart hissed at Nikki. “I was going to take a bullet to the shoulder to make it appear that Reelington attempted to assassinate me.” Judge Stewart forced calmness to his voice. “That viper had been romancing my daughter long before you caught them together. You were lucky to catch Reelington at my daughter's home. Usually, they met at nightclubs and bars,” he explained.

  “When Reelington arrived here in Vermont, he saw me involved in a case?” Nikki asked changing the topic.

  “I told him to stand down,” Judge Stewart replied. “I could not risk being caught while you were involved in a murder investigation. And then, to my dismay, you poked your nose into a second murder investigation. By then, Reelington had become restless, according to my daughter.”

  “I'm sorry that I have a conscience,” Nikki said, quietly struggling to get free. “When people are murdered, the humane part of me comes out, Judge Stewart.”

  “The humane part of you?” Judge Stewart laughed. “Ms. Bates, I have served on the bench for over thirty years. I have seen the worst humanity has to offer arrive in my courtroom while the innocent suffered. The time arrived for me to act, Ms. Bates. I had to eliminate judges who obeyed the law and replace them with judges who would protect the rights of the rich.”

  “The rich?” Nikki asked, confused.

  “Yes, the rich,” Judge Stewart told Nikki, looking out at the rain-soaked parking lot. “How many criminals over the years was I forced to set free because of technicalities in the law? Criminals who returned to high-class neighbors only to rob homes, steal cars, bring drugs in. A group of powerful businessmen and I had a private meeting and decided that it was time to do away with the law and enact our own law. But nine judges objected to the proposal; those nine judges were spoken to privately, of course. Those judges, Ms. Bates, had to be eliminated. It was time to create a system of justice in Atlanta that would serve to protect the rich—the people who created jobs, built companies, convinced foreign companies to relocate to Georgia, established safer school systems, safer communities for our children. Ev
ery time I was forced under the law to allow a criminal to go free because a cop forgot to read him his rights or a vehicle was searched unlawfully or some other meaningless technicality, it only harmed what those men struggled so desperately to build.”

  “Your duty was to uphold and enforce the law, not change it,” Nikki told Judge Stewart, standing her ground.

  “While criminals turn playgrounds into drug factories and homes are forced to have bars over their windows,” Judge Stewart replied, ripping at Nikki with angry teeth. “Ms. Bates, you lived in Atlanta. You saw with your own eyes what I’m speaking of. You, of all people, should appreciate what I was attempting to do.”

  “I understand your frustrations. I got tired of riding the political roller coaster. But murder is no excuse,” Nikki replied.

  “The mayor of Atlanta is a murderer, yet he sits in office,” Judge Stewart told Nikki. “That's right, I'm aware that he sent a woman to your town to murder his wife. All I wanted to achieve was placing people on the bench who would make playgrounds safe for children and homes safe to rest in at night. The mayor of Atlanta...that criminal never cared about anything except how much blood money could fit into his pockets. It didn't matter to him that because of the increasing violence companies were leaving Atlanta, causing good men to lose their jobs—men who moved away in order to find work, leaving only the criminals behind. Criminals who walked into my courtroom like cocky roosters. No, it was time to act.”

  Realizing that struggling against the ropes holding her wrists and ankles together was useless, Nikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Time to murder, you mean,” she corrected Judge Stewart.

  “Time for change,” Judge Stewart informed Nikki. Leaving the window, he walked to the left wall, picked up a hunting rifle, and approached Nikki. “You ruined everything, Ms. Bates. Now I'm going to ruin your life. You're going to take the blame for Detective Daily's death and go to prison. Once you are in prison, I'm going to kill your son. You are going to suffer for your crime.”

  Instead of panicking, Nikki grew angry. “You're a coward,” she yelled.

  “Because of you, three foreign companies left Atlanta. Millions were lost in investments. Four very influential businessmen closed shop and relocated to Texas. Why? Because judges who allow criminals to go free remain on the bench. The violence in Atlanta is out of control. People cannot even ride the public buses in safety, for crying out loud. The judges who remain have become lethal enemies of mine. They do not dare go public, of course, but they forced me from the bench.”

  Nikki grew silent. She was sick of hearing Judge Stewart justify his reasons for murder and then whine like a pouting child when he was forced to pay the piper. With her eyes closed, she thought about Hawk and prayed that he was alive.

  Miles away, Hawk and Jason Stewart were in a fierce battle.

  Chapter Sixteen

  After finding Nikki missing, Hawk decided to return to James' car and call in backup. As soon as he reached the police car, the same man whom he had seen at the diner stuck his hand out from under the car and sliced Hawk's ankle with a hunting knife sharp enough to cut the air in half. Grabbing his ankle, Hawk backed away from the police car, tripped on the white five-gallon bucket, and tumbled down to the wet ground. The force of his fall caused his gun to dislodge from his hand. Before he could go for his gun, Jason Stewart was charging at him.

  With no other weapon but the five-gallon bucket at his disposal, Hawk grabbed the bucket and threw it over his body just as Jason dived down onto him. The knife in Jason's hand tore into the bucket. With the strength of a lion, Hawk threw his right fist into Jason's face while grabbing the man's right wrist with his left hand. Jason, dazed from the punch, struggled to pull the knife out of the bucket but found that Hawk was holding his right wrist down. With the rain falling as if Hoover Dam had broken and visibility poor, he knew that tangling with Hawk on the ground would lead to defeat. Using his left hand, he sucker punched Hawk in the face and rolled onto the muddy ground.

  Using all of his skill and strength, Hawk jumped to his feet at the same time Jason stood up. With his ankle bleeding, Hawk watched Jason reach behind his back. Running forward he grabbed Jason and slung him up against the patrol car. Jason hit the car so hard that the breath was knocked out of him. Going into warrior mode, he waited until Hawk attempted to grab him and then, with the skill of a trained fighter, he dived at Hawk's ankles, grabbed them, and yanked Hawk off his feet. As soon as Hawk landed on his back, Jason was on top of him, throwing one punch after the other.

  Feeling his nose break, Hawk knew he was in trouble. Whoever this guy was, he knew how to fight. Struggling to block the punches, he forced a quick plan in his mind. His only chance was to get to the gun tucked away in the pants Jason was wearing. After blocking a few more punches, he grabbed Jason around the waist, went for his gun, and managed to grab it. Jason reacted and brought an elbow down onto Hawk's head. Feeling as if someone had dropped a brick on his head, Hawk felt his world go black for a second. Holding onto consciousness, he managed to yank the gun free, fall back, and shove the gun into Jason’s chest. “One more move and you're dead,” he warned.

  Freezing with a punch in mid-air, Jason looked down at Hawk. Hawk's eyes told him all that he needed to know. “Okay...okay,” Jason said and slowly eased off of Hawk.

  Hawk leaned up onto one knee. “Turn around with your hands in the air,” he ordered Jason.

  Jason did as Hawk ordered. “Don't kill me—I was just doing what I was told.”

  “By whom?” Hawk demanded, standing up. “I want answers, and I want them now!”

  “My father, Judge Stewart,” Jason caved in. “Listen, it's nothing personal. I was told to kill you because my father was going to blame your death on Nikki Bates. I'm here because of the pain that woman caused my mother. I don't care about my father. He and I never saw eye to eye, but my mother, she deserved better.”

  “Where is she?” Hawk asked stepping forward. Pressing the gun against Jason's back, he demanded an answer.

  “You're tough with a gun,” Jason told Hawk, “but I would have taken you in a fight.”

  “Maybe,” Hawk agreed, “now talk.”

  “Why couldn't she have left well enough alone?” Jason yelled over the sound of the heavy rain. “I told my father his plan wouldn't work, but he was all fired up to hire Reelington and carry his plan through. My mother and I begged him to reconsider, but did he? No. My mother—she's a fragile woman, you know and—”

  “Where is Nikki Bates?” Hawk asked as rain water poured down his face.

  “I'll tell you if you promise to help my mother, please,” Jason begged. “Send me to prison, but leave my mother out of this, okay?”

  “I'll do my best,” Hawk promised.

  “Okay, my father took Nikki Bates to the Guitar Inn. I was in the diner earlier, I heard you two talking.”

  Hawk nodded his head. “Where is James, the other officer?”

  “I knocked him out cold and pulled him into the woods.”

  Not wasting any more time, Hawk walked Jason over to a tree. “Sit tight,” he said, handcuffing Jason's hands together behind the tree. “I'm sure when James wakes up he'll deal with you.”

  “Hey, you can't leave me here. Hey…hey!” Jason yelled, watching Hawk limp to his jeep, jump in, and speed away.

  “Got my butt kicked,” Hawk said, feeling his broken nose. “Getting too old for this.” Focusing on his driving, Hawk raced toward the Guitar Inn, trying not to think the worst. Speeding through dangerous puddles of water sitting in the road and through two stop signs, he counted his blessings when the Guitar Inn came into view. Slowing down, he pulled over to the side of the road and jumped out of his jeep. With no time to waste and with a cut ankle that would need stitches later, he moved into the woods and approached the Guitar Inn from the back.

  “My son should be here any minute now,” Judge Stewart told Nikki closing the curtain. “Your detective friend will be no match for Jas
on. He is trained in the martial arts. I ordered him to stab your friend to death. Your friend's body will be found in your cabin much later.”

  “You're insane,” Nikki told Judge Stewart.

  “Am I?” Judge Stewart replied, walking back to the bed. Sitting down at the foot of the bed, he carefully studied Nikki. “You are responsible for the destruction of hundreds of innocent lives, yet I am insane? Because of you, criminals will remain free. Because of you, the justice system—”

  “Enough!” Nikki yelled. “I'm tired of hearing you justify your reasons for murder while blaming the innocent. Yes, I hate it when a criminal goes free, and yes, the justice system is far from perfect, but that does not excuse murder. You took it upon yourself to hire a professional killer to murder innocent people, and that, Judge Stewart, is inexcusable. You, sir, are a criminal deserving prison!”

  “Shut up,” Judge Stewart warned Nikki, raising the hunting rifle in his hands and pointing it at her. “If you say another word, I will kill you.”

  “So kill me,” Nikki said and locked eyes with Judge Stewart. “Before you do, let me point out something to you, Judge Stewart. The world was here long before we were and will be here long after we're gone. You can kill me, but others like me will grow in my place, and others like you will grow in your place, and the battles will continue. But in the end, Judge Stewart, justice will prevail.”

  “Today,” Judge Stewart told Nikki, standing up, “my justice will prevail. I will punish the woman who destroyed my life, the life of my family, and the lives of others. While you sit and rot in prison, think about the innocent children being sold drugs on playgrounds and innocent families being victimized by burglars and—”