by Cindy Bell
“I understand.” Sonia adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “Maybe I will just think about it a little. It’s such a shock to hear about Matt.”
“Yes, it must be.” Lloyd handed her a pamphlet. “This has a lot of information in it, you might be able to figure out some things from that. If you are interested in working with us, I’d recommend that you call in to make an appointment with Patrick soon. We are going to book up fast. It’s the busy time of the year, and we’re already getting calls from some of Matt’s clients.” He winced. “Sorry, that may seem harsh, but everyone needs their projects completed.”
“Who should we get in touch with when we call in?” Nikki stood up from her chair. “Just so we know who to ask for.”
“Shirley Carver should be the one answering the phones. She’s the receptionist here. She’ll make the appointment. As long as she’s feeling better.” Lloyd offered his hand to Nikki. “It was a pleasure to meet you both.”
“You as well.” Sonia shook his hand after Nikki, then led the way out the door.
“Shirley.” Nikki snapped her fingers as they started towards the parking lot. “She must be the one who left the envelope for me. No wonder she called in sick, she’s probably scared. I’ll have to see if I can figure out where she lives, or what her phone number is.”
“If you want I can call in tomorrow to make an appointment with Patrick, that way we can sit face to face with him and find out a bit more.” Sonia settled into the driver’s seat of her car.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. If he really is involved in Matt’s death, being trapped in his office might be too risky.” Nikki helped Princess out of Sonia’s purse and smiled as the little dog licked her hand.
“That’s true.” Sonia sighed. “So, what do you suggest?”
“I think it’s more important to speak to Shirley. She obviously felt like she could trust me, otherwise she wouldn’t have given me the letters. If I could speak to her face to face, she might be willing to tell me more.” Nikki pulled out her phone. “Maybe I can figure out where she lives. Would you mind dropping me off at my apartment?”
“Not at all.” Sonia shifted the car into reverse. “Do you think you’ll be able to find her?”
“Carver is a pretty common last name. But I might be able to find out something by searching.” Nikki let Princess settle in her lap. “I hope this leads to something. Tom is really worried about losing Happy Dogs if this crime doesn’t get solved.”
“It’s not an easy thing to come back from.” Sonia pulled into the parking space outside Nikki’s apartment. “Do you want any help with your search?”
“No, it’s okay. I can handle this. But maybe you could find out from some of your friends if they have ever used Patrick Kirk’s company?” Nikki looked over at her. “If someone knows him on a personal level, we might be able to get a better feel of whether he could do something like this.”
“That’s a good idea.” Sonia nodded. “I’ll see what I can find out. I’m playing cards in a couple of hours with Natalie Murrow. Hopefully, I’ll find out something.”
“Hopefully.” Nikki smiled. “Let me know.”
Nikki stepped out of the car and headed into her apartment.
As Nikki began to search for information about Shirley Carver she ran into a few roadblocks. Her common name was one of them. The website for Patrick Kirk Building didn’t help any either as it did not offer an employee list. After a few more attempts at searching, she managed to find a listing that included the address, cell phone and home number of a Shirley Carver that lived around the corner from Patrick Kirk Building. She looked for further details on her and found that she was listed as a receptionist on one of her social media profiles, but it didn’t detail the name of the company she worked for. It was Nikki’s best bet.
Armed with what she hoped were the right Shirley’s phone numbers and address, she decided to try calling her first. After she dialed Shirley’s cell phone number, she heard the sound of her voice on her voicemail. She sounded like a sweet person, but voices could be deceiving. She tried Shirley’s house number and again was greeted by a voicemail.
“All right, so much for the easy way.” Nikki rolled her eyes and stood up from the couch. “I’ll just have to pay her a visit.” She headed out the door again.
Chapter 12
As Nikki drove in the direction of Shirley’s address, she wondered what she would say to her. The idea that Shirley had left the letters for her was a big assumption to make. It was possible that Shirley just had a cold and didn’t go into work, but it was the only lead she had.
Nikki parked outside Shirley’s house and peered out through the passenger side window at the property. The house itself was small, and older. Although it needed a few repairs it appeared to be well-kept. She didn’t see a car in the driveway, but it might have been parked in the attached garage. She stepped out of the car and did a quick scan of the street. A thin strip of grass separated each property from its neighbor. With the houses so close together, a person could easily see through the window of one house into the window of another. She made her way up to the front door and knocked. She hoped that Shirley would tell her the truth about what she knew about Patrick. After some time, she knocked again. The door swung open a little beneath the pressure of the knocks.
“Shirley?” Nikki pushed the door open enough to peek inside the house. “Are you home?”
Nikki heard no response. Her heart pounded as she took a step inside. She didn’t want to enter the woman’s home without permission. But she had to make sure she was okay. If her door had been left open that might mean that Patrick had beat her there. He wasn’t available when they were at the office, was that because he was with Shirley?
“Hello?” Nikki crept a little farther into the apartment, just past the living room. Candles lined the coffee table. The television looked freshly dusted. Even the pillows on the couch appeared perfectly centered. She took another breath and looked down the hall towards the bedroom. “Shirley? Are you here?” Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Shirley wasn’t the one who had left her the envelope after all. Maybe Shirley really was sick, and sound asleep in her bed. Would she call the police if she woke up and found Nikki in her apartment?
“She’s not in there.”
The voice sent a jolt along Nikki’s spine. She turned around to find a teenage boy in the doorway.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He chuckled. “I heard you calling for Shirley. But she’s not in there.”
“Do you know where she is?” Nikki walked back towards the front door.
“I saw her leave about an hour ago. She had suitcases, like she was going on a trip.” He tipped his head to the side. “I’ve never seen you around here before. Are you a friend of hers?”
“Are you the local neighborhood watch?” Nikki smiled at him.
“Maybe.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. “So? Are you her friend or not?”
“Yes.” Nikki took a deep breath as she recalled the envelope under her door. “Yes, I think I am.”
“Then how come you didn’t know she was going on a trip?” He crossed his arms.
“I guess she just forgot to tell me.” Nikki raised an eyebrow. “Do you know where she went?”
“No, I don’t know. But you’re not the first one that came looking for her.” He lowered his voice. “Her boyfriend was just here.”
“Boyfriend?” Nikki’s eyes narrowed. “Wouldn’t she have taken him on the trip with her?”
“I think they broke up or something, he seemed real mad. He hit the door hard, knocked it right open, and went inside.” He frowned.
“You didn’t call the police?” Nikki looked back at the house. Now, she could see that the wood around the door had been splintered.
“No, I don’t like to cause trouble. He left real fast, anyway.” He glanced over his shoulder at the neighboring house. “I have to get back or my mom will get mad.”
“Wait, this
man, can you tell me what he looked like?” Nikki followed him across the strip of grass.
“A big guy, with lots of gray hair. That’s all I know.” He waved to her, then ran into his house.
Nikki sighed as she looked back at Shirley’s house. Already her lead was gone, and now she had to worry that Shirley might be in serious trouble.
Once Nikki was back in the car, she knew where she had to go. If Shirley was in trouble, she couldn’t just pretend she didn’t know. She wanted to do her best to help her. She pulled into the parking lot of the police station. After a deep breath, she stepped out of the car. Telling Quinn the truth wouldn’t be easy, as she knew that Shirley had been careful to hide her identity, but if Patrick was after her, that meant that somehow he had already found out.
As Nikki stepped into the police station, she caught sight of Quinn near the front desk. He handed a piece of paper to the officer behind the desk, then turned towards the door.
“Nikki? How’d you know I was about to call you?” Quinn smiled as he walked over to her.
“You were?” Nikki smiled in return.
“Yes. Can we take a walk?” Quinn led her towards the door.
“Sure, I’d like that. I have something to tell you.” Nikki stepped out through the door with him.
“So do I.”
“You first.” Nikki smiled.
“We’ve confirmed now that Matt was killed between twelve and two on the day that he went missing. Although we don’t know exactly what object was used to kill him, we do know that it was thick and heavy, and that it was a surprise attack. He didn’t have any defensive wounds.” Quinn took a breath. “Which means that just about anyone could have killed him. To strike him from behind wouldn’t have needed an enormous amount of extra strength. It leaves me with no leads yet again.”
“I might have a lead.” Nikki smiled as she continued to walk along the sidewalk. “I think I may have found the source of the letters.”
“You did?” Quinn’s tone brightened. “Who is it?”
“I’ll tell you, but I want you to keep in mind that I think she’s terrified. I really think she believes that Patrick will do something to hurt her, and I think she has good reason to believe that.” Nikki turned and looked into his eyes.
“Nikki, this sounds serious, you’d better tell me what’s going on.” Quinn stared back at her.
“Her name is Shirley Carver. She’s the receptionist at Patrick Kirk Building, or she was.” Nikki closed her eyes for a moment as her thoughts jumbled up. “Let me start from the beginning. From what I understand she gave me those letters because she suspected that Patrick might have had something to do with Matt’s death. Maybe she knew I was asking about the murder. Maybe she knew I was friends with you, and it was a way to get the information to the police without having to contact you herself. When I figured out her name and where she lived, I went by her house to see if I could speak with her. But she wasn’t there. A kid who is a neighbor told me he saw her leave with luggage, earlier in the day. But not much later after that a man showed up and forced his way inside.” Nikki pulled out her cell phone. “He described a big man with gray hair.” She displayed a picture of Patrick Kirk from his website. “I’d say it matches, wouldn’t you?”
“It seems to.” Quinn narrowed his eyes. “Patrick went to her house? Do you think he knew that she turned over the letters?”
“Did you reach out to him?” Nikki held his gaze. “Did you speak to him about the letters?”
“I did call his office. I scheduled a time for us to speak, but I didn’t tell him about the letters.” Quinn shook his head. “Maybe he already had his suspicions and it was enough that I called him. Do you have any idea where Shirley went?”
“No idea.” Nikki clenched her hands into fists. “I just hope wherever it is, she’s safe. She was brave enough to try to tell the truth, and this is how she gets repaid. She’s either living on the run or Patrick already got his hands on her.” She took a sharp breath at the thought.
“Wait a minute.” Quinn settled his hands on her shoulders. “Just slow down.” He stared into her eyes. “We don’t even know for sure what is happening here. For all we know Shirley is on her way to Hawaii or some other tropical paradise. Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves. I can flag her name for travel and see if we can find her. In the meantime, I’ll send a patrol car to Patrick Kirk’s office and house and see if I can move up our meeting. If he has done anything to hurt her, I will find out. I promise you that.”
“Quinn, if he killed Matt, why wouldn’t he do the same to Shirley?” Nikki bit into her bottom lip. “I just feel like, if I hadn’t sent you the pictures of the letters, if I had just kept it to myself, she might still be okay.”
“For all we know she is okay. You did the right thing this morning, and you’re doing the right thing now. The only way I can protect Shirley is if I find out where she is. I’m going to go take care of it right now.” Quinn pulled her against his chest, then wrapped his arms around her. “She’s most likely fine, Nikki. Try to get your mind off it. I’ll update you as soon as I know anything.”
“Promise?” Nikki sighed as she pulled away from him. “I’m really worried about her. I haven’t even met her, and I feel like I’m responsible for her.”
“I will tell you as soon as I know anything.” Quinn held her gaze. “I promise.”
“Thank you, Quinn.” Nikki took a deep breath. “Hopefully, this will lead to something solid about the case.”
“Only one way to find out. I have to get back to work.” Quinn turned and headed back towards the police station.
As Nikki returned to her car, she thought about how much bravery it must have taken for Shirley to share those letters with her. She hoped it wouldn’t be for nothing. The thought of Patrick hunting Shirley down made her feel terrible.
Chapter 13
As Nikki climbed into her car, she looked at the time and realized she was going to be late for the afternoon walks if she didn’t hurry up. She dropped off her car at her apartment and gathered the dogs together. When she reached Sonia’s house, she updated her on what she found.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Patrick would do something like that after the tales I’ve heard today.” Sonia clucked her tongue. “I’m not sure how that man is still on the outside of prison bars. He apparently uses some very borderline criminal tactics both to bully customers into paying more and to collect payments from customers who are having a hard time paying.”
“Really? How many stories like that did you hear?” Nikki clipped Princess’ leash on to her collar.
“Quite a few. Some people gave him glowing reviews, said that his work was impeccable and on time. But Mavis, who had him redo her stairs in her three-story house said that she saw him lashing out at one of his suppliers. She had her phone ready to dial the police because she was sure that Patrick was going to outright attack him.” Sonia frowned. “Who conducts business that way?”
“But he didn’t attack him, did he?” Nikki crouched down to pet the other dogs as they all greeted Princess.
“No, he didn’t. But that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t, or wouldn’t.” Sonia leaned closer to Nikki. “He sounds like the type who would.”
“Maybe. A pattern of violence would certainly support the idea that Patrick was involved in the murder. But there is a big difference between intimidation and murder. However, that doesn’t mean he didn’t snap. Quinn is trying to locate Shirley now. I just hope that she’s okay.” Nikki nodded. “Did you find out anything interesting at the card game.”
“Yes.” Sonia’s smile grew wider. “Natalie couldn’t stop complaining about how Charles has taken over the house. He is only living there temporarily while he is remodeling his own home, but because he controls the majority of the family money still, he tries to control everything. The family business, their house, their family. You should have heard her go on and on about it. She sounded very upset with him. She often talks about him, but thi
s time she couldn’t stop she was so annoyed. So, she revealed a lot more. He is very controlling and rules the house like it’s his. Which apparently it technically is, but Preston and Natalie have always lived there. He has gotten much worse since his wife passed away.”
“Interesting.” Nikki nodded. “Anything about Briana?”
“Just that she’s okay, and it was a misunderstanding, but nothing else.”
“I wonder if there’s more to the reason she went away?” The dogs wrapped their leashes around Nikki. “I guess we all need a good walk this afternoon. I’ll be back soon, Sonia.” She waved to her friend, then headed down the driveway with her pack of dogs.
Nikki’s thoughts traveled a million miles a minute as she let the dogs take the lead down the sidewalk. She couldn’t keep her mind off Shirley and what might have happened to her. She hoped that Quinn might have picked Patrick up already and interrogated him, but she knew that would be a delicate process. He couldn’t just accuse Patrick without any real proof that he had something to do with the break-in at Shirley’s house. The sound of raised voices snapped her attention in the direction of two men. Instantly she recognized one of them, Charles Murrow. She hadn’t even realized that they’d ended up by the Murrow property. She pulled the dogs back away from the scene as Charles continued to shout at the man in uniform that stood before him.
“Vick, I told you that no one was to be let past this gate. That means no one!” He slammed the door of the guardhouse.
“Sir, the police officers insisted.” Vick backed away from him. “They could have arrested me for denying them entry.”
“Oh really? Did they have a warrant?” Charles pushed his face closer to Vick’s until he was only a few inches away from him. “Did they, Vick?”
“No, I mean, I don’t think so.” Vick shied back from Charles’ close proximity. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let them through.”