Murder at the Dog Training Academy

by Cindy Bell

  “I just wanted to learn more about Matt. I didn’t think it would cause any harm to anyone, since no one lives in the house anymore and the police have searched it.” Nikki glanced back at the house. “Did you know he built this house for Briana?” She sighed. “He must have really loved her.”

  “Maybe he did.” Quinn’s hand settled on her lower back as he stepped up beside her. “Maybe that’s what got him killed.”

  “That, or the slew of people he owed money to.” Nikki took a slow breath as she felt the warmth of his touch. “I’m sorry, Quinn.”

  “Going in there wasn’t a smart move.” Quinn looked in the direction of the retreating patrol car. “If I hadn’t been here, you would be on your way to the station.”

  “You mean, you’re not taking me in?” Nikki turned to face him, her breath caught in her throat.

  “No, I’m not taking you in.” Quinn brushed a few strands of hair back away from her face. “I should.” He raised an eyebrow as he looked into her eyes. “But I know you weren’t there to do any harm. Can I give you a ride home?”

  Nikki bit into her bottom lip as she looked over her shoulder. Had Sonia gone back to the car?

  “She’s right there.” Quinn tipped his head in the direction of a cluster of trees at the edge of the property.

  “What?” Nikki’s eyes widened.

  “Mrs. Whitter, she’s right over there. She’s been watching us for a few minutes now.” Quinn’s lips spread into a wide smile. “The two of you would never be successful criminals.”

  “Not with you around, apparently.” Nikki managed a short laugh, though her cheeks still burned with embarrassment.

  “Sonia, it’s all right, he’s seen you.” Nikki walked towards her.

  “It was all my idea, Quinn, it wasn’t her fault, and I can pay for the best lawyers in this state, in this entire country, so you’d better not even consider putting a pair of handcuffs on her!” Sonia stepped out from behind the trees and glared at Quinn.

  “Is that so?” Quinn quirked an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

  “Sonia, it’s fine, no one is getting arrested.” Nikki took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Quinn wants to give me a ride home, do you think you’re okay to drive?”

  “I’m fine.” Sonia eyed Quinn. “Are you sure it’s not a trick?”

  “It’s not a trick.” Quinn chuckled. “Mrs. Whitter, she’s safe in my hands, I promise you that.”

  “She’d better be.” Sonia nodded to Nikki. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

  “First thing.” Nikki couldn’t help but smile at how protective Sonia was of her.

  As Sonia walked back towards her car, Quinn led Nikki to his.

  “I have some information for you.”

  Chapter 15

  Nikki settled in the passenger seat of Quinn’s car and did her best not to fidget. Even though he said everything was fine, she couldn’t shake the nervous energy that bolted through her each time she thought of him shining that flashlight on her.

  As he started the car, she looked over at him.

  “Quinn, I really do appreciate you looking the other way on this, but I also know that I’ve put you in a terrible position. I want you to know, I really am sorry about that.” Nikki put her hand over his as he settled it on the steering wheel.

  “There’s only so much I can do to protect you.” Quinn curved his hand around hers and shifted in his seat to look at her. “Tonight, we got lucky. I know Neil well, and he owes me a few favors. But if it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have been able to prevent you from being booked for breaking and entering.” He frowned. “Do you know how serious that is?”

  “Yes.” Nikki sighed as she glanced out through the windshield.

  “Nikki, I don’t think you really understand what could have happened tonight.” Quinn narrowed his eyes as he studied her. “You broke into a house, at night. Neil went in there with his gun drawn. What if he had stumbled on you or Sonia and pulled the trigger?”

  Nikki shuddered at the thought and tightened her grasp on his hand.

  “I didn’t really consider that,” Nikki murmured.

  “You have to think these things through.” Quinn used his free hand to draw back the curtain of hair that had fallen in front of her face. “Nikki.”

  “I’ll be more careful.” Nikki met his eyes as his fingers trailed back through her hair.

  “You have to be.” Quinn shook his head as he gazed at her. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened.” He cleared his throat, then turned his attention back to the windshield. He pulled his hand away from hers and put the car into drive. “So, the update I have isn’t exactly a good one, but I thought you should know because I know you are worried about Shirley Carver. I haven’t been able to locate her, and Patrick Kirk seems oblivious to where she is.”

  “Oh no, I hope you find her soon.” Nikki frowned.

  “I have been able to eliminate a couple of suspects in Matt’s murder. Patrick has an alibi.” He turned his car down the street towards Nikki’s apartment. “And his alibi involves Scott Petrov, the building material supplier that Matt owed money to.”

  “Are you sure?” Nikki frowned. “After getting those letters I really thought Patrick might be involved.”

  “If he was, he didn’t commit the murder himself. Patrick and Scott were together at a building site about an hour away, during the time frame of the murder, and I have three witnesses that confirm it. Two are Patrick’s employees, but the third is an owner of a food cart that was parked at the building site. Not only that, but I have camera footage from around the area that confirms their story.” Quinn pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building. “At this point, we can rule them out as suspects.”

  “But like you said, Patrick may not have committed the murder himself. Maybe he hired someone else to do it?” Nikki watched as he put the car into park. Did he intend to come inside? She wondered just how messy she had left her apartment.

  “That’s always a possibility, but there are a few problems with that idea. One, if he hired a professional, I doubt they would have risked killing Matt at Happy Dogs. There were too many people around, too many chances that the murder could have been interrupted. Two, Patrick may have been annoyed by Matt’s undercutting of his bids, but he isn’t under any financial strain. His company is doing well.” Quinn shrugged. “I don’t see much of a motive for him to do it. As for Scott, killing Matt would only delay payment, or he might never receive payment for his supplies. Scott and Matt also have a long history of working together, and Matt has always eventually settled his debts.” He unbuckled his seatbelt.

  “Not much motive there then either.” Nikki unbuckled her seatbelt as well.

  “No, I don’t think there is.” Quinn popped open his door.

  As Nikki started opening her door, he pulled it open for her. “So, I’m thinking that it’s time to focus on some of the other suspects.”

  “Like Briana?” Nikki stepped out of the car. Of course, he was just being polite and walking her to the door. That was all. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and started towards her door.

  “Briana is an option of course.” Quinn lingered beside her as she unlocked the door. “But actually, my focus is more on Martin.”

  Nikki met his eyes as she opened the door. He made no indication that he intended to leave.

  “Do you want to come in?”

  “If you wouldn’t mind. I’d love to hear your thoughts on some ideas I have.” Quinn smiled.

  “Of course.” Nikki flicked the light on inside the apartment and braced herself for the disaster she might have left behind. “Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess.”

  “Wait until you see my place.” Quinn chuckled. “If you think this is a mess, you’ll think a tornado ran through my house.”

  “I doubt that.” Nikki led him into the kitchen. “Do you want a drink? I have some lemonade, some milk, uh, water?”

  “Lemonade is fine.” Q
uinn smiled as he settled in one of the chairs.

  “There’s someone else I think we should consider.” Nikki poured them each a glass of lemonade and handed him one. “Theo.”

  “Theo, Matt’s employee?” Quinn nodded as he took the glass. “He is certainly an option. He claims that he and Matt got into an argument, and then he took the van to get some parts and gas. When he came back, Matt wasn’t around. He didn’t see him again and left for the day. He thought that Matt was avoiding him because Matt owed him money and had promised to pay him by the end of the day.”

  “Maybe Matt told him something different. Maybe Matt told him that he couldn’t pay him at all, and Theo lost it and killed him.” Nikki rubbed her hand along her forehead. “I just can’t believe that he was killed at Happy Dogs, possibly while Tom and I were there, and we never knew it.”

  “Yes, I have a hard time believing that, too.” Quinn cleared his throat, then took a sip of his lemonade. “You weren’t there at the time of the murder, but Tom was. He claims he didn’t hear anything, or see anything.”

  “If he says that, then it’s true.” Nikki frowned and rolled her glass between her palms.

  “Are you sure about that?” Quinn met her eyes. “I know you think you know Tom very well, but isn’t there a chance that there are things you don’t know?”

  Nikki thought about the incident with the balloons. She wondered if Tom had ever paid the money that he owed. She knew that he was under quite a bit of financial strain.

  “Quinn, I don’t think he did this. He might have had some difficulty in his life, but that won’t change the core of who he is. I don’t think he could possibly do something like this.” Nikki sighed as she looked down at her glass. “But I can’t be certain. I don’t think it’s possible to be one hundred percent sure.”

  “I know you can’t.” Quinn reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m not asking you to be. I trust your instincts. But I still have to pursue every lead. I hope you understand that.”

  “Of course, I do. What about Charles Murrow?” Nikki met his eyes. “I saw him arguing with the Murrows’ security guard today. He was angry about the guard letting the police through the gate. He fired him. I thought it was Natalie and Preston’s house, I’m surprised he would have the right to fire him.”

  “Yes, that was quite an incident.” Quinn frowned. “The guard let the officers through, but Charles refused to answer the door once they were inside. No one else was home, apparently. He’s filed a complaint against both of them. Charles is a problem.”

  “I don’t understand, can’t you force him to talk to you?” Nikki noticed the tension in Quinn’s face as he sighed.

  “Oh, I’d love to know what Charles, Natalie and Preston have to say.” Quinn narrowed his eyes. “But every time I try to reach out to them for an interview their lawyer intervenes. I’ve still only had one brief conversation with Preston, and I haven’t been able to be in the same room with Natalie or Charles once since the beginning of the investigation.” He shook his head. “I’m done with waiting. I’m going to have a sit down with them first thing tomorrow, either at their house, or back at the station. I’ll be there at eight in the morning, before they have a chance to leave for the day.”

  “You would arrest them?” Nikki raised an eyebrow. “On what grounds?”

  “I would at least bring them in for questioning. I certainly don’t have enough to arrest them, but they don’t know that. Sometimes what a suspect doesn’t know can be an asset to the investigation.” Quinn finished the last sip of his lemonade, then stood up from the table. “I just hope this tactic doesn’t blow up in my face?”

  “You don’t have to go alone, you know? If you want some backup, I could come with you.” Nikki offered him a warm smile. She didn’t think he would really invite her.

  “I wish you could, but you can’t.” Quinn winked at her. “Thanks for being willing to help.” He stepped out through the door, then turned back. “No more breaking and entering, okay?”

  “We did have a key.” Nikki cleared her throat, then nodded. “Okay.”

  Quinn grinned and shook his head as he walked back towards his car.

  Nikki pushed the door closed and rested her head against it. After such a strange night, she had no idea what the morning would bring. She was startled by her phone ringing. She saw it was Sonia.

  “Hi Sonia.”

  “Nikki. How is everything? You didn’t get into trouble with Quinn, did you?” Sonia’s voice sounded anxious.

  “No, he was okay about it.”

  “Good. Do you want to go on an excursion with me tomorrow?”

  “Sure. Where?”

  “I need to go to Natalie Murrow’s house.” Sonia had some excitement in her voice. “Natalie left her platters at my house today. She asked me to return them tomorrow because she needs them for the card game she’s hosting next week. I thought you could return them with me. Maybe we’ll see something of interest.”

  “Great.” Nikki smiled. “What time?”

  “She wants them in the morning between about ten and ten-thirty?”

  “I’ll come to you after I’ve walked the dogs. Then I can walk Princess after we’ve dropped off the platters. It is one of the days that she gets a private walk, anyway.”

  “Perfect. See you then.” Sonia hung up.

  Nikki felt excited at the prospect of going into Briana’s house.

  As she tried to sleep that night, she ran over in her mind all of the possible suspects.

  Theo still stood out in her mind. He had the opportunity, and he hadn’t reported Matt missing when he disappeared that day. In fact, as far as she knew he hadn’t said a word to anyone. Wouldn’t it have been strange for Matt to just vanish? She decided she would stop by Theo’s house again on the way to pick up the dogs for their morning walk. Even if it meant risking a confrontation with Harper.

  Chapter 16

  The next morning before Nikki picked up the dogs, she walked towards Theo’s house. The house appeared empty and quiet. She walked up to the door and knocked, then braced herself for Harper’s barking.

  Instead Nikki was met with only silence. She knocked again. There was still no sound. As Nikki walked away, she glanced back once over her shoulder at the house for any sign of movement. Everything remained still and quiet. Had Theo and Harper disappeared? Were they on the run? Were they in trouble? Or were they just out for a walk?

  After Nikki finished walking the dogs, she headed to Sonia’s. At ten on the dot, she knocked on the door. She could hear Princess’ happy yaps from behind the door. Sonia opened the door with the phone in her hand. Nikki could immediately tell that she was frazzled. She held up her finger to let her know she would be a moment. Nikki cuddled Princess in her arms as Sonia finished the call.

  “More notice would have been better. This is terrible customer service.” Sonia sighed. “Okay, I guess so.” She ended the call and turned to Nikki. “Sorry Nikki.”

  “No problem.” Nikki stroked Princess. “Is everything okay?”

  “Well, the electrician was meant to come this afternoon, but they are now coming this morning.” Sonia grimaced. “I have had this booking for two weeks to fix the lights in the kitchen. I don’t know what to do. I promised Natalie I would return the platters. I guess I’ll have to ask her to pick them up.”

  “I can take them.” Nikki smiled as Sonia took Princess out of her arms.

  “Are you sure?” Sonia frowned.

  “Of course.” Nikki nodded. “I’ll just walk over there and say that I am there on your behalf.”

  “Well, okay.” Sonia smiled. “Thank you. It would be a shame to miss an opportunity to try to have a look around.”

  “I agree. I would offer to stay to meet the electrician instead, but I know you prefer to do that yourself.”

  “Thank you so much for doing this for me.” Sonia put Princess on the floor and handed Nikki the platters. “Come back here as soon as you are finished so I know
what happened.”

  “Of course.”

  “Enjoy your adventure.” Sonia smiled. “And stay safe.”

  “I will.”

  Nikki walked the short distance to the Murrows’ house. When she approached the driveway, she noticed that the guardhouse was empty. Nikki remembered that Charles fired the security guard yesterday. They obviously hadn’t gotten a replacement yet. She walked up to the gate and was surprised to find that the guardhouse door wasn’t closed completely. She pushed the door open, stepped inside and tried to close the door behind her. It wouldn’t click into place. She could see that the handle was loose. That explained why it was open. Maybe it broke when Charles slammed the door. Nikki went through the guardhouse and out into the driveway that led to the Murrows’ front door.

  Nikki’s heart began to pound as she knocked on the door. She had seen how intimidating Charles could be. She wasn’t sure she was prepared to face him head on. But she wanted to see what she could find out.

  The front door swung open, and Preston glared at her.

  “You are trespassing, I want you off my property, right now.” Preston pointed towards the door. “I’m waiting to get that door fixed. Just because it’s broken, doesn’t mean you can enter my property. It’s trespassing.”

  “Sorry, but I am not trespassing.” Nikki smiled. “Sonia Whitter asked me to return these to your wife, Natalie.” She gestured to the platters.

  “She did?” Preston rolled his eyes. “She’s not here at the moment.”

  “She needs them for the card game next week. She said she needed them urgently and Sonia had a last-minute emergency.” Nikki straightened her shoulders. “Can I just drop them off for her, please.”

  “Okay.” Preston grunted. “Take them through.”

  Nikki stepped in and noticed right away that the front room was filled with collectibles. Some were antiques, while others were more modern pieces of art. Several shadow boxes hung on the walls containing sports memorabilia. She wondered if Preston and Matt had ever bonded over the interest.