by Cindy Bell
“Wow, what a great collection.” Nikki’s eyes widened.
“It is, isn’t it.” Preston smiled.
“My brother collects sports stuff, too.” Nikki paused in front of one of the shadow boxes.
“So does my father. He got me into it, actually.” Preston’s smile grew wider. “This is just a portion of my collection. Would you like to see more?” His voice held a faint ring, as if he was excited to show her.
“Sure.” Nikki’s heart fluttered. Was it wise to go farther inside the house? She didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to look around the house. That was why she was there after all.
“Leave those here and I’ll show you.” Preston gestured to a side table. Nikki was shocked at the change in his demeanor. He obviously had a passion for sports memorabilia.
Preston opened a door off the front room and led her inside. The entire room appeared to be dedicated to sports, from basketball, to hockey, to baseball. Not just modern items, but some historical pieces from when the games were first played.
The ring of the doorbell startled Nikki.
“Who’s that now?” Preston grunted. “Just give me a second.” He walked towards the door.
Nikki looked around the room. It was an amazing collection. She noticed that among a collection of baseball bats, there was an empty container where one should be kept.
“Detective, get off my property!” Preston demanded.
Detective? Nikki winced. She peered around the door. Sure enough Quinn was there. She thought he said that he had planned on visiting the Murrows’ earlier that morning and presumed he would be finished before she got there.
“Preston, I’m not leaving unless you’re in the back of my car.” Quinn squared his shoulders.
“Is that some kind of threat?” Preston stepped out through the doorway and locked his eyes to Quinn’s. “Do you really want to go down that road, son?”
“Sir, I don’t want to do anything but solve this case. Matt was going to be your son-in-law, doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Quinn asked. “Your daughter was in love with this man, don’t you want justice for him?”
“My daughter.” Preston rolled his eyes and huffed. “She wouldn’t know what’s best for her if it was written on the wall right in front of her face. She likes creating drama, she likes causing trouble. That’s all Matt was to her, drama and trouble.”
“He still deserves to have his murder solved.” Quinn squared his shoulders. “I’d just like to know when was the last time you spoke to Matt.” He pulled out his tablet as he followed Preston into the house.
“Not for ages.” Preston shook his head. “Briana and I were not speaking when she began dating Matt. My daughter was promised to someone else, and Matt was just her way of rebelling.”
“From what I’ve heard. The way he spoke about her, he was in love with her.” Quinn nodded.
“Maybe so, but my daughter isn’t the type to be in love with anyone.” Preston shook his head. “It’s my fault I suppose, I’ve been too easy on her. She never had to fight for any of this.” He gestured to the opulence that surrounded them. “Maybe her attitude would be different if she had. As to the last time I saw Matt, I only ever met him once. Briana brought him home for dinner to introduce him, and Natalie asked them both to leave. I barely knew the man.” He held his hands out in front of him. “Maybe that makes us cruel people, but it is the truth.”
“Are Natalie or Charles here?”
“No, they’re out.” Preston gestured towards the door. “Now, if you don’t mind, I do have a tennis match I am late for.” He turned towards the room where Nikki was peeking through the door. “Nikki.” He called out. Nikki winced, she knew she couldn’t hide anymore.
“Yes.” Nikki stepped out of the room. Quinn’s eyes widened when he saw her. It looked like he was going to say something but stopped himself.
“I have to go, I have a tennis match.” Preston gestured to the door.
“Preston, one more question. Do you know why Briana disappeared on the same day that Matt did?” Quinn met him at the door.
“I guess you’d have to ask her that.” Preston’s expression hardened. “Or perhaps, her lawyer.” He held the door open. “You’ve taken up enough of my time.” He glanced at Nikki.
“Thank you for showing me your collection.” Nikki smiled at him. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s been a passion of mine.” Preston sighed. “I could never play sports myself, I just didn’t have the coordination. I guess that’s why I am so fascinated by it.”
Nikki gazed at him as she followed Quinn out through the door.
Preston pushed the door closed behind them so hard that she felt a soft breeze from the motion.
Quinn led Nikki back through the guardhouse. As soon as they were down the driveway, Quinn turned to Nikki, concern in his eyes.
“What were you doing there?”
“I was returning platters for Sonia.” Nikki shrugged innocently. “She plays cards with Natalie Murrow and she needed her platters back urgently, apparently.”
“Why didn’t she return them herself?” Quinn looked skeptical.
“The electrician that she has been waiting ages for decided to reschedule and turn up at the last minute.” Nikki frowned. “I still don’t know why Natalie asked for the platters to be returned around ten if she wasn’t going to be here.”
“Preston seemed evasive about Natalie and Charles. I wonder where they are?” Quinn nodded. “I’ll have to see if I can track them down. Like I said yesterday, I was planning on getting here at eight, but I got delayed, the captain wanted an update on the case.”
“That interview with Preston didn’t seem to go well.”
“Well, we know one thing.” Quinn looked at Nikki. “Preston is a liar.”
“What?” Nikki paused beside his car. “Not that I’m disagreeing with you, but how do you know that for sure?”
“First, he says he’s late for a tennis match. Then he says he has no coordination and can’t play sports. Come talk with me for a second.” Quinn settled in the driver’s seat. “So, either he’s lying about the lack of coordination, or the tennis match. I’m going to find out which.”
“How?” Nikki settled in beside him.
“I’m going to follow him.” Quinn started his car. “Did you walk here?”
“I did.”
“Then first, I’m going to take you home.” He started to pull away from the house.
“Quinn, you don’t have to take me home. I can go with you.” Nikki glanced over her shoulder at the house. “There’s no car in the driveway, yet.”
“No, you can’t go with me.” Quinn put his hand over hers and met her eyes briefly before he looked back through the windshield. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“I trust you.” Nikki looked over at him. How could she not? He’d saved her life when she was just a teenager with a crush, and ever since they’d met up again in Dahlia, he’d looked out for her in every way he could. She realized, that she trusted him more than just about anyone else in her life. It startled her, but made her smile at the same time.
“Trailing a suspect is a dangerous task. I won’t put you at risk.”
“Then just let me out here.” Nikki tipped her head towards the sidewalk. “It’s only a short walk to Sonia’s, and I promised I would see her after I dropped off the platters.”
“Are you sure?” Quinn frowned. “It doesn’t feel right to leave you here.”
“Relax. I walked here” Nikki leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I walk for a living, remember?” She smiled then popped the door open.
As Nikki walked off, she heard a car headed down the Murrows’ driveway. She ducked behind a tree as Preston pulled out through the gate, then turned in the opposite direction. Quinn’s car followed at a short distance. If Preston wasn’t meeting someone for a tennis match, where was he going?
When Nikki walked up to Sonia’s door, Princess began t
o bark enthusiastically.
“Hi Princess.” Nikki smiled as Sonia opened the door and the dog came bounding out.
“Can you believe the electrician didn’t turn up.” Sonia shook her head.
“You’re joking.”
“No, I’m not. I’m still trying to get hold of them.” Sonia gestured towards the house. “Come in, come in. Tell me everything.”
“Guess who turned up while I was talking to Preston?”
“Who?” Sonia’s voice rose slightly.
“Quinn.” Nikki sighed. “To question the Murrows.”
“Wow, that’s bad timing.” Sonia’s eyes widened.
“I know, he said he would be there at eight so I thought he would be finished with them, but he got called into a meeting.”
“Did Quinn arrest them? What a scandal that will be!”
“No, Natalie and Charles weren’t there.”
“That’s strange, Natalie said she would be there.” Sonia frowned. “Maybe something came up.”
“Quinn didn’t have enough evidence to arrest Preston. Honestly, he didn’t get much out of Preston. He said that he’s only ever met Matt once.” Nikki followed Sonia inside.
“How about some brunch?” Sonia led her to the kitchen and began pulling food out of the refrigerator.
“That would be great, I’m so hungry.” Nikki stepped up beside her to help her prepare a few sandwiches.
“How did it go? Did you find out anything?”
“Not really. Preston was angry when I turned up, but when I explained who I was he asked me to take the platters inside. As soon as I spoke to him about his sports memorabilia he seemed to relax. It did soften him up a bit. Although, not too much.” Nikki shrugged. “Then Quinn turned up.”
“How was it watching Quinn at work?” Sonia flashed a smile at her.
“It was interesting.” Nikki grinned.
“Quinn seems to be on top of things.” Sonia headed to the table with her sandwich.
“He certainly does. He thinks that Preston is lying about a supposed tennis match he had to get to, so he decided to follow him.” Nikki joined Sonia at the table.
“Tennis? Preston? Ha!” Sonia shook her head. “That man could trip over air. He is not the sporty type.”
“Hopefully, Quinn will find something when he follows him. I’m just not sure what. He has almost no evidence from the crime. If following Preston doesn’t lead to something, I know he’s going to be frustrated.” Nikki took a big bite of her sandwich and closed her eyes as she savored the taste. It was easy for her to get caught up in things and forget to eat.
As Nikki sat there, she ran through everything in her mind about what she knew about Matt. All of a sudden she thought of something.
“What if Charles killed Matt?” Nikki suggested. “He was so aggressive towards the guard. So determined to keep the police out.”
“Charles Murrow?” Sonia raised an eyebrow. “It would be a huge risk for him to take. He could lose everything.”
“True. But maybe he already saw Matt’s engagement to Briana as losing everything.” Nikki looked over at Sonia. “He seems like a man that needs to be in control. Maybe Briana’s insistence on the marriage made him feel as if he’d lost that control. It might have been enough to make him want to take Matt out.”
“It’s possible, but I don’t know how we would prove it.” Sonia shook her head. “I can’t imagine him risking so much.”
“Me either.” Nikki shrugged.
“You know, it’s so hard to solve a crime with no evidence.” Sonia drummed her fingertips on the table. “It’s a shame that nothing was ever found at the crime scene.” She picked up her sandwich and began to eat it.
“You’re right, nothing was.” Nikki pictured the area by the back door in her mind. It was an open space, and with the way that Matt was killed it surprised her that no evidence had been left behind. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. “Of course, they didn’t find anything!”
“Hmm?” Sonia met her eyes across the table.
“I cleaned that whole area up. Tom asked me to, in order to prepare for the works to pour the concrete. He said it might save them some time if I did it.” Nikki shivered a little as she realized what that meant. “Tom sent me to the crime scene to clean it up.” She frowned.
“He didn’t know that it was a crime scene, though.” Sonia patted the top of Nikki’s hand. “I trust your instincts. If you say Tom didn’t do this, I believe you.”
“Thank you, Sonia.” Nikki sighed. A smile drifted across her lips. “You don’t know how much that means to me. I don’t think he did this. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t clean up the crime scene. I wonder if the trash bag is still there?”
“I’m sure the police have checked it and it’s been collected, but there’s only one way to find out.” Sonia got to her feet. “We need to go over there and have a look.”
“Good plan.” Nikki picked up her sandwich. “I’ll eat this on the way.”
“You might have to fight Princess for it.” Sonia laughed as she grabbed gloves from the kitchen for both of them on the way out the door.
Chapter 17
Nikki took the last bite of her sandwich just as they arrived at Happy Dogs. Princess whined as she licked Nikki’s hands.
“All gone.” Nikki scratched behind her ear. She noticed Tom’s car parked near the front door. “I’d like to check in with Tom before we start looking for the trash.” She stepped out of the car.
“I’d like to see how he’s doing, too. I know this can’t be easy on him.” Sonia followed after her.
“Tom, are you here?” Nikki stepped inside the building. A loud thud startled her. Another loud thud came from the direction of his office. “Tom, are you okay?” Nikki stepped through the door and heard another thud.
“Nikki?” Tom turned to face her, his forehead beaded with sweat. “Sorry, I didn’t know there was anyone else here. I’m just packing up some things.” He gestured to the boxes piled along the rear wall of his office. “I don’t want to leave it all for the end of the month.”
“Packing?” Nikki stepped all the way into the office. “For what?”
“Nikki, I need to face reality. I’m not going to make it after what happened here. Even if the investigation gets wrapped up soon, I’m still going to have an uphill battle to prove that I wasn’t involved. I’ve heard the rumors flying around town.” Tom picked up another box and added it to the stack.
“People love to talk. That doesn’t mean anything.” Nikki frowned as she looked over the nearly empty shelves that hung on the walls. “Tom, you can’t give up now, you’ve worked so hard to get here.”
“I don’t think I have much choice, Nikki. I’m sorry, I know how much of your time you invested in helping me. I hate to disappoint you, but I just can’t do this.” Tom looked past her at Sonia. “I can only imagine how hard this has been for you. I do hope that you’ll be able to recover from the shock you experienced.”
“I will.” Sonia stepped into the office as well. “Nikki is right, you shouldn’t just give up.”
“We’ll see.” Tom sighed as he looked at the boxes, then he glanced back at Nikki. “I didn’t know you were coming by. Did you need something?”
“Actually, yes. I wanted to see if a particular garbage bag was still here. I left it by the side of the property. You told me to leave it there because the dumpster was full.” Nikki shrugged. “I figured it might have already gone out with the garbage, but I was hoping I could have a look if the police don’t already have it.”
“Sure.” Tom leaned back against the wall. “Look around as much as you want. But why would you need a bag of garbage?”
“I thought it might have a clue. I cleaned up the area of the crime scene, remember?” Nikki met his eyes. “You asked me to. So, anything the killer might have left behind, could have ended up in that trash bag.”
“Yes, I remember.” Tom wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Even more evidence that
I’m guilty of a crime I didn’t commit.”
“That’s not true.” Nikki frowned. “I’m here to help you.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” Tom sighed. “I’m actually not sure if the police checked the trash there. They collected the trash from the main bins, but not the extra dumpster I don’t think. I forgot to tell them about it.” He rubbed his forehead. “It is on the land next door. The bin company accidently dropped it off there. The neighbors said I could leave it there, so I did.” He ran his hand over his face. “It was just such a shock when Matt’s body was found, I forgot to tell the police about the extra dumpster. I think the trash might still be in there. I haven’t had it picked up yet. It should be down the side by the camping shop. You can access it by the dog play area. Want some help looking for it?”
“No, it’s fine. I can do it.” Nikki gave his shoulder a light pat. “This is all going to be over soon, Tom, I know it is.”
“I hope so.” Tom nodded. “I am going to go home to have something to eat, so I’ll catch up with you another time.”
“Okay.” Nikki nodded. “Let me know if you need help with anything.”
Nikki stepped out of the office and walked towards the back door. Sonia picked up Princess and carried her.
“He’s having a tough time.” Sonia shook her head. “And none of this is his fault.”
“No, it’s not.” Nikki opened the back door. “Why don’t you let Princess run around a bit while I look for the garbage bag.” She glanced over at Sonia as they both stepped outside. “I don’t want her getting into something in the trash that she shouldn’t.”
“That’s a good idea.” Sonia guided Princess towards the play area. “I’ll be right back to help you sort through it.”
Nikki raised an eyebrow. She knew that Sonia was a strong person, and that she could be quite determined, but she never pictured her digging through trash. She walked around the side of the building and found the dumpster.
Nikki sighed with relief when she saw it. The bright blue trash bag she’d used to clean up the area near the back patio was right on top.