Murder at the Dog Training Academy

by Cindy Bell

  “I’m sure you would have. It’s probably best if you go. She’s not going to be happy to know that I called you here.” Preston put his hand on Martin’s shoulder and looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

  “I understand, Preston. When it comes to Briana, there’s not much you can do. She has a mind of her own, unfortunately.” Martin turned away from Preston and headed out of the room.

  Nikki watched as Preston set his glass down, then followed after him.

  “So, Briana is in the house,” Nikki whispered. “I think that new problem he mentioned is likely Theo.”

  “It seems that way.” Sonia pointed towards the door of the room as Theo and Briana walked through it.

  “Trust me, he will try to bribe you to break up with me.” Briana rolled her eyes and flicked her blonde hair back over her shoulder. “Just keep in mind, whatever he offers, I’m worth way more than that. Got it?”

  “Sure, I guess.” Theo frowned as he looked at her. “What are we even doing here? You know it will just upset him.”

  “We’re here because I need to get some things before we catch our flight. That’s all.” Briana shrugged. “We’ll be gone in no time.”

  “This doesn’t feel right.” Theo began to pace back and forth.

  The moment that Harper saw Theo he began to squirm. Then he started to bark.

  “Oh no.” Sonia gasped. “You’ve got to quiet him down or we’re going to get caught.”

  “Harper, sh.” Nikki pulled him away from the window. This only made him bark louder.

  Theo walked towards the window. “What was that? Is there a dog outside?”

  “Forget it, it’s not important.” Briana crossed her arms. “My dad should be here any second.”

  “Great.” Theo peered out through the window.

  Nikki and Sonia clung to Harper’s leash as they hid behind the tall bushes. Harper continued to bark, and even growl.

  “Sh, we’re going to get you home in just a moment.” Nikki tried to soothe the dog.

  “And just what do we have here?” A loud voice seeped through the large window.

  “It’s Preston!” Nikki looked back at the window.

  “Dad, this is Theo.” Briana smirked. “When I gave up on trying to be with Matt, Theo and I fell in love.”

  “What?” Preston glared at her. “You gave up on Matt? I thought you two planned to get married. No matter what it took.”

  “Like I was really ever going to marry him.” Briana shook her head. “I just needed a chance to get away and clear my head. I started sending texts to Theo, and he was so kind and supportive. Weren’t you, babe?” She leaned against his chest and smiled. “So now, we’re planning to get married.”

  “Wait, what?” Theo looked over at her.

  “Sure, of course, hon.” Briana wrapped her arms around his waist. “Why should we wait? I say just get it done as soon as possible.”

  “Unbelievable.” Preston scowled at Briana. “Do you have any idea what I’ve done for you?”

  “You mean what decisions you have made for me with zero input from me?” Briana laughed. “Sorry Dad, but this is one decision you can’t make for me.”

  “Get out!” Preston pointed to the door. “Now!”

  “Whatever.” Briana waved her hand at him, then turned to walk out of the room. “Let’s go, Theo.”

  “No, not you.” Preston grabbed Theo’s arm. “You and I are going to have a conversation.”

  “He’s not going to take your money, Dad!” Briana shouted.

  “Get out, I said!” Preston glared at his daughter. “Why is that dog still barking?” He turned towards the window.

  “We’d better get out of here,” Sonia whispered to Nikki.

  “Yes, Harper’s only getting louder.” Nikki steered the dog away from the bushes and back towards the gate.

  “What’s this?” Light suddenly flooded around both of them, and Harper.

  Nikki spun around and found herself face to face with Preston.

  “What are you doing on my property?” He glared at Nikki. “I should have you both arrested.”

  “It’s just a simple misunderstanding.” Nikki clung to Harper’s leash as the dog began to bark and snarl. “We were looking for Theo. This is his dog.”

  “Oh.” Preston quirked an eyebrow as he looked between them. “Well, he’s right inside. Maybe it would be best if you join us.” He gestured towards the front door.

  Chapter 19

  As Nikki and Sonia turned towards the house, Briana’s car sped out through the gate. Nikki’s stomach lurched. Had she left without Theo? Nikki had seen how angry Preston was. But maybe if she went inside, she could find out how Theo was involved in Matt’s death.

  “Why don’t you just take him.” Nikki offered him the leash. “I’m sure Theo will be happy to see him.”

  “Me? Touch that leash?” Preston shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. That dog is a beast. Let’s go.” He led them towards the front door.

  “I’m not so sure about this, Nikki,” Sonia whispered to her as they followed after Preston.

  “Our only other choice is to deal with the police. Quinn helped me out once already, he probably doesn’t have any more favors to call in for me.” Nikki frowned. “I don’t feel comfortable asking him, anyway.”

  “You’re right, at least this way we can talk to Theo.” Sonia stepped through the front door with Nikki at her side.

  Harper began to tug hard at the leash in an attempt to get into the large living room. He barked loudly.

  “Harper?” Theo stepped out of the living room and looked from his dog, to Nikki, and Sonia. “What are you doing here?”

  “Your dog was loose.” Nikki shivered as she held out the leash to Theo. She could feel Preston’s eyes on her. Something definitely didn’t feel right.

  “Oh no!” Theo took the leash. “I’m so sorry, Harper, I had no idea. I should get you home.” Theo glanced at Preston. “I need to go, sir.”

  “I’m sorry, that’s not an option.” Preston pushed the door closed and locked it. When he turned back to the others, he drew a gun from his waistband and pointed it at all of them. “No one is leaving.”

  “What?” Sonia gasped. “Preston! You can’t be serious! What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that I need to put an end to Theo and Briana’s relationship now. I’m thinking that you’ve seen and heard too much.” Preston pointed to the wall with the gun. “Line up against the wall. All of you. The dog, too.” He aimed the gun at Harper.

  “Please, don’t hurt him.” Nikki winced. “He’s just worried about Theo.”

  “With good reason.” Preston glared at the dog. “Theo here, has just confessed to me that he killed Matt.” He moved the gun from Harper to Theo.

  “What? No, I didn’t!” Theo glared at Preston. “I didn’t do anything to him!”

  “No, you didn’t.” Nikki’s eyes widened as she stared at Preston. “Because Preston is the one who killed Matt. He went to Happy Dogs with a check, to pay Matt off. He knew about Matt’s financial troubles and he was sure that Matt would agree to take the money. Didn’t you, Preston?” Nikki stared at him.

  “You figured that out, did you?” Preston chuckled. “But not before you decided to walk right into my house?”

  “All you had to do was stay out of Briana’s love life, and Matt would still be alive.” Nikki frowned.

  “He tore the check up in front of me and turned away as if it was nothing. I even sweetened the deal by bringing along a baseball bat, a collector’s item. But Matt wasn’t going to let her go. Little did I know, Briana was already over him.” Preston groaned. “Had I known that, I certainly wouldn’t have wasted one of my favorite bats. She’s always causing me so much trouble. Luckily, I’m going to solve all of my problems tonight.”

  “Did your father help you?” Nikki asked.

  “No, of course not.” Preston laughed bitterly. “He’s all bark and no bite
.”

  “What would Natalie think?” Sonia asked.

  “She would think that I’ve taken things too far. She would hate that I offered Matt money. She is so stingy. She wants all of her problems solved for free. I think they suspect anyway, that’s why Dad has been trying to keep the police away. But they would never ruin their reputations and they will never know the truth for sure. I was sure I was going to be caught. Shortly after I killed Matt I heard people walking towards that area. So, I didn’t even have time to get the pieces of the torn-up check off the ground. I was sure that would lead back to me, but it didn’t. I also had to leave the body there. Which was actually lucky, because it turned the spotlight on the other builders.” He smirked. “And now all of my problems are about to disappear.” Preston looked over at Theo. “As I said, this young man just confessed to me that he killed Matt as he was jealous over his involvement with my daughter. During that confession, the two of you happened to be here bringing him his dog. Theo lost his mind, and he went after the two of you. I tried to save you both, but I just wasn’t fast enough.” He shook his head. “Such a tragedy.”

  “No one is going to believe that.” Nikki took a step closer to him.

  “No?” Preston tapped the gun lightly against his palm. “The police don’t suspect Theo at all?”

  Nikki’s thoughts spun as she realized that Quinn did indeed suspect Theo. In fact, she had suspected Theo as well. Preston’s plan would actually work quite well, if he was able to get away with it.

  “Preston, you’ll never get away with this.” Sonia rolled her eyes. “Money doesn’t protect you from everything you know. If you go through with this, you will be responsible for four murders. Just leave us. Run away. I don’t think you would do well behind bars.”

  “I’ll never have to find out.” Preston pointed the gun at Theo. “Because all of my problems end here, tonight.”

  “What about Briana?” Nikki’s heart pounded. She hoped that if she kept Preston talking, she would be able to think of a way to escape. “How are you going to explain all of this to her? Do you really think that she is going to believe that Theo killed Matt? That he killed Sonia and me?”

  “Briana will think whatever I tell her to think.” Preston smirked. “She’s just going through a phase. She’ll settle down soon enough. She has a wild spirit, like me. I can’t blame her for it.” He looked back at Theo. “All right, now it’s better to get this over with quickly. No need to scream, no one lives close enough to hear you.” He aimed the gun directly at Theo.

  Harper snarled and yanked at the leash. He barked and lunged towards Preston’s leg. The force of Harper’s pulling made Theo drop the leash.

  “Quit it!” Preston shouted as he turned the gun towards the dog.

  “No don’t!” Theo cried out and lunged towards his dog.

  Nikki saw her chance in the middle of the chaos. She bolted forward and grabbed the gun. As she tried to wrench it from Preston’s hand, he held tightly to it.

  “Enough!” Preston shouted, and shoved Nikki hard to the ground. He aimed the gun at her for a moment, then stalked over to the door. “Out!” He opened the door for Harper.

  Before Harper could run out the door, Princess bolted inside. Harper barked and chased after Princess. Princess ran away from Harper as fast as she could. As Harper chased after her, the larger dog crashed into a side table and sent a vase full of colored rocks to the floor. The glass shattered, and the rocks scattered in all directions.

  “Stop it now!” Preston marched forward with the gun raised.

  “Don’t you dare!” Sonia stuck out her foot as Preston marched past.

  Preston tripped on her foot, then stumbled forward and lost his balance on the colored rocks. As his arms swung through the air, Nikki grabbed for the gun. This time she got a tight grip on it and managed to tug it free in the same moment that Preston fell towards the floor. Nikki fell with him.

  Sonia scooped up Princess just as Harper licked her fluffy ear.

  “Down!” Sonia commanded Harper, who jumped up on her.

  “He won’t hurt you.” Theo grabbed his collar and pulled him away from Sonia. “I just say that he’s dangerous, so people stay away. He’s a softie.”

  Nikki pushed herself to her feet with the gun in her hand. She trembled as she pointed it at Preston.

  “Take it easy.” Preston raised his hands slowly into the air. “Don’t do anything stupid. I didn’t want to cause Matt any harm. He just wouldn’t go away.”

  “You had no right to kill him.” Nikki glared at him.

  “Nikki, Quinn is on his way.” Sonia tucked her phone back into her purse. “He’s going to be more than happy to put handcuffs on this criminal.”

  “Criminal?” Preston chuckled. “Is it criminal to want what’s best for my daughter?”

  “You’re crazy.” Theo shook his head as he held onto Harper. “Briana doesn’t care what you have to say about anything. All she wants to do is get back at you because she hates you. She is rebelling to get back at you.”

  “I gave her the best life I could, a life that anyone else would dream of having.” Preston sat up against the wall and sighed. “But it wasn’t enough. I would do anything for her, even kill for her, but it still wasn’t enough.” He closed his eyes. “What is a father to do?”

  “Not commit murder, that’s what.” Nikki continued to point the gun at him. “You are never going to have to do anything for Briana again, because you’re going to be behind bars.”

  “Nikki!” Quinn burst through the front door.

  “Arrest them!” Preston pointed at Nikki, Sonia and Theo. “They broke into my house! They threatened to kill me!”

  “That’s not true!” Sonia crossed her arms. “He tried to kill us all, Quinn. He planned to blame Theo for Matt’s murder, and to say that Theo killed me and Nikki. He killed Matt!”

  “Nikki, put the gun down.” Quinn inched closer to her. “Put it down now.”

  “You don’t believe him, do you, Quinn?” Nikki looked at him with wide eyes.

  “I told you before, I trust you.” Quinn put his hand on the gun barrel. “Now let go.”

  Nikki shivered as she relaxed her grip on the gun. She wasn’t used to holding one, and felt some relief when its weight was no longer pressed against her palm.

  “Thank you so much!” Preston started to get to his feet. “I was terrified! My life flashed before my eyes!”

  “Preston Murrow, you are under arrest.” Quinn removed his gun from his holster and turned his attention and gun on Preston. “Face the wall and place your hands behind your back.”

  “This is insane! When my lawyer gets done with you, you’ll never wear a badge again!” Preston scowled at him.

  “We’ll see about that.” Quinn pointed to the wall. “Turn and face the wall, now!”

  Preston grumbled, but obeyed.

  Nikki took a sharp breath as she heard the click of the handcuffs. She opened her arms to Sonia, who hugged her in return, with Princess nestled between them.

  “Let’s go.” Quinn tugged Preston towards the door as several police cars arrived on the scene. He glanced back at Theo, Nikki, and Sonia. “Stay put, I need to speak with each of you.”

  “Speak to them about how they got onto my property!” Preston huffed. “My lawyer is going to have a fantastic time with all of this!”

  “I’m sure he will.” Quinn pushed him out through the door.

  “Wow, I can’t believe this.” Theo rubbed his hand across his forehead. “I can’t believe it at all.”

  “Are you okay, Theo?” Nikki gazed at him. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  “No.” Theo frowned. “Matt, he really loved Briana, you know? He really thought that he was going to be happy.” He balled his hands into fists at his side. “He wasn’t the greatest boss, but he didn’t deserve this.”

  “No, he didn’t.” Nikki agreed. “You’re going to be okay, Theo. We all are.” She smiled as Harper licked her hand. �
��You too, Harper. You did a good job of trying to protect him. You must have been the one that knocked all of the furniture over when you tried to get out of the house to follow him, hm?” She patted the top of his head. “I think he knew you were in trouble, Theo.”

  “He’s a good dog.” Theo crouched down and wrapped his arms around Harper’s neck. “He’s always looking out for me.”

  “I’m sure he will continue to do just that.” Sonia smiled as she looked at the two.

  “All right.” Quinn stepped back into the house. His shoes crunched through the broken glass on the floor. “Who wants to tell me exactly what happened here?”

  “Sonia, are you all right?” Nikki looked over at her. “Is Princess?”

  “Yes, we’re both okay, Nikki.” Sonia smiled as she stroked the dog’s fur. “Thanks to you.”

  “Thanks to Princess, really. She must have known something was wrong and jumped out the front window.” Nikki looked over at Harper. “And thanks to you too, Harper.”

  “It sounds like a lot happened here.” Quinn stepped closer to Nikki.

  “It did, and I’ll tell you every last little detail. Over dinner.” Nikki raised an eyebrow.

  “That’s not the way things are usually done.” Quinn looked into her eyes.

  “I know, but after all, you did promise to take me to dinner.” Nikki smiled as she looked back at him.

  “I did, didn’t I?” Quinn brushed her hair back over her shoulders. “I think that can be arranged.”

  As other officers swarmed into the house, Quinn took her hand.

  “Call me if you need me.” Quinn nodded to one of the officers, who nodded back, then began to take Theo’s statement.

  “Sonia, will you be able to get home okay?” Nikki glanced over at her.

  “Of course I will.” Sonia grinned. “Have fun.”

  Nikki gave Princess a kiss on the head and a pat.

  Quinn led Nikki outside. The moment they were alone, he pulled her close and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

  “Do I want to know how you and Sonia ended up here tonight without ever telling me what you were up to?” Quinn looked into her eyes.