by Cindy Bell
“Wow, this is really amazing. I’ve never heard of anything like it.” Nikki ran her fingertips across the material. “It’s so soft.”
“Yes, I make sure all of the material I use is flexible and smooth so there is no chance of rubbing or damage to the dog’s coat.” Heather crossed her arms as she studied Nikki. “Would you like to buy it?”
“Sure, how much?” She met the woman’s eyes.
“Forty.” She raised an eyebrow.
“Forty.” Inwardly Nikki cringed. It was a bit more than she wanted to spend. However, the quality seemed fantastic, and she considered the price a bargain. She knew that Mrs. Whitter would appreciate it, she was always worried about Princess being out in the sun. “Okay, sold.” She reached into her purse. “I’m surprised you haven’t taken off with this business, you have some unique ideas, and your creations are gorgeous.”
“Unfortunately, it’s the name that matters. It’s hard to break into a business that’s controlled by a few designers and the sponsors that are only loyal to them.” Heather accepted the cash, then grabbed a pink bag from the table beside her. “I give out one of these goody bags to everyone with their first purchase. It has a few items in it, as well as a few business cards if you’d like to hand them out.”
“I’d be glad to.” Nikki hesitated as she studied Heather. “Did you ever show Bryan any of your stuff?”
“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes. “He was not interested.”
“I see. I’m sure your business will do well, Heather, keep at it, and thanks for this.” Nikki tucked the shirt into the bag.
“It would be nice if it would.” Heather led her back through the house. “Be sure to tell your customers about me.”
“My customers?” Nikki flashed her a smile.
“You’re a dog walker and pet sitter, right?” Heather locked her eyes to Nikki’s.
“Uh, yes. How did you know?” She tried to recall if she’d mentioned it before.
“I do my research, too.” Heather closed the door without saying another word.
Nikki stared at the closed door for several seconds. What did that mean, that she did her research, too? Did she know that Nikki had been digging into her? Her stomach twisted as she wondered what Heather might have discovered by looking into her. She didn’t exactly have anything to hide, but she was sure that there were some things that could be taken the wrong way.
Chapter 9
As Nikki walked back to her car, her cell phone began to ring. She paused beside her car and pulled her phone out. When she saw Quinn’s name on the screen, she answered.
“Hi, Quinn.” She pulled open the car door and slid inside. A quick glance back at the house revealed a figure in the front window. Was Heather watching her?
“Hey Nikki, thanks for the information you sent. We’re looking into finding John, but it may take us some time, he’s the slippery sort.”
“That’s fine.” She stared at the car in Heather’s driveway, and all of a sudden she remembered why it was familiar. “Quinn, did you have any luck enhancing the license plate on that car?”
“No, I guess the video quality is far too low to do anything with it. Why do you ask?” Keys tapped in the background.
“I’m at Heather’s place right now.” She put the phone on hands-free, slid her key into the ignition and turned the car on. The figure in the window disappeared. “I noticed a similar car in her driveway. I don’t know if it’s the same one, but she says it belongs to her boyfriend, who is out of town.”
“It could just be a coincidence, but I can certainly look into it. Your theory is that the boyfriend was the one chasing Bryan? Why would he do that?” Quinn paused. “Wait, don’t answer that, first, what are you doing at Heather’s?”
“I needed a gift for Princess, and she has a side business. She makes clothing and accessories for pets. She also told me that she tried to show Bryan some of her products before and he wasn’t interested. That might be more motive for her to have attacked him.” Nikki sighed as she shifted the car into gear. “Quinn, I have no idea if she could have done this. But I think there is potential motive, she clearly had some animosity towards Bryan.”
“Yes, she did. I’ll dig into the boyfriend and see what I can find. Did she say where he is?”
“No, she didn’t.” Nikki eased the car onto the road. “I’d better go, I’m driving, and I’m late to take the dogs for their afternoon walk.”
“Okay, but Nikki please let me know if you’re going to hang out with any more murder suspects, okay?” There was a hint of humor in his voice, but also a touch of frustration.
“I’ll do my best.” She smiled, then hung up the phone. Just hearing his voice had a way of boosting her mood. Or maybe she simply felt better that she’d finally bought Princess her present.
As Nikki drove, exhaustion began to set in. She hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before, and now all she wanted was to curl up in bed. With several dogs waiting for her, she knew that wasn’t an option. She decided to stop at the café instead for a cup of coffee to go. The parking lot was pretty full when she pulled in. Inside the café, most of the tables were occupied. She spotted a familiar face right away. Royce, with his cell phone pressed against his ear, stood a few feet away from the counter. She decided to focus on just getting her coffee. However, as she walked to the other end of the counter, Royce gravitated in her direction. Soon he was only a few steps away.
“Hi Nikki, what can I get you?” Gina smiled as she paused in front of her.
“Just a coffee to go, please.” She passed a glance in Royce’s direction.
“No problem. Mrs. Whitter was in here earlier, all excited about the party.” Gina laughed and shook her head. “I’d say she was glowing. She wanted to tell me all about the perfect gift she bought for Princess.”
“Oh, I’m so glad she found something. I know she was so worried about it.” Nikki turned her attention to Gina, though she remained aware of Royce’s proximity.
“She told me it’s an outdoor agility course designed for small dogs. I think it sounds great, but from what she described, I’m a little worried about her setting it up herself.” Gina looked towards the door and greeted a few new customers.
“I’ll make sure I offer to help her. But you know Mrs. Whitter.” Nikki smiled.
“That’s for sure.” Gina shook her head, then turned away and picked up a coffee pot.
Nikki shifted her attention back to Royce. Another waitress poured his coffee into a cup.
He impatiently drummed his fingertips on the counter as he continued his conversation on the phone.
“I am going to rent it. No one is going to play any games with me this time.” He gestured to a waitress behind the counter. “Can I get my coffee while it’s hot, please?”
“Here it is, sir.” She frowned as she set the cup of coffee down in front of him.
“It’s about time.” Royce reached into his suit jacket to pull out his wallet from the inside pocket. As he did, Nikki caught sight of a gun holstered on his hip. Her breath caught in her throat as her gaze fixated on the weapon. Bryan was shot, perhaps by the very weapon that was only a few feet away from her. She wanted to talk to him, but she couldn’t get her voice to cooperate as he headed for the door.
“Nikki. Nikki?” Gina snapped her fingers in front of Nikki’s face. “Are you in there? Don’t you want your coffee?”
“Oh yes, sorry.” Nikki watched the café door close, then turned back to look at Gina. “Thanks.” She tossed some money on the counter.
“Nikki, are you okay? You look so pale.” Gina frowned as she handed her a cup of coffee.
“I’m fine, thanks, but I have to go.” She hurried out the door with the hot coffee burning through the thin, paper cup against her palm.
Nikki spotted Royce’s car, just as it pulled away from the parking lot. She ran towards her car, but as she did the lid on her coffee cup popped open, and the hot liquid splashed across her skin.
&nbs
p; “Ouch!” Nikki winced and grabbed the cup with her other hand. As she shook the coffee from her hand she tried to grab the car door handle, but her fingers slipped free of it and she lost her center of balance. As she stumbled forward, the coffee cup tumbled out of her other hand and splashed across the outside of her car. “Well, great!” She sighed as she stared at the puddle of coffee. When she looked up at the road again Royce’s car was already gone. She pulled her phone out of her purse and called Quinn. After the third ring she heard the greeting and instructions to leave a message.
Breathlessly, she explained what she had just seen, and her suspicion that Royce was the one who killed Bryan. As she hung up the phone she wondered if the best lead in the case had just walked away. A glance at the clock on the car radio showed that she was quite late to pick up the dogs for their afternoon walk. Not all of the dogs that walked in the morning, walked in the afternoon, but she did find that some of the owners were asking her to walk them more often, which gave her a vote of confidence. Despite the fact that she spilled all of her coffee, she felt more awake than ever.
After Nikki dropped off her car at her apartment, she began to walk the neighborhood to pick up each dog for their walk. The dogs were eager to get outside. As she began to stroll towards the park, she kept her eye out for any sign of Royce. She hadn’t heard back from Quinn yet, and she hoped that meant he might have already arrested Royce. Perhaps as she walked along the sidewalk, Bryan’s murder was being solved. Her muscles began to relax at the thought. When her phone rang a few minutes later, she was relieved to see that it was Quinn. She answered the phone. Her mind buzzed with the anticipation of good news.
“Hi Quinn, did you get my message?”
“Yes, I did. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I was conducting an interview.” Quinn sighed. “Not that it led me anywhere.”
“I’m sorry for the interruption. Did you pick up Royce? I’m sure that he must be the killer, he’s armed.” Nikki steered the dogs away from a woman with a stroller. A few of the dogs were a bit too friendly to be around a little one.
“I can’t pick up Royce. He has a license to carry a concealed weapon, and when asked he provided it for examination. The bullet that killed Bryan didn’t come from that gun.” Quinn cleared his throat. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. He could have access to other weapons that we don’t know about. But as of now, I do not have enough proof to arrest him.”
“Oh no, I really thought maybe all of this would be over.” Nikki couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice.
“I know, it can be frustrating. You did the right thing by letting me know what you saw. I’m still trying to get my hands on Tim, so if you see him let me know. I’ve got a few patrol cars searching for him.” Quinn took a deep breath. “Nikki, you have the party tomorrow to think about. Why don’t you just relax and enjoy the celebration.”
“Quinn, I’m sorry if all of my calls and texts are bothering you. I just really want to find out what happened to Bryan.” Nikki guided the dogs through the park’s entrance.
“It’s not bothering me, Nikki, I want to hear everything that you have to say. But you need to stay out of this, you need to be cautious. This will be solved soon. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Thanks for the concern, but I’ll be fine.” She stifled a yawn, and hoped that he didn’t hear it. Yes, she was tired. Yes, she felt confused as she tried to shift her suspicion from Royce to someone new. Heather? “Is there anything new on Heather’s boyfriend?”
“Although the make and model of the car do appear to match up, we can’t verify with certainty that it is the same car we saw in the video. Unfortunately, it’s a fairly popular vehicle. I have not been able to locate him, and Heather is not exactly being cooperative.” Quinn hesitated, then continued. “I’ll catch up with you later. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You, too.” Nikki hung up the phone and sighed. She was tired and annoyed that the case hadn’t been solved, yet.
“Sounds like someone got under your skin.” A familiar voice summoned her attention from a tree just beside the sidewalk.
Nikki jumped, startled that someone was so close without her realizing. When she looked towards the tree, she found Tim’s gaze settled on her as he reclined against the thick trunk of the tree. She froze at the sight of him.
“Tim.”
“Yes, it’s me, and I’m glad that I wasn’t the one on the phone with you.” He grinned, which caused the corners of his eyes to crinkle.
“I’m just tired.” She shook her head and brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face. “It makes me a little snappy.”
“I understand.” He looked over the dogs. “Are they all yours?”
“No, none of them are, actually. I’m a dog walker.” She smiled. “I get to borrow other people’s pets.”
“Oh, that sounds like a nice way to spend your time.” Tim held out his hand towards Coco. “Hey there, buddy.”
The German Shepherd barked and tugged at the leash as he attempted to get a good whiff of Tim’s hand.
“He’s a big guy, isn’t he?” Tim raised an eyebrow. “Is he friendly?”
“They all are, but they’re also very protective.” Nikki wrapped the leashes around her hand to ensure that the dogs remained close to her.
“Do you think there’s reason for them to be?” Tim gazed at her with a slight pout in his lips. “I thought we got past that.”
“Tim, I don’t know you at all. I am very sorry that you lost your brother, but the truth is you were in that shop when you shouldn’t have been. Just because you are Bryan’s brother, doesn’t mean I can trust you.” Nikki looked back into his eyes in an attempt to find some hint, any clue as to whether he murdered his brother.
“I told you why I was there.” Tim frowned, then stood up from the tree. “Do you think I’m lying to you?”
“I think you have a shady past.” Nikki ran her finger across her phone and did her best to select the redial option.
“I don’t know what that has to do with anything.” He shoved his hand into his pocket. “Sure, I’ve had a rough life, things didn’t go as well for me as they did for Bryan. But I would never do anything to hurt my brother.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t do anything deliberately. But sometimes people lose their cool.” Nikki slipped her phone into her pocket, unsure if the call had gone through. “Tim, we’re here together in this park, and Bryan is gone. All I want is the truth. You must have some idea of what happened to your brother.”
“Why?” He narrowed his eyes. “Because I’ve had some trouble in the past? That’s pretty judgmental of you. I hoped I would see you again, because you’re the only person I know in town. I need your help.”
“You need my help? With what?” Nikki studied him as she wondered what his intentions might be.
“I haven‘t been able to find Bryan’s will. My mother is too sick to make the trip here to make arrangements for his burial. I need to find his will, and other papers, so that I can get all of this settled.” Tim sighed and scratched his fingers back through his hair. “I’ve searched his apartment, but I can’t find any of it. I know that you knew him, I thought maybe you would know about a storage place, or if he mentioned a special place he kept things?”
“I didn’t know him very well, I’m sorry.” Nikki’s heart softened as she detected the desperation in his voice. He had just lost his brother, and it sounded like he was overwhelmed with the arrangements that needed to be made. “I wish I could help you.”
“Do you?” Tim tipped his head to the side as he looked into her eyes. “Because you seem nervous. Is that really all because I’ve made a few missteps in my life?”
“No, it’s because you were here before your brother was killed, with a man who has a very checkered past. I saw you in the café that morning with John. Were you two talking about Bryan?” Her heartbeat quickened as she knew that she had just stepped into dangerous territory.
“John?” Tim cleared his throat and slipped his hand back out of his pocket. “Do you know him?”
“No, but I have looked into him, and he’s not a great guy, is he?” Nikki raised an eyebrow and did her best to hide the quiver in her hands.
“I don’t know him well.” He shrugged and glanced towards the road, before he looked back at her. “I ran into him when I stopped at the café for breakfast. We did some business together before. That’s all.” He raked his eyes along the length of her. “I must have made quite an impression on you for you to remember seeing me.”
“I’m just observant.” She reached down and patted the top of Coco’s head as he barked again. “But that still doesn’t answer my question. What were you doing in the café in the first place?”
“Like I said, having breakfast.” Tim chuckled, though his laughter sounded too hard to be jovial. “You’re right, I came into town to see my brother. I thought we could finally get on the same page about things. I wanted to show him how much I had changed, and build a relationship with him. But before I could, someone from this town robbed me of that opportunity. And here you are, accusing me of killing my own brother?”
“I never said that.” She took a step back as he leaned towards her. A few of the dogs began to growl. Coco’s barking became more insistent.
“You didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes, in the way you shy back from me.” He smiled some as he looked into her eyes. “You’re frightened of me. But you can feel that spark between us too, can’t you? What’s wrong, Nikki, you’ve never been attracted to a bad boy before?” His smile spread into a grin.
“Tim!” Quinn called out as he closed his car door. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Nikki’s eyes widened at the sight of Quinn as he approached. His stern expression, and tense muscles made him look far different than she was used to. She realized that he had probably listened to every word of their conversation.
“Who’s this?” Tim narrowed his eyes as he eyed Quinn. A second later a patrol car, with its lights flashing pulled up behind Quinn’s car. “Aw, Nikki, what did you do?” He turned his attention back to her, as a quick fury bolted through his eyes. “I trusted you!”