by Cindy Bell
“Hi Quinn.”
“Hard at work again I see. Do I want to know how you found this information out?”
“Probably not.” Nikki wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead. “Goodnight, Quinn.”
“Goodnight.” He sighed as he hung up the phone.
Once Nikki’s head hit her pillow, she fell asleep fairly quickly. She jolted awake at the sound of her alarm the next morning. After a few seconds of fog, she realized it was the day of Princess’ party. She jumped out of bed and hurried to wrap Princess’ gift. Then she grabbed a banana and headed out the door. If she knew Mrs. Whitter as well as she thought she did, she guessed that the woman had already been up for a few hours to prepare for the party. She had a little time before the dogs were due for their morning walks, so she headed straight for Mrs. Whitter’s. When she pulled into the driveway she noticed that it, and the front walkway had been neatly swept. All of the bushes and flower beds which were normally spotless, had been tidied up even further. She knew this was all Mrs. Whitter’s handiwork as the gardener had already been at the house earlier in the week.
When Nikki knocked on the door, she prepared to face a fight about her offer of help. She heard Princess bark on the other side of the door. Then the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Whitter’s slight frame.
“Oh, Nikki!” She clasped the younger woman’s cheeks with her hands and gazed into her eyes. “You’re just who I needed to see.”
“I am?” Nikki smiled, a little nervous about Mrs. Whitter’s reaction.
“Honestly, I need your help. I only have a few hours left to prepare for the party and nothing is going smoothly this morning.” Mrs. Whitter thrust her thumb into the air. “I cut myself with the hedge trimmers, and I almost burned the cookies I baked for all of Princess’ friends.”
“I’m so sorry, but I am here to help. You just tell me what you need, and I’ll do it.” Nikki felt some relief at not having to battle Mrs. Whitter.
“If you could start with the agility set I bought for Princess, that would be great. I want it to be set up in the backyard so that all of the guests will be able to use it, but I’d like to add bows to each portion of it so that Princess will know that it’s her birthday present.” Mrs. Whitter pointed down the hall. “It’s in the laundry room, you can take it right out through the kitchen door.”
“Sure, no problem.” Nikki smiled. If it were another dog, she might point out that a dog would have no idea what bows meant. However, she knew Princess’ reaction when she saw bows. Mrs. Whitter had given her so many gifts that now she knew if there was a bow on a box, it was for her, and there was something wonderful inside. Nikki presumed that Princess must be having her breakfast because she hadn’t greeted her at the door.
As Nikki walked towards the laundry room, she caught sight of Princess’ bed. Its fluffy edges were tattered, as if she had been chewing on them. That wasn’t something that Princess usually did. She was quite dainty when it came to the things she loved. She thought about mentioning it to Mrs. Whitter, but decided against it. She didn’t want to upset her on such a special day. However, she also knew that Mrs. Whitter would not want any of her guests to see her precious pup’s bed in tatters. She knew there was an extra bed in the laundry room, she would just switch them around.
Nikki grabbed the agility set, which was in a large and fairly heavy cardboard box, and the extra bed, then headed back out into the living room. She set down the agility set and the replacement bed, then reached for the old one. As she picked up the old bed, her hand closed around something lumpy inside of the material. It wasn’t just in one spot, but spanned the entire ring of the bed. Curious, she began to dig into one of the holes that Princess had chewed. After a few seconds of trying she managed to get one of the lumps free from the hole. A green jewel rolled into the palm of her hand. As she stared at it stunned, and perplexed at why it would be hidden inside of the bed, Mrs. Whitter walked into the room.
“Nikki, what’s that?” She walked towards her, her eyes wide.
“I don’t know. I noticed that Princess had been chewing on her bed, so I thought it would be best to switch it around for her extra bed before the guests arrive. When I picked it up, I felt lumps inside of it. I dug into it, and this is what came out.” Nikki held her palm out for Mrs. Whitter to see. “It must be fake. But why would anyone put that inside of a bed? Where did you get the bed from?”
“I bought it from a boutique in Maines.” Mrs. Whitter narrowed her eyes as she looked over the bed. “But something isn’t right.” She rolled the material between two fingertips. “No this isn’t right at all!”
“What is it, Mrs. Whitter?” Nikki watched as confusion spread across the woman’s face.
“This isn’t the bed I bought. This material is too rough for Princess. I would never let her near a bed like this. Are you playing some kind of joke on me, Nikki? Today is not the day for that!” Mrs. Whitter frowned and drew her hand away from the bed.
“No, not at all, Mrs. Whitter. This is the bed that was here when I arrived today. Like I said, when I saw it chewed up, I knew you wouldn’t want your guests seeing that.” She stared at the bed, and shook her head slowly. “Is it possible that you’re mistaken?”
“Absolutely not.” Mrs. Whitter flipped the bed over in her hands and found the tag on the bottom of it. “You see, this is from Bryan’s boutique. I never bought a bed from Bryan. You know how Princess only sleeps in plush fabric. I even took in the old bed to Bryan to see if he had one with similar material, but he didn’t so I never bought one.” She pursed her lips as her eyes narrowed. “To think that my poor Princess has been sleeping in this heap of trash for who knows how long. How awful. No wonder she chewed it up.”
“I don’t think she chewed it because of the material, Mrs. Whitter, I think she was trying to get to these gems.” Nikki frowned as she felt the ring of the bed again. “There are lots more inside. Why would anyone put them inside of a dog bed?”
“I have no idea.” Mrs. Whitter crossed her arms. “But I certainly don’t have time for this today.”
“Unless.” Nikki’s eyes widened as she gazed down at the green stone in her hand. “Mrs. Whitter, what if they’re real?”
“Real?” She stared back at her with disbelief. “They couldn’t possibly be, could they?”
“Why else would someone go to all of the trouble of hiding them inside a dog bed?” Nikki raised an eyebrow as her thoughts began to churn. She recalled how Bryan refused to sell her the key rings with the green gems in them. “Oh no, Mrs. Whitter, I’m afraid this could be quite serious.”
“What do you mean, Nikki?” She pressed her hand against her chest. “I can’t take any trouble today. You know how important it is to me.”
“I do know that, and I’m sorry, Mrs. Whitter. But I think these gems are real, and I think Bryan has been smuggling them. As long as they are here, you won’t be safe, and neither will your guests.” She gripped the bed tightly. “We need to get the police involved right away.”
“Real?” Mrs. Whitter stammered as she continued. “You think Bryan had something to do with this?”
“The other day, when he was here, did you leave him alone at all?” Nikki slid the emerald back into the bed with the others, placed the bed on the floor and began to pace slowly back and forth.
“Yes, I did, for a few minutes. But he wouldn’t do something like this, Bryan was a good man, and—”
“And he insisted that you return the collar with the gems in it, remember?” Nikki snapped her fingers. “He must have known it had real jewels in it.”
“If he did, then why would he leave the bed here? Why would he want to hide the jewels in my home?” Mrs. Whitter’s voice shook. “None of this makes any sense.”
“You’re right, Mrs. Whitter, but I know one thing for certain. We need to call Quinn.” Nikki reached for her phone, but realized she’d put it down on the dryer when she was in the laundry room. She’d left it behind as she carried the agility
set and bed out of the laundry room. “Let me just get my phone.”
Nikki turned back towards the hallway to get it, and came face to face with John, the conman who had strong-armed Anne into giving Bryan the lease for the shop.
Chapter 12
The moment Nikki saw John, her heart jumped into her throat. She found it hard to swallow, or take a full breath. She stared straight into his eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” He smiled as he looked from her to Mrs. Whitter. “I’m here to get back what belongs to me.”
“Nothing here could possibly belong to you.” Mrs. Whitter crossed her arms, her voice strong as she spoke.
“Oh, I disagree.” John rested his hand on his hip, just above a gun tucked into his belt. “You see, I thought perhaps my merchandise was at the shop. But it wasn’t. Then I began to trace the movements Bryan made before his unfortunate demise. I noticed that he made a stop at this house. But why? No one around town indicated that you were friends. Bryan had no reason to be here.” He looked between the two women again. Just then, Princess bolted in from the other room, and began to bark.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nikki’s heart raced. She could guess what he was looking for, but she knew that if she gave him the jewels, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them both.
“Jewels. Emeralds, to be exact.” He eyed the dog as she barked and bounced back and forth on her feet. “Shut that thing up.”
“Don’t talk to her that way.” Mrs. Whitter gasped and scooped Princess up into her arms.
“We don’t have any emeralds.” Nikki stepped between him and Mrs. Whitter. “You’re mistaken. If you leave now, we won’t call the police. We’ll just consider it a misjudgment.”
“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.” John pulled his gun from his waistband. “And if you don’t shut that dog up, I’ll shut her up!”
“No!” Mrs. Whitter shrieked.
“Stop, please!” Nikki used her body to block Mrs. Whitter and Princess. “Please, just calm down. If you calm down, she’ll calm down. She’s just trying to protect her.”
“That little thing!” John sneered. “Give me the emeralds!” He waved his gun in the air.
“Wait, please.” Nikki knew she had to think fast. If he was pushed, he would just kill them all, then use the time to search the place. He might never find the emeralds, but what difference would that make? She looked over at Mrs. Whitter, who trembled from head to toe as she tried to quiet Princess. She had to find a way to get him away from them. As long as they were together, Mrs. Whitter was at risk. “Listen, I don’t know where the emeralds are, and neither does Mrs. Whitter. But you said it’s Bryan that stole them from you?”
“Yes, he did, and I think you’re lying to me.” John pointed the gun directly at Nikki. “A bullet might teach you not to.”
“Don’t!” Nikki gasped as she stared at the barrel of the gun. She tried to think of a way to delay him from pulling the trigger. “The emeralds, they’re not here. But I think I know where they are.”
“You do?” He lowered the gun a few inches. “Where?”
“I saw Bryan digging in the woods. I thought it was strange, but it wasn’t my business, so I just kept walking. But I know where he was digging. I bet he hid them there. I can take you to them.” Nikki’s heart pounded so hard that she was sure he could hear the sound of it.
“Where are they? Just tell me.” He took a step towards her, his eyes narrowed.
“I can’t describe it. But I can take you there.” Nikki drew a deep breath in an attempt to control her fear.
“You’ll tell me where they are right now!” He grabbed her hard by the shoulder and shoved her out of the way, then trained his weapon on Mrs. Whitter. “Or she dies!”
“No, don’t!” Nikki screamed as Mrs. Whitter gasped in fear. “She doesn’t know where the emeralds are. Only I do. If you do anything to hurt her, I won’t tell you. You can kill us both, but you will never find those emeralds.” Her stomach clenched in terror. Would he know that she was lying? Would he shoot them both out of spite?
“This is ridiculous.” He turned the gun back towards her. “I have ways of making you talk.” He frowned. “But I’m short on time.”
“Then it’s simple. Just let me take you to the emeralds. I will show you exactly where they are, as long as you promise that Mrs. Whitter is safe. She has to stay here, with Princess.” Nikki glanced at Mrs. Whitter to find that her face had gone pale, and she looked as if she might faint.
“Sure, I’ll leave them here to call the police. You must think I’m plain stupid.” He rolled his eyes.
“No, you can lock her in the laundry room. There’s a lock on the outside of the door. There’s nothing inside, no alarms, no phone lines, nothing.”
“What about cell phones?” John asked.
“Her phone is on the table.” Nikki pointed at the phone on the hall table as they walked past. She tried to keep her voice steady. “Mine is still in my car. She won’t be able to call anyone.” She gestured to the door in the hallway that led to the laundry room. “Please, if you lock her in the room, then I will have your emeralds in your hands in no time.”
“It’s not exactly going to be easy to haul the two of you around.” He ran his free hand along his chin as he considered it. Then he gestured to Mrs. Whitter with his gun. “Go on, get in there.”
“Nikki, no you can’t go with him!” Mrs. Whitter gulped as she inched towards the laundry room. “You won’t be safe!”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Whitter. Please, just do what he says. You and Princess will be safe in there.” She locked her eyes to Mrs. Whitter’s. She had no idea if Mrs. Whitter would use her phone to call for help, or even remember it was in the laundry room. But she knew it was their only hope.
“You’d better not harm her!” Mrs. Whitter shouted at John.
“Sure, whatever, just get in there.” He gave her shoulder a light shove towards the door.
“Don’t hurt her!” Nikki demanded.
“Calm down, she’s fine.” He rolled his eyes again, then closed the door the moment Mrs. Whitter was inside the laundry room. He turned the lock. Then he dragged a kitchen chair over to the door and shoved it underneath the knob. “There.” He turned back to Nikki. “Now, we have some business to attend to.” He pointed the gun at her. “Are you going to cooperate? Because if you cause me any trouble, I can have my partner here in seconds to finish off the old lady and her dog, too.”
“I will do anything you say.” Nikki nodded. “I just want them to be safe.”
“Don’t give me any reason to change my mind then.” He gave the door a swift kick, which caused Princess to yelp and growl.
“I won’t.” Nikki’s chest tightened with fear. She knew that eventually he would figure out that there were no emeralds in the woods, and at that point her life would probably be over. But she hoped she’d bought both herself and Mrs. Whitter enough time to survive, that was if the shock and trauma weren’t too much for Mrs. Whitter’s heart to take.
“Good girl.” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards the front door. She felt the barrel of his gun dig into her side and knew with certainty that he wouldn’t think twice about pulling the trigger.
Panic pumped through Nikki’s veins with each step she took outside of the house. She didn’t know if her plan would work, she hadn’t exactly had time to think it through. Her only goal was to get him away from Mrs. Whitter and Princess. Now she wondered if she should have told him the truth about the emeralds. Maybe he would have let them all go. She doubted it, but it might have been better than whatever was about to happen.
“Please, don’t hurt them. She doesn’t know anything about any of this.” Nikki spoke loudly, hoping that someone passing by might hear her, though she knew it was unlikely.
“Quiet!” John pushed her roughly down the driveway. A black sedan that must have belonged to him was parked on the street. H
e gestured to the driver’s side door.
“Get in, you’re driving.”
Nikki opened the door, her senses heightened by the panic that rushed through her. She guessed that once she was inside she would never be able to escape him. A quick look around revealed just how isolated she was. Mrs. Whitter’s house was so far back from the road, and separated by plenty of land from her neighbors. Even if Nikki screamed, she knew it was unlikely that anyone would hear her.
“Now!” John barked at her.
“Yes, sorry.” She opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat.
John sat in the passenger seat, then handed her the keys. As she turned on the car, she wondered if he was Bryan’s killer. It appeared as if he was capable of murder, and obviously Bryan was somehow involved with these emeralds. But if he wanted the emeralds so bad, would he have killed Bryan? She wasn’t sure. As she drove down the driveway, it gave her little comfort to think that he might not be Bryan’s murderer. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be hers.
Nikki did feel some relief that she had gotten him away from Mrs. Whitter, but she wondered who his partner was. Tim? Was he the type of person who could kill an elderly woman? She wanted to believe he wasn’t, but after what Quinn had to say about him, she guessed he might be. Her heart pounded as she tried to think of a way to escape. She did her best to drive on the main roads as she hoped that someone might realize that she was in trouble and stop them. Her thoughts traveled to Quinn. She knew that in some way he would blame himself if she ended up dead. It wouldn’t be his fault, but he was the kind of man that would take responsibility for it. She hated the thought of him being hard on himself over her mistake. Maybe if she had locked the door after she came in the house, he wouldn’t have gotten inside. She couldn’t honestly recall if she had locked it or not. But she knew deep down, that it wouldn’t really have made a difference either way. She did all she could do to protect Mrs. Whitter, but she was terrified that it wouldn’t be enough.