Chapter One
The bright blue sky spread above Nikki, beckoning her to enjoy it. The weather was finally warmer than it had been in the past two weeks, and she was eager to be out in it. She walked a familiar path along the sidewalk to a familiar house. She smiled at the sight of it. It was on the smaller side, and the lawn was a bit unkempt, but it was full of character. She could see the notches in the wood from minor do-it- yourself home improvements, and the scattered leaves and water bowl on the front porch were a sign that sweeping wasn’t a priority. But their pet was.
Nikki cast a glance over her shoulder in the direction of the street. As usual, the neighborhood was quiet. Most people were at work. She turned back to the door and slid a key into the lock. As she turned it, she heard the excited barks of a dog inside.
“Just a minute, Coco, just a minute.” Nikki laughed as she pushed open the door. As the German Shepherd licked her hands she crouched down to pet him. “I missed you too, buddy. Are you ready for a walk?” She scratched behind his ears as he barked in response to the word ‘walk’. She grabbed his leash off the hook near the door, then snapped it on to his collar. As she headed out the door, Coco bounded happily a few feet ahead of her. However, the moment they reached the street, he lined up beside her at a casual pace. She’d been working with him for some time on his walking manners, and she had seen great improvement.
Many people had commented about Nikki being too tiny to handle a bunch of dogs, especially large ones. She could understand why. She had always been thin, to the point of some impolite people calling her bony. However, she had never had any difficulty managing the dogs. She had a way with them and enough strength to take control when she needed to, and their daily walks only increased that strength. She believed she blended right in, without drawing much attention to herself. About the only thing that stood out about her was her hair. The light brown tresses had long, loose waves, similar to the ones that would ripple across the bay on a windy day. Since she rarely wore it back, it would often blow in her face over her light green eyes. She loved the feel of the wind in her hair, and living by the bay gave her that opportunity quite often.
“Good job, Coco.” Nikki gave him a light pat on the top of his head. They walked a few blocks down the street, then turned into another driveway. Another dog waited for her behind another door. “It’s all right, Sassy, we’re here, I know we’re a little late.” She opened the door and hooked Sassy’s leash up. Nikki didn’t know what breed the dog was. She looked like a mix, with curly, white fur and big, floppy ears.
As the two dogs began to walk together Nikki smiled at the way they interacted. By the time she reached the next neighborhood she had two more dogs on leashes with her. There was only one more to pick up, but it was a bit of a walk to get to it. It was still in the middle-class neighborhood, but closer to the wealthier section of town where the park was. It was as familiar to her as any other part. Somehow, the trees and the grass seemed a bit more vibrant in that area. It bordered a large park that also contained a golf course. It was frequented by the locals that lived in large mansions right along the bay. Although, each house was larger than the next, she didn’t find herself envious of them. Almost all of them had a security guard and large fences as well as gates to keep out the outside world. A couple even had guardhouses. That wasn’t the way she liked to live her life.
Nikki’s apartment was tiny, too small to have any pets of her own, but she loved being immersed in the downtown area of Dahlia. It was full of life, artists, and events. No matter where she was, it was only ever a short stroll to the bay, a place where she found immense peace just by walking by the water. She couldn’t love her home more, even with the mansions looming against the smaller homes of the rest of the neighborhood. She found beauty in the variety that surrounded her.
Nikki had grown up in the area, in a small house, in a small neighborhood. She hadn’t roamed far. In her early twenties, she wasn’t sure what she wanted in life.
There were so many possibilities and she had yet to choose one path. However, she was certain that she loved animals, and she knew her future involved them.
“Hi, Nikki.” A mailman waved to her from the end of the street.
“Morning, Frank.” She smiled as she watched him head to the next house. They had an agreement. She would always walk in the opposite direction of his mail truck. He wasn’t afraid of the dogs, but the dogs loved to bark at his truck, which in turn disturbed the peace of the wealthy neighborhood. It was interesting how many people that she never met, noticed her and the dogs. She’d see a flutter of curtains, or a face as it disappeared around the corner of a house. While some people were friendly, most were less than happy with her traipsing through their neighborhood.
But there were no rules that prevented her from doing so, and the park was so beautiful along the edge of the neighborhood, that she couldn’t resist. It was
nicknamed Pooch Park because it was a very popular place for locals to take their dogs for a walk. It was the perfect area to take the pups. As a result, she’d picked up a few clients in the area that hired her for pet sitting.
As she approached the end of the street before the park, she looked back and scanned the wide sidewalk. Normally, she would see a woman with straight, blonde hair, and wide, blue eyes, hidden behind a camera. However, today the sidewalk was empty.
“Hmm, I wonder where Chelsea is this morning.” Nikki crouched down and pet each dog in turn. “I guess maybe she finished up her project early. I’m sure we’ll see her again soon.” As she straightened up, Coco lunged forward towards the low, thick hedge that ran along the edge of the park. He started to bark insistently and loudly.
“Coco, what are you doing? Keep it down, or the neighbors will complain.” Nikki tugged lightly on his leash to draw him back towards her. Normally, he would have complied to the gentle command, but this time he lunged again even harder, and began to growl. “What is it?” She frowned. “A squirrel? A rabbit?” She peered into the bushes. “Leave that poor little creature alone, Coco.”
As Nikki started to pull him back again, Sassy began to bark as well. Soon, all of the dogs were barking, snarling, or tugging at their leashes. She’d dealt with incidents like this before, but usually it was due to a dog on the loose, or a cat running by to taunt them. She tightened her grip on the leashes and spoke in a strong, sharp tone.
“Enough, let’s go.” Nikki started to steer them away from the hedge. This time however, her displeasure wasn’t enough to distract them. As the barking continued she braced herself. She knew that if they continued, someone in the neighborhood would call the police. She didn’t want to have her reputation tarnished with her clients in the area. “Okay fine, what is it?” She crept forward as Coco went behind the hedge. He started digging into some leaves. Nikki pulled him back as she caught sight of something very strange. Two shoes poked out from the leaves. They were small, white sneakers, stained with a bit of dirt and grass. The shoes were a simple design, but brightened up by rainbow shoelaces. There was only one person she knew with shoelaces like that.
“Chelsea?” Nikki crept forward, her stomach twisted into a knot as she tried to make sense of what she saw. To her horror, she found her friend was sprawled out on the ground. “Chelsea!” She moved farther forward with the dogs all around her and reached for her friend, but before she could touch her she realized it was too late. There was no chance of saving her. Chelsea was dead!
Chapter Two
Nikki stared down into her friend’s eyes and tried to breathe. It was so difficult to take a breath that she thought she must be dreaming. That was it. She’d woken up that morning, showered, dressed, and picked up each dog, but it was all a dream.
She was still asleep in her bed, still waiting for her alarm to go off. She’d had dreams like this before, not often, but now and then, dreams where she knew she was dreaming. It was an odd sensation, but it gave her some relief to know that in just a few minutes she would wake up, and all of this would be over. However, the thought of that truly happening faded with each second that passed by.
Coco licked her hand, and whined, as he looked up at her. The warmth of his slimy tongue startled her back into reality. No, this wasn’t a dream. As much as she wanted it to be, she knew in that moment that it wasn’t, and she had to act.
Nikki tugged her phone out of her pocket as she fought back tears. For a split- second she had no idea how to dial for help. She was so shocked that she couldn’t think straight. Then adrenaline kicked in and she punched the numbers with a trembling finger. As she reported what she’d found, she heard a voice behind her.
“Hey! Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Nikki turned to see a man in uniform, perhaps a few years older than her. She recognized him as a security guard for a nearby mansion. Though she’d never met him, she’d waved to him on her walks.
“It’s my friend, she’s dead.” Nikki’s voice shook as her mind flashed back to Chelsea’s body. Had she fallen? No, there was nothing to fall from, nothing for her to strike her head on, none of it made sense, until the next words tumbled out of her mouth. “I think someone killed her.”
“Are you sure?” He looked past her and beyond the hedge, then gasped. “Okay, we need to get you somewhere safe.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her back away from the hedge. “It’s going to be okay.”
“No, I don’t think it is.” Nikki struggled to keep a tight hold on the leashes as he led her and the dogs towards the guardhouse. She had no idea if she should go with him. Was it right to leave Chelsea there all alone? Should she insist on staying with her? Would her friend even know if she did?
“Of course, she wouldn’t,” she muttered to herself.
Just as they stepped past the gate of the mansion loud sirens rang through the air. She looked back and saw two police cars and a sedan pull up to the park. The dogs barked wildly in reaction to the sirens. She crouched down in the middle of all of them in an attempt to calm them down.
“It’s okay, guys, these are the good guys.” Nikki looked up at the guard as he peered through the gate at the officers. “I should go talk to them.”
“Just a minute.” He pulled out a business card from his wallet and handed it to her. “My name is Calvin Scotts. If you need anything, you can call me.” He looked into her eyes. “You’ve just experienced quite a shock, I don’t want you to think that you’re alone.”
She gazed back into his eyes and felt comforted by the kindness she found there.
“Thank you, Calvin. And thank you for helping me.”
“Anything I can do.” He nodded, then walked over to open the gate for her. “Are you going to be okay with those dogs? They look a little wound up.”
“I’ll be okay.” Nikki kept the dogs close to her as she walked towards four officers, and one man in a suit. Everything seemed so strange, so foreign. The once bright blue sky, seemed far too wide, and the sunlight stung her eyes. Or was that tears? The officers were hard at work roping off the area, while the man in the suit stepped behind the hedge. She fought back a gasp as she knew what he would find there. Some of it must not have been muffled, because the man’s head snapped up, and his gaze sought hers the instant that he saw her.
“Are you Nikki?” His forehead pinched as he peered through the sunlight.
Nikki couldn’t believe her eyes. Again, she wondered if she might be dreaming.
How was it possible that he was standing right in front of her? “Quinn Grant?”
“Detective Grant.” He nodded as he offered her his hand. “Have we met before?” Nikki realized as she took his hand, that he had no recollection of who she was.
Heat rushed into her cheeks as she looked away from him. He had moved away, and she wasn’t even aware that he had returned to the area.
“She was my friend. Chelsea Carlisle.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” He stepped back around the hedge and closer to her. “I know that you’ve been through a lot today, but anything you can tell me will be very helpful.” He pulled a small tablet out of his pocket. “You called as soon as you found her?”
“Yes, I did.” Nikki swallowed hard as the reality began to set in. “I can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Did you see anyone else around? Anyone who might have been running off? A car?” The detective tapped on the screen of his tablet.
“No, nothing. It was quiet. Then Coco started barking, and he knows better than to do that, and then the other dogs started barking, too.” Nikki tried to calm down, but each word she spoke led her back to the moment of discovering her friend behind the hedge. “Who would do this to her? She was such a good person, who would hurt her like this?”
“I’m going to find that out.” The detective lowered his tablet and met her eyes. “Do you hear me, Nikki?”
Nikki blinked back tears as she shook her head. “How can you even be a detective? Aren’t you too young?”
His eyes widened slightly at her comment. “I was recently promoted.” He frowned. “But I can assure you I will find out what happened to your friend. You could be a big help with that. Did she mention any problems lately?”
“No.” She sighed. “Honestly, she was so excited to be working on this project.
She was happier than I’ve ever seen her.”
“What project is that?” Quinn returned his attention to his tablet.
“She was hired to create a painting of that mansion.” Nikki gestured to the mansion across from the park. “She’s been here every morning and evening to take photographs of the mansion in different lighting.”
“That’s why she was here so early this morning?”
“Yes. All week I’ve been meeting her here each morning. She likes to give the dogs a treat and we chat a bit.” Nikki frowned. “When I didn’t see her, I thought maybe she had finished up early.”
“I see.” The detective took a slight step back as Coco sniffed his foot. “Are these all your dogs?”
“No, actually, none of them are mine. I’m a dog walker and pet sitter. These are my usual walkers. Don’t worry, they’re friendly.” Nikki tightened her grasp on the leashes just in case. “In fact, I really need to get them back home.”
“I understand.” He handed her a business card. “If you think of anything, anything at all, please contact me right away.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you. I will.” Nikki tucked the business card into her pocket along with Calvin’s and turned to walk away.
“Oh wait, Nikki, one more thing.” She turned back towards him. “Is there a husband or a boyfriend?”
“Oh, no. Uh, not currently.” Nikki blushed and stared at him. Was this really the right time to be asking her about her dating life? “I just haven’t found anyone to connect with.”
“Oh.” The detective narrowed his eyes as he studied her. “I meant, did Chelsea have a husband or a boyfriend?”
“Oh!” Nikki’s head spun as she realized what a ridiculous mistake she’d made.
Of course, he wanted to know about Chelsea’s boyfriend. Why would he want to know about hers? “No, she wasn’t seeing anyone. Not that I know of, anyway.” She did her best to keep the dogs contained as they lunged against the leashes, eager to get back on their walk.
“Thank you for your help.” He looked up at her again, and for a moment his eyes locked with hers.
“You’re welcome.” Nikki’s heart raced with the memory of the first time she saw him. His hair was longer then, and had a bit of a wave to it. His striking eyes, the darkest blue that she’d ever seen, were different then, too. More open, more eager. Now it seemed to her that they carried a slight shadow instead of a spark. When he turned back to the other officers, she was jolted out of the memory.
Nikki allowed the dogs to tug her along. The farther she got from the park the more upset she felt. The thought of never seeing Chelsea again made tears surge once more. She felt a little numb still, as if she was frozen, while the whole world continued to move around her. Had she missed something? Was there something going on in Chelsea’s life that she didn’t know about? She fought back another surge of tears as she wondered if she would have been able to do something to help if she hadn’t been running late. She went through the motions of returning the dogs to their homes, then returned to her own apartment. It was small, but she’d created a cozy environment for herself with plush furniture and minimal decorations. However, it was quite diverse. Everything was a bit of a mish-mash, but it still went together.
Nikki sank down onto the couch and closed her eyes. She would give anything to restart her day, to never have found Chelsea the way she did. In the distance she could hear more sirens.
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Copyright © 2024 All Rights Reserved
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
