by Cindy Bell
“There has to be some way!” Sonia crouched down near the floor. “The smoke is getting so thick!”
“Someone will come for us.” Nikki did her best to sound convincing. As she began to repeat her words, she heard the slam of a car door. “Someone’s out there!”
“Nikki!” Quinn’s voice pierced through the roar of the flames. “Nikki! I’m coming in!”
“Quinn, don’t!” Nikki winced as the flames on the walls jumped higher. “It’s not safe!”
Loud barking startled Nikki as it came from right behind her. She turned to find Spots.
“Spots! How did you get in here?” Nikki bent down to hold him, but he wriggled out of her arms. “No, Spots, no!” She gulped as she watched the dog run straight for the flames. Before he reached them, he slid down into an opening in the floor.
“What’s that?” Sonia coughed as she inched forward.
“I’m not sure, but if Spots was able to get in that way, that means there must be a way out.” Nikki looked over at Sonia. “It’s our only hope!”
“Let’s do it!” Sonia nodded as she grabbed Nikki’s hand.
The two crawled towards the opening in the floor. The trap door had been pulled open from underneath. Nikki could only guess that Spots had managed to tug it open.
“You first.” Nikki guided Sonia down through the opening.
“It’s tight, like a crawlspace.” Sonia called back. “But I can see light! Hurry, Nikki!”
Nikki dropped down into the crawlspace right behind her. As she followed Sonia, she could feel the heat from the fire above them. Sirens wailed, it sounded as if they were right outside.
“There’s a way out, Nikki.” Sonia looked back over her shoulder, then crawled forward and out into a small opening.
Spots barked as he spun around in circles, trapped in the small space, which was surrounded by stone.
“What is this?” Nikki patted Spots.
“It must be some kind of cellar, maybe it can be used for food storage, or firewood.” Sonia peered up at the top. “I’m not sure we can climb out.”
“Quinn!” Nikki shouted as loud as she could. She doubted that he would hear her with the sirens being so loud, and the roar of the flames loud as well. “Quinn!” She managed to pick up Spots. She stood up on her toes and reached up in an attempt to lift him out through the hole. Sonia tried to help as well by pushing him up. But he was too heavy, they couldn’t quite reach. Nikki put Spots back down on the floor and turned to Sonia. “You’re going to have to get on my shoulders.”
“Nikki, I’m not sure I can do that.” Sonia frowned.
“You can. I know you can. We can’t stay here, if the flames get any worse, we won’t be able to survive in this small space.” Nikki crouched down. “Use the wall to steady yourself. Once you’re on, I’ll stand up very slowly, and you should be able to reach the top.”
“I’ll try.” Sonia took a shaky breath as she kicked off her shoes. She put one foot on Nikki’s shoulder, then grabbed the wall. As she brought her other foot up onto Nikki’s other shoulder, she gasped.
“Go slow, Sonia, take your time.” Nikki grabbed her leg to help steady her. “Are you ready for me to stand up?”
“Yes, I think so.” Sonia shifted her feet on Nikki’s shoulders. “Okay, go ahead.”
Nikki stood up as slowly as she could. She strained against Sonia’s weight, despite how petite she was. She vowed that she would take up weightlifting as she did her best to remain steady. She doubted she would have enough energy to lift her without the adrenaline that the dire situation caused.
“Can you reach, Sonia? Can you pull yourself up?”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, Nikki!” Sonia called out with laughter and relief in her voice.
“Hang on, Mrs. Whitter, I’m going to pull you up.” Quinn’s voice drifted down to Nikki’s ears. She closed her eyes against tears of relief as she felt Sonia’s weight lift off her shoulders.
“Nikki. Are you okay?” Quinn leaned over the edge of the opening.
“I’m okay.” Nikki nodded as she gazed up at him. “Here, do you think you can reach Spots?” She held the dog up to him.
“I think I can.” Quinn eased his body along the edge and reached down for the dog.
Nikki raised up on her toes and with all the strength she could muster she shoved Spots higher.
“Got him!” Quinn gulped as he snatched the dog out of her hands.
Spots gave a furious bark, then flipped around in Quinn’s arms and licked his cheek.
“Okay, okay, enough.” Quinn wiped at his face as he put the dog on the ground. Sonia crouched down to pat him. “Now you, Nikki!” He reached back down for her.
“It’s too high, Quinn.” Nikki shook her head as she looked up at him. “You won’t be able to pull me that far.”
“We’ve got you.” A fireman appeared at the opening. He dropped down a looped rope in her direction. “Just put that around you, and we’ll have you out of there in no time.”
Nikki pulled the rope over her and looked up as the fireman and Quinn began to pull her up. Quinn met her eyes and didn’t look away, until she was out of the hole. Then he wrapped his arms around her, with the rope still on her.
“Nikki, I’m so sorry, I couldn’t get through the flames.”
“Quinn.” Nikki hugged him as her heart finally began to slow. “You saved me. You saved us.”
“I think that honor belongs to Spots. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him jump through the car window to save you.” Quinn laughed as he looked down at the dog that jumped up against his legs and barked at him. “Let’s get you both checked out by the paramedics.” He kept his arm around Nikki’s shoulders and wrapped his free arm around Sonia’s. “I’m sure you took in a bit of smoke.”
Nikki rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. “How did you even know we were here, Quinn? How did you find us?”
“I showed up at your apartment with an early breakfast. I was investigating this further. Malcolm’s suicide seemed too convenient. It didn’t all add up. I wanted to properly discuss your thoughts on Malcolm’s confession. I thought maybe I was missing something.” Quinn squeezed her shoulder. “But you weren’t there. So, I went by Sonia’s, and her car was missing. I knew there was only one place you would sneak off to, the campground, because you believed Malcolm was innocent.”
“Quinn, I’m sorry, but Malcolm was innocent.” Nikki looked around in search of the blue coupe. “It was Geoff, Geoff was here. He killed Daniel, Malcolm, and Martha.” She coughed as she attempted to fill in the details.
“We’ll get to all of that later.” Quinn met her eyes. “Right now, you need to do what the paramedics tell you to do.”
“Okay.” Nikki sat down in the back of an ambulance, with Sonia across from her.
Sonia reached for her hand. “We made it, Nikki.”
“Yes, we did.” Nikki squeezed her hand. “I vote for never getting trapped in a fire again.”
“I second that.” Sonia coughed and laughed at the same time.
After the paramedics were satisfied with the state of their lungs, Nikki and Sonia were both allowed to leave the ambulance.
“Where’s Spots?” Nikki glanced around between the firefighters and the police officers.
“I think Quinn has made a new friend.” Sonia smiled as she pointed to the dog, huddled close to Quinn’s legs. As Quinn turned and walked towards them, Spots followed right behind him.
“We were able to pick up Geoff.” Quinn glanced down at the dog that jumped up against his leg. Then he looked up at Nikki. “He went back to his house, which is exactly where we found him. I’ll need your statements, but once he found out that you survived the fire he confessed. I think he knows there’s no way for him to get out of this.” He gazed into her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” Nikki frowned as she looked from him, to Sonia. “I never should have come out here and put us both in danger.” She met Quinn’s ey
es again. “If it weren’t for Spots, and you, I don’t think we would have made it out of there.”
“Try not to think about that.” Quinn hugged her. “I just want to get you and Sonia home, so that you can rest.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Sonia ran her fingers through her hair. “And maybe I can wash some of this soot out of my hair.”
“Would you mind dropping me off at the animal shelter, instead?” Nikki reached down to pet Spots. “I think this guy needs a bath, and lots of treats.”
“Nikki, I really think you should rest. I’ll take care of Spots.” Quinn leaned close. “Can you trust me to take care of him?”
“Absolutely.” Nikki smiled as she gave him a quick kiss.
Chapter 23
Not long after Nikki stretched out in her bed, she realized that she couldn’t sleep. Despite having no sleep the night before, and going through quite a harrowing experience, all she could think about was Spots, and whether he was okay. Had Petra taken him to the vet? Did he breathe in too much smoke? Finally, she gave up, and headed out the door. As she walked to the animal shelter, Dahlia felt different to her. The tension of Daniel’s murder had broken. The killer had been found, and three murders had been solved. People could relax again. She could too, once she knew that Spots was okay. The walk was quite long and once she reached the door of the animal shelter she felt relaxed. She headed inside, eager to see Spots.
“Petra? Are you here?”
“In the back.” Petra called out. She stepped into the hallway. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting?”
“I just wanted to see Spots.” Nikki smiled. “He’s my hero, and I want to make sure that he’s okay.”
“Oh.” Petra shook her head. “Nikki, he’s not here.”
“What? But Quinn was supposed to drop him off.” Nikki frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I thought he was still with you.” Petra shrugged. “I’m sure he’s fine if Quinn has him.”
“Yes, you’re probably right. But I still want to know where he is.” Nikki frowned as she left the animal shelter. Would Quinn think she was checking up on him? She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she needed to know where Spots was and that he was okay.
As Nikki walked to the police station, she tried to think of all of the reasons that Quinn might not have taken Spots back to the animal shelter. Maybe something came up with the case? Maybe he left him at the police station?
Nikki waved to the officer at the front desk, then walked back towards Quinn’s office. As she knocked on his open door, he looked up at her.
“You’re supposed to be resting.” Quinn quirked an eyebrow.
“And Spots is supposed to be at the animal shelter.” Nikki crossed her arms as she looked at him. “Where is he?”
“Oh well, I did take him there.” Quinn cleared his throat. “I mean, I pulled into the parking lot.”
“Okay?” Nikki stared at him.
“But then I thought, maybe I should take him to the vet first. You know, Petra’s busy, and she might not be able to get him to the vet. So, I took him to the vet, and don’t worry, he’s fine. The vet checked him all out.” Quinn smiled.
“That’s wonderful. Thanks for doing that, Quinn. But where is he now?” Nikki narrowed her eyes.
“Well, then I thought, Spots did such a good job. He deserved something special. So I took him to the pet supply store, and he found this bed that he really liked, and a few toys, and I picked up some food for him.” Quinn shrugged. “I think he had a good time.”
“Wow, you spoiled him, I love it.” Nikki grinned. Then she shook her head. “But where is he?”
A loud bark emitted from behind Quinn’s desk.
“Shh!” Quinn whispered. His eyes widened as he looked up at Nikki.
“Quinn, is Spots back there?” Nikki walked around the side of his desk, and saw the dog, curled up in a brand-new bed, surrounded by toys. His tail wagged when he saw Nikki.
“A few toys?” Nikki laughed.
“He deserves them.” Quinn cleared his throat.
“Yes, he does.” Nikki crouched down to pet Spots. “Do you want me to take him back to the animal shelter for you? I’m sure you have paperwork to do.”
“No!” Quinn frowned. “I mean, yes, I do have paperwork to do. But I don’t want you to take Spots back. In fact, if Petra will let me, I would like to adopt him.” He met Nikki’s eyes as she looked up at him. “Do you think she will? I know with my work hours she might not think it’s a good fit.”
“Oh Quinn!” Nikki’s heart felt so full she thought it might burst. “Of course, she will. I can help you when you’re busy with work.”
“I just couldn’t take him back there, Nikki, not after he saved you and Sonia. I know Petra takes good care of the animals, but he needs a real home.” Quinn crouched down to pet the dog as well. “Do you think it’s a good idea?” He looked up at her with a sheepish smile.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Nikki leaned close and kissed him.
Spots barked, then began to lick both of their cheeks.
“Hey now!” Quinn laughed as he scratched behind Spots’ ear. “I don’t think he wants to share me.”
“Well, he’s going to have to.” Nikki wrapped her arms around him and smiled.
The End
***
Thank you very much for reading Murder at Corgi Country Club. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. You can sign up for my newsletter to be notified of my latest releases so you don’t miss out on the special new release price at
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Also by Cindy Bell
Wagging Tail Cozy Mysteries
Murder at Pawprint Creek (prequel)
Murder at Pooch Park
Murder at the Pet Boutique
A Merry Murder at St. Bernard Cabins
Murder at the Dog Training Academy
Chocolate Centered Cozy Mysteries
The Sweet Smell of Murder
A Deadly Delicious Delivery
A Bitter Sweet Murder
A Treacherous Tasty Trail
Pastry and Peril
Trouble and Treats
Fudge Films and Felonies
Custom-Made Murder
Skydiving, Soufflés and Sabotage
Christmas Chocolates and Crimes
Hot Chocolate and Homicide
Chocolate Caramels and Conmen
Picnics, Pies and Lies
Devils Food Cake and Drama
Cinnamon and a Corspe
Cherries, Berries and a Body
Donut Truck Cozy Mysteries
Deadly Deals and Donuts
Fatal Festive Donuts
Bunny Donuts and a Body
Strawberry Donuts and Scandal
Frosted Donuts and Fatal Falls
Nuts About Nuts Cozy Mysteries
A Tough Case to Crack
A Seed of Doubt
Roasted Penuts and Peril
Dune House Cozy Mysteries
Seaside Secrets
Boats and Bad Guys
Treasured History
Hidden Hideaways
Dodgy Dealings
Suspects and Surprises
Ruffled Feathers
A Fishy Discovery
Danger in the Depths
Celebrities and Chaos
Pups, Pilots and Peril
Tides, Trails and Trouble
Racing and Robberies
Athletes and Alibis
Manuscripts and Deadly Motives
Pelicans, Pier and Poison
Sage Gardens Cozy Mysteries
Birthdays Can Be Deadly
Money Can Be Deadly
Trust Can Be Deadly
Ties Can Be Deadly
Rocks Can Be Deadly
Jewelry Can Be Deadly
Numbers Can Be Deadly
Memories Can Be Deadly
Paintings Can Be Deadly
Snow Can Be Deadly
Tea Can Be Deadly
Greed Can Be Deadly
Clutter Can Be Deadly
Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mysteries
Hairspray and Homicide
A Dyed Blonde and a Dead Body
Mascara and Murder
Pageant and Poison
Conditioner and a Corpse
Mistletoe, Makeup and Murder
Hairpin, Hair Dryer and Homicide
Blush, a Bride and a Body
Shampoo and a Stiff
Cosmetics, a Cruise and a Killer
Lipstick, a Long Iron and Lifeless
Camping, Concealer and Criminals
Treated and Dyed
A Wrinkle-Free Murder
A Macaron Patisserie Cozy Mystery Series
Sifting for Suspects
Recipes and Revenge
Mansions, Macarons and Murder
Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mysteries
Murdering the Roses
Dead in the Daisies
Killing the Carnations
Drowning the Daffodils
Suffocating the Sunflowers
Books, Bullets and Blooms
A Deadly Serious Gardening Contest
A Bridal Bouquet and a Body
Digging for Dirt
Wendy the Wedding Planner Cozy Mysteries
Matrimony, Money and Murder
Chefs, Ceremonies and Crimes
Knives and Nuptials
Mice, Marriage and Murder
About the Author
Cindy Bell is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author. She is the author of the cozy mystery series Wagging Tail, Donut Truck, Dune House, Sage Gardens, Chocolate Centered, Macaron Patisserie, Nuts about Nuts, Bekki the Beautician, Heavenly Highland Inn and Wendy the Wedding Planner.
Cindy has always loved reading, but it is only recently that she has discovered her passion for writing romantic cozy mysteries. She loves walking along the beach thinking of the next adventure her characters can embark on.
