Murder at Pawprint Creek

by Cindy Bell

  “Seriously though, are you doing okay?” Hannah sat down beside her and handed her a spoon.

  “Sure, I’m fine.” Nikki shrugged. “It was no big deal.” She took the spoon and dug into the ice cream in her bowl.

  “Of course it was. Someone broke in! What if you had been inside when it happened?” Hannah sighed as she sat back on the couch. “It’s so scary.”

  “I’d guess that if I was home whoever it was wouldn’t have broken in.” Nikki let the ice cream melt on her tongue as she considered that. “Although, I would like to know who it was.”

  “Hopefully, Detective Spade figures it all out, and soon. Until then, I’m staying by your side.”

  “Thanks, Hannah.” Nikki leaned over to give her a hug. “You’re an amazing friend.”

  “So are you. Shawn even asked me to go out to dinner tomorrow night. Can you believe it? I have a real date.” Hannah shook her head. “I never thought I’d get over Bradley, remember?”

  “Oh no, not Bradley!” Nikki burst out laughing. “You had the hugest crush on him!”

  “He had green hair!” Hannah rolled her eyes. “How can a girl resist that?”

  “I have no idea.” Nikki giggled. “Maybe you can convince Shawn to dye his.”

  “Hmm, that’s an idea.” Hannah grinned. “I wonder if he would go for it. Now, we just need to work on you! Whatever happened to that guy you liked in high school?”

  “Never mind that!” Nikki pointed a spoon at her. “You swore you would never mention it!”

  “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Hannah held up her hands. “I just thought maybe you’d seen him around town.”

  “No, I think he stayed away after college. And I am not talking about that!” She shoved another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and changed the subject.

  Later that night, after Hannah was settled in the guest room, and Nikki was curled up on the couch, Nikki found it impossible to sleep. She stared at the ceiling. She hoped that somehow the answers would just appear, but nothing did. After the fourth round of tossing and turning she decided that she had to find out what was in that barn. She could hear Hannah’s soft snores drifting through the open door.

  As Nikki tiptoed past the dogs she sent a quick text to Hannah letting her know where she was going. She didn’t want her to worry if she woke up and didn’t find her on the couch. She found a flashlight in one of the kitchen drawers, then headed out through the back door. As she rounded the house to reach her car she noticed a patrol car rolling by. She leaned back against the house, hoping not to alert the police officer inside. The last thing she needed was to be chased down by the police. The car continued past. She hopped into her car and headed in the direction of Phil’s farm. When she was curious about something, she couldn’t rest until she found out more. That meant she had to know what was inside of that barn.

  Nikki parked outside the farm and walked down the long driveway towards the house and barn. She noticed that the house was dark. As far as she could tell Phil was asleep. As she approached the barn she listened for any dogs that might announce her arrival. She didn’t hear a single bark.

  When Nikki reached the barn, she hesitated. Until this point she could explain away her presence. Maybe she had forgotten something during the tour, dropped her phone, or lost a piece of jewelry. But the moment she stepped into the barn she knew that she would be crossing into criminal territory. When she pushed on the door she found that it was locked. For a few moments she considered just leaving. The barn was locked. That was a sign for her to just leave it alone. But to her curious mind it was even more reason to get inside. Why did he need to lock it? What was inside?

  Nikki walked along the side of the barn and found a small window. When she tried to lift it, it slid right open. She hefted her slim body through the small space by placing one leg through at a time. Even as careful as she was, she stumbled as she pulled the other leg in. Her hip struck a table, and she heard clinking of glass. She braced herself for a loud shatter that would certainly summon Phil’s attention. After a few seconds she realized it wasn’t going to happen. She took a deep breath and began to explore the inside of the barn.

  The beam of her flashlight struck the glass bottles and danced off in a faint ribbon of rainbow light. She could see the dark honey contained in each of the bottles. Why would he be worried about anyone seeing another area where he bottled honey? As she circled the tables where the equipment was stored, she noticed that there were bottles of another substance as well. It was much lighter than the honey. She illuminated the label on the bottle and gasped at what she read.

  “Corn syrup?” Suddenly, Nikki knew what Phil was trying to hide. Phil claimed his honey was all pure natural and organic, but he’d been adding corn syrup to it. She snapped a few pictures of the bottles, as well as the bottles of honey beside it. They were all about three quarters full. He wasn’t just adding a few drops, he was adding quite a bit. The honey wasn’t pure. She knew that this could get him into a lot of trouble. Was it possible that Rocky figured all of this out? She knew that she had to inform the detective of what she found. She took a few more pictures, then turned to leave the barn. Instead, she faced the barrel of a shotgun, which was pointed right between her eyes.

  Chapter 11

  “Don’t move.” Phil stared hard at Nikki as he clutched the gun in his hands. In the glow of her flashlight she could see sweat gathered along his forehead and dripping down his cheeks. It wasn’t hot enough in the barn for the temperature to be the cause. He was nervous, but determined.

  “Phil.” Nikki tried to keep her voice steady. “I’m not here to cause you any problems. All right?”

  “Sure, you are.” He continued to aim the gun at her. “You’re here to make sure that I lose my farm.” He shook his head, though he did not take his eyes off her. “I can’t let that happen. This was my father’s farm. Before he died, he made me promise that I would take care of it. I can’t risk losing it.”

  “I’m not going to cause you to lose it, Phil, I promise. In fact, I can help you cover all of this up.” Nikki frowned as she tried to keep the fear out of her voice. “I know you’re not a bad person, Phil. I know that it’s not your fault your farm is failing.”

  “No, it’s not!” He gasped out his words. “It was that fool, Rocky’s fault! I had no choice. With the drought my bees were already not producing as much honey, but I had a plan and that was ruined when Rocky cut off the water supply from the creek. It ruined everything. My bees were never going to produce the amount I needed to keep up with demand. They would never produce enough for me to stay afloat. So, I added a little corn syrup. It was only supposed to be one batch, but the production only got worse, and then I had to add it to every jar. By then, it was too late to turn back.” He kept the gun steady, despite his emotional revelation. “I was going to lose everything. I just couldn’t let that happen.”

  “And then Rocky found out?” Nikki nodded slowly. At least if he was talking, he wasn’t shooting. Her heart slammed against her chest as panic brewed within her. Would this barn be the last place she ever drew a breath?

  “Yes, he found out that it wasn’t pure. Shawn had a few hours off and so Rocky was doing the cooking. He noticed that the honey had a different consistency and taste. The next day he came after me at the farmers market. I thought that maybe I could explain. Businessman to businessman. I offered to exchange the jars he still had in his restaurant for pure honey, even though it would take my entire supply. But he was irate. He wouldn’t shut up about integrity, and how his customers expect purity from him. But the whole time he was running his mouth, I knew that it was all his fault. I knew that if he hadn’t stolen the water, I would have struggled, but I would have managed.”

  “But the creek doesn’t even run on your property. How did it affect you?”

  “Jean was going to take some of the bees over to her flowers and let me set up some hives there. I would have managed then, and I never would have had to add the
corn syrup. But it wouldn’t have worked once the dam was built and her flowers started dying.” Phil took a long breath, but the gun remained trained on Nikki. “I took off my apron and I strangled him. A man like that, he doesn’t deserve to live. He was going to ruin this entire community. I did what I did for everyone, not just for me.”

  “I see.” Nikki nodded slowly. “I’m sure that other people will see it that way, too. I haven’t heard a single good thing about Rocky since I arrived. So, just put the gun down, all of this can be sorted out.”

  “I’m afraid that it really can’t be.” Phil lowered the gun enough to point it at her chest. “Nikki, I’m sure you’re a decent person who didn’t deserve to get mixed up in all of this, but now I have no choice. I can’t go to prison for murder, I just can’t.”

  “Please, Phil.” A wave of dizziness washed over Nikki as she realized he was moments away from pulling the trigger. “You don’t want to do this. I am innocent, and there are people in my life who will be devastated if I don’t return home.”

  “Then you should have thought about that before you decided to come snooping around here.” Phil licked his lips, evened out the gun, then closed one eye.

  “Don’t!” She screamed and lunged to the side, hoping to avoid the bullet. When the burst of the shot rang through her ears, her eyes filled with tears. She waited for pain, or darkness, or whatever might happen when life was coming to an end, but instead she heard a shout.

  “Put that gun down or the next one won’t miss!”

  Nikki scrambled to her feet as she peered through the darkness in the direction of the man who had burst through the barn doors. It only took her a second to recognize him as Detective Spade. She had never been so happy to see someone in her life. Hot tears threatened her eyes, but she fought them back, determined to stay clearheaded until she knew she was out of danger. Detective Spade pointed his weapon directly at Phil, who still had his gun pointed in her direction. She realized that Detective Spade must have fired a warning shot to distract Phil from pulling the trigger. If he had waited a second longer, it might have been too late for her. Phil could still pull the trigger at any moment. He didn’t look away from her, but addressed Detective Spade.

  “Oh good, Detective, I’m glad you’re here. I have a trespasser on my property. She has no right to be here, and since she’s acting aggressively I’m going to have to shoot her.” Phil’s eyes had a wild look in them as he kept them focused on Nikki.

  “I can’t let you do that, Phil.” Detective Spade took a few steps towards him. “I won’t let you. She’s innocent in all of this, and whatever has happened here tonight, we can figure it out. But the moment that you pull that trigger your life is over, Phil, I promise you that. I will make sure that it is over.”

  Nikki wanted to be comforted by his words. She wanted to believe him, but Phil’s gun was still pointed at her. Her entire body quaked with fear.

  “Two intruders.” Phil cleared his throat. “Two intruders came into my barn in the middle of the night, I had no idea who they were, I just pulled the trigger.”

  “Stop!” Detective Spade strode forward. “Enough of this, Phil! You put down that gun or I will shoot you!”

  “Put it down, Phil.” Nikki gazed at him as she tried to fight the tremor in her voice. “You’re not a killer. You were defending your livelihood when you killed Rocky. But if you come after me, or Detective Spade, you will never be able to live with yourself. Your life will be over.”

  “I’m not a killer.” The gun shook as he continued to point it at her. “I’ve never hurt another human being in my life. I wouldn’t have hurt Rocky either, if he had just been reasonable. But now, now my life is ruined. And it’s not my fault!”

  “Yes, it is.” Another voice startled Nikki. She saw Jean step closer to the group, her face illuminated by the flashlight she held. Was she involved in the murder? “It is your fault, Phil, and certainly not Nikki’s, or Detective Spade’s.”

  “Jean! What are you doing here?” Phil looked in her direction, giving Nikki one chance. She’d never been around guns growing up, she’d never fired one, and yet in that moment she believed that she only had one chance to save herself. As he turned towards Jean, she grabbed the barrel of the gun and pulled it down towards the ground. The sound of the bullet being fired was so loud that it made her gasp, and the sensation that passed through her hands as the bullet traveled through the gun made her shiver.

  “Nikki!” Detective Spade rushed forward and tackled Phil to the ground.

  Nikki, frozen where she stood, couldn’t speak. She realized that she had the gun in her hand, and that the bullet had fired into the ground.

  “It’s okay, Nikki.” Jean placed her hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s over now.” She gently took the gun out of Nikki’s hands and placed it on the floor for Detective Spade to retrieve.

  “On your feet.” Detective Spade guided Phil back to his feet, with his hands cuffed behind his back.

  “Please.” Phil wept as he stared at Jean. “Please forgive me. You know why I did this, Jean. You know what was going to happen! We all would have lost everything!”

  “Almost everything.” Jean sighed as she stared at him. “Phil, if you had just waited a little longer, Jackson and I had a good case against Rocky. We were going to fight him. You didn’t have to kill him.”

  “I had to! I couldn’t wait for something to happen. It would have taken too long for the case to be settled and the dam to be removed. It might not have even been successful.”

  “But it might have been, and you would have been a free man. You did something wrong, and I know why you did it, but what you did was absolutely horrible. Now you are going to have to pay the price for that.”

  Phil’s head was bowed as Detective Spade led him out of the barn. As relieved as Nikki was to be safe, she couldn’t help but feel a little sadness for Phil. He’d been pushed to breaking point, and he’d made a terrible choice.

  Jean wrapped an arm around Nikki’s shoulders and pulled her close.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you. I couldn’t take the chance of the police getting that coffee tin and the photos. I have a key to the house. I knew where Jackson hid them. I thought I could get it while you were out. Please understand, I only wanted to protect Jackson.” She met her eyes.

  “I still don’t understand why Jackson left so early and where he went.”

  “Once Jackson got his phone back he called me and told me he had gone to lawyers in another state that had offered to help us pro bono with the case to get Rocky’s dam removed. They had won a similar case previously. He didn’t tell me before he left because he wasn’t sure if it was going to pan out, and he didn’t want me to go with and waste my money on the trip. He knew I would have insisted on going with, or at the very least helping out with his ticket. He left early on the day he flew out so he could pick up some information from the local council.”

  “Oh okay, at least that makes sense now.” Nikki sighed as she looked back into her eyes. “I’m just glad we know the truth.”

  “Me, too.” Jean frowned as she led her out of the barn. “I just wish it had never come to this.”

  “Hannah?” Nikki caught sight of her friend in the headlights of her car.

  “Nikki!” Hannah ran towards her and wrapped her up in a tight hug. “Oh, my goodness, I was so scared!”

  “Hannah, what are you doing here?” Nikki stared at her friend, her eyes wide.

  “The dogs started barking when you pulled out of the driveway. I saw your text, and I ran to stop you, but you were already gone. I told the officer in the patrol car what happened, and he called Detective Spade. I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t want you to be out here all alone.” Hannah hugged her even tighter. “I was so worried for you.”

  “I’m sorry, Hannah. You don’t have anything to apologize for. You saved my life.” Nikki looked into her friend’s eyes. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here righ
t now. Thank you. And you.” She turned towards Detective Spade as he walked towards them.

  “You can thank me by giving me a very detailed statement.” The detective shook his head as he stared at her. “You’re going back home soon, right?”

  “Yes, why?” Nikki raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m just glad you’re going to be some other detective’s problem.” He smiled as he handed her a pad of paper. “Every detail, got it?”

  “Got it.” Nikki smiled in return. “Good job, Detective.”

  “Oh, finally you approve?” Detective Spade tipped his head to the side as he studied her. “Have you ever thought of wearing a badge? I think you’d make a fine detective.”

  “That’s very kind of you. I don’t know exactly what the future holds for me, but I know in my heart it will be something to do with animals. At least they can always be trusted to be honest.”

  Chapter 12

  After Nikki finally had a chance to sleep, she woke with the urge to get out of the house. The dogs seemed to agree with her as they rushed through their breakfast. She sent a text to Hannah to see if she wanted to spend the day together. She’d heard from Jackson that he was coming home early, and she wanted to spend what time she could with her friend. She took the dogs for a quick walk by the creek. It was deeper and running faster than it had before. When they reached the edge of it, Nikki spotted Jean on the other side.

  “Morning, Nikki.” Jean crossed the creek to reach her side. “They took down the dam early this morning. It turns out that Rocky really did leave the restaurant and the house to Shawn. The first thing he did was get rid of the dam.”

  “That’s wonderful news. Did you know, Jean?” Nikki stared into the woman’s eyes. “Did you know what Phil was planning?”