I shook my head. “I have a pounding headache, but I’ll survive.”
She whipped out a pocketknife and slit the rope that bound me, then rubbed my wrists. Finally, she stopped and smiled. “Let’s get you home.”
She pulled me to my feet, then waited as I moaned. “Ouch!”
With one arm supporting me, she opened the door and scooted me outside. Josie had her gun drawn as she stood over Adam, lying face down in the dirt with Neil kneeing him in the back as he slapped on handcuffs.
“Hey, look, the gang’s all here.” I smiled weakly at my own joke.
Neil and Josie waved as Cindy slowly walked me to her patrol car and gingerly settled me into the passenger seat. “Where are we?”
Cindy looked around, one hand on the door frame, and pointed in the distance. “Jasper is that way. This shed is at Mayor Sue’s old family farm. Hardly anyone comes out here anymore.”
I looked up at her face as she buckled my seatbelt. “How did you find me so fast?”
Cindy smiled and looked up at the darkening sky. “We tracked your phone. I hoped you had your phone tucked into your yoga bra.”
I patted the phone at my chest and felt my eyes closing. “Mariah!”
Cindy’s bark jerked me awake. “You might have a concussion. You can’t go to sleep.”
I leaned my head back on the neck rest. It was going to be a long drive back to town.
Chapter 20
The class was nearly in place when the door swished quietly open. Josie slipped inside, clutching her mat, her eyes meeting mine. I hadn’t seen her in the few days since Adam’s arrest since I’d been on bed rest.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
We both started to talk at once, then began to laugh, throwing our arms around each other in an enthusiastic hello.
When we separated, we began to speak at the same time, then stopped. “You first,” I said. “How did the investigation go?”
Josie hesitated. “It’s a lot harder than I’d like to admit. I might want to get a little more experience before I take a lead role again.”
I grabbed both of her hands and squeezed. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“I’m glad we’re back.” Josie went and threw her mat on the edge of the studio next to Lee’s just as I dimmed the lights for class to start. He frowned at her, then turned away.
After class, Lee waited for the other students to leave, then gestured for me to come outside with him. We sat on one of the benches facing Main Street.
“Thank—”
“Stop.” I held up a hand. “Stop thanking me. You’re welcome.”
He flung an arm up on the top of the bench. For once, I didn’t scoot away. Instead I leaned my head back on his arm.
“Sure you don’t want to make another go of it?” Lee asked the question with a tease in his voice.
“Nope.” I grinned and turned my head to look at him. “Neither do you, not really.”
Lee grinned back. “We had a good run.”
“Agreed. Now we’ve both moved down other paths, which makes me wonder. Why did you really come here to try to get me back?”
Lee grimaced. “Don’t get mad.”
“Ugh. I’m probably going to, right?”
“My partners were on me about my drinking and not showing up for work. They said it was better when we were married and that if I didn’t get back together with you, they would buy me out of the business. The business I started.”
My mouth fell open. “So that’s why you came here? That’s actually ridiculous. Your thinking was way off, my friend.”
Lee nodded, crossing his arms behind his head as he stretched out his legs. “I’m going to let them do it.”
My mouth fell open again as he continued. “I see now that business isn’t good for me. Since I started doing yoga here, I haven’t wanted to drink or at least, not as much. I would enjoy a slower-paced life. I’ve decided to move here.”
Lee dug into his pocket and pulled out a house key. “Stormy told me about an apartment available in her building, so I rented it. I’m staying in Jasper. You were right about this place. It’s a great community’
“No, no, no, no, no.” I sat up and scooted away from him, my eyes as big as saucers.
“You’ll see, Mariah. Maybe we can even become friends again.”
“No, this is a terrible idea, Lee.”
“Mariah, it’s done. I’m at least going to stay for six months so I can do yoga every day on my pass. I’m so glad Stormy suggested it.”
“Stormy suggested it?” My mind went at warped speed over the terrible deaths Stormy could die. Then I remembered I’m working on the spiritual plane and murder is frowned upon.
“Six months?”
Lee nodded.
“Mariah!”
Neil jogged across the street toward us. I hopped off the bench to greet him. He gave me a quick kiss, then turned toward Lee.
“Can I borrow Mariah for just a sec?”
Lee shrugged and waved us off, then leaned his head against the bench and closed his eyes.
Neil turned back to me, but I stepped back and crossed my arms.
“I am not a cup of sugar, Detective Samuelson. ‘Can you ‘borrow me’?’ Absolutely not. Why didn’t you ask me?” I hissed at Neil. His eyes got wide and he looked away.
“The answer is not over there. Right here, deputy.” I pointed at myself.
He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Mariah. I just wanted to update you on the case, but I did not want to be rude to your ex-husband. I’m really trying here.”
I wasn't quite ready to forgive him, but I really wanted the update.
“So tell me.”
He leaned in. “Adam has a lawyer and they’re trying to figure out the plea. They’ll probably be able to get it down to manslaughter or second-degree murder, but kidnapping you and disabling your car add complications.”
“He needs help, not prison.”
Neil sighed. “He deserves both. This whole thing could have been over a lot quicker than it was if he had just admitted it in the first place.”
Hard to argue with that.
“What about Mayor Sue? Did she know?”
Neil shook his head. “Not for sure. She suspected because she met Serena when she visited Adam’s parents in Walnut Grove.”
“That’s why Serena stopped to say hello at the diner.”
“Right. Sue says she didn’t realize who Serena was until later.”
“Do you believe her?” I had my doubts.
Neil shrugged. “I can’t prove more than she suspected. There’s no proof she did anything to interfere. She just didn’t help out.”
“So she wasn’t that interested in yoga? She just wanted to know what I knew.”
Neil shrugged again, lifting his hands in the international sign for “I don’t know.”
“You’ll have to ask her that yourself.”
I already knew the answer. In fact, I had asked the mayor to postpone the fundraiser yoga class. It just didn’t feel right to profit off Sue’s efforts to get on my good side. I suggested doing something for Safety Blanket, a Jasper nonprofit.
“On another note, how are you and Josie doing?” Neil asked.
I told him how Josie had come to class and that we were planning on dinner that night with Cindy and CeCe.
Neil reached over and put his arms around me. “I knew you two would work it out.”
We gave each other a squeeze. I would have liked to just stay there, but my ex-husband loudly cleared his throat.
“You guys done over there or do you need a room?”
Neil and I parted, laughing self-consciously. He winked at me, then turned and walked over to Lee.
“Lee, you and I got off on the wrong foot. Do you think we could start over? I’m Neil Samuelson, Mariah’s boyfriend.”
Butterflies filled my stomach. Would I ever get used to hearing that?
Lee smiled and stood up, sticking o
ut his hand. “I’m Lee Whitten, Mariah’s ex-husband.”
They laughed and smiled. Neil gestured toward the diner down the street. “I hear you’re going to be around for a while. You want to grab some lunch?”
“Absolutely. I have really enjoyed the black bean burger at the diner. Meat is so overrated.”
The two started to walk off, arguing about meat. Neil threw a glance over his shoulder at me and grinned.
My new boyfriend and my ex-husband were getting along and spending time together.
I stepped back toward my studio, then folded my hands in a prayer position at my chest and bowed my head. What would happen next?
Namaste.
About the author
When Jacqueline M. Green first heard of “cozy mysteries,” she thought her sister had brilliantly made up the term. She was delighted to discover it was a genre all its own, with tons of stories about crafting, quilting, knitting and cooking, but alas, few about yoga. As a writer, yoga instructor and lover of mysteries, she decided to solve that problem or at least add to the yoga cozies in the world. She lives with her family plus two cats, a dog and now two parakeets named Carlos and Romeo.
From the author
Thank you for reading. If you liked or loved this book, please leave a review on Amazon.
Facebook: Jacqueline Green, Writer/Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmgreen_author
Other books by Jacqueline M. Green
The Yoga Mat Cozy Mystery Series
Corpse Pose, Indeed
Goddess, Guilted
Corpse Pose, Indeed
(an excerpt)
In case you missed Book I of The Yoga Mat Cozy Mystery Series, here is an excerpt from Corpse Pose, Indeed:
The gum-snapping during savasana worked on my last nerve. Sitting on my mat at the front, I scanned the class to make sure everyone was lying comfortably during the final minutes of meditation. My students had worked hard. They deserved this peaceful time during the last few minutes of class.
I loved this part of class – sitting quietly, brimming over with gratitude that after so many years I finally owned my own yoga studio, The Yoga Mat. Tonight, I had the bonus feeling of giving back because this class was a fund-raiser for a local nonprofit group that helped women and children. I glanced at the stack of baby blankets and other infant gear in the lobby. My students had gone all out for Safety Blanket.
But that gum.
It came from the direction of one of the new students. I didn’t want to call her out for it on her first time here, but apparently, the studio needed a larger “no food or gum” sign at the entrance. I couldn’t tell if the gum-smacking disturbed Patricia, who lay nearby facing away from me toward the back of the room. Patricia, a regular at the studio, was here to help represent Safety Blanket. Her sister had approached The Yoga Mat to set up the fundraiser, then learned she would be out of town, so Patricia had stepped up.
I gingerly picked up the bell in front of me. Gently ringing it three times invited students out of their meditation. Then I quietly ran through the instructions to stretch and return to a seated position.
“Thank you all for coming to class tonight. I am so grateful for all of the donations to Safety Blanket and all the good energy we are helping to spread,” I began. “Let’s end our time together with that Sanskrit word ‘namaste,’ which means-”
“Oh my god, she’s not breathing!” A voice interrupted from the back of the room. Students turned to look and several got up and moved toward the form still lying on her mat. They shook their heads at me.
I scrambled to my feet, stepping around yoga mats as I hurried to the back of the room, almost positive that I would find my student breathing after all.
They stood around Patricia, still on her side facing the back, although I could see as I walked nearer that her legs were not gently stacked but looked falling over. Slipping down to my knees, I gently called her name. “Patricia, Patricia?” Carefully placing her head by Patricia’s mouth and then her chest, I realized Patricia indeed was not breathing.
“Call 9-1-1!” I barked, then spoke toward the woman on the mat. “Patricia, are you okay? Can I help you?”
When she didn’t respond, I started pumping on her chest, glad that I had regular CPR training. I put my ear to her face. Nothing. Despair welled up inside as I started the process again. I’d been teaching yoga for seven years and never had to give CPR to a student before.
From what seemed like far away, I heard someone moving the students out of the classroom. Even farther away, sirens sounded. The clomp of boots let me know paramedics were in the room and I sat back on my heels, then moved away so they could work on her.
My attention turned to the students crowded into the small lobby. “Thank you for your help,” I murmured quietly as I moved from person to person, stopping when I reached a sheriff’s deputy briskly walking through the front doors.
“Josie, what are you doing here?”
“I heard there was a nonresponsive person at the studio, so I came down. Who is it?”
I leaned in close to her so I could speak softly, placing a hand on her arm. “Thank you. It’s Patricia McMillan. Do you know her?”
Josie shrugged. “I could pick her out of a line-up, but I don’t know her that well.”
Josie looked around the crowded lobby. Some people underestimated the deputy because of how pretty she was, but I knew she didn’t miss a detail. “Big class.”
“It’s the Safety Blanket fund-raiser.”
Realization dawned on Josie’s face and she nodded, remembering the announcements she had heard in class last week. Josie came to yoga in fits and starts, no matter how often I regaled her with yoga’s benefits.
I sucked in my bottom lip and leaned toward her. “Maybe it was a heart attack?”
She shrugged again. “We won’t know until we get her to the hospital.” She noticed movement in the studio and lifted her face to speak over the students. “Please step aside and allow the medical team to bring the patient out.” She started hustling people aside and out the door.
Turning from Josie, I approached a handful of women still clustered together just inside the lobby door. Most of them were also connected to Safety Blanket, including Jennifer, their director, her eyes wide.
“Jennifer, I’m so sorry about Patricia.” My arms draped around her in a gentle hug. I stood back to look at her. “I don’t know what to say.”
Jennifer nodded. “Is she going to be okay?”
I didn’t have an answer for her. I knew Patricia hadn’t been breathing while I performed CPR and could only hope that the EMTs could bring her back. I looked her in the eyes. “Let’s assume everything will be okay until it’s not.”
She nodded as tears welled up in her eyes, then her gaze went behind my shoulder. The EMTs had the gurney at the wide, arched door.
Silence fell as we watched it bump through the lobby. I scanned Josie’s face for signs of a positive turn of events, but her face was closed down and she didn’t make eye contact. That wasn’t good.
* * *
Thank you for reading. Click here to purchase Corpse Pose, Indeed at Amazon.
Warrior, Fatal & Flawed Page 11