Goddess, Guilted

by Jacqueline M Green

  The front door banged open again and Neil rushed in. His face went white when he saw me. “Mariah, are you okay?” Without waiting for my response, he turned behind him. “Get those medics in here STAT!”

  He rushed to me, donning gloves as he came. He stopped and ran his hands hovering around my body.

  “Are you ‘Bones’ now, using your ‘Star Trek’ gadgets to see if I’m injured?”

  He looked up into my eyes and smiled. “The snark is back. You must be okay.” He surveyed my arms. “Where is all this blood coming from?”

  I showed him the multitude of cuts and scratches left by Sandy’s knife shard. “They sting a little, but I don’t think they’re serious, except this one on my thigh.” I pointed to it, then raised my head toward him. “There’s none on my face, right?”

  His eyes searched my face before landing back on my eyes. He took my face in both of his hands. “Your face is perfect,” he whispered, then softly kissed my cheek. Maya’s phone clicked softly beside us. Oh, great.

  My knees felt wobbly and it had nothing to do with my stab wounds. “I’d hug you,” I whispered. “But I don’t want to get you all bloody.”

  He smiled and pulled me gingerly into his arms. I noticed he kept the lower part of his body carefully away from my bloody legs.

  Releasing me, he lifted his head and surveyed the aisle, cannisters, boxes and papers strewn across the front of the store. “I can’t wait to hear the explanation of this one.”

  Chapter 23

  Of course, Sandy went to jail. She was held without bail while waiting for her trial for second-degree murder. Her daughter came back to town and took over the store. I haven’t had a chance to talk with her, because my injuries have had me hobbling somewhat, but I’ve seen her hauling bags of trash from the shop. CeCe said she’s really cleaned up and thrown out a lot of the stuff that has been sitting on the shelves for years.

  I scanned my studio, nearly crammed with friends, students and visitors.

  Angelica hovered in the doorway, waiting to help Tamara. I touched her shoulder.

  “In spite of everything that has happened, are you glad you came home for a while? I hear you usually only get to come home for a couple of days at a time.”

  “It’s true. Between school and work, I don’t have much free time. It feels good, though, seeing everyone and walking the old streets.”

  “Enough to make you want to move back here after you graduate?”

  Angelica laughed, her head dipping to her chest as if embarrassed. Then she held up a hand as if to stop the questions. “I can’t commit on that one yet. I really love the company I’m interning with in L.A. and it’s been great working for Tamara.” She leaned in closer to me. “ This is my last event for her. I gave my notice last night.”

  She opened her arms and I reached in for a hug. She held on to me long and hard, stinging my cuts and scrapes. I winced and she released me. “Sorry, Mariah, I forgot you are still healing. Anyway, it just felt like the right time to move on, after everything that had happened.”

  I pulled back and held her at arm’s length. “You’ll still be doing yoga, though, right?”

  “Definitely. In fact, I’m thinking of getting certified to teach.”

  “Me, too!” Stormy chimed in as she waltzed out of the office.

  The smile on my face was huge and real as I wrapped my arms around both of them. “That’s awesome, you guys.”

  Stormy broke away to attend to a confused-looking student when a familiar voice leaned in beside us.

  “I know we just met last week and it hasn’t gone all that well,” Neil began, “but I have it from a reliable source that your big sister would like nothing better than for you to move back to Jasper. I think she kind of misses you.”

  Angelica hesitated, then looked Neil in the eye. “Maybe,” was all she said before turning away toward the workshop.

  “Not another one,” Neil sighed.

  I looked at him over my shoulder. “Not another what?”

  “Another person in Jasper who is mad at me for doing my job.”

  I wanted to tell him how much it hurt to be arrested and that Angelica was likely feeling the same way toward him. But that little speech could wait. I slipped my arm around him.

  “Staying for the workshop, detective?” I asked.

  He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “How about lunch later this week?”

  Neil tilted his head toward me, a twinkle in his blue-gray eyes. “Perhaps Stormy and the gang can come with us?”

  Oh.

  I frowned and sputtered. “Actually, I was thinking just the two of us. Maybe. If that’s okay with you, maybe?”

  Neil’s face broke into a big smile as he laughed. “I’d like nothing better, Ms. Stevens.”

  The tension left my body and my face broke into a big smile I couldn’t seem to control. I punched him lightly on the shoulder. “You were just messing with me, weren’t you?”

  He smiled again, then motioned for me to follow him outside to one of the benches. I gingerly sat down on the edge, straightening out the leg where Sandy had sliced my thigh. The stitches and bandages made it a little bulky.

  Neil stretched out his legs beside mine and laid his arms on the bench behind us.

  “You heard Sandy is in jail, I suppose. She confessed to everything, except slashing your tires. Any idea who did that?” Neil scanned my face as he waited for my answer.

  “Actually, I do.” I sat back a little further on the bench. “Jennifer Parks. She was mad that I was trying to get Angelica off, so she tried to distract me. She also confessed what she had done to Maya Anderson, which is why she showed up so quickly.”

  The surprise was evident on Neil’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me? I can charge her with a misdemeanor destruction of property.”

  I shook my head. “No, she came to me and told me what she had done. She gave me a stack of bills to pay me back for the cost of the tires. Plus, she still wants The Yoga Mat to hold another fundraiser for Safety Blanket. So we’re good.”

  “Wow. That’s wild.”

  “Apparently, she’d been trying to get Jerry into a twelve-step program for years. He was in and out. That’s why he wanted to make amends to Tamara. It’s one of the steps they’re supposed to do to stay sober.”

  Neil nodded. “Yeah, I got that much from Sandy. She thought Tamara would take advantage of Jerry and destroy their reputation.”

  I leaned my head back on the edge of the bench and looked at the sky. “I feel so bad for what happened to Angelica and Tamara with Jerry.”

  “There seem to be others as well.” Neil smiled gently at me. “We’re going to be putting out information for others so they can get therapy or whatever other kind of help they need. In fact, Tamara is setting up a fund to help them.”

  A smile broke across my face. “That’s amazing. Now I feel bad that I thought Tamara was a killer.”

  Neil laughed with me. “Don’t worry. It happens.” He cocked an eyebrow at me pointedly. “Hopefully, they forgive you at some point.”

  His eyes were so blue I thought I might fall in. Instead I cleared my throat and looked down the street.

  Stormy stuck her head outside the studio. “Mariah, we’re ready to start.”

  Neil helped me to my feet and I wobbled back into the studio. My injuries made it unlikely I could do much of the class, but I wanted to welcome Tamara publicly to the studio and then listen from my office.

  I turned toward Neil and impulsively kissed him on the cheek. We smiled at each other, then I slipped inside. The door softly closed behind me. I slipped off my sandals, took a deep breath and stepped into the studio.

  “My friends, join me in welcoming The Goddess Tamara.”

  Tamara turned toward me from her place on the mat and bowed.

  Namaste.

  About the author

  When Jacqueline M. Green first heard of “cozy mysteries,” she thought her sister had brillia
ntly 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.

  Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for updates on the new series.

  What’s next for Mariah?

  Stay tuned for Warrior, Well Dead, Book 3 in The Yoga Mat Cozy Mystery Series, available soon on Amazon.

  Connect with the author:

  - Facebook: Jacqueline Green, Writer/Author

  - Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmgreen_author

  Corpse Pose, Indeed

  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.