Goddess, Guilted Page 7

  “I’m not worried.” I knew I was speaking to myself. I rustled the papers in my hands. “What do I have to be worried about? It’s not like we’re dating. Not worried even a little bit.”

  The front door slid open and Jennifer Parks stepped quietly inside as I tucked the papers back into the binder and with a shove, stuck the whole binder back on the shelf.

  She jumped a little. “That was forceful.”

  “Oh, hi, Jennifer. Can I help you?”

  “I just wanted to stop by to talk about the next fundraiser.”

  I invited her into my office, opening one of the folding metal chairs for her to sit on. She pulled out her calendar and a folder. As she was tapping on her phone to get to her calendar, I remembered seeing her with Jerry the morning of his death.

  “How are you feeling? I know you were upset about Jerry McIntyre.”

  Jennifer’s eyes shot upward and she hesitated.

  “Yes, it was sad. I’m sorry I got so bent out of shape at the diner yesterday.”

  “Did you know him well?”

  She scrunched her face as if remembering. “I suppose as well as anyone. He was my cousin, you know. Well, second cousin.”

  Well, now there’s some new information. “No, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry for your loss. I thought you said he was a friend?”

  Jennifer shrugged, keeping her eyes on the phone in her hand. “It’s all right. He had a lot of struggles in his life, and, yes, he was a friend. I mean, I thought of him more as a friend than a relative.”

  I looked up to see Cindy wave as she headed out the front door, now dressed in her sheriff’s uniform.

  I decided to try Cindy’s trick of waiting for someone to speak as I put my eyes back on Jennifer. She kept hers on the folders in her hand. As the silence dragged on a beat too long, Jennifer spoke quietly, her voice increasing in urgency.

  “He wasn’t a bad man, you know. He still had a lot to give the world. I hate hearing everyone talk about how he was the town drunk. He wasn’t! He was an alcoholic and people should have more compassion.”

  Surprised by the forcefulness of her response, I tried to figure out where to go with questioning. I didn’t want to waste this opportunity. “Did the Sheriff’s deputies question you about his murder?”

  Her eyes flew to mine. “Why would they question me? I had nothing to do with it.”

  “They’ve questioned a lot of people. You being a relative and all, maybe you could give them information.” I sat back in my chair, my eyes riveted on Jennifer’s face. “Plus, I did notice the two of you having an argument that day in the Mercantile. Did you tell the deputies about that?”

  Jennifer’s eyes narrowed. “Why would I tell them about that? It was just a disagreement. It had nothing to do with Jerry’s murder.” Her mouth fell open. “Wait a minute. You think I killed my cousin? Why would I do that?”

  She stood up shoving her papers back into her bag. “I cannot believe you, Mariah. Just because you figured out Patricia’s killer does not give you license to go around accusing people of Jerry’s murder.”

  “You don’t want to tell me?”

  “No!”

  With that, Jennifer turned and stalked out of the studio. Maybe we wouldn’t be having a Safety Blanket fundraiser after all.

  After she left, I plopped back into the chair at my desk. Jennifer was Jerry’s cousin. Was there more about her that I didn’t know? Was there more about Jerry’s death that she did know?

  I hopped from my chair and slipped into the studio, then spread out my mat and sat down softly, moving through some seated stretches. I just needed some quiet time to sift through the information about the murder and what I’d learned from Jennifer. I did not need quiet time to mull over what Detective Neil Samuelson was up to right now.

  Reaching my hands overhead, I leaned toward the right, letting my hands follow. It’s just that I had kind of thought he was interested in me. It had been a long time since I’d been interested in another man, and, well, yes, I was definitely attracted to him. There, I’d said it to myself, if not exactly out loud. It’s not as if I had sworn off men after my divorce, but Lee and I had been married almost fifteen years, and I was … cautious … about another relationship. Cautious? Perhaps, wary, nervous, anxious. Okay, I admit it. I was scared.

  Inhaling, I returned to a seated position, then began to exhale and folded to the other side. Well, fine, if he is interested in someone else, fine. I have more important things to think about than a detective who insists on arresting me and my friends. After all, I have a new business to–

  Josie burst through the studio doors before I could finish my thought. “Mariah, I have another clue!”

  I stretched both hands over my head, then exhaled them together to my chest before I looked up to answer her.

  “Whatcha got?”

  She stepped on the back of each foot to take off her shoes, then scurried into the studio. I moved to one end of my mat and motioned for her to sit on the other.

  “I overheard Neil and Cindy talking about something they found on Jerry’s body. It was a stone.”

  I pumped a fist. “I knew there was more to that rock than Neil told me.”

  Puzzlement covered Josie’s face, so I filled her in on the small red rock that I had found at the crime scene, the one Neil had seemed sure wasn’t related to the case. I won’t lie, I smirked a little inside.

  Josie nodded in agreement. “Apparently, another small Jasper stone was found inside the collar on Jerry’s shirt.” She lifted up the collar on her uniform to show me. “Neil said it must have fallen in after Jerry fell down because otherwise it would have fallen out long before.”

  Josie leaned closer. “But not just any Jasper.”

  My eyebrows went up on their own. Apparently, even they couldn’t wait to hear what was about to come next.

  “It was Red Jasper.”

  I took a breath and tried to focus my thoughts around this new information. “Lots of people carry Jasper, especially around here,” I pointed out. “Where does someone get Jasper around here, besides from their sister?”

  “That’s the problem. You can get Jasper pretty much anywhere. You can buy it at the Corner Mercantile or other stores. You can find Jasper in the river. It’s fairly common, so it’s not worth much.”

  “Do you think most people know the spiritual significance of Red Jasper, or do they just think it’s pretty?”

  Josie shrugged. “I would err on the side of most folks just thinking it’s pretty, except for your students. I’ve heard you talk about it in class sometimes.”

  I mulled that over. “But if it ended up in Jerry’s collar upside down, it got there after he fell to the ground and that means–.”

  Josie and I locked eyes. “–the killer carried the Red Jasper.”

  Chapter 13

  Josie and I decided to find out where Red Jasper was available in town. I hated the idea that one of my students might have dropped the stone because – arghh! – that would mean yet another student was a killer.

  I was pretty sure I’d seen the stones at the Corner Mercantile, and Josie thought she had seen it in the little jewelry store tucked in next to Luigi’s. Josie stayed for class, somewhat against her wishes, so afterward, we set off, leaving Stormy to watch the studio.

  She frowned at me as we put on our shoes. “So now that I work for you, I don’t get to help solve murders?”

  Josie and I exchanged a quick glance, and I accidentally slipped my shoes on the wrong feet. I ducked my head as I bent down to fix them and figure out what to say. Stormy had been a huge help when I was accused of murder last month, but mostly because I thought she might have done it and she thought I had done it. She had been doing exactly what I had been doing – trying to make sure she didn’t go to jail and ready to throw me under the bus to save herself.

  Still, we’d grown closer since she started working at The Yoga Mat and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

  Once m
ore, honesty seemed the best route, if I was going to practice satya, and I was, I really was. I lifted my head from my shoes.

  “Stormy, right now, we’re just going to check out the shops that sell it. It’s more helpful to me if you mind the studio while I’m gone.”

  Stormy casually checked out her fingernails, which were always perfect, so I knew she was just doing it for effect. “What if I told you I know where to get Red Jasper?”

  Josie and I sat up a little straighter and peered at Stormy.

  “Where?”

  “How?”

  Josie’s tone was a lot more accusatory than mine, like the deputy she was.

  Stormy shrugged. “My little brother and I used to find Red J in the river, clean it up and sell it around town. You don’t think those snooty shop owners dig it up themselves, do you?” She straightened the sign-in sheet at the front counter, then turned to go back into the office, calling from inside. “But hey, if you don’t need my help, that’s fine by me. I have work to do.”

  Josie and I sat back in the lobby chairs, smiling. I stood up and went to the office door. “Okay, how about a compromise? We’ll go snoop around the shops. Tomorrow after class, you can take Josie and me down to the river to show us where you and your brother found the Red Jasper.”

  Stormy flipped open the laptop on top of the desk and sat down. “Sounds like a plan.” She grinned as she sat down, throwing me a glance. “Thanks, boss.”

  Chapter 14

  Josie turned in one direction while I headed down the street toward the Corner Mercantile. I paused to let a car out of the alley and realized I had no plan for finding out information at the Corner Mercantile. I knew it was one of the main shops that sold Red Jasper, but I couldn’t very well ask Sandy if she had sold it to the killer. I sat down on the street-side bench and closed my eyes to concentrate.

  It occurred to me that I needed a few more things for my Movie Night basket. I could use that as my reason for stopping in at the Corner Mercantile. I smiled to myself at my own quick thinking. Many of the local shop owners were tired of coming up with basket themes every month for the silent auction, but I was still new enough that I found it fun. Besides, we only had a couple more months before the City Council had raised enough money for the big Jasper Days festivities, which I was eagerly awaiting. I had arrived just after last year’s celebration, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect.

  Suddenly I felt someone next to me. My eyes flew open as I jumped.

  Neil Samuelson laughed lightly as he sat down beside me. “You’re mighty jumpy, Ms. Stevens.”

  I turned toward him as my heart rate couldn’t decide if it should settle down or pitter-patter like crazy. My voice was calmer than I expected it to be. “There’s a killer on the loose, Detective Samuelson. Of course, I’m jumpy.”

  “What if I told you I had the killer in jail?” He leaned against the back of the seat and stretched out his long legs, then dug into a white bag he was carrying and pulled out a sugar-coated doughnut. He broke it in half and offered one to me.

  I stared at it. “You’re eating a doughnut? Didn’t you just have lunch?”

  “A while ago. How did you know?” He turned to stare at me, his eyebrows raised.

  I looked away and settled back on the bench. “I saw you go into the diner.”

  Silence. I peeked out of the corner of my eye to see Neil biting his lip. Aha! He knew that I had seen him with the blonde.

  “Yeah, but it wasn’t a great lunch, so I kept it as short as I could. Sure you don’t want this?”

  He waved the doughnut under my nose. I could practically taste the cinnamon sugar on top. I was tempted to refuse, but only for a second, so I accepted with a slight bow, then settled back on the bench next to him. My insides were doing a happy dance with the news that lunch with Blondie was a bomb. I felt oddly nervous now that I had admitted to myself that I was attracted to the detective.

  “For a yoga teacher, you sure have a terrible diet.”

  “You’re not the first person to notice that.”

  He smiled as he looked over at me and threw an arm over the back of the bench as he munched his half of the doughnut. “I actually kind of like that you’re not one of those super-skinny, super-flexible yoga teachers. It makes yoga seem more reachable, even a non-flexible guy like me can do it.”

  “Yeah, sure, that’s why I eat doughnuts, so my students and local law enforcement can feel better about themselves.”

  “Ooh, do I detect sarcasm?”

  I shoved the rest of the doughnut into my mouth so I wouldn’t have to answer. Then I slowly licked some of the sugar off my fingers before wiping the rest on my yoga pants before I could catch myself. Hopefully, my students wouldn’t be close enough to me to smell cinnamon sugar doughnut on my pants.

  When I finished, I turned back to Neil and changed the subject. I didn’t really want to keep talking about how not-skinny I was.

  “Detective, you don’t have the right person in jail. I can just feel it.”

  He looked me in the eyes, his gaze softening. “I can’t solve a case on gut feeling alone, Mariah. I have to follow the evidence.”

  “I have to follow the evidence. You always say that.”

  “Because it’s true. It’s not quick and easy like on TV. It’s painstaking, and unfortunately, that makes it painful for the other people involved.” He sat up and brushed his hands together to sweep off the sugar. “Mariah, please don’t get mad at me again for doing my job.”

  I brushed the sugar off my yoga pants and stood up, pausing to look at him. “It is painful. I can’t help being mad at you. But if you need evidence, then I’ll find your evidence.”

  He blew out a breath and looked toward the sky as I picked up my reusable shopping bag. “Mariah-“

  “See you later, Detective. Thanks for the doughnut.”

  I walked quickly away before he could stop me. Now my walk had a purpose. As I strode past the Corner Mercantile, I could see Sandy at the cashier’s counter. I waved as I entered the store, then snagged a basket and moved down an aisle. I picked up some colorful paper and ribbons, then turned toward the end of the counter, where the Red Jasper and other stones were kept in boxes.

  As Sandy checked through a customer, they chatted about the upcoming Movie Night. I picked up the rocks and looked through them, feeling their smoothness and letting them fall through my fingers. It would be easy for someone to steal one when Sandy’s back was turned.

  “Looking for anything in particular, Mariah?” Sandy appeared practically at my elbow. I startled, dropping the stone I was looking at back in the pile.

  I shook my head. “I was thinking of putting some Red Jasper in my Movie Night basket for the Silent Auction this month.”

  “Why would you want to do that? They’re pretty common around here.”

  Sandy looked puzzled as she moved back to her side of the counter. She reached into the lapel pocket of her smock and pulled out a handful of stones, which she dropped on the counter. Some of the stones were red, others blue and green. “You can dig up all kinds of stones like this at the river.”

  “I’ve heard that. I’m surprised more people don’t do it. I was thinking of digging up some myself.”

  Sandy gave me a mock frown, then smiled so I would know she was kidding. “Now don’t go taking all my business, Mariah. Like I said, most aren’t very valuable. But still, don’t go blabbing about finding them in the river.” She waved a hand over the boxes of rocks on the counter. “I don’t make a ton of money from them, but it’s enough to make it worthwhile.”

  I played with the rock in my hand and tried to figure out how to get out of this conversation. “I thought I might glue the rock to a card that told about its properties. That might make it special.”

  “What properties?”

  “I talk about it in my classes sometimes. Red Jasper is said to increase passion and help restore justice when an injustice has been done.”

  “You don�
�t say. They increase passion?” Sandy stared at the rock in her hand.

  I placed the rock back in the box. These rocks were clean and shiny, unlike the one that I had seen at the crime scene. “I’ll give it some thought. How do you keep shoplifters from taking the rocks?”

  Sandy nodded as she made a face. “Sometimes kids will pinch a few, but I think they’re common enough that no one takes them. You ready?” She motioned toward the cashier’s counter.

  I placed my items on the counter and started to dig into my purse. Glancing up, I paused and looked toward the back of the store, where the door of the storeroom was open. Sure enough, I could easily see into the room from the cashier’s stand. Apparently, Sandy’s alibi was sound.

  Sandy cleared her throat and I pulled my gaze away from the back door. “Have you heard anything more about my husband’s killer?”

  She didn’t look at me, just kept checking through the groceries.

  I nearly dropped my purse in surprise. “I’m not sure, I mean, how would I know?”

  She kept her eyes on the cash register. “Well, your sister is the sheriff. The sheriff’s office hasn’t been very helpful. I keep calling and they tell me they have a person of interest and that they’re working on it. Plus, I’ve heard that you and that CeCe are poking around again, like you did when they thought you killed that woman. I thought they had someone in jail and the case was solved, so I was confused when I heard the rumors about you and CeCe.”

  Sandy finished putting my supplies in the cloth shopping bag I had handed her. She looked up at me with what seemed to be tears in her eyes. “It won’t bring him back, but I sure would like to know who did it.”

  A new voice broke in. “We all would, Mrs. McIntyre.”

  I briefly closed my eyes when I heard Maya Anderson’s voice. How did she keep sneaking up on me like this? I hadn’t even heard the front doorbell ding.

  I ignored the reporter as I reached out and gently touched Sandy’s hand.

  “Me, too, Sandy. I don’t know what to say. I don’t think Angelica Vazquez killed your husband, but I don’t know who did. If I can help find the person responsible, I want to help. Take care of yourself. You know you have a standing offer of yoga at The Yoga Mat.”