Missy DeMeanor Cozy Mysteries Boxset

by Brianna Bates

  Some of the movements involved equipment—an old monster truck tire, kettlebells, pull-ups, etc. But at the eleventh station, there was no gear. Instead, Anastasia just pointed downfield.

  “One hundred yard dash back to the first station, where you can take a two minute rest.”

  Oh great. More sprinting.

  Anastasia broke into a dead run. She flew across the grass. Missy couldn’t believe how quick she was. Her feet hardly touched the ground. It reminded her of her form. Anastasia’s heels did not touch.

  “Hey, Missy.”

  “Oh, hey, Jeremy.” She’d been so preoccupied thinking about the upcoming grueling workout she hadn’t noticed him come over.

  “Anastasia told me you’re working on your form.”

  “Yes.” She blushed a little. “I never knew I was running incorrectly. It’s just one of those things you do.”

  He smiled. “Not wrong. A lot of people run with a heel-strike. Some Olympians do, if you can believe it.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “Don’t feel bad at all. If you need help or have questions, you can ask me anything.” He smiled. “It was really difficult for me to change the way I ran. Like you said, it’s just one of those things you do. I was thirty-two years old when I changed and it took me a full year.”

  “Wow.” A full year? To learn how to run differently? It sounded so daunting.

  “And even now I’ll slip back into my old form.”

  “Really? Even after all that practice running the new way?”

  He nodded. “The old way is just ingrained. I grooved my neuromuscular system to move that way for thirty-two years. So when I’m tired and can’t concentrate, my body will revert back. Or if I’m really distracted by something, I’ll realize all of a sudden that I’m running the old way. Sometimes it actually surprises me, if you can believe it. Muscle memory, you understand?”

  “That’s really interesting,” Missy said, more out of politeness. She had enough to concentrate on and just wanted to get through the weekend. Trying to learn how to run differently also seemed a bit much. “I’ll come find you if I have any questions.”

  “Okay, Missy. And good luck!”

  “Alright, people.” Anastasia held up a stopwatch. “Two people at each station, divide up.”

  Missy was about to pair up with Marie, but Anastasia called out to her.

  “Miss, you and Richie are a pair.” Anastasia pointed to the second station, which involved one of her least favorite exercises: T push-ups.

  Richie smiled as she jogged over. “Lucky you.”

  She laughed. Richie was very self-deprecating in his humor. He always wore a baseball cap, even in the gym when they exercised at night. Missy suspected it was to cover up his baldness.

  She winked. “Lucky me is right. I don’t know if I can make it halfway around the circuit.”

  He gave her a confident nod. “We’ll get there.”

  “Ten seconds, people!” Anastasia shouted. “Get into position.”

  Missy dropped to her knees and put her palms in the earth. Richie did the same next to her.

  “Crazy what happened last night,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “I was with her most of the run.” Richie shook her head. “I can’t believe it happened.”

  “You were with her—”

  “Go!” Anastasia shouted.

  Missy straightened her legs and tightened her core to keep herself stabilized. She started doing her push-ups. After each repetition, she held herself up with one arm while swinging the other one overhead till her arms formed one line perpendicular with the ground.

  Richie had been a long-distance runner before joining WiredFit. Though he’d never bragged about his past exploits, Missy had heard through the grapevine that he’d done ultramarathons. These were races of fifty, sixty, seventy, or more, miles in length. She couldn’t imagine ever building up the stamina to run that far. As a matter of fact, just driving sixty miles tired her out!

  So it came as no surprise that Richie had stayed with Eliana for most of the race. If anything, it made him prime suspect if in fact Eliana had been killed.

  Missy knew she was playing detective again, but she needed something to take her mind off the agony that was push-ups.

  On her sixth rep, she realized it would be pretty easy to rule out people by determining which trails they had used. If Eliana had really tried to run five miles, she would have needed to double up and cross paths several times. Her route would have intersected everybody else’s at numerous points along the trails. But based on the timing, it would be pretty easy to guesstimate where she was and when. That could whittle the suspect pool considerably. That was probably what Lieutenant Simon was doing.

  Unless the killer had purposely waited for her in a hideaway. Then all bets were off.

  “What?” Richie asked.

  “Huh?” Had she just voiced her thoughts? God, she had to be careful. And anyway, she couldn’t really talk right now, not while her arms were shaking from the push-ups.

  “You were smiling.” Richie had done probably three times as many reps as her but appeared to be in no physical distress of course.

  “Just—thinking.”

  “About last night?”

  She cocked her head to the side so she could see him. Richie completed another push-up and was about to turn into his T-formation but Anastasia called time. She couldn’t believe she had completed thirty seconds of push-ups. That was definitely a first.

  “Come on.” He offered his hand and helped her up. They jogged the thirty yards to the next station.

  “Go!” Anastasia yelled before Missy had even reached it.

  They began jumping in place. The third station was knee bumps. The goal was to jump as high as you could and thrust your knees into your chest. Missy’s vertical was about six inches, but she managed to get her knees up.

  “Did—you—see—anything?” Missy panted.

  Richie did a couple more jumps before answering. He was getting some serious air. “I stayed with her for about twenty minutes, then she bursted a few times and lost me.”

  Missy couldn’t believe that Eliana had gotten away from Richie that easily. The guy had run seventy miles one time!

  He made a face. “Running a marathon and running five miles aren’t the same thing. You can be good at one but not the other.”

  Right now Missy couldn’t think about anything other than getting off the ground and pulling her knees up into the air. How long was thirty seconds?

  They went on for an impossibly long time. Missy’s legs were like rubber when Anastasia called time, and she lumbered over to the next station. There was a group of kettlebells laid out. Missy picked a lighter one and bent at the waist to do back rows. She could barely breathe and her legs were shaking, so exercising her back was a welcome respite.

  “This is great, right?” Richie asked.

  She couldn’t find enough air to answer.

  “Fifteen!” Anastasia yelled.

  Missy and Richie switched arms and kept pulling. She only had another eight-and-a-half stations to go in the circuit …

  ***

  Missy surprised herself by completing two sets, which was more than twice what she thought she could do. Rather than complete a third, Missy jogged around the field (very slowly) for six minutes while the rest of the class finished the circuit.

  Though she was the only one who couldn’t finish, her friends didn’t make her feel like the odd woman out. Every time she passed two people at a station, they urged her to keep going. It really fired her up and, even more so, made her feel part of something. A community where people encouraged each other.

  It was pretty great. And it reminded her how important it was to spend your time with positive, upbeat people. It really made a difference.

  When Anastasia called time, Missy slowed to a walk. Just about everybody else dropped to the ground, panting. Marie was flat on her back, arms and legs stretche
d out, with her eyes closed.

  “Don’t stop moving!” Anastasia yelled. “You’ve gotta keep moving!”

  A series of groans followed, while people picked themselves up and walked it out. Then Anastasia called for everybody to stretch. Richie plopped down next to her and carefully stretched his hamstrings.

  Missy couldn’t help herself. “So you ran almost the whole way with her?”

  Richie’s face was twisted in discomfort as he deepened his stretch. “I’ve never torn a hammie yet.” He grunted. “Just give me a sec.”

  Missy stood and stretched her arms over her head. Richie came out of his deep stretch.

  “Yeah, almost kept up with her.”

  “I’m assuming the lieutenant asked you to trace the path you ran?”

  He nodded. “I showed him. We criss-crossed so many trails that we practically ran into everybody that night.”

  Missy bent at the waist and tried so hard to touch her toes. She came up about four inches short as usual. Stretching was probably her least favorite part of exercise. It was always uncomfortable to her and because she was so inflexible, it was taxing to hold these positions for any length of time, especially when she was already wiped from the actual exercises. She took her mind off the discomfort and quiet agony of stretching back to Eliana. From the sound of it, a lot of people had an opportunity to push Eliana off that edge.

  If that was what happened.

  “It’s just a terrible accident.” Missy wanted to see what Richie thought without coming out and asking him directly.

  “She must have been really tired and not thinking clearly.”

  “She was running super fast,” Missy said.

  “She and I did that deer trail together a few months back.” Richie laid on his back and pulled a knee to his chest.

  Missy stopped stretching. “What?”

  “That deer trail that joins the high road on that stretch …” Richie switched and pulled his other knee. “ … we ran that before.”

  Missy couldn’t believe it. Eliana must have forgotten the trail ended there, probably distracted by sheer fatigue.

  “I know. Not too many people liked her. I don’t know if even I did. But we kept in touch after she left WiredFit.” Richie shook his head. “It was a strange relationship. She would call me up when she wanted to challenge me to a run. We’d meet up occasionally, exercise, then say goodbye. That was it.”

  “Okay, that’s weird.”

  He shrugged. “That’s who she was. But she did know these trails like the back of her hand. She’s competed here for the last seven Celtic Games and trains here twice a year to prepare.”

  Missy got on all fours to give her legs a break and alternated between flexing and extending her back. Richie had verified what Anastasia had independently shared with her: Eliana knew these trails extremely well.

  “She must have forgotten,” Richie said. “She just must have been too tired and was moving too fast.”

  He shook his head and sat and splayed his legs. He reached for one foot, keeping his legs straight.

  Eliana’s death was sounding less and less like an accident to her. “Is that what you think happened?”

  Richie stopped mid-stretch to look over at her. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I hope that’s what happened.”

  “Come on, Richie.” Missy sat back on her heels to give her back a break. “You were with her, so did you see anything?”

  “Before we ran last night, she and Holly got into it. Surprise-surprise.”

  “About what?” Missy looked across the field and spotted Holly. She was stretching next to Carl, Adrienne’s brother. Holly looked to be in her late twenties and had been a gymnast and rock climber in high school. The transition to WiredFit had been pretty easy for her, apparently, and she usually placed very high in the semi-annual WiredFit local events and did well in the mud runs.

  “Holly and Eliana were both good friends with Anastasia.” Richie reached for his other foot and was able to grab his toes. Of course. “But they never liked each other, from day one. They were too alike.”

  Missy was surprised. “Holly doesn’t seem anything like Eliana.”

  “Oh no. Holly’s very nice and kind and supportive. I just meant they were both competitive.”

  “Most people at WiredFit are. Except me and a few others.”

  He chuckled. “Fair point. Now times that average competitiveness by a thousand and you’ll have some idea of how much they both were.”

  “They were both trying to be the best?”

  “Yep.” Richie let go of his feet and centered himself. Then he stretched forward, trying to put his forehead in the grass. Missy couldn’t help but be impressed. If she tried that, she’d be in traction for a month.

  “So what happened before the run last night?” Missy laid down, twisted her body one way, and tried to flatten her arm on the ground the other way.

  She felt the pull in her back and the gradual release as the muscles loosened. This was her favorite stretch, for lack of a better word. When she had worked at the used bookstore before, she’d thought she was on her feet all day. It wasn’t until she went to work at the tea room that she realized she hadn’t been. If she and Noreen were busy at Do Re Tea, sometimes hours would go by before she could sit. All that standing had taken a toll on her lower back so she took great care in stretching it out every day and working on her posture. Tyler loved to watch her do those particular movements, because one involved getting her shoulders back and sticking her chest out. Typical.

  “I have to give you the background first.” Richie came out of his stretch and then rolled over. He got into downward dog position, his legs and arms forming a near perfect ninety-degree angle. Missy was envious.

  Missy switched so she stretched her back out in the other direction.

  Richie held his pose. “A few years ago, Holly and Eliana got into a tiff over deadlifts.”

  Missy couldn’t believe the things that people argued about. But then again, WiredFit was where very competitive athletes came to train and constantly tried to set personal records. So it wasn’t that far-fetched the two women would squabble over deadlifts.

  “What did they argue about?”

  “Eliana outpulled her.” Richie changed from downward dog to its opposite pose, which Missy thought should have been called upward dog but was called something else she couldn’t remember. “Holly said she was actually stronger on her deads than Eliana.”

  “But if Eliana deadlifted more weight …”

  “She did it with wrist straps.” Richie held his pose again and looked up at the sky. The sun was hot on Missy. “Holly pulled unassisted.”

  “Oh.” Missy had done all these exercises, but she was far from an expert and she was very careful with how much she tried to do. Yes, she wanted to get stronger but no, she didn’t want to risk an injury. She couldn’t miss a day of work at the tea room. The business was doing well and really picking up. “Do wrist straps help that much?”

  Richie nodded and came out of his pose. He hiked one knee forward and dropped the other to the ground.

  “They can help a lot. The grip is usually the limiting factor on deadlifts. Your hands aren’t as strong as the bigger muscles in your back and legs, relatively speaking.”

  Missy didn’t understand. “Are straps illegal?”

  “In competition, they usually are. You can’t use them in the Celtic Games, for example.”

  “So why would she train with them, if she couldn’t use them in competition?”

  “Because they help get you used to bigger and bigger weights. As long as you don’t use them for every set, your grip continues to get stronger and you only use the straps for your biggest pulls.”

  There was so much about exercise Missy still had to learn, apparently. “So then why did Holly care?”

  “Because Eliana was obnoxious about it. She started bragging immediately that she was the strongest woman at WiredFit, and Holly called h
er out on using the straps.”

  “Wow.” It all seemed so petty to Missy, so unimportant. But some people just had to be the best kid on the block, no matter what the block was.

  He laughed. “It was a pretty big scene. Holly told her to take the straps off and then they’d see who would outperform who at the competition.”

  “I almost wish I had been there.” Missy shook her head. “But not really. It sounds like Eliana created a lot of drama.”

  “Holly told her it was easy to be strong when you cheated,” Richie said. “That’s when things got real nasty.”

  There was that word again. Cheat.

  “Do you think Eliana cheated by using straps?” Missy asked.

  “Not with the straps, no.”

  The way he said it, though, Missy could tell there was more behind the story. “But she cheated other ways?”

  Richie stopped stretching and stood up. “Look, Miss, I didn’t particularly care for Eliana but I also don’t want to trample all over her right now. Let’s just say, there were rumors that she played fast and loose with some of the rules. She was really competitive.”

  “Is that why she left WiredFit?” Missy asked.

  He shrugged. “I really don’t know. Now I’ve gotta walk this out.”

  “Wait—you never told me what Holly said to Eliana before the run.”

  Richie hesitated. “Well, a few other people heard it so I guess it’s public knowledge … Eliana was saying how she was going to be the fastest and it rubbed Holly the wrong way. She asked Eliana if she was planning on cheating again.”

  Cheating.

  Again.

  Before Missy could follow-up, Richie turned and power-walked away. Missy knew she had pushed him a little too much for information, but she had a more-complete picture now. Eliana knew these trails well enough that an accidental death was unlikely. Because of the route she’d taken, Eliana had criss-crossed different trails, so many people would have had an opportunity to run into her last night. And yes, many people didn’t like her, but a few of those people had real grudges against her, it sounded.

  This was looking less and less like an accident.