Meredith Potts Fourteen Book Cozy Mystery Set

by Meredith Potts

  “It’s a shame that there’s no on-staff masseuse at home, huh?” she joked.

  Chapter Four

  What Stephanie didn’t realize was that my boyfriend was pretty good with his hands. Daniel Jacobsen didn’t have a degree in massage therapy, but he did know how to give a good back rub. When he came over that night, that was exactly what he did.

  When he was done massaging my back, he turned me around and gave me a kiss. Even after all the time Daniel and I had been together, I still couldn’t get over how soft and kissable his lips were. Of course, it helped that he had such a handsome face. I loved feeling his muscular body as he held me close.

  “Thanks for the massage,” I said.

  “Are you feeling nice and relaxed?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  Daniel knew me so well that it was hard to get anything by him. Even though my boyfriend’s massage had made me relaxed, that stubborn layer of anxiety still hadn’t vanished. So even though I had given Daniel a smile, he clearly saw something in my facial expression that gave him concern.

  “What’s the matter? Did I press too hard on your back?” Daniel asked.

  I didn’t want to explore the depths of my anxiety right then and there. At the same time, since Daniel had been observant enough to notice that something was wrong with me in the first place just by looking at my facial expression, I knew I couldn’t change the subject on him.

  “No, it’s just…”

  I couldn’t seem to finish my sentence.

  That didn’t faze Daniel. He was able to guess what the end of the sentence was going to be anyway.

  “It’s about Zack Colton, isn’t it?” he asked.

  There was no hiding my feelings from him now. I nodded. “Don’t get me wrong. You gave me a great massage. Just like Stephanie took me out for a wonderful spa day. And my brother treated me to some delicious chocolates.”

  “So, what’s the problem?”

  “That even with all that, I’m still not back to normal. All these things that used to make me instantly happy now only make me kind of happy.”

  He gazed deep into my eyes. “Hope, you just went through something really traumatizing. How could you really expect things to go back to normal so quickly?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve never had a case give me these kinds of after-effects.”

  He countered. “You never had a near-death experience either.”

  “You’re right.” I took a deep breath. “I’ll get back to normal soon.”

  I had uttered that as much for my own benefit as for his. As if saying the words would somehow magically make them come true.

  “Come here,” Daniel said.

  He pulled me in close and gave me a big hug.

  “I’ve never seen you like this,” my boyfriend continued.

  “I’ve never felt like this.”

  “Is there anything I can do to make things better?”

  “You’re doing all you can,” I said.

  “Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be enough.”

  “Maybe it will just take time.”

  “Well, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  Daniel had the sweetest look in his eyes.

  I couldn’t help but smile after a response like that. “I know you will.”

  He had a suggestion for me. “Maybe you should take a break from sleuthing.”

  “You know why I got involved with that case. My friend was in trouble.”

  “You’re a great friend. Don’t get me wrong, I know why you investigated the case. I just worry about you when you’re out there confronting murder suspects.”

  My boyfriend had always been wary of me throwing myself into the fray. Until recently, I had managed to get through a number of cases completely unscathed. Apparently, my luck had finally run out. At the same time, I counted my blessings that no physical harm had been done to me. The mental stress was hard enough to deal with.

  “I understand your concern,” I replied.

  “So, like I said, maybe you should take a break from investigating cases.”

  He had a good point.

  I thought it over. “Maybe you’re right. In the meantime, just hold me.”

  “With pleasure,” he said.

  That night, I prayed for peace to be restored in my life. I had never wanted a prayer to come true more in my entire life. I hoped that the morning would bring me some answers.

  Chapter Five

  Unfortunately, when I woke up the next day, that layer of anxiety was still hanging around like a bad cold that I just couldn’t shake. With my funk having stretched into another day, I knew I had to take alternative action. All the usual stuff wasn’t working. And like the old saying said, it was insanity to do the same thing over and over and expect different results.

  Given that, I decided to try something new. So far, everything I had done to try to return a sense of calm to my life was external in nature. A spa day, a deep-tissue massage, and chocolates were great, but those were all physical fixes to the problem. Maybe the reason they didn’t work was because the turmoil I was feeling was all on the inside.

  Nothing was wrong with my body. It was my heart and my mind that were rattled. When it came to quieting those things, one activity sprung to mind—yoga. Back when I was living in Los Angeles, yoga was a staple in my life. Then again, those were high-anxiety days filled with constant traffic jams, an exorbitant cost of living, and the constant uncertainty that the bottom could fall out of my acting career at any moment. Yoga had been my escape from all of that.

  Ever since I had moved back to Florida, I hadn’t really gotten into the rhythm of going to yoga class. I had been busy running the animal shelter, going on dates with my boyfriend, spending time with my friends and family, and solving the occasional murder case, that I let attending yoga classes slip through the cracks.

  That morning, I realized it had been too long between classes. Aside from the workout benefits, yoga was inherently calming and meditative. Those were two things I was in short supply of recently. Hopefully, a few classes would get me back on track.

  As I drove down Breakview Boulevard towards the yoga studio, anticipation was building inside me. I had a good feeling about this class. It could be just what I needed. The drive over had been light on traffic, which allowed me to pull into the parking lot with plenty of time to spare. Normally, I hated arriving too early, but that morning, it seemed like a blessing.

  As the class didn’t start for another twenty minutes, it meant I might be able to sneak in a few minutes of meditation before the rest of the class arrived. I parked my blue sedan and headed into the studio, now flush with excitement.

  Unfortunately, my happy feelings immediately faded the moment I entered the front door of the yoga studio and saw something that made my jaw drop. As expected, since I had arrived so early, I was the first person from class to show up. That meant I was the only one to see the shocking sight in front of me.

  What was it?

  As I stood in the doorway to the studio, Luke Murphy, a brown-haired, hazel-eyed, lean-bodied, twenty-seven-year-old yoga instructor was slumped over in the lotus position, with a bloody gash on the back of his head.

  A bronze, twelve-inch yoga sculpture was on the mat a few feet away from him. Oh, no. Not again. Was this really happening? Had another murder really occurred?

  Whether I wanted to admit it or not, that appeared to be the case. Instinctively, I reached into my purse and grabbed the can of pepper spray that I carried with me in case of emergencies. This definitely fit that bill.

  A terrible thought then came to my mind. What if the perpetrator was still in the studio? My heart began racing as I looked around. Thankfully, the coast was clear.

  When I had made sure that no one else was in the studio, I rushed over to Luke and checked him for a pulse. Unfortunately, he didn’t have one. That meant one thing—that he was dead.

  Chapter Six

  I immediately called
my brother. He arrived on the scene about fifteen minutes after I got off of the phone with him. The coroner, his forensics team, and a number of deputies followed soon after. By that time, the rest of the yoga class was also arriving at the studio.

  The police deputies quickly cordoned off the area with yellow tape while my fellow yoga classmates stood on the sidewalk and craned their necks to sneak a peek into the studio. I could hear my classmates gasping and gossiping amongst each other while the deputies held them back. That gossiping only intensified as they saw various police officers coming and going from the studio. I knew the police deputies desperately wanted my classmates to disperse and head home, but there was a fat chance of that happening.

  Meanwhile, inside the studio, my brother’s investigation began. Joe walked over to the coroner, Todd Kelty, who was examining the deceased.

  Todd was a fifty-two-year-old oval-faced man with thinning hair, a growing waistline, and an insatiable yen for fast food.

  “What have you got for us, Todd?” Joe asked.

  “Deceased male, late twenties,” Todd replied.

  Joe continued. “Cause of death?”

  “Blunt force trauma to the back of the head,” Todd said.

  “Time of death?”

  “I would say no more than an hour ago,” Todd replied.

  That put the time of death at between eight and nine in the morning.

  Joe asked another question. “Is it safe to assume that the murder weapon was that yoga sculpture that Hope found on the mat in front of him?”

  “We’ll have to run some tests, of course, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the sculpture was used to kill the victim,” Todd replied.

  “What are the chances that some of the blood found on the sculpture is the killer’s and not Luke’s?”

  “Not good.”

  “Has your team been able to pull any fingerprints from the sculpture or any other part of the studio?”

  “We’re still checking on that, but I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Todd said.

  “Are there any security cameras in this place?”

  Todd shook his head. “None that I have seen.”

  Joe groaned. “Have you found anything else for me to work with?”

  I chimed in. “When I arrived, the back door was still open.”

  “Maybe you’ll be able to pull some prints from there,” Joe suggested.

  Todd scoffed. “Yeah. If we’re lucky.”

  “Are we ever?” Joe deadpanned.

  “There’s a first time for everything,” Todd replied.

  “Anything else, Todd?” Joe asked.

  The coroner shook his head. “No, but it’s still early. I’ll keep you updated.”

  “Please do,” Joe said. He then began speculating. “So, I guess we’re to assume that the killer came in and saw that Luke was deep in meditation. From there, the killer grabbed the sculpture, snuck up behind Luke, hit him in the back of the head, and left through the back door.”

  Todd nodded. “That’s our working theory.”

  Joe sighed. “That also means anyone could have done this.”

  Todd disagreed. “Maybe not.”

  Joe scrunched his nose. “How do you figure?”

  “I would rule out a burglary gone wrong. We found no evidence of tampering with the cash register, and nothing major seems to be missing from the studio,” Todd said.

  “If that’s true, it means the killer knew Luke and murdered him for some personal reason,” Joe said.

  “That’s a safe bet,” Todd replied.

  “Thanks, Todd. Let me know if you find anything else,” Joe said.

  “Will do,” Todd replied.

  The coroner then resumed examining the body while my brother pulled me aside.

  “I hate to do this to you right now, but I need to take a statement from you,” Joe said.

  “Right. Standard procedure,” I replied.

  “I know it’s not the best time for you, but I’ll try to make it quick,” Joe said.

  “Let’s just get this over with,” I replied.

  Chapter Seven

  “So, tell me what happened,” Joe said.

  “There’s not much to say that you don’t already know,” I replied. “This morning, the traffic on Breakview Boulevard happened to be a lot lighter than I had expected, so I ended up arriving a little early for class and was the first one here. When I approached the studio, the front door was unlocked, as it always is before a class. I then entered the studio, and I found Luke slumped over in the lotus position. After I caught my breath, I immediately called you. While I was waiting for you to arrive, I poked my head around the studio to see if I could turn up any evidence that might help in solving this case. That’s pretty much it.”

  “As you arrived at the studio, did you happen to notice any cars pulling out of the parking lot or spot anything unusual?” Joe asked.

  I shook my head. “I didn’t see anything helpful.”

  “Did you hear any voices or odd sounds as you entered?”

  “Not a thing.”

  My brother tried one more question. “When you were poking around the studio, did you find any evidence or something that might be helpful in solving this case?”

  I continued to shake my head. “No. Things looked exactly as you found them when you arrived. As far as I can tell, the only evidence in this case is the blood-stained sculpture itself, and the coroner just told us he hadn’t pulled any prints from it.”

  Joe groaned.

  “My feelings exactly,” I said.

  Now that Joe had my statement, he switched from detective mode to caring brother mode.

  “I’m sorry you were the one to find the body,” he said.

  I sighed as I thought about my lousy luck. “So am I. This was the worst way that this day could have started. The ironic thing is that I came here to calm myself down.”

  “That is some very unfortunate timing, but if it’s any consolation, I have all I need from you. If you want, I can have one of my deputies drive you home.”

  I turned him down. “No.”

  He was surprised. “Oh. Okay. Are you sure you’re in good enough shape to drive?”

  My brother completely misunderstood my answer. I wanted to clear up the confusion.

  “Joe, I’m not going home.”

  He had a feeling where I was going with my statement and stopped me before I got my full thought out.

  “Hope, this case isn’t your problem. Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”

  Joe couldn’t really believe that flimsy reply would be enough to keep my thoughts from racing, could he?

  “Too late. I’m already worrying about it,” I said.

  At that moment, I was no longer hung up on how I had almost died a few days ago. My mind was completely focused on the fact that Luke was dead. Even more, that he had been murdered. With his killer at large, I couldn’t help but speculate who could have done this. My nerves may still have been rattled, but my brain was focused squarely on this new case.

  I couldn’t help myself or stop it even if I wanted to. The fact was, the investigative part of my brain was already churning away. Once that process had begun, it was difficult to stop it. It was like a speeding locomotive barreling down the tracks—a force that strong couldn’t just stop on a dime.

  “Hope, I’m not saying this as a detective, I’m saying it as your brother—after all that you’ve just been through, do you really want to go down this road?” Joe asked.

  “No, I don’t. I just wanted to be able to do some yoga without finding a dead body. But, life had other plans for me today. As the situation has changed, so have my plans,” I replied.

  My brother bit the corner of his lip. “Are you really going to investigate this case?”

  I thought my brother’s question over in my mind, wanting to make sure I was truly ready for what was to come. My gut instinct told me that my sleuthing skills could be of great use in this case.

 
With that, my mind was officially made up. I gave my brother a nod. “By the looks of it, you can use all the help you can get.”

  At that moment, the last thing I needed was to get into an argument with my brother. Thankfully, he didn’t try to dissuade me.

  “I can’t argue with that. It’s your call. I just want to make sure that you are truly ready for the rigors of another murder investigation.”

  “Joe, you’re a good brother. Thank you for looking out for me.”

  “But you’re not changing your mind?”

  I shook my head. “No. I’m ready to do this.”

  Joe didn’t need any further convincing. “Okay. Let’s get to it, then.”

  Chapter Eight

  One of the first calls my brother had put in after arriving on the scene was to David Conway, the owner of the yoga studio. While the forensics team continued searching for evidence, David arrived at the studio looking completely distressed. As a police deputy brought him to see Joe and me, David’s head was on a swivel. There was a wide-eyed look of horror in his eyes as he saw the body bag on the ground.

  “I can’t believe it. He’s really dead?” David asked.

  David was a trim but balding forty-eight-year-old man with an angular face, blue eyes, and a mole on his left cheek.

  Joe nodded to David. “Unfortunately, he is.”

  If the eyes were truly the window to the soul, David’s soul had been crushed.

  “This is terrible,” he said.

  While David was reeling, my brother got down to business.

  “Mr. Conway, I have to ask you some questions,” Joe said.

  David looked puzzled. “About what?”

  “About the studio, but more importantly, about Luke.”

  David became guarded. “What do you want to know?”

  “Did you and Luke get along?” Joe asked.

  “Of course we did. We got along great.”

  David’s overly enthusiastic answer rang false to me. As a former actress, I had seen a lot of bad acting in my day, and that was particularly unconvincing.