Read Online Murder on the Eightfold Path by Diana Killian - Free Book Online
Authors: Diana Killian
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a few seconds and then rolled carefully onto her left side, raising her right leg—
The pain halted her.
No way was this going to happen. She was liable to do more damage even trying. For a few seconds A.J. struggled with her frustration and fear. Had one misstep undone all the diligent work of the last months?
She refused to give up.
She sat up, moved onto her hands and knees, and keeping her spine lengthened, she stared straight ahead, breathing normally. Or as normally as she could, given her state of tension.
So far, so good.
She started the arch of Marjariasana or Cat Pose—and again she had to stop at the blaze of fierce pain.
A.J. sat down, forcing herself to breathe evenly, to resist giving into her anguish.
Her body would not cooperate.
No. Wrong. Her body could not cooperate. This was not a matter of willpower or discipline. She could not force her injured nerves and muscles to respond the way she wished; to try to do so would merely cause more damage. Surely the lessons of the past year had as much to do with retraining her way of thinking as moving?
She drew a couple of long, calming breaths. When she had her emotions under control once more, she rose—carefully—refolded the quilt, and went to take a warm, muscle-relaxing shower.
When A.J. at last made her way to the kitchen, she found her mother whisking eggs for mushroom and cheese omelets while she watched a local TV station replay of herself on the police station steps.
“I don’t suppose the tiger-stripe jeans matter, do you?” Elysia inquired, critically studying her miniature image.
“Better than prison stripes.”
“Ha.”
Suze MacDougal dropped by around lunchtime, full of grievances over Lily’s high-handed behavior. Suze was one of the junior instructors at Sacred Balance. A short girl with spiky yellow hair and huge blue eyes, she bore an unfortunate resemblance to Dopey the dwarf, and perhaps she was a little ditzy, but she had a good heart and was a loyal friend and employee.
“Couldn’t you just come in for a few hours? Even if you hung out in your office all day?”
A.J.’s spine gave a little twinge just considering the idea.
“I don’t think I’m going to be a lot of use at this point. I’m going to have to take it easy for a while. Standing is hard, sitting is worse, and walking hurts like heck, to be honest. I’m supposed to lie flat until it stops hurting.”
“For how long?”
As long as it took. Despite her disappointment over the morning’s failed workout, A.J. was determined to focus on the fact that her back was definitely better. She was going to have to be patient—something that did not come naturally to her—and she was going to have to have faith. But she did not believe, refused to believe, that all the months of practice and discipline could be so quickly undone by the wrong move. This was a temporary setback, that was all.
She said staunchly, “It won’t be too long.”
“There’s something going on, A.J. Lily’s up to something.”
“Like what?”
“Like suits in the studio.”
“Suits?”
“Suits. Suits ,” Suze emphasized. “Executive types in suits being shown around the studio, kind of like investors getting the grand tour.”
“We don’t have investors. Sacred Balance is a privately held corporation.”
“Exactly. And there’s more.”
A.J. rubbed her forehead. No question: so far the day was off to a not-so-great start. “Maybe they’re potential clients, Suze. Maybe they were reporters.”
“Mara Allen from Yoga Meridian called asking for Lily.”
A.J. straightened, wincing. Yoga Meridian, located in the nearby town of Blairstown, was their biggest competitor; they had already lost two important clients to the new studio with its spa and salon facilities. “Called Lily about what?”
“No one knows. But she called twice .”
A.J. felt an odd prickling at the back of her neck. “Even so, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
“Okay, but why
The pain halted her.
No way was this going to happen. She was liable to do more damage even trying. For a few seconds A.J. struggled with her frustration and fear. Had one misstep undone all the diligent work of the last months?
She refused to give up.
She sat up, moved onto her hands and knees, and keeping her spine lengthened, she stared straight ahead, breathing normally. Or as normally as she could, given her state of tension.
So far, so good.
She started the arch of Marjariasana or Cat Pose—and again she had to stop at the blaze of fierce pain.
A.J. sat down, forcing herself to breathe evenly, to resist giving into her anguish.
Her body would not cooperate.
No. Wrong. Her body could not cooperate. This was not a matter of willpower or discipline. She could not force her injured nerves and muscles to respond the way she wished; to try to do so would merely cause more damage. Surely the lessons of the past year had as much to do with retraining her way of thinking as moving?
She drew a couple of long, calming breaths. When she had her emotions under control once more, she rose—carefully—refolded the quilt, and went to take a warm, muscle-relaxing shower.
When A.J. at last made her way to the kitchen, she found her mother whisking eggs for mushroom and cheese omelets while she watched a local TV station replay of herself on the police station steps.
“I don’t suppose the tiger-stripe jeans matter, do you?” Elysia inquired, critically studying her miniature image.
“Better than prison stripes.”
“Ha.”
Suze MacDougal dropped by around lunchtime, full of grievances over Lily’s high-handed behavior. Suze was one of the junior instructors at Sacred Balance. A short girl with spiky yellow hair and huge blue eyes, she bore an unfortunate resemblance to Dopey the dwarf, and perhaps she was a little ditzy, but she had a good heart and was a loyal friend and employee.
“Couldn’t you just come in for a few hours? Even if you hung out in your office all day?”
A.J.’s spine gave a little twinge just considering the idea.
“I don’t think I’m going to be a lot of use at this point. I’m going to have to take it easy for a while. Standing is hard, sitting is worse, and walking hurts like heck, to be honest. I’m supposed to lie flat until it stops hurting.”
“For how long?”
As long as it took. Despite her disappointment over the morning’s failed workout, A.J. was determined to focus on the fact that her back was definitely better. She was going to have to be patient—something that did not come naturally to her—and she was going to have to have faith. But she did not believe, refused to believe, that all the months of practice and discipline could be so quickly undone by the wrong move. This was a temporary setback, that was all.
She said staunchly, “It won’t be too long.”
“There’s something going on, A.J. Lily’s up to something.”
“Like what?”
“Like suits in the studio.”
“Suits?”
“Suits. Suits ,” Suze emphasized. “Executive types in suits being shown around the studio, kind of like investors getting the grand tour.”
“We don’t have investors. Sacred Balance is a privately held corporation.”
“Exactly. And there’s more.”
A.J. rubbed her forehead. No question: so far the day was off to a not-so-great start. “Maybe they’re potential clients, Suze. Maybe they were reporters.”
“Mara Allen from Yoga Meridian called asking for Lily.”
A.J. straightened, wincing. Yoga Meridian, located in the nearby town of Blairstown, was their biggest competitor; they had already lost two important clients to the new studio with its spa and salon facilities. “Called Lily about what?”
“No one knows. But she called twice .”
A.J. felt an odd prickling at the back of her neck. “Even so, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
“Okay, but why
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