Lily seemed taken aback by A.J.’s calm response. After a stiff second, she said, “For example, this vacation you took last weekend. If you were well enough to be up and about, you should have been up and about here. Where we were short-staffed.”

Whatever A.J. had been expecting, it wasn’t this.

“Last weekend was hardly a vacation. My back wasn’t at the point where I could have conducted classes. You know that.”

“Aren’t you the one who told me your value to this organization went beyond teaching classes?”

A.J. felt herself redden. There was an element of unpleasant truth to Lily’s observation. Much of what Lily was saying was true. But it was only part of the truth and didn’t take into account the tireless and enthusiastic effort A.J. had put into Sacred Balance over the past year. She replied, trying not to sound as testy as she felt, “That’s true. I did choose to spend the weekend with my mother. This is a stressful time for her.”

“More stressful now, I’d say.” Before A.J. could respond to that, Lily said, “Why not be honest? You enjoy owning the studio, you don’t enjoy running it.”

A.J. managed to control her instinctive reaction, settling for a terse, “Not true.”

“Of course it is. You don’t have to work. Sacred Balance is just a hobby for you. You’re dabbling in managing the studio, and that’s not fair to the rest of us.”

“I don’t know where this is coming from because I’m at this studio working my tail off nearly every single day. I’m here more than any other staff member-and that includes you.”

“Maybe at first, but nowadays you’re more interested in playing amateur sleuth than teaching yoga.”

“You have zero idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’m not the only one to notice, A.J.”

“Really?” A.J. sat up very straight. “Well, if anyone else has concerns, they can address them to me directly.”

“You wouldn’t be so defensive if you didn’t recognize the truth of what I’m saying. Look, I know you care about the studio. I know you view it as some kind of spiritual trust left to you by Di, but if you really want what’s best for Sacred Balance, you’ll hear me out.”

Here it was. A.J. had known that Lily was angling toward a particular end. She braced herself for what was without a doubt going to be unpleasant.

“Go on.”

“Mara Allen of Yoga Meridian contacted me a few weeks ago. She and her investors are interested in making an offer for Sacred Balance.”

“Sacred Balance isn’t for sale.”

“That’s emotion talking, not reason. Mara is willing to pay a lot of money for Sacred Balance. Furthermore, she’s willing to let me continue as manager of the studio-I could keep on any instructor or staff member I chose. No one would have to lose their job.”

“No one has to lose their job now. Including me.”

Lily’s thin mouth twisted. “Yoga Meridian, and Mara, have a lot of money behind them. Her investors are willing to pay a more than fair price.”

“Lily, as you keep pointing out, I don’t need the money.”

“It’s not just about you, A.J. It’s about what’s right for the rest of us, too. What you don’t seem to understand is, if you’re going to be so blindly stubborn about this, we’re going to lose Sacred Balance completely. We can’t compete with Yoga Meridian. They’ve got everything we’ve got plus a day spa and hair salon. Every day we lose more customers to them.”

“That’s ridiculous. Yes, we’ve lost a few customers, but we’ve gained new customers, too. The turnover is normal. It balances out.”

“You can’t really believe that. You need to look past your own ego and face facts before we lose Sacred Balance completely.”

A.J. took a deep breath and then expelled it slowly.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inh-

“Okay. You’ve made your pitch and I’ve heard you out. I’m not selling Sacred Balance to Mara Allen or anyone else. This subject is now closed.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Lily flared. “The choice isn’t just yours. I’m willing to sell my share in Sacred Balance to Mara.” Lily’s black gaze met A.J.’s defiantly.

“You don’t have a share!” Despite her good intentions, A.J.’s voice rose. “You’re a co-manager, not a co-owner. You don’t own any part of this studio.”

“Try running it without me.”

“I would love to try running it without you!”

They glared at each other. Then Lily rose with a nasty little smile.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so hasty, A.J. I very much doubt that you’re going to want to hang around this little town managing a yoga studio now that your boyfriend has dumped you and your mother is about to be convicted of murder.”

For a moment A.J. was so angry she wasn’t sure she could get the words out without choking on them.

“If I were you, I’d get out of my office.”

Lily’s dark eyebrows rose haughtily, but get she did. A.J. slammed the door after her. The satisfying bang shook the pictures on the wall, and the framed photograph of Diantha fell over on its face.

“Well, what were you thinking?” A.J. inquired of the photo as she propped it back on the desk.

Aunt Diantha’s serene smile had never been more enigmatic. Feeling sheepish at her loss of temper, A.J. took a few moments to regain her calm.

After all, what was the big deal? Surely, she should be used to Lily by now.

She went to the window and stared out at the pine trees and meadow. Her anger slowly subsided to be replaced by sheepish humor. Oh, if only she could phone Jake to share that line about toilets being a symptom and not the disease!

She was grinning ruefully as her door opened and Suze peeked in. She whispered, “Are you okay? We could hear you all the way in the front lobby.”

“If she ever gets knocked off, I’m going to be the prime suspect.”

“Take a number.”

They both laughed uneasily.

“Is there anything I can do?” Suze asked.

“Keep her out of my way.”

Suze nodded although they both knew that was a polite fiction. Nobody was going to prevent Lily from going where she liked and saying whatever she chose to.

When A.J. cooled down she called Jake partly because she had remembered that she had never got around to mentioning Dicky’s possible gambling debts, and she was quite sure her mother had never shared that information, and partly because-painful though it was to admit-she missed him and wanted to hear his voice.

“Hey,” he said. He sounded preoccupied but not unhappy to hear from her.

“Every time we talk I forget to mention this, but Mother told me a while back that there’s a possibility that Dicky had gambling debts. He used to bet regularly on horses, and she said he spent a lot of time in Atlantic City.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. She didn’t know for certain that he ever had any problems meeting payments or anything like that, but…”

Jake waited for her to finish, and when she didn’t he said, “Okay. Unfortunately it’s not a whole lot to go on. Any idea where in Atlantic City he used to place his bets?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t know. She didn’t go on those trips. She tries to avoid casinos and that kind of environment.”

Aware of Elysia’s history, Jake said, “Right. Well, it’s another rock to turn over. Maybe something slimy is waiting there.”

“And Mother remembered something else.”

He didn’t quite sigh, but he sounded wary as he said, “Which would be what?”

“A few months ago, when Mother and Dicky started up again, she said he was getting abusive phone calls from an ex-lover. A woman named Dora Beauford.”

“Why didn’t she mention that sooner?”

“She doesn’t think there’s a connection because the woman hadn’t called Dicky for a while-at least, not that she knew. I don’t know that that’s necessarily true. Dora might have stopped calling because he blocked her phone calls. The fact that Mother wasn’t aware of her doesn’t necessarily mean Dora wasn’t still stalking him.”

“Dora Beauford you said?”