Emory sipped from a bottle of water as he tried to keep his head from spinning. “Please tell me it’s not much further.”
From the driver seat, Jeff looked at his dashboard navigation system. “Quarter of a mile. Are you okay?”
Trying not to notice the trees buzzing by in his periphery, Emory tightened his grip on the grab handle above the passenger window. “A little dizzy and nauseous.”
“I didn’t know you got carsick.”
“I don’t. Normally.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault this place is at the end of a winding road.”
Emory retorted, “You don’t have to take each curve to the point of maximum centrifuge.”
“Are you kidding? If anything, I’m going too slow. There are at least two cars that have been behind me the whole way, so I can’t be going too fast.” Jeff nodded toward the right. “Nice view of the mountains. Concentrate on that.”
“The peaks are blurring together.”
Jeff pointed ahead. “There it is.”
Emory sighed. “Oh thank god.” Expecting to see a small hut of a building, he was surprised to find the Mountain Light Holistic Center was a complex with no less than a dozen erections of varying sizes. Gently penetrating the mini forest that surrounded it, the woody exterior of the structures blended into the environment as if carved from standing trees. “It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be.”
Jeff pulled into a parking slot. “I heard it was big.”
The two men jumped out and headed toward the nearest building before Emory stopped to listen. “What’s that humming?”
Jeff checked his phone. “It’s not me.”
“It’s not a phone. It sounds like it’s coming from…” Emory looked up in time to see something fly over the tree line, out of sight. “What was that?”
Jeff glanced up a second after Emory. “I don’t see anything.”
“It’s gone now.”
“Let’s go then. I found a new restaurant I want to try for lunch after this.”
Emory followed him, but he checked the sky once more before they reached the large front door.
Once inside, they approached the counter, where they met a perky young woman whose demeanor revved up a couple of notches when she saw the handsome men. “Hello there. What can I do for you?”
Emory greeted her first. “Hi. We’re here to see Randy Graham.”
She glanced across the room at a tall, long-haired man wearing bright blue bike shorts and a T-shirt that revealed his hairless, vascular arms and legs. He was immersed in a conversation with a fit middle-aged woman in a yoga outfit. “He’s with a client right now. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Emory suggested, “Maybe we could speak to the owner while we wait.”
“That would be Randy,” the woman replied.
Jeff rested his forearms on the counter, brandishing a seductive smile while his sparkling green eyes glanced at her name badge. “Doreen, do you know Corey Melton?”
“Uh, sounds familiar, but I can’t picture him.”
“He suggested this place to us. Said it’s done him wonders. Could you look up what classes he takes here?”
“Let me see.” Doreen checked her computer. “Looks like he doesn’t participate in any of our classes. He does have a standing appointment for holistic counseling with Randy.” Her demeanor dampened, as if disappointed.
Jeff asked, “For acrophobia, right?”
“That’s not on here. Are you guys here for… couples counseling.”
Emory assured her, “Not at all.”
“Oh good!” Doreen perked up again and turned her attention back to Jeff. “Let me guess. You’re obviously an athlete. Maybe you’re having trouble focusing.” She gasped and threw a hand up to cover her gaping mouth. “Do you play for the Titans?” When Jeff grinned, she couldn’t contain her excitement. “What’s your name?”
“Let’s just say Jeff Woodard.”
“I understand. You don’t want to use your real name.” She pointed at Emory. “Are you a player too?”
Jeff laughed and answered for him. “He’s the coach’s assistant’s assistant. He’s here for moral support.”
“Well, Jeff, let me set up an appointment for you.” Doreen looked up the schedule on the computer. “Randy’s booked today. The earliest I have is Friday. Would that work?”
“Actually, no. I’m going to just speak to him to see if he can squeeze me in.”
“But he’s busy.”
Jeff left the counter with Emory at his side. “He’ll make time for me.” Doreen didn’t pursue them.
“Coach’s assistant’s assistant?” Emory whispered as they walked away.
“Payback for calling me a trainee yesterday.”
Emory and Jeff approached Randy and the woman and waited a few seconds for the gabbing couple to finish. Randy gave them a side-glance. “Hi guys. Marla, I’ll see you later.” He stroked the woman’s arm as she walked away.
Emory shook his hand. “Mr. Graham.”
“Randy.”
“I’m Emory Rome, and this is my partner, Jeff Woodard.”
“Cool. I’m always happy to get couples here.” Randy shook hands with Jeff and began walking. “Let me show you around. At Mountain Light Holistic Center, we have an extensive menu of offerings to meet your holistic needs.” He nodded to different doors and areas of the complex as they passed. “We offer all the essentials you’d expect – yoga, acupuncture, indoor and outdoor meditation, tai-chi, reiki, reflexology, eight types of massage. We adhere to a naturist code.”
“You’re nudists?” Jeff asked.
“No, a naturist code. It’s our version of Occam’s razor: Given a choice, the natural solution is probably the right solution.”
Jeff smirked at him. “So your legs are naturally hairless?”
Randy’s face went from salesman to aggressor in an instant, but Emory spoke before anyone could hurl a retort or a punch. “Okay, let’s stop this. We’ve had nothing but miscommunications since we got here. Mr. Graham, we’re not interested in purchasing services. We’re investigating the death of Corey Melton.”
Randy relaxed his body. “Why didn’t you say so? Such a tragedy. He was a good man, and I thought he was happy. He was working through some issues but still basically happy.”
Now that he had corrected the conversation’s course, Emory gave it a little wind for some forward momentum. “We understand he was getting counseling here.”
“Holistic counseling.” As soon as he clarified, Randy looked like he regretted it.
“What’s holistic counseling?”
“When people have issues they want to address or overcome, I counsel them using a program of healing modalities tailored to their specific needs. I help them center themselves by connecting with the world around them to find their place in it and then use visualization and meditation to overcome their psychic obstacles.”
Jeff asked Emory’s next question. “You’re a therapist?”
“You sound surprised. You should try me.” Randy handed Jeff a card. “Good for a free session.”
Jeff refused the card. “Thanks, but I don’t have any issues.”
“Everyone has issues.” Randy returned the card to his pocket.
Emory course-corrected again. “We’re aware of the acrophobia. Did Corey have other issues?”
“I’m sure you know I can’t discuss that. Patient confidentiality.”
Jeff pointed out the obvious. “He’s dead now.”
“That doesn’t change anything.”
“We’re working for his widow,” Jeff told him. “She has a right to know why he died.”
“She hired you?”
“Yes,” Jeff responded. “So any information you could give to help us would be ethically excusable.”
Randy crossed his arms. “I’m sorry.”
Emory rephrased Jeff’s question. “Can you tell us, hypothetically, if someone had a phobia, what would be your suggested therapy?”
“Nice try, but I’ll take no culpability in his suicide.”
Jeff offered him a workaround. “We don’t know that it was a suicide.”
“Then I’m certainly not responsible.”
Emory asked, “Out of curiosity, where were you Monday morning around eight-thirty?”
“I was with a client. A private session.”
“Would this client vouch for you?”
“She would, if need be.”
Jeff told him, “Well, need be. What’s her name?”
“As I said before, patient information is confidential. Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure, but this is where our conversation ends.” Randy spotted an employee walking down the hall, and he waved her over. “Tamara will continue your tour.” He pulled a couple of cards from his pocket and handed one to each. “Have a complimentary yoga class on me.”
Emory and Jeff took the cards and continued the tour with the young lady as their guide. Twenty minutes later, the tour ended, and the PIs headed for the exit. Once outside Jeff was the first to speak. “What do you think?”
Emory waited for a delivery truck to drive by before following Jeff onto the parking lot. “He’s definitely hiding something.”
“I agree.”
Jeff slid into the driver seat of his car. “I’m going to ask Virginia to probe her friend for more information about Corey’s connection with this place.”
Emory nodded from the passenger seat. “The path forward would be much clearer if we knew how he ended up flying through that window.”
Jeff pulled out of the parking lot. “You know who I’d like to talk to is Corey’s temporary replacement. What’s his name?”
Emory checked the notes on his phone. “Corey’s replacement is Frank Belcher.”
Jeff slapped his steering wheel as he closed in on the delivery truck ahead of them. “Seriously? This truck is driving twelve miles under the speed limit.” He swerved over the solid yellow line to see if it were safe to pass, but the curves in the road limited how far ahead he could see.
“There’s nothing you can do about it. Just be patient.”
Jeff’s hands tensed around the wheel as he again crossed the solid yellow line in an attempt to pass the truck. “Becky told Virginia that Frank used to be Corey’s boss.”
“How did they reverse roles?”
“I don’t know, but it couldn’t have made Frank happy.”
Emory noticed Jeff’s growing impatience. “Just wait for a passing lane.”
“There’s not going to be one for at least five miles.”
“What’s the hurry?”
“I hate getting stuck behind these things. I can’t stand not being able to see what’s ahead of me.” Jeff pointed to the truck’s left turn signal, which was blinking red even though there would be no turn for miles. “Besides, if I don’t get past it, that light’s going to give me a seizure.” He drove over the yellow line once more and gunned it.
“Crap!” Emory seized the grab handle and watched through squinted eyes.
Jeff passed the truck and returned to the proper lane without incident, but when he glanced at Emory, he burst out laughing. “What’s your problem, Granny?”
Emory relaxed and dropped his hands. “You’re a terrible driver.”
“Hey, I’ve never had an accident that was my fault.”
Emory cocked his head. “Do you hear that rattling?”
“My car’s been making noise since my accident last month – which, as you know, wasn’t my fault.”
“That noise is bad. You should get it checked out.”
Jeff brushed it off. “A little rattle never killed anyone… as long as it’s not coming from a snake.”
Emory rolled down his window and looked at the thousand-foot drop on the other side of the railing along the road. He held his ear to the outside. “I think something’s wrong with your tire.”
“I hear what you’re talking about now. That’s not the same sound I…” Jeff didn’t have time to finish his statement. Without warning, he lost control of the car.
He struggled to pull the wheel in the right direction while the car spun around at least three times. It skipped along the railing at the side of the road like a pebble over a pond.
Emory screamed, clinging for dear life to the grab handle before it broke off.
Jeff slammed the brakes, and after a few seconds, he was able to bring the car to a stop in the middle of the road. Panting, he looked at Emory. “Are you okay?”
Emory saw that the car was now perpendicular to the lanes so that they were facing the railing at the side of the road. He held up the grab handle, which had broken off. “Yeah… I’m okay.” He stuck his head out the window to see the front of the car. “Your wheel’s gone.”
Jeff faced Emory in silence for a couple of seconds. “Maybe you are cursed.” He let out a little laugh. “It’s probably not safe to be around you right now.”
“You’re blaming this on me?”
Jeff’s face turned to horror. “Get out of the car.”
“What?”
“Get out of the car!”
Emory turned to his right to see the truck they had passed was now on a collision course, heading right for his door.