by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
From Pampered to Death Chapter One How my best girlfriend, Paula, convinced me to take a yoga class was beyond me. When she’d told me about this spa, Pampered to Death, I’d envisioned something quite different. A massage, of course … a glass of champagne … a girlfriend’s brunch. And at the top of the list RELAXATION. Instead, I now found myself attempting to perform a yoga pose I couldn’t have done even pre-baby, while a stick-thin woman with the height of an Amazon, stood at the head of the class telling us to take the stretch just a bit deeper. Was this supposed to feel like torture? “Feel the burn,” the woman shouted excitedly. Oh, I guess so. “Breathe into the pose and feel yourself getting stronger,” she said. “Go deep within.” If I went any deeper, I wouldn’t be able to recover. How embarrassing if I were suddenly to cramp up and crumple to the floor. I imagined an ambulance pulling up to the spa and carting me off because I pulled a hamstring. No. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I stayed in my comfortable lazy stretch to avoid injury and humili‐ ation. I glanced over at Paula, who was right beside me, looking like she was some sort of Olympian. Not going to lie. I thought I might actually strangle her by the end of the day if I didn’t get some real down time. Paula turned in my direction, and seemed completely at ease in the bizarre one-legged king pigeon pose. “Isn’t this great?” Paula asked, a huge smile on her face. “Press...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? Did you miss part one of Chapter Three? From Pampered to Death Chapter Three Continued… Brittany, now examining her face in a mirror, screamed, “I look like a tomato!” She stormed over to the masseuse and yelled in her face, “You killed Kelly and almost burned my face off!” “The … the paramedics are on the way,” the masseuse stuttered, looking ready to cry. “What? Paramedics? What’s going on?” Jane asked. The masseuse ran over to Jane, eyes full of tears. “Ms. North, I don’t know what happened, but I called the police …” “Police? Why did you call the police? What happened?” Jane asked, looking even more frustrated now. She glanced in Brittany’s direc‐ tion. “My goodness! What happened to her?” Brittany’s face was swollen, and there were patches of skin that looked raw. “Forget about me!” Brittany snarled. “Your masseuse killed the bride-to-be! She killed Kelly!” “What?” “I don’t know what happened!” the young woman cried. “I mixed the face mask the same as I always do!” “It wasn’t the mask,” Paula said stepping out into the hallway. “At least I don’t think so.” She glanced at me. “What do you think, Kate?” Before I could reply, Jane attempted to rush into the room, but the masseuse blocked her. “The police said to keep everyone out of the room … who wasn’t, you know, medically necessary …” She burst into tears. Jane wrapped her arms around her. “Hannah, don’t worry. Every‐ thing is going to work out.” “Work out?” Brittany snapped. “For who? Not for my best...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? From Pampered to Death Chapter Three Paula and I entered the sauna, eager to put a little distance between ourselves and the tipsy bridal party. The women were all nice enough, but we had come to have a relaxing day, and they were getting a little rowdy for our taste. We left our swimsuits on, and I folded my towel and used it as a little extra seat cushion in the sauna. “Your tooshie is going to sweat, and you’re going to be sitting in a puddle,” Paula teased. “I know,” I said. “But these benches are hard and I don’t have a better idea.” Paula followed my lead and sat on her towel too. “So I’m curious, would you have become buddy-buddy with one of Jim’s exes?” Paula nodded toward the door of the sauna where just outside the bridesmaids were all still splashing around in the hot tub like it was a community pool. “No,” I said firmly. “Not that he dated any catches before me.” I winked slightly, and Paula laughed. “I mean, it’s none of my business, but I probably would have a hard time with that. And those two seemed really close.” “Their bond over one man made them sisters,” Paula said and stuck her tongue out. “I mean, what do they even talk about to one another?” “It’s a little weird,” I admitted. “My guess is that Merida didn’t date the groom for that long. So, anyway, what do you think about the spa? Maybe Jane North will hire you as a designer....
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss part one of Chapter Two? From Pampered to Death Chapter Two Continued… Paula laughed and waved a hand in my direction. “Ignore her.” “Other than the evidently advanced yoga class we took, I really have enjoyed the spa. I’ll have to come back sometime and try out your facial and massage treatments.” “Thank you. That means a lot to me,” Jane said. “This spa has been a labor of love, but it seems to be paying off. We’re working on expanding.” “We saw that when we first got here,” Paula said, referring to the construction we’d noticed toward the back of the lobby. “Are you expanding into the building next door?” “Yeah,” Jane said. “Currently it’s a nail salon. When we book mani‐ cures and pedicures, we leverage their staff and space. So we did the most logical thing we could think of–merge.” “Awesome! A one-stop shop for pampering,” Paula said. “That’s the goal,” Jane said. “So what is it that you ladies do? I heard you talking about … Speederman, was it?” “That would be my oldest,” Paula said with a laugh. “He’s going through a superhero phase right now. But I’m an interior designer by trade.” Paula flashed me a look, both of us thinking the same thing—if she could land the spa as a client, we’d have a lot of complimentary hot tubbing in our future. “Impressive,” Jane said. “And Kate is a private investigator,” Paula said, throwing an arm around my neck and pointing at me with her free hand. “And she’s great! She’s fairly new to...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? From Pampered to Death Chapter Two At last dressed in our swimwear, Paula and I dipped out of the increasingly loud locker room. Once out of sight of the younger women, Paula made a motion–accompanied by a loud, fake gulp–like she was chugging a bottle. “Yeah,” I said in agreement; we could still hear the women laughing from the locker room as we arrived back in the lobby. “We picked the wrong spa for peace and quiet.” The woman at the counter smiled at us both as we entered. “Hot tub is open, ladies, go on in.” Best thing I had heard all day! We entered the large room that hosted two separate hot tubs. The room was pretty drab as far as décor went, and that made Paula cringe slightly, as an interior decorator. The walls were an overly bright orange color, and the only décor was a few fake plants in the corner. Either way, the hot tub looked relaxing enough for me. Paula and I ditched our towels on a lounge chair and slid into the hot, steamy water. “Oh yeah,” I said. “That’s the good stuff. Perfect for my sore muscles.” “Oh, shut up,” Paula teased, splashed me slightly. “The yoga class wasn’t that bad. Besides, it’s good for you.” “I’ll have nightmares tonight about it,” I said. Paula laughed, and I sunk deeper into the water letting the hot water relax my shoulders. We were silent for a moment and within the short quiet time, guilt crept back into my shoulders, tensing them up again. “Ugh,” I sighed. “What...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss part one of Chapter One? From Pampered to Death Chapter One Continued… “Remember to drink lots of water,” the instructor called out. “Clean out those toxins.” “I’d like to drink something else,” I joked to Paula as we slipped out of the yoga studio and headed down the hallway. I was delighted to return my rented yoga mat to the woman working the counter. The woman smiled brightly at us. “I hope you ladies enjoyed Ms. Yantsie’s lesson?” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I’d hated it, so I did the next best thing and let Paula answer her. Paula returned the woman’s smile and said, “It was a blast. I feel refreshed, exhilarated really.” I held back a snort. “We’d like to check out the hot tub and sauna. Could you point us in the right direction?” I asked. The woman pointed her finger to the other side of the lobby. “Right through those double doors, but you ladies will have to wait a few minutes. The floors were just cleaned, and until our janitorial staff gives the thumbs up, I’ll have to ask you to wait in the lobby.” Just my luck. I feared my sore muscles would seize up if I took another step. Paula must have been alarmed by my expression because she grabbed my arm and ushered me toward a bench. “We can hang,” she said over her shoulder to the woman. I collapsed onto the leather sofa in the lobby. “I think I hate you,” I said to Paula, and she laughed at me. “You’re telling me...
