Free Can't Keep a Brunette Down by Diane Bator

moving his hands to grip the bench on either side of his legs. "You called everyone to cancel classes tonight, right?"
    She focused on a multilayered red poppy. The heat off his hand seemed to sear her thigh. "There are no classes tonight. It's Saturday."
    "Is the funeral Tuesday or Wednesday?"
    "Yoshida's workshop is Tuesday. The funeral is Wednesday. Back to normal Thursday." Spots swam before her eyes. What on earth was wrong with her? Mick had never made her so rattled before.
    "Good." He hesitated. "Are you okay? I mean, after Walter's death and all that."
    "I think so," she said. "I went to see Jade earlier."
    "You have been busy today." He smiled. "How's she doing?"
    "She doesn't seem very shaken up."
    Mick shrugged. "I guess we all grieve in our own ways."
    "True." She thought about the man in the yellow robe. Jade certainly had an interesting method of mourning the loss of her husband. "You didn't stop by to see her today, did you?"
    "Nope. After our run, I had breakfast with—" He clamped his mouth shut. "I should go. I'm sure you have a lot to do."
    "Yeah, I'm sure I do." Left out of the loop again. What was going on? "I've heard rumors about a couple of the instructors wanting to open their own schools and—"
    He flinched then draped his arm across her shoulders and rested his head against hers. "I hate rumors. They usually get people into trouble that was never there to begin with. If you need anything, just call me. Don't worry about the school until after the funeral."
    "What about Yoshida's workshop?"
    Mick rubbed his eyes. "Except for that. Can you…"
    "I'll make sure everyone knows about the workshop, the funeral, and when classes will resume," she said. "I'll even make sure everything is clean and ready. You need to replace the mats first though."
    "Consider it taken care of." He gave her shoulders a squeeze then kissed her cheek. His lips lingered near her ear long enough that her entire body tingled. "What would I do without your nagging, Sherlock?"
    Once he left, she forgot about gardening and splashed her face and armpits with cold water from the hose. When a surge of nervous energy tore through her, she returned to the yard. He never did answer her question about the black belts wanting to open new schools.
    Later that afternoon, she wandered to the karate school to check for messages and send e-mails. She could have called to check the phone messages but was too restless and wanted to make sure nothing else had happened.
    The lights inside were on, but the door was locked. Mick must have come in again and forgot to turn the lights off when he left. She prayed there were no more bodies. This time she would probably scream, run for home, and never look back.
    Razi was inside the dojo scrubbing new tatami mats with his back to her. The water bucket stood on the laminate floor of the lobby. Sweat soaked his short, black hair and army-green shirt. Rumor around the school was he'd been an Israeli soldier trained in Krav Maga and had done things that would have given Gilda nightmares.
    She wished she'd told Marion where she was going. If the school reopened in two days, and they found her dead inside, it would take a lot more than cleaners to get the stench out. She set her handbag down and scribbled a note to grab air fresheners and disinfectant spray later.
    "Miss Wright. What are you doing here?" Razi asked.
    She jumped, shrieked, and dropped her keys to the laminate floor with a clatter, then struggled for a calming breath. "I work here. What are you doing here?"
    He leaned the mop against the wall. "Sensei Mick asked me to replace the mats. They all needed to be disinfected. The police took far more mats than I thought they would."
    Gilda swallowed hard. "How do you know the police took them?"
    "Biohazardous materials." Razi studied her. Then his mouth twisted and one eyebrow cocked. "Was this a test?"
    "I guess so. Sorry."
    A genuine, honest-to-goodness smile she'd never seen before curved