Before they began the first leg of the hike, Alan addressed everyone again. “Last night was difficult. Today is a new day, yet we don’t forget yesterday, but instead we move forward and breathe through our intentions today. You may dedicate this hike and what you learn today to Iwao and his life, or to yourself, or to someone else. Feel free to share, talk as you walk, or simply absorb the nature around you. Whatever you are guided to do is what you are supposed to do.”

Oh, brother. Was there no structure? No basis in reality here? It was like Gestalt therapy gone wild. Nikki liked Alan fine, and she knew this was what he believed in and preached. But come on, sometimes you had to do what needed to be done and not just go the way the wind blows.

They reached their destination and Nikki momentarily played head of the class by describing some of the native plants and possible wildlife they might come across. A glance at Alan told her to let everyone go off willy-nilly, except for the pairs he’d come up with. Nikki was paired with Ruben Pearlman, who did not come across as either a sociopath, psychopath, or really any type of killer. However, she reminded herself of something Aunt Cara would tell her, “Information can come from the most obscure places and people. And when it comes, you may not recognize the value in it until somewhere down the line.”

The hike through the park happened to be one of Nikki’s favorite pastimes. She wished she could’ve brought Ollie because he enjoyed it, too. The typically lazy dog would finally spring forth to life with all the scents surrounding the area. A lushness swept across the area and displayed itself in green, gold, and auburn foliage. The earthen scents that covered the park could be detected only in the wine country, reminding one of a simple, light, and fruity dessert. The redwoods gave off their own heady, earthy scent. Nikki couldn’t imagine ever leaving Napa Valley. This was her home now. She’d finally felt like she had roots after having none for so long. Aunt Cara had given her some stability in Los Angeles and she’d been the only parent Nikki remembered. She vaguely recalled her biological mother, who she knew was still alive in the hill country of Tennessee, but she shoved away any memories of that woman (and pretty much her entire family, sans her aunt) because they weren’t exactly people she wanted displayed in picture frames on her wall.

After about fifteen minutes of everyone doing as Alan suggested, which was taking in the beauty and meditating on it, silences broke with pairs of people as they began talking and asking each other questions. Nikki did find that fascinating about human nature-people were ever curious. She just happened to get a double dose of curiosity when she entered the world and had been that way since she could remember.

“Do you like living in New York?” Nikki asked.

Ruben Pearlman, whose breathing was somewhat labored, nodded. “Yes and no. I’ve lived there all of my life. I’m newly retired and would like to move somewhere less fast paced.”

“Like here?” Nikki asked.

“This would be wonderful, but probably as expensive as Manhattan or close, and Rose wouldn’t have it. I had to beg and plead with her to come on this trip with me. A tad too country for her. I’m sure she’s not exactly enjoying the hike, but it’s good for her, and I keep thinking that with time she’ll come to appreciate the lessons Alan teaches us.”

“Haven’t you been members for a while?”

“Yes, but Rose has only visited the places she’s really interested in, like Hawaii or Fiji. She likes the travel part of this deal, not necessarily the workshops. She wanted to go to Bali, where we were supposed to go on this event, but since they had to cancel the locale and have it here, she wanted to hang back home. I told her it would be wonderful and begged her to join me still. My wife doesn’t realize that we may not be able to travel as much as we used to, and we may have to move from Manhattan no matter what she wants. I hate to admit it, but I might also have to withdraw our membership in the group.” He looked down and kept walking.

“Do you mind if I ask you why?”

“Finances. Money is tight for us. I made a bad deal not that long ago that has hurt us, and our lifestyle will have to change.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

Ruben waved a hand. “It’s okay. It really is. If there is one thing that I have come to realize by being a part of this group, it is that it does not matter how many dollars are in your bank account, or if you have designer furniture or clothes, or drive a Mercedes, or whatever it is that you think floats your boat. None of it matters all that much if you’re not happy in here.” He pointed to his heart.

Nikki stopped for a moment and he halted along with her. “You get this, don’t you?” He did. Ruben Pearlman was for real, and for the first time since she’d heard all of Alan’s philosophies, she believed that Ruben Pearlman was enlightened.

“I hope I do. It took me a long time to understand that. My wife is still out there floating around in her Donna Karan outfits and spa treatments, none of which are wrong or bad, but they don’t make her happy. Nothing makes her happy. If she gained the happiness that I finally got, then all of the fringe would be icing on the cake.”

“You’re pretty cool,” Nikki said.

“Thanks.” His face turned red. Could that have been from embarrassment or from how hard he was working on the hike?

“What did you do before retirement?”

“I’ve been heavily involved in various media productions. I worked for years in the record industry, but with the transition it’s taken over the last few years, I had to branch out a bit. At my age that wasn’t easy. I dabbled in some movie production stuff and that’s when things turned sour for me. Not that long ago I kind of had to back out of that.”

“I understand that. I used to act.”

“Tough business,” he replied.

“Don’t I know it.” How was she going to get him to talk about the other members? His background was interesting and he’d been confirming her first impressions of him as being a stand-up guy. Now she wanted to know if he had any insight into any of the others. The best way was to ask. She glanced up ahead of her and saw that Simon was jabbering away with Marco. Okay, that was not what they were asked to do. She gritted her teeth. They knew plenty about one another and neither of them was a killer.

She needed to swing for the fences here. “What do you think about the other members in this group? You obviously are getting Alan’s message loud and clear, but how about everyone else?”

He laughed. “Everyone goes at their own pace, I suppose. I don’t know. My wife, who I love, obviously has a way to go.”

“What about Iwao Yamimoto? What do you think about what happened?”

Nikki noticed Ruben’s upper lip twitch at this question. She’d looked at him while asking because when trying to get information out of others, facial expressions could give a lot away, and his expression surprised her. He actually seemed nervous about the question. But couldn’t that be because she was speaking of the recently dead-the murdered dead? Could be.

He took a minute before answering and she got the impression that he was thinking about the best way to answer her question.

“I knew Iwao fairly well, and he was a decent man and a hard worker. But enlightened? My impression was that Iwao still had quite a trip to make.”

“Really?”

“Iwao was not in this thing for enlightenment. He was in this for money.”

Either Iwao revealed this to Ruben like he had with her, or else Ruben had his number. She couldn’t help wondering how well they knew each other and started to ask when Rose Pearlman huffed and puffed herself right up next to them.

“Ruben? Ruben? Can I talk with you? I need a rest. My feet are killing me. Why don’t we trade partners for a while?”