Rodney: Marshall’s Shadow – Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance by Kathi Barton (books for new readers TXT) 📕

“Poison. But that’s not enough. It was arsenic. Fed to me, it was. A little all the time until it was too much for me to bear with me poor body. Do you know the people that were around me then?” She said she didn’t have any idea. “‘Tis one of them. The people that would be able to come and go as they pleased.”

“Other than the landlord, who else would have—?” He turned to look at her, nearly scaring ten years off her life when he walked through her. “Don’t do that. Don’t move through me like that again. That was just weird. All right?”

“Yes. I do beg your forgiveness. But the landlord. Did ye know that he was wanting me wife? That’s it. It has to be him. Or his missus. Stranger woman than I’ve ever known, that one. She wanted us, my missus and me, to have a foursome. I’ve never heard of— Well, I’ve heard of it, but to be so open about it. I tell you right now, it made me tell them that we was going to call the police on them.” She asked him if he had. “Nay. I began to get ill soon after the threat. I’ve seen him too. Sneaking into my home when the children are abed. What do you suppose he’s up to?”

“They’ve moved to a safer home, did you know that? Also, Cort is in jail. I don’t know how long he’s going to be there, but with this information, we might be able to make it a good deal longer. What did he do in your home while you’ve been away?” He looked out the window and didn’t answer her for a minute or two. “Rebel is the mate to my brother-in-law. Rodney. She’s going to be working with him, and so is your wife, as Rebel’s nurse. I think they make a good couple.”

“Rebel is the best sister a man could have asked for. When I was ill, she rushed home to be with me. I passed before she could make it. I miss talking to her every day. She is a good doctor too.” Lach told him she thought she was nice as well. “He watches them sleep—all of them. I’m fearful for my daughter. He seems to spend the most time by her bed. Aaron, he protects his sister, as he should, but I think Cort has set tyrants upon him to get him out of the picture. He has been hiding a great deal from his mom and aunt, I believe. Especially when he’s come up against them when they’re out to get his sister.”

Things were falling into place, Lach realized. Cort was working things around so he could get to Angie. Standing up, she looked at Thomas and could see that the man was devastated by this. His face was hard, even in death. He worried about his family very much, and she could see what it was costing him not just to come to her but to know he could do no more than that to save them.

“I’ll return shortly. If you must fade, please try to come back. I’m going to get Harris to see if she might have questions for you too.” He nodded and did fade. For a younger dead man, he seemed to have a great deal of control. “I’m sorry this has happened to you, Thomas. I truly am. But I promise you, we’ll do all we can to get this sorted out.”

Getting Harris to come to the office was no problem. It was getting Rebel not to join them that caused the issue. In the end, she did tell the woman what was going on and that she would have to be quiet, as excitement and other emotions would drain the dead faster. She also told her she couldn’t, under any circumstances, tell him anything unless he asked about it.

“Why?” Lach said she didn’t know, but that was a hard and fast rule. “All right then. I’ll keep my mouth shut as much as I can. But please, if possible, I’d like to be able to see him, just once more, to tell him how much I miss him.”

“He can hear you, Rebel. You could tell him.” She nodded, but Lach could tell it was more than just telling him that. “We’ll see how much we drain him today. That doesn’t mean he won’t return, but this might be more than he can handle in one visit. Understand?”

“Aye. Thank ye.” Lach had noticed that the more stressed Rebel was, the more her lilt and accent came through. She loved this woman. And to know that she was indeed a part of the family now made it so much better.

Thomas was gone when she arrived in the room. But he came back, making his way to his sister almost as soon as the door was closed behind the three of them. Lach had to admit, she’d only seen this sort of sibling love with the Marshall boys. It was nice to see that there were humans who felt the same way the men did.

Rebel took notes while Harris asked questions. She would give her the answers that Thomas gave her, and it was a good deal more than she thought the man would have had. Some of it, the things he’d found out after his death, would not be things they could use in a court of law, not without evidence. However, Thomas was giving them enough that Harris thought she could have his body exhumed.

“There are three ways we can go with it. Just so you’re aware, I’d very much like to go with number one. Just outright kill the fucker.” Even Thomas had a burst of laughter with that comment. “The second one is, as I said, exhuming the body. That won’t be too difficult. The current administration is very