Murders & Romance: A Psychic Detective Romantic Mystery (Isaac Taylor Mysteries Book 5) by Lashell Collins (motivational books to read txt) 📕

“Agreed.”

“Now, add to that the fact that, after his transition surgery, Danny Broderick has become a body builder and a personal trainer.”

“Which means he, more than likely, possesses the upper body strength needed to pull off the murders.”

Isaac pointed a finger at him as a thought occurred to him.

“And he’s young enough that he might just catch the eye of a certain boy-loving nurse.”

“So you’re thinking maybe Josephine Turner was Danny Broderick’s accomplice?”

“Stranger things have happened.”

Pete nodded. “I like it.”

“Me too. Now all we have to do is prove it.”

20

Sidney stared at the package of cheese tortellini on the kitchen counter. Isaac would be home any minute now, and she needed to get dinner started.

Only she couldn’t.

She couldn’t move. She was much too preoccupied with everything she had to tell him to focus on dinner.

What would he say?

How would he react?

Would he be angry?

How angry?

Angry enough to hit her?

“Of course not!”

She sucked in a deep breath. She hated herself for even thinking it.

“Isaac would never do that, Sid. Isaac is not Damien. He is nothing like him.”

He could never be like him.

Isaac was kind and loving and gentle. Protective. Strong.

Authoritative when he had to be.

Powerful when his abilities took center stage.

But cruel, mean-spirited, or sadistic? Isaac was none of those things. It wasn’t in his nature.

She jumped about a foot when she heard his keys jingling in the front door.

Meow.

She stepped out of the kitchen into the living room in time to see Alfred Hitchcock run to the door like a happy dog greeting its human.

“Hey, there, Mr. Hitchcock. How was your day?”

She smiled at his friendly tone, and the loving way he carried the cat into the living room scratching its head.

“Hey, darlin’.”

“Hi.”

He leaned in and kissed her lips, and Sidney forced a smile for him. But he wasn’t buying it. She never knew if it was his psychic skills, or if he simply knew her so well, but she could never hide anything from him. He read her way too easily.

“What’s the matter?”

“I… had an eventful day, that’s all.”

“Why? What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He caressed her face. “No, you’re not.”

“Okay, I’m not. But I don’t want to bombard you with everything as soon as you walk in the door. Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll get dinner started. We’ll talk over food.”

She turned to head back to the kitchen, but Isaac gently grabbed her arm, stopping her from retreating. He set the cat on the floor and then led Sidney over to the sectional sofa. When they sat down, he took both of her hands in his.

“Talk to me. What happened today?”

Sidney took a breath and tried to relax her shoulders. Why was she still so unsettled?

“Well, first I got a ticket this morning on the way to work.”

“A ticket for what?”

Irritation crept into his voice, and Sidney withered a little.

She hated upsetting him.

And she hated herself for reacting this way. She knew her response had zero to do with him, and everything to do with her past abusive relationship. She was conditioned to cower to her significant other, and she hated that.

“The officer said that I made an improper lane change.”

“And he wrote you a citation for that?”

“She. And yes, she did. But the upsetting part was that she pulled her gun and made me get out of the car. And she handcuffed me.”

Isaac took a deep breath, and Sidney could see the vein in his temple bulge. He was pissed.

“You told her about your gun?”

“As soon as she came to the window, just like you said.”

He nodded. “Was she gruff with you? Or unnecessarily an ass?”

“Well, she wasn’t polite. But no, she wasn’t an ass either.”

“That’s something at least. But I can’t believe she actually wrote you a citation for an improper lane change. We never did that unless the person was driving erratically. We’d always just let them off with a warning. Did she see the FOP emblem on the car?”

“She did, and she asked who it belonged to. When I told her who my fiancé was, she kind of blanched and then just gave me my gun back and walked away.”

“Yeah, that was her ‘oops’ moment. Improper lane change.”

He mumbled and fussed under his breath for a few more minutes, and Sidney steeled herself for the conversation to come. Once he stopped venting and looked at her, she licked her lips.

“There’s more?”

“Yes.”

“You seem rattled, Sidney. What the hell happened?”

“Well, something else did happen today, but…”

“But what?”

“But I think I need to back up a few days and tell you something else first.”

“Start wherever you need to, just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Okay so… you remember the night that Ann’s husband showed up drunk and I pulled my gun on him?”

“Yes.” He ran his thumb over the fading bruise on her cheek.

“Well, something else happened that night that I didn’t tell you about.”

Isaac’s eyebrows scrunched into a frown, giving him an almost fierce appearance.

“What happened?”

“Lance Tobey, remember him?”

“The doctor that volunteers at Hope House? He bandaged the cut above your eye that night.”

“Right, him. Well, even before that night I… I could tell that he was interested in me. He stares at me and always tries to engage me in conversation. Something about him gives me the creeps.”

“What did he do?”

Sidney bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

“He kissed me that night, after he bandaged my cut. It was totally unsolicited, and I put him in his place as firmly as I could.”

“Did he try to force himself on you?”

Isaac’s lips were a hard, thin line, the vein in his temple even more prominent.

“Just the kiss. I stood up and moved out of his reach. And then I blasted him, first because he knows I’m engaged, and then because he acted like an ass when I protested. I have not seen him since. Until today. Zoe called him about a sick resident, so he came this morning.”

“And?”

“And, I