Murders & Romance: A Psychic Detective Romantic Mystery (Isaac Taylor Mysteries Book 5) by Lashell Collins (ready player one ebook .TXT) 📗

“I’m writing you a citation.”

She scribbled something down on her citation booklet and tore out Sidney’s copy, handing it to her.

“Please pay better attention in the future.”

“Yes. I will.”

The officer handed over Sidney’s gun and dipped her head in greeting. Then she hustled back to her cruiser and drove off.

Sidney looked around wondering what the hell that was all about. Then she got back into her car just as the second police cruiser pulled away. She returned her gun, license and permit to her purse, and stuffed the citation down in there with them. Then she secured her seatbelt and headed to work.

She arrived late, but only by a few minutes. Still completely puzzled by the whole ordeal, she went straight to the office and flopped down in her desk chair.

It wasn’t even nine o’clock in the morning, but it had already been a long hard day.

“This does not bode well, Sid,” she mumbled to herself.

“Talking to yourself again?”

Zoe smiled at her when she breezed into the office.

“Give me a break, I’ve had a rough morning.”

“Cry me a river. Remember that summer flu bug we were talking about a few days ago?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, Tyneesha has it. I’ve been sanitizing the place from top to bottom all morning, praying that it doesn’t spread throughout the house. Tyneesha promises to stay in her room so that she doesn’t spread it around. I had to call Lance Tobey to come check on her and give her something. I just wanted to give you a heads up, in case you run into him. He’s not here yet, but he is expected sometime before noon.”

“Great. That’s in keeping with the theme of my morning.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Don’t sweat it.”

She turned to the papers on her desk.

“The good news is that Ike and I set a wedding date yesterday.”

The sing song quality to her own voice made her smile.

“Did you!”

“We did. August 29th. Save the date.”

“Of this year?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, that’s soon!”

“Yes, it is.”

“Why the rush?”

“We’re two adults in our mid-thirties. Why wait?”

“Well, I don’t know. I mean, is there some reason not to wait?”

She gave Sidney a funny probing look, and Sidney laughed.

“I know what you’re insinuating, Zoe, and the answer is no. I’m not pregnant.” She sighed and beat a pencil eraser against her desk. “I wish I was.”

“Oh?”

Sidney looked her in the eyes, and something inside her said it was time. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

“I had a miscarriage, Zoe.” Her voice was soft and halting to her own ears, but she’d said it. Out loud. “A week ago. That’s why I missed those two days.”

“Oh, God. Oh, Sidney, I’m so sorry. And here I am being flippant.”

“No, it’s okay. You didn’t know.”

“Are you okay? Should you even be back at work?”

“I’m fine. I am. The doctor just wanted me to take it easy for 24 hours, so I did him one better and made it 48. I’m good.”

Zoe stared at her for a moment.

“I’m really sorry. I know what you’re going through. I had a miscarriage. Well, actually I had two miscarriages before our blessings were born.”

“You did?”

Zoe nodded. “It’s not an easy thing to get over. Especially when you’ve been trying to get pregnant for so long. We finally did in-vitro.”

“Oh? You were having difficulties getting pregnant?”

“My husband and I tried for three years. When the only two pregnancies we managed on our own resulted in miscarriages, we sought professional help. IVF brought us our twins. Megan and Maurice.”

She pointed to the picture behind her desk. Sidney had seen the picture of two smiling teenagers a million times, and she knew Zoe’s kids were older now.

“I don’t think I knew Megan and Maurice were twins.”

“Yep. We got one of each with one IVF treatment, so we stopped.”

Sidney smiled at her.

“Were you and Ike trying to get pregnant?”

Sidney shook her head.

“No, it was a total surprise. We were both slightly terrified at first, but we were warming to the idea when…” Her voice trailed off and she paused. “Anyway, we both realize now how much we’d like to have a child together.”

Zoe smiled at her. “I suppose if there is one good thing about miscarriage, it’s that. It helps you realize how badly you want to be a parent.”

Sidney nodded as Zoe’s words sunk in.

“Well, I’m going to go check on Tyneesha again. Try to get her to eat something.” Zoe stood and headed for the door again.

“Hey, Zoe?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled at her. “If you ever need to talk about it, you know where to find me.”

“I do. Thanks.”

Zoe left the office, and Sidney let out a long, sad sigh. That was the first time she’d talked about the miscarriage with anyone other than Isaac, and it felt cathartic somehow. Like she was finally ready to let go and move on.

She wiped a few wayward tears from her cheeks, and then she got to work.

The morning passed into afternoon without incident. At about half-past twelve, Sidney was in the kitchen when she heard Dr. Lance Tobey’s voice in the hallway talking to one of the residents.

She headed for the office and made eye contact with Zoe as she passed her in the hall.

“Lance! Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Zoe called out and rushed toward him.

“Sorry, I’m late. I got caught up in traffic.”

“That’s no problem, but I’m glad you’re here. Tyneesha is upstairs and feeling very poorly. Let me show you to her room.”

Sidney glanced back and spotted him watching her as Zoe took his arm and herded him toward the staircase. She appreciated her boss’ efforts in keeping him out of her orbit.

She closed the office door and made a point of staying put at her desk in order to minimize her chances of running into him. She busied herself with staff scheduling, and printing out new worksheets to help Beth’s daughter.

About an hour later, Zoe came into the office with a tired expression.

“He’s gone.”

“Was he able to help Tyneesha?”

“He says it’s definitely the flu. He left her