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

once he was behind the wheel they pulled out into traffic. Their drive to the restaurant was peppered with polite chit chat about nothing — the weather, their workday. Then he quietly cleared his throat and glanced at her.

“I want to apologize again for canceling the last time we were scheduled to do this. It’s just this big case we’ve been working on. It’s gotten crazy real fast, and I’m…”

“It’s okay, Emmett. Really. I know how important your work is.”

“Thanks for being understanding.”

When they were finally at the restaurant and seated at a secluded table in the corner Emily looked around with an assessing gaze.

“Well I don’t know what the food is like, but it smells wonderful in here.”

Emmett smiled at her. “I know, right?”

“Welcome. Can I get you something to drink?”

They looked up at their waiter and Emmett motioned to Emily.

“A glass of red wine, please.”

“You know what… why don’t you just bring us a bottle of merlot?” Emmett glanced at her for approval, and she smiled, which gave him a huge measure of relief.

“Very good.” The waiter nodded. “And are we ready to order, or would you like some time?”

“We don’t need time.” Emily spoke up, surprising him. And then she shocked him even more when her blue eyes met his. “What’s your favorite pie here?”

Emmett smiled. “Well, you can’t go wrong with the supreme. Sausage, pepperoni, and veggies. Simple, but out of this world.”

“Perfect.”

They ordered a large supreme, and once the waiter was gone Emily turned to him.

“So… you’re not from Cleveland, are you?”

Emmett shook his head.

“I’m not even from Ohio. I was born in upstate New York, raised in Boulder, Colorado. Studied biology at Yale. Turned down a spot at Harvard Medical School and joined the FBI instead.”

“Wow.” Emily sounded impressed.

“My father was not pleased.”

She seemed intrigued. “So, why’d you do it? Why the FBI?”

Emmett sighed and thought back on that time in his life. “I don’t know. It was just that… no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t see myself in a hospital setting. Practicing medicine. Holding people’s lives in my hands. My ego is not big enough for that job.”

Emily laughed out loud and he smiled at the sound of it.

“What? Why’s that funny to you?”

“It’s nothing. Just… don’t ever say that to my dad or my oldest brother, okay?”

An embarrassed groan escaped him.

“Let me guess. Doctors. Both of them.”

“Yep.”

He chuckled. “Thanks for the warning.”

The waiter set their glasses on the table and poured their wine. Then he left the bottle on the table. They thanked him in unison as he walked away.

“Yeah, my dad’s a doctor too. That’s why he was pissed when I walked off that path.”

Emily took a sip of her wine.

“Mmm. My dad got one of us to follow, so I guess he’s happy.”

“What kind of medicine are they in?”

Emmett studied her face, fascinated by the way her nose crinkled when she talked.

“Daddy’s in sports medicine. He works for the Cleveland Indians organization, although he keeps threatening to retire.”

“Really? That’s cool.”

She shrugged a shoulder. “If you’re into that sort of thing.”

He smiled at her disinterest.

“Not a baseball fan?”

“Sports aren’t really my thing. My brothers are mad for all things sports related though. Indians, Cavs. Even the Browns. They love them all.”

“And how many brothers do you have exactly?”

“Three. Adam… he’s the doctor. An orthopedic surgeon. Married to the sweetest Suzy Homemaker you ever want to meet, and just had his first child. Then there’s Isaac, whom you know all about. And finally Oliver, the photographer.” She smiled at her rhyme. “And also my twin.”

“Twins! Really?”

“Yep. I’m older by eight whole minutes.”

Emmett laughed. “So are you two close? That’s probably a silly question, huh?”

Emily nodded her head from side to side as if weighing his question.

“Mmm. Somewhat. We were very close when we were little. And we do often do that twin thing where I’ll get a mysterious bout of achiness and chills, for example, and come to find out, he’s the one who has the flu. But our lives have taken different twists and turns though.”

“How so?”

“Well, Oli likes to live life on the fringe. His friends aren’t what I would call criminals exactly, but they’re not really people I’d care to hang out with either.”

“That’s too bad. But he was at Ike’s house though, wasn’t he? The night we met?”

“Yeah, he was there.”

“So he does come around sometimes?”

“He does. He and Ike recently had a breakthrough. A thawing of tensions, if you will.”

“Hmm. Bad blood between them?”

“Not exactly bad blood. It’s just that Isaac’s always been a little… well… self-contained. It’s because of the whole psychic thing, you know? The pain that comes when he touches others sometimes. It’s kept him sort of on guard for most of his life. Kept him from really getting close with anyone, family included. In fact, until meeting Sidney, Ike’s been like this tragic figure for as long as I can remember.”

Emily sounded as though she felt sad for what her brother had been through, and it was Emmett’s turn to be intrigued. Although he couldn’t help but feel like he was prying into Ike’s personal life.

“I can’t even imagine,” he said quietly.

“It’s only been recently that he’s become more comfortable in his own skin, you know what I mean?”

She looked up at him, and Emmett nodded.

“I think finding Sidney had a lot to do with it. Well, that and reconnecting with our grandpa, who has the same weird psychic abilities, if you can believe that.”

Their pizza arrived at their table, piping hot and smelling delicious, and their conversation was halted for a few moments as she served them each a large slice. Emmett took the time to reflect on the interesting things she’d shared about her family — and about Ike in particular. But he wanted to know more about her.

“Oh, my God. Mmm.” The exclamation was uttered around a mouthful of pizza. “You’re right. This pizza is incredible!”

He smiled at her.

“Didn’t I tell ya?”

After a bite of his own,