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

Isaac’s response was immediate and held zero humor.

“Yes, I do. I know that you’re joking right now, and believe me, I know how laughable it is that a sane woman would go to these lengths over someone like me. But we’re not exactly talking about a sane woman. Natalie is evil and vindictive. Lieutenant Hayes and I even have reason to believe she’s a dirty cop. And that she’s deliberately put you in harm’s way before.”

“What?”

Icy fingers of dread zipped up Sidney’s spine.

This wasn’t funny anymore.

“What do you mean she’s put me in harm’s way before?”

“You remember after our first date when we took you into police protective custody after your car blew up, and the safe house we had you in was compromised?”

“That’s kind of hard to forget.”

“Yeah, well… we believe Natalie is the one who gave up the safe house location to Nacio Rivas-Solis. He sent his men there to try and kill you. But he never would’ve found you if he hadn’t gotten help from someone on the inside. We can’t prove it, but we believe that someone was Natalie Bains.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah. And just a few weeks ago, during the Lullaby Killer case, she stopped me in the hallway and made a thinly veiled threat against you.”

“What?”

Sidney heard the alarm in her own voice, and she stood and paced around her desk.

“What kind of threat, Isaac?”

“It was vague. She asked how you were liking your new job here at Hope House.”

Sidney stopped and looked at him.

“I don’t follow. Where’s the threat in that?”

“The threat is that her question came at a time when you had just gotten the job here. Like maybe two days after you started. Early enough that someone like her shouldn’t have known anything about where you worked.”

“So… you think she was watching me? Following me?”

Isaac nodded. “And I asked her what she was doing keeping tabs on you.”

“What did she say?”

“She tried to say I was paranoid, but we both knew I wasn’t buying her bullshit. I went straight to Hayes with my suspicions.”

“And?”

“And he suggested that I keep a record of it. Take it a step further and file a harassment report if I wanted to, but honestly there was nothing we could do. Officially, she hadn’t done anything we could prove.”

“So where does that leave us now? I mean, I’m assuming there’s nothing to really tie her to my slashed tires or that creepy package.”

“Well, I don’t have an official word on that yet. I know Detective Casey was having that box of nasties tested for fingerprints and fibers and anything else that might help. But I haven’t heard anything from him yet. I’ll check on that when I get back to the precinct.”

Sidney wrapped her arms around herself. Why was she shaking?

Isaac stood and stepped around her desk and took her into his arms.

“Hey. I don’t want you to worry too much about this, okay? I’m going to take care of it.”

Sidney looked up into his eyes. “How can you ask me not to worry? I just found out some bitch who’s obsessed with my fiancé is most likely the person who’s been harassing me. And she’s a cop! She could have me arrested on some bogus charges if she wanted to.”

“No, it’s not going to get that far. Give me your citations. Both of them. I’m going to take care of this as soon as I get back to the PD.”

“What are you going to do?” She pulled the other citation out of her purse and gave it to him.

“I’m going to handle it.”

He pulled her close again, and Sidney settled into him.

“I don’t like this, Ike.”

“I know. I don’t like it either. But at least we know now what’s really going on, and who’s really behind all of this.”

“But do we? I mean, you seem so sure.”

“I am. I can’t tell you how, but I know it’s her. I can feel it. Something about those citations just put it all into perspective for me.”

He kissed her lips and looked into her eyes.

“I’ve got to get going or I really am going to be late. But don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

“Okay.”

She walked him out to the front door.

“Thanks again for lunch. And for the flowers. They made my day.”

He kissed her again, this time lingering, and Sidney moaned as their tongues caressed.

“I’m glad you like them. I’ll see you at home, okay?”

“Okay. Stay safe.”

“Love you.”

“I love you back.”

She watched him leave the porch and get into his car, and after he’d driven away Sidney sighed. Somehow her predicament seemed worse. More sinister. And all she could do was trust that Isaac had it under control.

Isaac put Sidney’s citation copies into his pocket and slid behind the wheel of his car. Then he glanced at her in the doorway before he drove off and headed back to the PD.

He stewed about it the entire way back — all the stress, worry, and fear Sidney was going through. It pissed him off. And now to know that Natalie was behind it all.

Well, to suspect she was.

There was the off chance that Sidney was right, and he was simply jumping to conclusions. Yes, Natalie had made threats against Sidney in the past, but it could just as easily be that arrogant doctor Sid had jilted doing all these things, couldn’t it?

In fact, the more he thought about it, he realized that there could be an even worse scenario playing out here.

What if Sidney was being attacked on two different fronts?

Just like last time.

When he’d met her, Sidney was being stalked and terrorized by her abusive estranged husband. But she was also being hunted down by a ruthless drug lord who’d wanted her dead because she’d seen something she wasn’t supposed to.

What if Natalie was behind the two bogus citations, but someone else was behind the other, more nefarious acts of harassment?

He didn’t like that idea. Hell, he didn’t much like either