Murders & Romance, page 24
She closed her eyes as the officer pulled her hands behind her back and secured the cuffs.
“Where’s the gun?”
“In my purse. The purse is on the passenger side floor.”
The officer walked around the car to the passenger side.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sidney spotted a second police car pull in behind the first one. She closed her eyes again. It was for the officer’s protection, she knew. Back up, in case Sidney was some big time cop killer or something.
Isaac had this same kind of back up everyday.
It was what she had to tell herself to stay calm.
The man she loved was a police officer, just like these officers. They wouldn’t hurt her as long as she stayed calm and did what they asked her to do.
She opened her eyes and watched the female officer secure the gun from her purse.
“Where’s the gun permit?”
There was no politeness in her tone of voice. Just business.
“It’s in that same purse. In the pocket behind my driver’s license.”
The officer searched her purse, pulling out her license and the gun registration. She returned the purse to the car and closed the door. Then she headed for her cruiser with a glance at Sidney.
“Hang tight.”
Sidney nodded and watched the woman’s every movement. She got back into her cruiser, no doubt running the registration for the gun, and most likely her license. As she waited, Sidney wondered what the hell had prompted this stop in the first place. What had she done that put her on this cop’s radar?
She had been awfully distracted with her wedding plans. Maybe she had run a red light and not known it? Had she been driving erratically?
After what seemed like forever, the officer got out of her cruiser and came toward her again.
“Turn around.”
Sidney turned around and breathed in deep when the handcuffs came off.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Fairchild.”
“Of course.”
“Who does the FOP emblem on the rear license plate belong to?”
She was referring to the small round disk that most officers attached to their rear license plates. It alerted other officers that the owner of the car in question was also either an active duty police officer or a retired one, or that the driver was the spouse or child of an officer.
“My fiancé. He’s Detective Sergeant Isaac Taylor at the 3rd precinct.”
The officer’s face blanched noticeably, and Sidney wondered what that was about.
“Your information.”
She handed Sidney back her license and CCW permit.
“Thank you.”
“Ms. Fairchild, I stopped you this morning because you made an improper lane change back there.”
“I did?”
“Yes, you did. Failure to signal.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.”
“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 some menthol to rub on her chest, and some cough drops. And he said to keep her drinking clear fluids.” Zoe flipped through the stack of mail in her hands as she spoke. “He thinks with lots of rest, she’ll be back on her feet in no time.”
“Good.”
“Oh, here’s a package for you.”
Sidney looked up from her computer screen.
“A package?”
“Yes. It was in the mailbox.”
Zoe handed her the small, nondescript, brown box addressed to ‘The Future Mrs. Ike Taylor.’
“That’s odd.”
“What’s that?”
“Look at the way it’s worded. The future Mrs. Ike Taylor? Who would send me something addressed that way?”
Zoe shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe your beloved?”
Sidney examined the box. There was no return address.
“I don’t think Ike would go to the trouble of mailing me something here.”
“Your future sister-in-law maybe? The one who brought the food by and ended up giving birth here. What’s her name again?”
“Bree Taylor.”
“Yes, her. Maybe she sent you something.”
Sidney shook her head. That didn’t make any sense to her either.
“Maybe.”
“Well, there could be a card inside. Or at least a clue of some sort. Open it.”
Sidney searched for the letter opener on her desk and used the very tip to puncture the tape on the box, slicing down the middle. Then she opened it up.
It took her mind a few endless seconds to comprehend what she was seeing.
A small stuffed puppy — mutilated with dirty, matted fur.
The eyes were ripped off.
The stuffing was coming out.
And crawling on top — the biggest, hairiest, brown spider.
Panic in her mind and fear in her gut battled like wild dogs.
Sidney screamed, leaping from her seat like a shot.
The box fell to the floor.
The spider crawled out.
Zoe screamed in solidarity. Then she went running to her desk for the heaviest book she could find.
Sidney couldn’t wait that long.
With a loud karate yell, she stomped on the big creepy crawly with her wedged-heeled bootie.
Zoe stared at her, hard-covered dictionary raised above her head.
Ann and Beth came running, stopping in the doorway to gape at them.
Panting, Sidney looked at Zoe.
“I’m afraid to look.”
“Raise your foot. If it’s not dead, the dictionary’s ready.”
Sidney nodded frantically. Then she took a breath and raised her foot.
“Oh, thank God!” Zoe breathed a loud sigh of relief. “You got him.”
“Ahh!”
Sidney took a step back and flopped down into her chair.
“What just happened?” Beth asked.
“Where did that huge thing come from?” Ann chimed in.
“Good question!” Zoe looked from Ann to Sidney. “What the fuck was that?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know? You brought the box in here! Was it in the mailbox?”
“Yes. I told you, I found it in the mail. Addressed to you.”
“No. It was addressed to the ‘Future Mrs. Ike Taylor.’”
“Well, that is you!”
“Yes, it’s me. But who the hell would send something like that in the mail?”
Zoe threw up a hand. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, my God.” A thought hit Sidney’s brain.
“What?”
She got up and maneuvered carefully around the squished spider. Then she picked up the box and studied the outside of it more carefully. Not only was there no return address. There was also no postage, no post office stamp. Nothing.
“I don’t think someone sent this through the mail at all. I think someone simply put it inside the mailbox.”
“Who would do that?”
Sidney grabbed a pencil from her desk. Then she bent down and used the end of the pencil to shove the stuffed animal back into the box. She took a deep breath and did the same with the fat, dead spider.
“Yeewl!”
The creeped out sound came with a shiver of her entire body. Then she closed up the box and looked up at Ann and Beth.
“Can one of you find me a plastic bag to put this in, please? Ziplock if we have it.”
“Sure.”
They both hurried from the doorway, and Sidney stood up.
“What are you doing, Sidney? Why not just throw it away?”
“Because it’s evidence. I’m bagging it up to give to Ike.”
“Evidence? Of what?”
“Harassment. This, on top of my tires being slashed. It might not be related, but… it could be.”
Zoe placed her hands on her hips.
“Oh, heavens. I never thought of that.”
“I’m not sure I would have either, but Ike and I just had a conversation about this yesterday. He said that I should keep a record of any strange things going on here.”
Zoe glanced at the door and then lowered her voice when she said, “Do you think it could be Ann’s husband?”
“The thought occurred to me. I think he’s still in jail though. And how would he know who I’m marrying?”
There was another thought that occurred to her as well.
Dr. Lance Tobey.
He was just there, after all. Who’s to say he couldn’t have dropped the package in the mailbox before he walked in the door?
“Here you go, Sidney.”
“Thanks.”
She took the plastic bag from Beth and placed the box inside, zipping it up tight. Then she put it on the corner of her desk and looked at Zoe.
“It’s officially been the worst day ever.”
Zoe fought to hold in her laughter, finally letting it burst forth.
Sidney shook her head and joined in because… well, it was better than crying.
19
Isaac floated out of the briefing room that morning and over to his desk as if his chest were filled with helium. And why not? The most beautiful woman in the world was going to marry him in just two short months. Less than that even.
Oh, yeah. Happy wasn’t a big enough word for what he was feeling.
“What are you doing right now?”
Isaac looked up to find Pete staring at him in the most peculiar way.
“What?”
“That strange sound. The one coming from your mouth. Is that whistling? Are you whistling right now?
“Yeah, so I was whistling. What of it? Am I not allowed to whistle?”
“Oh, no, you’re allowed. But you usually don’t.”
“I whistle.”
“No, you don’t. Because whistling implies that you’re in a good mood. Which you usually aren’t. And it implies that you like people and that you’re approachable. You hate people, and you’re most definitely not approachable. So why are you whistling?”
“I’m approachable.”
“No, you’re not.”
“And I don’t hate people.”
“You don’t like them.”
“I like them fine! Although I don’t particularly like you at the moment.”
Pete laughed out loud, and Isaac rolled his eyes.
He knew only too well that Pete often enjoyed giving him a hard time simply for the fun of it. What Pete didn’t know, and what Isaac could never let him know, was that he secretly enjoyed the ribbing. It was nice having a good rapport with his partner. It made it easier to work together.
“What’s got you in such a good mood, Ike?”
“Well, it’s certainly not you, that’s for sure.”
“Touché.”
He sat down at his desk and ignored Pete’s question.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
“What has you whistling this morning, man?”
Isaac sighed. “Sidney and I…”
“Wait! If this is a sex thing, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t need that visual in my head.”
“I don’t want that visual in your head either! Now, you asked me a question. Do you want to hear my response or not?”
Pete grinned at his aggravation. “Please, continue.”
“I was going to say… Sidney and I finally set a wedding date yesterday.”
“Oh, for real?”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations, man!”
“Thank you.”
“So when’s the special day?”
“August 29th.”
“Of this year?”
“Yep.”
“That’s fast.”
“Not fast enough for me. I tried to talk her into going to Vegas for the weekend, but she wasn’t having that.”
