Imperious

by C. M. Sutter

  “Not really.” I blew on my coffee. “We’re working it hard, and the initial drug and alcohol results for Daphne came back with fentanyl found in her system. That still doesn’t prove she was poisoned, though. It could have been a suicide for all we know.”

  “Damn. Waiting isn’t my strong suit. I’d go bonkers.”

  “You? Really?” I smiled.

  “To answer your question, no, I’ve never been on a case where the serial killer used poison as their means of murder. It’s too slow, and it isn’t messy enough. They’re looking for instant gratification using something as gruesome as possible.”

  I shook my head in disgust, but I had an idea. I would research poisons fatal to humans and see what results I found. If the deaths were homicides, there was a reason the killer chose poison instead of a physical weapon. It could be a weapon of convenience, or possibly he was just that smart. Poison could mimic any number of medical problems or something instant, like heart attacks, strokes, choking to death, and seizures.

  “And cause someone to have a fatal car accident.”

  Jade glanced at me. “Were you just thinking out loud?”

  “Yeah, guilty.” I grabbed the pad of paper and a pen from the countertop and wrote a note to myself. Even though we’d know the tox results soon enough, I still wanted to educate myself on the types of poison that could kill a human in less than twenty-four hours.

  Amber emerged from the hallway, dressed and refreshed. “You better get a move on,” she said as she poured cereal into a bowl.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”

  We pulled into the parking lot of the sheriff’s office at 7:47. I was anxious to find out how the conversation had gone between Cory Norman and Jack after we left last night. If there was a connection between the three young men Gunnar dealt with and Cory himself, there could be a chance that the fentanyl found in Daphne’s blood test was a direct result of a suggestion from Vince. There was still no account of where Daphne went after leaving Vince’s apartment on the night she was last seen alive, and a lie detector test might be in order to prove or disprove Vince’s statement.

  Clayton and Billings waited in the bull pen with Jack for our arrival. Jack stood when we entered.

  “Let’s go. Conference room.” His straight-to-the-point comment made me think something new had come up overnight.

  I dropped my purse into the desk drawer, grabbed my notepad and pen, and followed my colleagues down the hallway.

  Once in the conference room and seated, Jack took a gulp of coffee from his favorite chipped cup and began. “I interviewed Cory last night. I let him know in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t there to tiptoe around the subject of drug dealing in my county. Of course he denied having anything to do with drugs and said he only knew Vince in passing. His story changed dramatically when I told him a warrant had been issued for the apartment and his mom had turned over the keys to me. He admitted to dealing Oxy on a small scale, and we’ll see how small it actually is if we find some in the home. Then he suddenly remembered being friends with Vince after all.”

  I took notes as Jack continued.

  “I asked if he ever sold fentanyl or knew if Vince contacted Gunnar’s boys about buying some. Maybe Vince had suspicions of Daphne cheating and only wanted to teach her a lesson but accidentally overdosed her. He may have mixed it with something else since heroin wasn’t present in her body. Cory swears he’s never sold fentanyl personally but said it’s widely available online, and that puts us back to square one. Without proof, blaming Vince for Daphne’s death would be a circumstantial case at best.”

  I caught Jack’s attention. “How about suggesting a polygraph test? If Vince didn’t do anything wrong, it would get us off his back.”

  Jack grinned. “I can suggest it, but I don’t know if he’ll fall for those tactics. We can’t harass him without something that leads us to him as the guilty party. Let’s wait for the full tox report on both girls before barking up that tree, but”—he looked at Clayton and Billings—“I want you two to pay Vince another visit. Tell him that Cory is sitting upstairs and he told us everything. Check his temperature. Go ahead and have Billy tag along.”

  Clayton nodded. “Got it.”

  “What about us, Boss?” I asked.

  “Go see if Lena got the final tox reports back yet.”

  “I’ll let Amber take care of that.”

  Jack nodded. “Right. Okay, you can empty everyone’s desks of the paperwork that needs to be filed in the records room.”

  I frowned. “Awesome.”

  Back in the bull pen, I made short work of the filing. I wanted to get online and start my research of poisons that were capable of killing a human in a short period of time.

  Amber burst into the bull pen ten minutes later. “Jack, Lena has the reports. She’s reading them first herself, then she’ll come up here and go over them with us.”

  “That’s great news, and I’ll have to call the tox lab and give them a personal thank-you for getting that done so quickly. Did Lena say when to expect her?”

  “She said it would be a half hour or so.”

  “Okay, Detectives, you better clear your plates and be ready to go. There may be more people to speak to, parents to update, and possible arrests to make. I just got word that the warrant is on its way from the courthouse. We’re tearing apart Cory Norman’s apartment today, and depending on what Clayton and Billings find out, Vince’s might be next.”

  Before Lena announced the findings, I had a small window of opportunity to research poisons that were capable of killing people quickly. I wanted to know what I was talking about in case she and I got into another debate.

  Chapter 39

  Clayton turned the key in the lock and pushed the door inward. Billy Bachaus led the way into the cluttered, unkempt apartment.

  “What’s with the people who live in this complex?” He wrinkled his nose as he hit the light switch. “Let’s air out this place. It smells like cat piss in here.”

  Clayton pushed open the drapes and slid the windows to the side. A fresh breeze wafted in, and the family cat scurried out the door.

  Billings pointed as it ran past. “What the hell are we supposed to do about that?”

  Billy shrugged. “It’s a cat, and they have nine lives. Either chase it down and lock it in the laundry room or don’t worry about it. Cats like being outside better than indoors, anyway.” He looked around the living room and shook his head. “What a shit hole. Everyone gloved up with plenty of evidence bags?”

  Clayton and Billings nodded then dug in. They methodically went from room to room as they opened drawers and cabinets, overturned cushions, and looked under furniture. Clayton pulled out the clothes in every drawer and checked pockets, and Billings did the same with the clothes that were hanging. Billy opened freezer and refrigerator containers to make sure no Oxy was hidden inside.

  “I found a bag of pot and some papers,” Billings said after lifting Cory’s mattress.

  Billy walked in. “Enough to get him on intent to sell?”

  Billings held up the sandwich bag. “Looks like it’s meant for personal use.”

  “Okay, let’s keep searching. Don’t overlook anything in the mom’s room either. That might be the perfect place to hide drugs.”

  Clayton pulled pictures off the walls and checked the back sides. He stuck his head in each kitchen cabinet and checked to see if bags were taped to the inside walls. “I’m not finding anything.” He and Billings gathered in the living room and looked it over carefully to see if they’d missed anything. “Did you check inside the washer and dryer?”

  “Not yet.” Billings tipped his head in that direction. “There could even be something in the dryer vent.”

  “Yeah, we should check that too.”

  They entered the laundry room and went through the washer and dryer—neither had drugs hidden inside.

  Clayton glanced at the cat’s litter box and raised a brow. �
��Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “I hate to admit it, but yeah. At least there’s a scoop.”

  They sifted through the cat litter and found two sandwich-sized zipper bags containing hundreds of Oxy pills.

  “Impressive,” Clayton said. “I’ll admit, that’s a great hiding spot, and the street value of this stuff is pretty damn high. Looks like Cory has some explaining to do.”

  Billy walked out of the mother’s bedroom with a sandwich bag of Oxy pinched between his thumb and index finger. He laughed when he saw Clayton and Billings sitting in front of the litter box. “Cory must have a thing for places to relieve oneself. I found this baggie in the toilet tank of the mother’s master bathroom.”

  Billings rolled the gloves off his hands in obvious disgust. “She may be looking at charges too.”

  “Let’s lock up this place. We have plenty to charge Cory with, and we need to make a stop at Vince’s apartment before we leave.”

  Clayton made the update call as they rounded the corner to Vince’s apartment, and Jack said he’d get another warrant issued.

  Billings knuckled the door when they reached it. They saw a flash to their right as the blinds opened then closed.

  Vince pulled the door toward him and rolled his eyes. “This is harassment.”

  Billy pushed past him. “Sit down and shut up. We don’t need your opinion.”

  Clayton took over. “We have Cory Norman and Gunnar Tobias in custody. Seems like you’re all pals.”

  “I don’t know either of them.”

  “That’s the story you’re going with, Vince? You know damn well that Cory lives four apartments from here. We just went through his apartment and found enough Oxy to put him behind bars for some time, and your apartment is next. There’s a warrant heading this way any minute now.”

  “You don’t have any grounds to search my apartment.”

  Billings chuckled. “Sure we do. Cory is sitting in our county lockup, and he suddenly became very chatty. He told us about your connection to Gunnar’s lackeys. You know, John Cinq, Tony Wesley, and Marques Gates, the guys you got the fentanyl from.”

  Vince buried his face in his hands. “You’re handing me a line of shit, and I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I’ve never used or sold fentanyl in my life. I don’t know those three guys or Gunnar Tobias, other than by reputation. I smoke pot, okay? That’s all I can afford, anyway.”

  Clayton sat next to Vince on the couch. “Did you kill Daphne? Maybe you found out she was seeing someone else and you wanted to teach her a lesson. Fentanyl killed her, Vince, so how did that happen?”

  “I swear to you, I don’t know. I really cared about Daphne.”

  Clayton’s phone rang seconds later—it was Jack. He stepped outside and answered. “Hey, Boss, what have you got?”

  “Silver is heading your way with the warrant. I’ll have him escort Vince back here, and we can legally detain him for twenty-four hours.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Lena has the final tox results for both girls, and I’d like you and Billings to sit in on the meeting. Show Vince the warrant, lock up his apartment, and head back. You can search it later, and Billy doesn’t have to join in unless the chief wants him to. That warrant is our golden ticket.”

  “Sure thing. We’ll be watching for Silver.”

  Chapter 40

  My notes were compiled and sitting in front of me in case something in the toxicology report seemed off. Lena was due to walk in any minute.

  The security door beeped, and Clayton and Billings entered the bull pen.

  Jack addressed Clayton. “Has Vince been secured upstairs?”

  “Yep, Josh is processing him right now, and each detainee is in a separate cell. They can’t even see each other.”

  “Good, I don’t want to give them the ability to concoct stories to support one another.” Jack filled his coffee cup then answered his ringing phone. “Yep, we’re all here, and we’ll meet you in the conference room.” He turned toward the hallway. “Grab whatever you need and let’s go.”

  We each took our usual seat at the table. Amber had her laptop, I had a folder of notes about poisons, and Billings and Clayton had the pages of their notepads turned to clean sheets. Jack had his coffee in front of him and the blank whiteboard at his back.

  The clock ticked over to eleven just as Lena walked in. “Morning, everyone.”

  We returned her greeting with our own.

  “Okay, I’m sure you’re all interested in hearing the tox report results for both Daphne and Becca.”

  I was more curious about how Becca had died, but I kept that to myself. We already knew fentanyl was in Daphne’s system, and the confirmation of the amount would tell us beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was what killed her. Becca’s cause of death was still an unknown. I fidgeted.

  “Daphne had a lethal dose of pure fentanyl in her bloodstream, meaning it wasn’t cut with anything else. A few granules are enough to kill a full-grown adult.”

  I glanced at my sheet and crossed that off my list. The tox report substantiated what I had read. “So somebody deliberately killed Daphne?”

  Lena shrugged. “We have no way of knowing that, only that the fentanyl killed her.”

  Jack ran his fingers through his hair then pushed back his chair and stood. He wrote that information on the whiteboard and remained standing, as if he was ready to record another round of bad news.

  Lena sucked in a deep breath. “I had the lab double-check their work on Becca. They did and confirmed that she died from the bacteria clostridium botulinum. She had toxic levels of the poison in her body. Botulism is deadly if not treated immediately and it also causes paralysis of the nerves, hence the reason many people have Botox injections. Of course, those treatments are done by experienced professionals who only use the recommended amounts of the product.” Lena checked our expressions. “That could explain why Becca never pressed the brake pedal. I’ve never heard of anyone who was subjected to a lethal dose, but I imagine it’s possible that she couldn’t move her foot from the gas to the brake.”

  Clostridium botulinum wasn’t even on my poisons list, and I didn’t know anything about it. I had to ask the question. “Can that poison cause severe stomach pain, and if ingested, would it show esophagus and stomach irritation?”

  Lena nodded. “It would indeed, Kate, and I apologize for questioning your theory. Each of us has a field of expertise, and I didn’t trust yours. What I would suggest is to go through Becca’s home, look through her food—especially canned goods—to see if anything was beyond its expiration date. There might be a can in the garbage from the night before. Who knows? Like I said a few days back, her stomach contents only revealed her breakfast food, and that was cereal.”

  “Could spoiled milk contain the poison?” Clayton asked.

  Lena shook her head. “No, it’s primarily found in low-acid foods such as canned goods and vacuum-sealed meats, vegetables, and fish. Check everything in her cupboards and look at leftovers in the refrigerator.”

  Jack wrote that on the whiteboard. “So at this point, we can say with certainty that Daphne met with foul play and Becca is still an unknown.”

  Lena tapped her fingers on the table. “Not necessarily, Jack, and I may have to write the manner of death as undetermined. There’s still the chance that Daphne committed suicide.”

  Jack sighed. “True enough. Thank you, Lena. We’ll check all the food in Becca’s home and go from there. It would be nice to have a lead that pointed us in a definitive direction since we’re still at murder, accidental death, or suicide for both cases.”

  Lena stood and said, “If you don’t find expired canned goods in Becca’s cupboards or questionable food in her refrigerator, I’d lean more toward it being a deliberate act. Keep in mind, though, it would take a very knowledgeable person, likely with a degree in chemistry, to make that toxin.” After stating her final opinion, she headed out of the room.


  Jack waited for Lena to leave then checked the time. “First things first, I have a call to make. Start thinking of ideas we can brainstorm while I’m gone.” Jack walked out to the hallway and closed the door behind him but returned in a matter of minutes. “Okay, Becca’s folks are on their way to North Bend with her spare apartment key. I told them I had an update to share, and I’m going to conduct another interview with them too. There has to be more they can tell us. Is there anything you guys came up with that might steer us in the right direction?” He stared at me.

  “You want my honest opinion, sir?”

  He took his seat. “I’d appreciate it.”

  “I think the girls were murdered. What are the chances that two young women from the same college would both die of accidental poisoning and only one day apart? Especially with two poisons that aren’t commonly found in a home.”

  Amber added her two cents. “That’s true. It isn’t like clostridium botulinum and fentanyl are found in everyone’s medicine cabinet like aspirin is, or in the garage like antifreeze and rat poison.”

  I doodled on my notepad as I spoke. “The thing is, we don’t have to go back to square one. I’m still curious to know who that Mike was that found Becca so interesting. If we find him and he knew Daphne too, we might be onto something. It’s like you said a few days ago—find the connection and we’ll find the killer.”

  “Okay, let’s go over the list of people we interviewed again. Talk to that friend from Becca’s hometown one more time, the one who told you about Mike. See if there’s more she can add.” Jack looked at Clayton. “You sure Michael Taylor is a dead end?”

  Clayton scratched his chin, as if in thought. “Ninety-nine percent sure, Boss. The kid is a straight arrow, and he did give us Cory’s name. He didn’t have to do that.”

  “Finals end Friday, and then tracking down the students and professors will be a nightmare. People will be leaving North Bend by the weekend. The students will go home for the summer or get jobs, they’ll take vacations, and reaching out to them will be tough. Dig in, people. We don’t have much time. Go ahead and take your lunches now.” Jack turned to Amber and me. “Once the Morbecks arrive, you’ll go to Becca’s apartment and inspect the food, and Clayton and Billings, you’ll check every square inch of Vince’s place.”