by Maeve Hart
“You were only in there for five minutes before I got you out.”
“I know, but I didn’t know I was getting out. I thought I might be in there for a long time and charged with Don’s murder.”
He put both hands on my shoulders. “You don’t want the detective to see you’re nervous.”
Looking into his dark eyes, I immediately became calm, almost trance-like.
“Wish me luck.”
He gave me a quick kiss on the lips before I left.
“Good luck,” he said just as I had my hand on the door.
I walked down the stairs, making an effort to breathe evenly. I reached the last step and opened the door to see the handsome detective standing there, smiling.
“Do you want to go to the coffee shop? I would’ve invited you up, but I haven’t finished unpacking and the apartment’s in a dreadful mess.”
“Okay. You lead the way.”
When we were seated, he began, “I’ll ask you to the station later today in an official capacity. I’m just giving you a heads up that the toxicology report has come back.”
“What did it say?”
He took a deep breath and I had a feeling from the look on his face that it wasn’t going to be what everyone had expected.
“The results were interesting. The tests confirmed strychnine poisoning but as well as that he had a different kind of poison in his system which would’ve been administered before the strychnine.”
I felt sick to the stomach. “What was it?”
“Puff Adder venom.”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying. “I’m sorry, what?”
“A Puff Adder is a kind of snake. Its proper name is Bitis arietans. It’s a very
poisonous snake.”
“How could he have been bitten by a snake? There was no snake in the apartment.”
“The autopsy reported a puncture wound in his neck. It didn’t seem too significant at the time and there was only one hole.”
“Are you saying someone injected him with the snake venom?”
“It seems so.”
“How poisonous is it?”
“There is an antivenom available, but it’s lethal without it. If he hadn’t died from the strychnine, he would’ve died from the venom.”
I put my fingers to my throat. “That’s awful. How could that have happened to him? Who would’ve done that?”
“If I knew that I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. We’re doing all we can to find out. I’ve got half the department on it.”
“Where would someone have even got something like that? Someone who keeps snakes?”
“It’s available through various suppliers. We’re looking at those records and putting together a list of people who’ve bought it over the years.”
I was immediately fearful for my grandmother since it sounded like the kind of weird thing that she would do. I remembered seeing a blowpipe in her house on the mantelpiece over her fire. She told me how early tribes would use them as a weapon after dipping the darts in poison. She’d said she used it for recreation like some people play with darts—she aimed at balloons. It’d been years since I’d seen the blowpipe. At the time, I never thought she’d use it on a person.
“Is this kind of thing unusual? Have you seen this before?” I asked him.
He shook his head and pressed his lips together. “I’ve been doing this for eighteen years and I have never come across anyone who’s been poisoned by being injected with snake venom. It’s even stranger that there was a second poison. The venom in his system might’ve been explained had he been out in the wild somewhere, but not in a city apartment.”
“Thank you for telling me. What does this mean for Jennifer?”
“I don’t think this affects Jennifer one way or another. As I said, it was the strychnine that killed him.”
“Someone else wanted to kill him,” I said, trying to work things out.
“I don’t suppose you have any idea who might have been responsible?”
“Me? No idea at all.” I shook my head. “No idea at all.” I held my stomach. “That means two people wanted him dead?”
“It appears so. There was no point in the one person using two very different methods, each one as effective as the other—each bringing certain death. We’ll have that list soon enough and hopefully it won’t take us too long to track down the guilty party.”
“Is it just the coffees today or will you be having breakfast?”
We both looked up at the chirpy young waitress.
“Coffee for me, please,” I said.
“Same for me, just black, thanks.”
The waitress looked back at me, and I said, “Just black please.”
When the waitress was gone, Andrews said, “I’m sorry that I bring bad news to you every time I see you.”
“Yeah. You think I’d be used to it by now.”
“Things will turn around. The tide goes out, but it always comes back in.”
I wasn’t in the mood for being philosophical.
The waiter brought us our coffees.
The detective took a sip and then looked directly at me with his piercing blue eyes. “Do you know anything at all that might help us?”
“I know nothing about snakes. And I have no idea who could’ve done that. Did the neighbors see anybody else go there that day? You said there were no other fingerprints but Don’s and mine. We didn’t have visitors to the apartment because it was too small.” My mind was scrambled and I hoped I was making sense.
“There were no other prints in the apartment apart from the smudgy fingerprints on the glass bottle holding the strychnine, but they were no use. It appears that someone wiped them away. Our best guess is that someone made him a drink using that and scotch and then wiped the scotch bottle clean after Donald died.”
I stared at the coffee in front of me, frozen in shock.
“Destiny, are you okay?” He leaned forward and touched me gently on my arm. “I’m okay. I’ll be alright in a minute.” I felt awful that Don died riddled with poison. Even though he’d been lying to me about the divorce and he was only using me, he still didn’t deserve to die that way.
I looked over into the detective’s blue eyes and wondered if he was the person who sent those notes of Donald’s to me. Someone had to have done it. I wiped my eyes.
“I’m sorry. Do you want to go?”
I shook my head. “I’ll be okay. All this news before coffee isn’t good.” I took a big slurp of coffee and it was so hot I had to either swallow it quickly or spit it out. I decided to swallow and then it burned my throat. “Oh, that’s hot.”
He pushed iced water over to me.
“Thanks.” It was a little late, but I followed the mouthful of hot coffee with the cold water.
He drained the last of his coffee. “I should go. Do you want me to walk you back home?”
“I think I need to sit here for just a moment until it sinks in.”
“I’ll call you later today or tomorrow and have you come in so I can officially update you. As I said, this is ‘off the record’ and it’s probably not appropriate for me to meet you like this.”
“I understand. I do appreciate you telling me as soon as you could.”
“We only got the report through late last night.”
I nodded.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Goodbye, Detective.”
He smiled at me. “When we’re out of the office like this, call me Logan.”
“Thanks, Logan.”
The detective paid for our coffee and then left.
My head was reeling with everything that had happened. It was hard to know whom to trust. Jacques was telling me not to trust my family. I couldn’t tell Abbie about the information Don had recorded about Jacques because then I’d have to tell her I was a shifter. Then there was Jacques, and I still had a nagging question mark in the back of my mind about whether he’d had something to do with Donald’s deat
h. Had he framed Jennifer? It was odd that there was no DNA evidence to prove that Jennifer had gone to the apartment to poison Don. All the police had was one of my neighbors saying they saw Jennifer there.
Chapter 9
As I put one foot in front of the other heading back to the apartment, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that Jacques would be gone when I got back there. My abandonment issues were rearing their heads. In order to distract myself, I looked around. Was I being watched right now? I couldn’t see anyone watching me, but professionals wouldn’t be seen. It was possible my every move was being documented.
When I walked in the door, I was pleased to see Jacques sitting down at the table eating breakfast. He stood up when he saw me and I ran into his arms.
I bit my lip, wondering where to start. “It’s something unbelievable.”
He gave a little chuckle, which made me realize he had no idea what I was about to say.
“He came to tell me unofficially what happened and he’s going to call me into the station later to tell me on the record.”
Jacques put both hands on my shoulders. “Just breathe.”
I took a couple of deep breaths. “The toxicology report finally came back. As well as the strychnine that they expected, there was a different kind of poison. Puff adder venom.”
The bridge of his s house. I saw a blowpipe at my grandmtoehr'﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽he record Seamus﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽g destiny﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽nnifer﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽﷽bribnose crinkled. “As in a snake?”
I nodded. I told him about the coroner’s report that stated Don had a small hole in his neck. “Years ago I saw a blowpipe at my grandmother’s house. I can’t remember seeing it there recently—not since I was a kid.”
“Normally snakes and blowpipes might not go together, but as soon as you mentioned snake venom, I immediately thought of your grandmother for some reason.”
“I did, too.”
“What did you mean he told you this unofficially?”
“He made it sound like he was doing me a favor telling me today. He said he’s calling me into the station later where he’ll tell me ‘on the record.’”
“I see.”
“He’s going to find out who’s been buying the venom. I guess he’s going to get their client lists.”
“And if your grandmother has bought any he’ll soon find out.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“You’ll have to warn her,” he said.
“Okay. I’ll just tell her what the detective told me. Why is all this happening? I’ve got to be having a bad dream.”
“Take a moment to relax. Have some breakfast.”
I nodded and slumped into the chair he pulled out for me.
“Did you have any breakfast while you were gone? I assume you went to a coffee shop to talk?”
“Yes. I just had coffee. And then I stayed there for awhile after he left to get my head around everything.”
“It’s a lot to take in.”
“I’ve never heard of someone being killed in that way. As the detective said, it might be easy to explain if he’d been in the wild, but he was in the city, so if not Granny, who could’ve done it?”
“It’s up to the police to find out. Go to your grandmother’s house and warn her, and then don’t worry about it. Bacon and eggs?”
“Just toast please. I don’t know if I can eat anything else.”
“You must keep up your strength.”
“I suppose I should.”
“Exactly.”
“Are we being watched?”
“Most likely. I’ll stay at the penthouse tonight.”
“And leave me here?” I didn’t want to be alone.
“I won’t be far. I can’t help feeling they might get a warrant and search this place and then they’ll find Don’s report. I’ll take it with me.”
“They probably already know you’re here and know about the report too.”
“Possibly, but if they don’t, I don’t want to be the one to allow them to find it. Don’t contact me on your phone. I’ll give you another phone before I leave and give you another number for me.”
After breakfast, he went to his briefcase and took out two new cell phones. He placed SIM cards in them and programed his number in mine before he handed it over.
I left Jacques at the loft and took a taxi to my grandmother’s house. I was disappointed when I saw my mother’s car there along with Aunt Flora’s. I preferred to speak with my grandmother alone.
My hand was raised, ready to knock, when the front door flew open. My mother stood there staring at me.
“This is an unexpected surprise.” She kissed me on each cheek before she stepped aside to allow me through.
I walked in. “Thanks. I’ve come to visit Granny.”
“I gathered that. We were just having tea. Want some?”
“Yes please.” I thought it a little odd that they were all there together, and wondered if they were having some kind of witchy meeting about something.After I had greeted Granny and Flora, who were in the main living room, I asked, “Are you having some kind of witches’ meeting?”
They all laughed—a little too much.
“Of course not,” Granny said.
I spotted what looked like my grandmother’s Book of Shadows on a far table underneath a newspaper. My guess was that they’d been referring to something in that book because I knew Granny was a neat freak and everything had its place. That book belonged in the spell room.
“I had a visit from the detective today. The toxicology report’s come back,” I announced.
My mother handed me a cup of tea and sat down with the rest of us. No one spoke and I sat there with a pink rosebud china cup and saucer in my hand, sensing the tension.
My mother and Aunt Flora exchanged a quick glance while Granny kept her green eyes fixed on me.
“What does that mean?” my grandmother asked.
“As well as the strychnine that they already knew about, he had venom in his system. The venom of a puff adder, which is a snake.”
“I know very well what a puff adder is. It’s a common serpent, Destiny. That is not my question.”
“Why do you seem angry?” I asked Granny.
“He could’ve been bitten by someone’s pet serpent that escaped. It doesn’t seem at all unusual to me.”
“Well, it’s unusual according to the detective. He’s never seen a death in the city from snake venom and besides that he told me that the coroner’s report recorded a hole in his neck.”
“Wouldn’t there be two holes if he’d been bitten by a snake?” Aunt Flora asked.
“He could’ve been injected,” I pointed out. Then I looked at my mother and Granny and directed my next question to them. “You both knew that I was upset with Don. Did either of you do anything to him?”
“Apart from the spells you don’t believe in?” my mother asked.
“Yes.”
My mother looked at Granny and they both slowly shook their heads.
“I’ve already told you that I didn’t do anything to him, Destiny, apart from spells.”
“I’m surprised you think we’re capable of anything like that,” my mother said.
“I remember seeing a blowpipe here years ago. Do you still have it, Granny?”
Granny drummed her fingers on her chin while her green eyes flicked up to the roses on the antique pressed metal ceiling. “I wonder where I put that. It disappeared about the same time I had the house repainted.”
“You haven’t had the place painted in years, Mother,” Aunt Flora said.
“And years ago was the last time I saw it.”
“Don’t worry; it was just a silly thought. The detective’s going to the snake venom suppliers to get a list of their customers. He said he’s got half the force working on it. If they find someone has been buying it who’s connected to Don in any way, they�
��ll immediately come under suspicion.”
“None of us have need to worry,” Flora said before she gave her mother a concerned glance.
“They still think Jennifer killed him. She’s still accused of killing him?” my mother asked.
“Yes, because it’s the strychnine that killed him first, and I guess that’s how they’re looking at things. The snake poison was a slower killer, but the detective assured me it was just as effective.”
“But you’re not convinced Jennifer did it?” Aunt Flora leaned forward.
“I don’t know any more. All I know is that it wasn’t me.” I took a sip of tea and then looked down into the cup. “What kind of tea is this?”
“It’s clover tea.”
“Oh, what does that do?”
“It helps with the change,” Flora said.
My heart beat fast. I’d found out that Flora was the daughter of the Alpha wolf, but Granny assured me she didn’t know. “Change?” I asked quietly.
“Menopause,” Granny quickly answered.
“It’ll happen to you one day too,” Flora said.
“Not for a while, I hope.”
“There are advantages,” my mother said.
“Spare me the details.” I didn’t need another lecture about the birds and the bees and how men are no good and if I want a child I should go to a sperm bank rather than having a man hanging around. And, my mother would tell me, if I had a child with a man I knew, I’d have to share custody, because any relationship I’d have would not work out.
Chapter 10
Just as I was about to leave Granny’s house, the detective called me.
I excused myself and took the call in another room.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Ms. Stephens, it’s Detective Andrews here. We’d like you to come to the station some time today if you could.”
He sounded very official so I knew he was speaking in front of someone.
“Of course. I’ll make my way there now.”
“Very good. I’ll see you shortly.”
I walked back into the room after I’d ended the call. “Well, that was the detective. He’s asked me to come down to the station.”
