Chapter 26
“ T he plant is aconitum orbexilum and the poison that killed him is listed as aconite.” Frank spoke quietly, almost like he was talking to himself as he completed the search. “Here it is. Aconitum, also known as aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard’s bane, devil’s helmet, or blue rocket, is a genus of over two hundred and fifty species of flowering plants.”
“His own research was used against him.” I shuddered, thinking of how cruel that was. Not to mention I’d had that plant in my hands. Good thing I hadn’t touched it. I felt for Andrew in a way I hadn’t before. He’d been dedicated to this hydrogel project, something truly worthwhile, and it had ended up causing his death. That wasn’t fair. “Whoever did this to him knew exactly what they were doing. How to use it.”
“Looks that way.” Frank sat back. “It also means whoever did it had to know about his project and this plant. And how to utilize the poison in it.”
“Sarah,” I said immediately. “Unless there’s another source of this aconitum on board. If it’s a genus of two hundred and fifty species, there could be.”
“There has to be a registry of everything being grown on board. A list of some kind.” Frank clicked on the Botany Department link, which took him to a page that discussed the current work being done.
“Do you really think they’re growing poisonous plants on board?”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t think so, but you’ve got a sample that came from somewhere.”
“True.” I tried to imagine how that sample had come to be. It wasn’t completely dry when I found it, leading me to believe it hadn’t been picked that long ago. That meant it couldn’t have come from Morphae. I went through the rest of the possibilities.
Frank tipped his head as he talked to me, eyes narrowed in thought. “What if it wasn’t Sarah but one of the other botanists? Any of them could have decided that Andrew was surplus to requirements, putting themselves in a position to finish his work and take the glory. We need to figure out who else is on that team.”
“ Athos staff page.”
Frank nodded and brought it up. Under Botany Department, where Andrew’s color photo had been replaced by one in black-and-white and In Memoriam added atop it, was listed Sarah Fenchurch, Jasper Nelson, Howard Yardley Jr. and Candace Mayfield, who was noted as an assistant lab technician.
I pointed at Candace. She was younger than Sarah, a pretty brunette. “What if Candace was the other woman?”
“Have you met her? Do you know if she wears perfume?”
“No idea. I can look her up tomorrow when I get into the library. I can look them all up. Could give us some insight as to their interests. Jasper, I know, has been to the library. And I think I’ve helped Howard with some audiobooks. Candace…” I shook my head. “She’s not familiar to me.”
“You don’t have to wait until tomorrow. I can access the library’s database from here.”
“Of course you can.”
“Unless you wouldn’t feel comfortable with that. You know what? Probably better if you just do that in the morning. It’s not like we can act on anything we find tonight.”
I exhale. “Tomorrow’s Friday, generally a busy day at the library. I’m off Saturday and Sunday, though.” I knew he was, too, since he’d already told me that. “We could get together on Saturday and compare notes again.”
He nodded. “I’m all for that. But we could also do something that doesn’t revolve around Woolsey. Maybe see a show? Get some lunch? Spend some time on one of the simdecks? Unless you already have plans.”
“Any of that would be nice. The only plans I have this weekend is I’m going to the spa Sunday afternoon with my daughter.” Thankfully, I’d managed to book that online during a lull today.
“I’m happy to make the arrangements. Is there anything you don’t want to do? Anything you aren’t really interested in?”
“I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. I’m not crazy about heights. Or snakes. Or deep water.”
He snorted. “What kind of date do you think I’m taking you on?”
I laughed. “I wasn’t implying— Whatever you want to do will be fine with me.”
“Okay. I’ll let you know details tomorrow. I may also remind you that you said that.”
I honestly loved spending time with him. “Bring it.”
“Is that how it is?”
“Yep.”
Before I could say another word, he leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back.
When it ended, he was smiling. We both were. “Can I walk you home?”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I like doing it.”
It was very sweet. “People might talk if they start seeing us together all the time.”
“Let them. Unless that’s not something you’re ready for.”
My smile expanded. “My friends are dying to meet you. I’ve already told them about you.” I hesitated. “Would you want to join us for dinner tomorrow? Dining Hall Five? We try to eat about six, if that works for you.”
His nod was slow, like he was thinking. “I’d like to meet them very much.” He took my hand. “I’ll do my best not to give them too much to talk about.”
I laughed. “Trust me when I say they will talk no matter what you do.”
“In that case…” He winked at me. “Come on. Let me at least walk you to the elevators.”
“All right.” I said goodnight to Gracie, and Frank and I held hands until the elevator arrived. I let go as I prepared to step into the car. “See you tomorrow.”
He nodded, kissing my cheek. “Tomorrow.”
The next morning, I once again floated into the library with a smile on my face. I went in early, determined to do some research on aconitum poisoning. With a cup of coffee at the ready, I did a deep dive and quickly learned that the roots of most aconitum plants were where the poison really lived.
That was a relief, considering I’d briefly come in contact with the plant sample, even though I’d been trying not to.
It seemed there were multiple ways of using the plant to poison someone. The roots could be dried and powdered, then added to food. The roots could be steeped in alcohol. A tincture could be made that could then be added to just about anything from food to beauty products.
I grimaced, thinking about how many things I ate, drank, and put on my skin every day. How had Andrew’s killer gotten it into his system? Had they gained access to his quarters, then slipped the item into his aftershave? That felt like the easiest method to me.
Adding it to his food would mean accessing the Instachef. Unless he had some premade food or drinks in his refrigerator. I wished I’d looked while I’d been in there chasing after Harry. But going back in didn’t seem like a great idea.
What I really wanted to do was sit down with Frank and talk it out, but that wasn’t going to happen until the day was over. Which reminded me to text the girls and let them know he was joining us for dinner at the dining hall this evening.
I smiled, already imagining their comments. I was about to send a message to our group’s private channel when I heard knocking. Someone was at the library door. I checked the time. Twenty minutes yet before we were due to be open.
I thought about letting them knock, then Harry’s head came up.
His whiskers twitched. “That’s Frank.”
“How do you know?”
He put his head back down. “Just do, Mum.”
Well, then.
I got up and went to the door. It was indeed Frank. I opened it and let him in. “I didn’t expect to see you this morning.”
Smiling, he shook his head. “Just a quick stop, unfortunately. To give you this.” He held out what looked like a small black sticker, thick and square.
Even in the dim lighting, I could see a pattern of lines on it. “What is it?”
“Think of it as personal security device. Peel off the backing and place it on the inside of your wristband. It’ll cause interference to any other device attempting to capture your messages.”
I blinked. “Seriously.”
“Yep. Just put one on mine this morning, too.”
“You came up with this?”
“Not my original idea, but I did modify it slightly.”
“You’re amazing. Thank you.”
He grinned. “You’re welcome. I gotta run. See you tonight.” He pecked my cheek and was gone almost before I could say goodbye. I knew he had to get to work, but I still wished he could have stayed longer.
I closed the door and locked it, then took the sticker back to my office. I unclasped my wristband and stuck the sticker on the back, just like he’d told me to. “Harry, I think Frank might actually be James Bond.”
“More like Q, if you ask me,” Harry said.
“You … know about James Bond?”
“I have access to a large database of information so I’m able to converse.”
“Well, then.” I nodded. “You might be right.” I put the wristband back on and sent a note to the girls, reminding them about Frank joining us. I opened the library before closing up my office and moving myself to the main desk. Harry followed, settling into his bed and going right back into nap mode.
I took a seat and used the big screen to read through the section on aconitum orbexilum in The Nine Climes of Practical Plant Alchemy. What I found was a recipe for reducing the plant to a tincture, which could then be made into a Salt (capitalized, because that’s how the book had it), and that Salt, if the rest of the recipe was followed properly, could eventually be transformed into mercury.
I already knew that wasn’t possible, but what remained a mystery was why Andrew thought this book would help his research. Might be time to talk to Sarah again. See what she made of it.
I hadn’t counted her out as a suspect. Just because I didn’t think she’d killed him didn’t mean she wasn’t involved somehow. What if she and another of the botanists, whom I was about to investigate, had been in on it together?
My wristband vibrated as the girls replied to my message. They were all excited to meet Frank, as I’d expected. I smiled, glad to have such a fantastic group of?—
I sucked in air as a new idea came to me. What if they’d all been in on it? Sarah, Candace, Jasper, and Howard? What if the entire Botany Department had decided to get rid of Andrew and take over his project for themselves?
He wasn’t a nice man. There was no reason to think he’d treated his team any differently than he’d treated me or the other people on board who thought he was a jerk.
I needed to look into the rest of that department. Immediately.
I decided to start with Candace Mayfield, mostly because I wondered if she’d had an affair with Andrew. I typed her name into the search bar and tapped Enter.
Just then, a patron came in. I put a big smile on my face as I closed down the search window. Candace would have to wait. Bother .
“Good morning. Welcome to the library.” I went into work mode, but my mind couldn’t stop spinning through the scenarios of who had possibly done what.
Every day brought us new questions and new information, adding potential pieces to this puzzle, which was definitely progress. Eventually, we’d have all the pieces. I hoped.
I just wished I felt like we were closer to solving it.