Chapter 4
Chapter Four
The next morning came way too soon, but I was curious about the lab results Abigail had run over night. I wanted to see if they came to the same conclusion I had the night before.
After a quick shower, and dressing in my favorite jeans and dark purple sweater, I headed downstairs. I grabbed a quick cup of espresso and headed through the hall to my office.
Abigail was already at her desk in the reception area.
“Why am I not surprised to see you here?”
“Because you knew I’d be just as curious as you are about the tests.”
“Did anything of interest come up? Other than the histamine profile?”
She raised her eyebrows. “You already looked?”
“Only at the ones that were completed last night. I went over the body but did not see any kind of puncture wound.”
“So, he ingested the bee venom and must have been highly allergic, according to the reports.”
“Someone must have put it in his food or drink.”
“Except the only thing in his stomach was some French bread and tomato soup,” she said. “I’m testing the contents again for a more specific profile.”
“Good,” I said. “But there was significant swelling of his lips so the venom must have passed through them at some point. I looked at the brochure picture of him from last night. He had quite thin lips in the photos. But as we saw, his mouth was swollen.”
“I’ll keep testing. Maybe, we’ll find the answer there. Still, if someone was trying to kill him, there are easier ways.”
“True.”
My stomach made a horrible grumbling sound, and we laughed.
“I’m going to head down to the pub for a quick bite to eat. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“I had breakfast with Tommy. He’s here by the way, out in the back doing end-of-summer plantings.”
Her brother was an incredible horticulturalist and kept my gardens around the old church beautiful. He knew more than most in the business who were twice his age.
“It’s Saturday; if they have any of the blueberry scones left, I’ll bring you some.”
“I wouldn’t turn one away.” She and Tommy loved the scones that Mara’s grandmother made.
I made the short jaunt down the hill. It was a cloudy day, and even though it was summer, the temperature was chilly. That didn’t seem to matter to the Scots who swam and surfed in the frigid waters off the coast of Sea Isle even when it poured rain. I would never understand it.
I could barely stand to put my feet in the water.
“Morning,” Mara said from behind the bar. Even though it appeared clean, she wiped down my favorite spot at the bar.
As I made my way through the pub there was an audible hush of the crowd.
“Any news?” Mara said a little louder than necessary.
“Nothing yet. Tests are inconclusive,” I said just as loud.
The patrons went back to chatting.
This was a game we played anytime I had a new case. People in town were always curious, and the pub was often the best place for someone to hear the latest craic, as they called it.
“Really?” She leaned in and whispered the word.
I nodded. “Nothing conclusive yet. Abigail is continuing to run tests.”
“I still feel guilty for having such horrible thoughts about the man, and he’d been dead the whole time.”
“No one blames you. As far as you knew, he didn’t show up for work.”
“Do you think it’s murder?”
I shrugged. “Like you said last night, he probably didn’t stuff himself in that cupboard and lock the latch.”
She glanced over my shoulder. “What can I get you this fine morning, Doctor?”
Customers must have taken notice of our hushed tones.
“Full Scottish,” I said. “And if there are any blueberry scones left, a few of those to go.”
While I ate, I tried to think of ways the bee venom could have entered the dead man’s system. If it had been in his food, which he would have eaten elsewhere, the attack would have happened before he even arrived.
It would have gone straight into his bloodstream. It was possible, if he had a glass of champagne when he arrived, it could have been in there. But it would have been quite dicey for the murderer to pick the right glass.
“Mara, did anyone leave out the front before we got on the train?”
She shook her head. “I was the last on board, and locked the front doors since everyone in the building was on the train. We didn’t want to leave it unattended.”
That meant the killer had most likely been on the train. I shivered.
I didn’t remember seeing champagne listed among the contents of his stomach, but I’d come down here before reading the full report.
I’d just finished my breakfast, when my phone dinged.
I think I found the source. It was a text from Abigail.
“Is everything OK?” Mara asked.
My face must have given something away.
“Some more of the tests came back. I need to go.”
She handed me a paper bag. “There are blueberry scones, and I threw in a couple of chocolate ones for you.”
“It’s like you read my mind. Thanks.”
“Let me know if you learn anything,” she whispered.
I nodded.
I was well aware the rest of the pub had quieted down when they’d seen us whispering. Even though Mara wouldn’t say anything, people here had a way of finding things out. But that information wasn’t coming from me. I had no desire to face the wrath of the ACC.
Abigail was still at her desk when I made it up the hill. I put the sack of scones on her desk. The door opened behind me, and I turned to tell whoever it was we weren’t open. Though, we were always open for emergencies, but it was Ewan coming in behind me.
He held up a hand as if to say hello, and then turned his attention to Abigail.
“What did you find?” he asked.
“I discovered how the bee venom entered his system.”
“Bee venom is the cause of death?” he asked and the surprise on his face said it all.
“Yes, but we couldn’t find an injection site on the body,” I told him.
Abigail lifted the evidence box lid and pulled out a plastic baggie with what looked like lip balm.
“One of the reasons his lips were so swollen was because he used this balm.” She held it up.
“Is bee venom one of the ingredients? They use it in all sorts of cosmetics and creams these days.”
“They do?” Once again, Ewan appeared shocked.
“Yes,” I said. “It has great healing properties. That is unless you are allergic to it. So, why would he use something that he was allergic to?”
“That’s how we know it was murder,” Abigail said. “It is in the balm, but it isn’t listed as one of the ingredients.”
“So,” I said, “he used something that was poisonous to him without realizing it. Given the histamine reaction throughout it body, it had to be a pretty hefty dose.”
“It was. I’m still running those tests, but we saw his lungs and heart. It was enough to do some damage.”
“I need to know who manufactures that lip balm,” Ewan said. “That at least gives us a starting point with the investigation.”
That surprised me. “There were cameras at the station, I thought you might start there to see who went into the office with him. I can check out the lip balm angle.”
Ewan frowned. “Yes, well, the cameras were not operational yet. The security team is working on them next week. They were just up for show according to the station master.”
“Oh, that is disappointing. Have you spoken to any of the guests?”
“I divided my team to talk to all of them this morning. They’ll be canvassing everyone who was there last night. I stopped by to see if you had any other leads for me, and you didn’t fail me.”
“I’d like to come with you, if that’s all right.
I’m wondering if maybe the balm was mislabeled.
I doubt he ended up in that cabinet on his own, but with that sort of reaction, he may have been disoriented and thought he was going into a restroom or something.
And maybe the lock just fell into place. ”
I never liked imagining there were killers running around our sweet town. It made me and everyone else very nervous.
“Ever the optimist,” Ewan grumbled.
“Not really. I just think it’s an odd way to kill someone.” I read the side of the balm. The company was a small one owned by one of my patients. She made lotions and potions, and I even used them.
She was a single mom and one of the kindest people I’d ever met. There was no way she would have killed someone. She didn’t do this.
Or did she?