Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Since the store where the lip balm was sold happened to be a half a block from the pub, we walked there. The sun had peeked out and the air warmed slightly. Still, it was cold.
Of course, that didn’t keep the surfers and visitors from the beach. There were chairs and umbrellas, and a few brave souls were out in the waves.
“I’ll never understand how the Scots can handle the frigid water here.” I said the words more to myself and then pulled my kelly green sweater tighter around me.
“We are acclimated to the chill from birth,” Ewan said nonchalantly. He wore a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. The cold didn’t seem to bother him at all.
“I believe you. I thought the water would be much warmer this time of year.”
“It is by several degrees, just not by Caribbean standards.”
I laughed. “It’s the same in the Pacific Northwest, but not quite as cold as it is here. I can’t imagine surfing in either place. And I’m surprised I haven’t had any cases of hyperthermia.”
“We Scots are tough,” he said, and then smiled. “It is probably different if you’ve grown up playing in the sea since you were a wee one.”
I grinned. “Maybe so.”
The storefront had a sign that read Kiara’s Lotions and Potions hanging over the sidewalk.
I had visited the store many times. Her natural products were amazing for the skin.
And she’d staged the place to look like an old-timey apothecary.
With lots of wood and glass, and the walls painted navy, it was a cozy place to shop.
What I loved most of all were the scents of the products. She had everything from chocolate to strawberry smells.
When Ewan opened the door, the bell rang over it like a cheery hello.
“Morning, Doc,” she said when I walked through. Then she frowned when she saw Ewan. “Is everything OK, ACC? Are you two out shopping on this fine day?”
Scottish people said that sort of thing even when it was raining.
“Morning,” Ewan and I said at the same time.
“Everything is fine,” he said. “I have a few questions about your products and one of your customers.”
She’d been filling out paperwork on the counter, but she put down her pen.
The store was filled with glass jars, flowers, herbs, and various products for every kind of skin and hair. The place smelled like a lovely garden and was one of the most relaxing stores I’d ever been in.
With her maxi dress, Kiara looked like some kind of bohemian princess.
Her son, Max, was eight. He was seated at a small desk behind the counter, working on some kind of word puzzle.
He was a quiet boy who did well in school and had an intellect far beyond his years.
I tried to never pick favorites when it came to my patients, but he was one.
We had the most interesting conversations about everything from dinosaurs to airplanes when he came in for his appointments. He always had a different book, which made broaching those topics a bit easier on my part. His wisdom went far beyond his young years. And he was very even tempered.
“Kiara and Max, it is good to see you,” I said.
Max glanced up and gave me a short wave. Then he went right back to working on his puzzle.
“I’m guessing that you aren’t here for more product since you just bought some a few weeks ago,” she said appearing worried.
I shook my head and motioned toward the front of the store. “Let’s talk up front,” I said so that her son didn’t have to hear any unsavory details. Not that Ewan would share that much.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Ewan nodded toward me.
“Right. I don’t know if you heard, but there was a death last night at the train station.”
Her brows drew together. “I’m sorry. I’ve missed the town gossip, I suppose. We were running late this morning. Like most kids, Max doesn’t like getting up early in the summer.” She smiled. “He’s always a bit slow getting out of bed. So, what happened?”
“Well, we discovered something quite odd when I was doing the autopsy last night.”
She frowned again. “Oh?”
“Was Donald Jacks a customer of yours?”
She pursed her lips. “The name sounds familiar. I can check my records.”
“I’ll ask you to do that in a moment,” I said. “We will need to know if you sell any products with bee venom?”
“Bee venom? No. It does have healing properties, but too many people are allergic. I try to keep my products simple, so they can be used by as many people as possible.”
I pulled out the evidence bag with the lip balm.
“Can you give me an idea of the ingredients in this?”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh. No. It’s in one of those baggies you see on television. What happened?”
“I can’t say until we finish the investigation, but we do need to know the ingredients,” I added.
“It’s fairly simple. Coconut oil, peppermint oil, and a bit of wax. I don’t use any sort of preservatives because they can cause cancer. I’m very careful. I promise you.” She wrung her hands, and her eyes were watery.
I hated that we upset her, but we needed to know.
“Please don’t get upset. We are only curious about the ingredients. I just need to make sure. You don’t use bee venom?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. Like I said, too many people are allergic, and I’m looking for a wide audience of women, men, even kids.
“Do you have any idea if maybe this batch was mixed up or perhaps a mistake was made?” I asked.
She shook her head. “While I have bees at home, it is only for the honey. And that is for personal use only. If there was bee venom in the lip balm, it didn’t come that way from my shop.
And I wouldn’t use something like that for lips.
Though, it can help lips look like they’ve had collagen.
But many peoples’ lips are often too thin and sensitive for something like that.
I refuse to use anything that might be deemed harmful, no matter what the latest trends might be. ”
“What kind of products would you use it in?” I asked. “I mean, I know you don’t, but if you could give us some ideas of things you’ve seen bee venom used as an additive.”
She shrugged. “Under eyes, or maybe some lotions for the face. As I said, it can help with collagen production. But there is too big a risk for allergic reactions. I’m telling you that I would never use it.
Maybe some bigger manufacturers might get away with it, but those products would be mass-produced and come with warnings. ”
“Do you have any idea how they extract bee venom?” I asked.
She rubbed her forehead. “I remember when it first became popular, I did some research. They use some sort of electric current and a special glass. I can’t quite remember the exact method, but it was fairly complicated.
I don’t have the equipment or the knowledge, even if I wanted to do it.
If you’re wondering how to get it—my guess is it would be fairly easy to find on the internet.
So just about anyone would have access.”
Oh. That wasn’t great. Just about anyone meant we could have way more suspects than we had imagined. Though, it would have to be someone with the knowledge of the allergy, and the cleverness to put it in the lip balm.
“Let me check my records, and I can let you know what he bought. It will only take a minute as everything is on the computer.”
We followed her back to the counter.
She typed a few words into her computer and then nodded. “Right, he’s who I thought. He bought six lip balms. I remember him saying he liked to keep them around his house and office.”
She pushed more buttons. “He was a repeat customer. That was the third set of six he’d bought. He also picked up a lotion with tree tea oil for his dry skin and scalp.”
“And none of them had bee venom,” Ewan said.
She sighed, and I didn’t blame her for being exasperated with us. She’d already answered that same question several times. But Ewan was always thorough. “As I mentioned, I don’t use it in any of my products. If it was in that balm, then someone tampered with it.”
Ewan and I glanced at each other knowing what the consequences were of what she’d just said.
Not only did we have a murder, but a premeditated one.
“Thanks for your help,” I said.
She bit her lip. “This is terrible to say, but once it gets out about how he died, it is not going to be good for business. I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s all I can do to keep up with things as it is.” She glanced worriedly at her son. “This is our livelihood.”
“Dinnae worry,” Ewan said. “No one will hear anything from us.”
She pursed her lips. “You know how this town is, though. It’s bound to get out if that’s how he died.” She whispered the last bit.
“Like Ewan said, we don’t release that sort of information until everything involving the investigation is completed. That said, method of death will most likely be poison. We will be very careful how that is stated in the reports.”
She blew out a breath. “Really?”
“You’ve helped us a great deal with our line of inquiry. Please don’t worry.” Ewan reached out and shook her hand.
She nodded and smiled but I wasn’t sure she believed us. I felt guilty for causing her to worry. She had enough on her plate.
As we left the shop, the sun came out in full view. I welcomed the bit of warmth it provided.
“Well, that will help narrow down the suspect list,” I said.
“Will it?” he asked.
“Yes. We only have to find out who at the party ordered bee venom. I bet Henry could figure that out somehow using the computer.”
“Except, we dinnae know for certain the murderer was at the party.”