Chapter 20 #2
“Okay, fine.” She slumped in her chair. “That first visit to Victor. It was for a specific reason. His gardener was having problems with garden pests. Estelle didn’t want him to use synthetic pesticides, and he’d read that botanical toxins worked well.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “And did you share the information with him?”
“I did, but first, I educated him on the limitations of botanical toxins and warned him about their safety issues. Then I gave him the names of the three most common toxins he could use.”
Finally! “Toxins that could potentially be deadly to humans?”
“It’s possible, if not managed properly.
You’re not…” Her eyes widened. “You’re not thinking the toxin was used to kill Estelle, are you?
Because Victor would never hurt her. He loved her.
And his gardener wouldn’t either. That man was in love with her too.
” She spit out the final statements with disgust.
Abby got out a notepad and pen. “Tell us the names of the toxins you gave Victor.”
“Rotenone, Ryania, and nicotine. All are derived from plants.”
Abby’s pen raced across her pad before she looked up. “Did he hope to grow them and make his own pesticide?”
“Manual labor for Victor?” She snorted. “No way. But he’d have Juan take care of it.”
Abby held her pen over her notepad. “Can all three of these plants be grown in Oregon?”
“Could be, but the first two wouldn’t survive without extra care.
They’re tropical plants, which would have to be raised in a heated greenhouse here.
Nicotine, of course, comes from the tobacco plant most often grown in the southern United States.
You might be surprised to learn it’s also been successfully grown in Oregon for years.
Since this is the easiest one, we worked together to come up with a way Juan could grow it and extract the nicotine. ”
“Seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a pesticide.” Unless someone was doing it for a poison.
“I thought so too, but he said his wife was a naturalist and refused to let Juan use anything artificial. Victor was passionate about getting this garden just right for her. I suggested that instead of growing the nicotine, it would be easier to take tobacco from cigarettes. Finely ground tobacco is steeped or boiled in water to let the nicotine leach into the water. It’s then strained and used directly as a spray. ”
“And this is poisonous to a person too?” Abby asked.
“Oh yes, very poisonous. Which is why the USDA eventually banned its commercial use and cautioned small gardeners against using it.”
Abby scribbled another note. “And did Juan make the pesticide? Did it work?”
“Yes, they had glorious flowers that spring and summer. But then Estelle disappeared, and Victor lost interest in everything outside of locating her.”
“But you continued to visit him?” Abby asked.
“I told you. The loss of a spouse brought us together.”
Sam poked her head into the room. “Can I have a word with you two?”
Her expression didn’t give anything away, but she wouldn’t interrupt them if she hadn’t located something. Abby must’ve thought so, too, as she lurched to her feet and marched out the door.
“Stay here.” Burke went to the doorway, but by the time he got there, Sam and Abby had moved down the hallway, likely making sure they were out of the doctor’s earshot.
“What is it?” he asked, trying not to sound demanding. “What did you find?”
“The lichen in question is on the doctor’s boots.”
A flash of excitement sparked in Abby’s eyes. “Can you tell if it’s fresh?”
Sam nodded. “Once detached from their host, lichens dry out, can’t photosynthesize properly, and may die within days to weeks. The sample I located is still viable, so it can’t be very old. But we still can’t be certain of the location she picked it up or even if it’s from Victor’s property.”
“But you said it wasn’t common in this area, right?” Abby asked. “And odds are great if we’re already looking at her as a possible suspect, and she has it on her boots, she did pick it up at the mansion.”
Sam frowned. “Yes, odds are good, but scientifically, I can’t say it attached to her boots in that location.”
Abby fired a look at Burke. “We have to make her think we know she picked it up there and find out why she was recently walking Victor’s property.”
“Let’s question her again.” Burke headed for the office.
Abby kept up with him. “Sounds like you think Victor might’ve used the nicotine to poison Estelle.”
He glanced at her. “Don’t you?”
“It’s a possibility, yes, but Victor is displaying a tremendous amount of grief over her disappearance, and the average person can’t fake something like that.”
She had a point, but… “People can kill other people and still grieve their loss.”
Abby tipped her head and thought. “And he could’ve found out about her affair and pregnancy, a reason many people commit murder.”
“We’ll table this for now and see what we can find out from the doctor first.” Burke gestured for Abby to enter the room before him.
Neither of them sat, but peered down at Dr. Shore. She cringed in her chair.
Burke didn’t attempt to hold back his frustration this time. “We found fresh lichens on your boots. The lichens we discussed. The Cladonia arbuscula.”
His statement didn’t seem to faze her. “Like I told you earlier. I’m a botanist. I may be retired, but I still spend as much time as I can in nature. It wouldn’t be unusual for me to track all sorts of things into the house.”
“It’s funny you mention tracking into the house.” Abby crossed her arms. “Because we found the same lichen on the floor in Victor’s library near a cabinet where something valuable was recently stolen.”
“And since Victor doesn’t leave the house, he wouldn’t have tracked it in,” Burke added.
The doctor crossed her arms. “Could’ve been Sylvia or Ugo.”
She could be right, and if she didn’t admit to being near the clandestine grave, they would have to branch out and ask Victor’s employees the same question.
But, Burke would continue trying to get an admission from her. “Neither one of them have a reason to be tramping around Victor’s property. Plus, Ugo doesn’t seem steady enough on his feet for such a trek.”
“Sylvia, then.”
“Do you remember our earlier conversation when I said things would go better for you if you would admit what you’d done?” Abby eyed the woman. “If you’ve done nothing wrong, then you can admit to taking a walk on Victor’s property and tracking the lichen into the house.”
She growled under her breath. “Okay, so I went for a walk the last time I was there. Big deal. Victor needed to take a nap, and I was bored. But all I did was hike out to the cliff and come back to the library to talk to him.”
“The lichen was found by the bookcases, an odd place to have a conversation with Victor,” Burke said. “Do you always wander the room when you talk to him?”
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Because I’m asking you,” Burke said, trying hard to keep his growing irritation under control. “Give me a direct answer, or I’ll have my deputy take you in for formal questioning.”
If looks could kill, Burke would be dead. “I often pace when talking to him so he can’t see how I really feel.”
“Feel?” Abby asked, coming across much softer than the testy behavior Burke had barely controlled.
“I developed feelings for him. All right? I was drawn to him immediately, but he doesn’t return them and never will.
He’ll spend the rest of his days mourning the loss of the love of his life.
” Her eyes misted. “And now I sound like a lovesick teenager. But it’s more than infatuation. I really do care about him.”
Abby glanced at Burke. He caught the implication in her eyes and gave an almost imperceptible nod in response.
Dr. Shore had just given them a motive for murdering Estelle.
Burke’s phone rang. Seeing Kelsey’s name, he quickly answered. “Have you found something?”
“I’ve unearthed human remains,” she said, her tone ominous. “You’ll want to get over here right away. It’s not what you expected. It’s not what you expected at all.”