Death Comes For Christmas by P.J. Donison

Author:P.J. Donison [Donison, PJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: amateur sleuth, literary mystery, murder mystery, suspense
Publisher: PublishDrive
Published: 2022-02-24T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 36 ~ December 28

Partners In Crime

As they pulled out of Auntie Freda’s driveway and onto the street, Camelia asked again, “So? What did you find?”

“I found some things. Things you might find mildly curious.” Sophie wiggled her eyebrows. “Get this. A box of little packets, like those wipes you get with takeout, labeled... hang on” Sophie said, scrolling through her phone. “Duragesic fentanyl. That’s what you’re looking for, right?”

“Holy shit, Sophie, yes, that’s exactly what I was looking for. Anything else?”

“Yep. There’s a prescription bottle with Auntie Freda’s name on it for oxycodone. There were only a few tablets left. I took a pic of the label. And I grabbed an old compact for fingerprints,” Sophie said.

“Very good work, Inspector Sophie. So riddle me this: why did Freda need oxy and why would her prescription be in Kenna’s room?”

“No idea,” Sophie said. “And there was mail on Kenna’s nightstand so I took pictures. Just bills, but one was from a mail order pharmacy in the U.S.”

“Seems odd for Kenna to be ordering meds from the States when she has free healthcare, but then again, addicts do that. They sprinkle their scripts all over the place so no one knows they’re doubling up. Maybe Kenna’s worse off than I thought,” Camelia said.

“Well, given some of the people you work with, you oughtta know. Anything interesting in Auntie Freda’s room?”

“I didn’t see anything out of place and Freda’s bathroom was... normal. Just blood pressure meds and the usual Band-Aids and stuff,” Camelia said. “Nothing that would point to a serious illness.”

“Auntie Freda seemed fine at the Cousins Brunch. She wasn’t limping or anything, like she was in pain...” Sophie said.

“Oh god, I haven’t even had a chance to tell you! The reason I had you looking for patches is because I found two of them yesterday. One at the hospital and one at the funeral home,” Camelia said.

“Wait. You went to the hospital and funeral home? What the... Mum! Seriously? Tell me everything,” Sophie said.

Sophie’s eyes widened as Camelia recounted her efforts the day before.

“So, anyway, the fentanyl patches didn’t have anything written on them, and the charge nurse at the hospital said that if it was administered by them, it would have been logged and the nurse who applied it would have initialed it,” Camelia said. “I guess they track all the controlled meds, which makes sense. And the one I pulled out of their bio bin had fingerprints on it. The nurse was very clear that those things must be handled with gloves, that’s how toxic they are.”

“Oookaaay. That sounds super shady. So... Kenna gave the patch to Auntie Freda?”

“It kind of looks that way, doesn’t it? When I went to the funeral home...”

“Yeah, what’s that about?” Sophie clapped her mittened hands together. “Wish the heater would hurry up.”

“Just a hunch that maybe Freda had arrived with, I don’t know, something on her body that might give me a clue as to what she actually died from. And that’s where I found the other patch.

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