Perfect Poison by Joyce & Jim Lavene

Author:Joyce & Jim Lavene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US

14

Monkshood

Botanical: Aconitum

Monkshood has been the source of hundreds of stories of witchcraft down through the generations. That may be becauseof the medicine women who used the herb to help a vast array of diseases. It has been used to poison arrows and enemiesfor centuries. The blossoms are entirely pollinated by bumblebees. The two long spears that hold the plant’s nectar are only reachable by the bumblebee’s long tongue.

Peggy thought about steve’s concern for her well-being as she rode to the police lab. He’d been patient and asked intelligent questions as she’d explained about the two deaths and how she believed they could be linked.

She loved talking to Steve, but she frequently wished he wouldn’t worry so much about her. She’d managed to survivefor a long time. His concern about her being spread too thin was nice but a little irritating. She could handle what needed to be done.

She refused to allow herself to think about what Steve had said about marriage. It wasn’t like they’d talked about it. She didn’t know if she was ready for that step yet.

After Steve had left her at Brevard Court, she’d met with a contractor about the changes she wanted to make to the Potting Shed. He was a very nice young man with imaginationenough to envision what she was talking about from her drawings on the shop floor. He’d added a few of his own ideas that complemented hers then wrote everythingdown in his notebook and promised to get back with her with his bid by the end of the day.

She finished up there, locked up, and headed back to the Kozy Kettle for her garden club meeting. Since it was so nice outside, she’d decided to hold the meeting on the patio.She noticed a few passersby who stopped to listen for a while. It was free publicity to her; something good in the long run.

“Today we’ll be talking about common house plant insects.You see this lovely jade plant. It looks strong and healthy except for this white waxy material that almost looks like spiderweb on it. Of course it’s not a spiderweb.” She passed the plant around to the fifteen attendees, mostly from Myers Park and Center City condos. “This is a sign that the plant has mealy bugs.”

Some of the women gasped, and the one holding the jade plant dropped it on the ground. Thankfully, the pot was plastic, and nothing was damaged. She picked it up with profuse apologies and handed it carefully back to Peggy.

“Mealy bugs suck plant sap and excrete honeydew,” Peggy explained. “They will stunt your plant’s growth and could eventually kill even a healthy specimen like this one.”

“They aren’t dangerous to humans, are they?” Cynthia Chappelle asked with her hand waving rapidly in the air.

“Of course not, Cindy,” her mother, Florine told her. “They can’t sting or bite.”

“That’s true,” Peggy agreed with her. “The only thing a mealy bug can hurt is your plant. The best thing to do if you see an infestation like this one on one of your plants is to get some insecticidal soap like this.

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