The Chemical Detective by Fiona Erskine

Author:Fiona Erskine [Erskine, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Published: 2019-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Monday 28 March, Ig, Slovenia

The women’s prison lay a few kilometres south of Ljubljana. The converted Palace of Ig rose several storeys above an arcade courtyard, surrounded by parkland and forest, contained within stone walls.

Jaq perched on a narrow bed in the spartan remand cell waiting for the police escort. The nights passed slowly, but the days were worse.

Every weekday morning, she was taken in a prison van to Ljubljana police station. Her prospect of release deteriorated with each interview. At first Chief Inspector Goran Trubor only wanted to talk about the explosion, refusing to accept that there were other sets of keys, accusing her of booby-trapping the vending machine to deliberately kill someone. Demanding that she reveal the name of her victim.

Next, he focused on Stefan, producing new testimony from the nurse who asked Jaq to leave Jesenice Hospital, as if that proved Jaq had been trying to murder the security guard for some time.

What would she be accused of today? And what had happened to Will-O’-the Wisp? She hadn’t seen him for days.

Wearily, she got to her feet as the police escort arrived, hands outstretched ready for the handcuffs.

The journey from Ig to Ljubljana was brief and uncomfortable in shackles. But it wasn’t the physical discomfort she minded as much as the confinement. Through tinted windows she could see the fertile valley blooming as the days warmed and lengthened. She longed to be outside.

Inside the police station, the restriction was worse. Through the small window, too high to afford any view, came the noises and smells of a busy little city. Car horns and market cries, roasting meat and garlic, music and chatter, fresh bread and hops, laughter and spring flowers.

She took her seat in the interview room and waited to have the handcuffs removed. Rumple Stubble sat slumped, half-asleep in the corner, as they waited for Chief Inspector Trubor.

He arrived in jovial mood with two uniformed officers. Experience warned her that his uncharacteristic good humour didn’t bode well.

After the usual formalities, the chief inspector resumed his questions. ‘Do you suffer from migraines, Dr Silver?’

‘No.’

‘Do you recognise this bottle?’

Jaq squinted at the evidence bag as he placed it on the table. Inside the plastic nestled a brown glass vial. One she had never seen before. ‘No.’

‘This bottle of pills was found in your bathroom cabinet.’

Jaq shook her head. ‘That’s not possible. They’re not mine.’

‘Wait, this is all most irregular.’ Rumple Stubble woke up. ‘You cannot search my client’s flat without permission.’

The chief inspector smiled. ‘She gave us permission.’

The lawyer turned to Jaq. ‘Did you?’

You need to secure the flat. It’s a crime scene.

She bowed her head. ‘Yes.’ The word came out as a whisper.

The chief inspector handed the evidence bag to the uniform. ‘Sergeant, can you confirm that this was found in the bathroom of Miss Jaqueline Silver while she was in custody?’

‘I can confirm.’

‘And how many capsules are missing?’

‘Eight.’

Jaq shivered. ‘What’s in the bottle?’

‘Ergomar. Each capsule contains two milligrams of ergotamine.’

Ergotamine. The drug synthesised from ergot. A fungus found on rye wheat.

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