Keeled Over at the Cliffside: A Delicious Seaside Cozy Mystery (Saltcliff Mysteries Book 1) by Nancy Stewart

Author:Nancy Stewart [Stewart, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Ispent much of the evening after the detective’s departure searching online to learn more about the castor bean plant. As the detective had noted, the entire plant was toxic—from the leaves right down to the odd beans that were actually seeds. It came in lots of different colors and varieties, all poisonous, and it was tracked as an invasive species here in Northern California.

And that last bit made me wonder—as a dedicated gardener, would Daisy be willing to plant something she knew was considered invasive, something the state was actively trying to eliminate? It sounded like the fact that it was toxic might not have bothered her as much. Then again, if she ordered it for the Teratines and not for herself, maybe whatever ethics she held didn’t extend to the requests of others.

I wondered how you would poison a person with the plant, and while I worried that my search history was becoming a bit incriminating, I continued searching to learn that ricin was a product of the castor bean plant, and that grinding the seeds to remove the coating produced the deadly powder, which would be easy enough to slip into someone’s food. Add to that, it was evidently odorless and tasteless, and I wondered if even Taco would notice it if it were ground up.

The real questions still remained then—who wanted to see John Baldwicki dead, and who had access to his food or drink?

My mind kept turning back to the head of the conservation group. I knew people could be quite dedicated to causes they felt were akin to saving the world, and conservation certainly fit that bill. Lana Lake, I recalled, was the leader’s name. Could she have killed Baldwicki to put a stop to the development project?

I pointed my browse to the group’s site, and found a photo of Lana Lake on the About Us page. She was a stern-looking woman with clear-framed glasses and dark hair swept up into a ponytail that was much more utilitarian than fashionable. The group was headquartered in Los Angeles, which probably meant Lake lived down south. I did a quick search to see if I could find her address, but came up with nothing. Could this woman have arranged to slip ricin into Baldwicki’s food somehow?

I was up early Friday morning, preparing for the arrival of a few new guests. As the days lengthened and warmed as we moved into summer, Amal assured me we were heading into our busy season. She said it would be unlikely that we’d have many quiet days until after Christmas.

That morning, guests checking in were greeted with my coconut coffee cake and berry scones, and Danny enjoyed a bit of each before heading off to school.

Amal arrived as Danny left, and warmth filled my chest as I watched out the front window to see Amal hug Danny tightly and then tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear as she bent down to speak to her.

I knew from experience that it was hard losing your mother, but I was glad Danny had both me and Amal.

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