Never Enough Thyme by Juliet MacLeod

Author:Juliet MacLeod
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: amateur, female protagonist, mountain, small town, herbs, herbalist, colorado
Publisher: Casa Cielo Press
Published: 2018-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

The perfect summer weather was holding steady, and I grew excited about July being only a week away. I’d finally be able to put the top down on my Ghia without being too chilly while I drove through town. I parked in the private lot in the rear of the Jørgensen Building and went in through the shop’s back entrance, which opened up directly into my office. I wanted to check my dangerous plants inventory to see if anything had been stolen.

Inside the locked cabinet across from my desk were shelves filled with herbs that would kill anyone who hadn’t been trained and educated about their proper dosages and uses. There were several small, airtight glass jars filled with plants like nightshade, monk’s hood, foxglove, and hemlock. Nothing had been stolen; the amounts in the jars matched up with the amounts in my computerized inventory program. Whoever had killed Barry hadn’t used me as their supplier. I felt my burden lighten a little.

But that didn’t mean the killer hadn’t gotten their hemlock from someone else I knew. While I was sitting at my desk, I made a list of other herbalists in the area. I’d call them during a lull and ask if they’d prescribed or sold any hemlock in the past few months. If anyone had, I’d call Dean and pass on the information.

“Hi, Bekah,” I said after entering the front part of the store. “I’m so sorry I’m late. This morning has been crazy.”

Bekah, a pretty, petite brunette with blue-green eyes and funky fashion sense—today she was wearing an aquamarine short-sleeved t-shirt, a denim mini-skirt, black tights, argyle crew socks in black, lavender, and aquamarine, and black Converse low tops—was standing on the small dais where our cash register was located. She glanced up at me and smiled. “It’s not a problem,” she said with a shake that sent her braided pigtails bouncing. “It’s been really slow. So, is it true? About Viki and Barry, I mean?”

“What have you heard?” I didn’t want to break my word to Dean. I’d promised not to tell anyone about Barry’s murder by poison, and I assumed he didn’t want me to say anything about Viki being murdered, either.

“Just that Barry died at the bake sale on Saturday, and Viki was found at her house last night. Why? What do you know?”

I paused for a split second before answering. Bekah wasn’t a gossip; she could be trusted to be discreet, plus Dean had said that he wanted to talk to her. It wouldn’t hurt to give her a head’s up. “Doc Hutchins sent Barry’s body to the CBI lab in Golden for an autopsy. He got the results this morning, and Dean came by to ask me about them. Barry had coniine and conhydrine in his system.”

Bekah’s face became thoughtful as she tried to remember what those compounds were. We’d discussed them a few months ago when I started teaching her how to use the dangerous plants. “That’s hemlock, right?” she asked.

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