Peachy Scream (A Georgia B&B Mystery) by Anna Gerard

Author:Anna Gerard [Gerard, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781643853062
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 2020-08-10T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Was that good news or bad? Still feeling a bit unsteady, I sat on the library’s front steps and asked, “Can you tell me what those results were?”

The Reverend was silent for a moment before replying, “Technically, I should keep this information to myself, as the lab in Atlanta will have the final word. But as my findings are not official, I do not think there would be any harm in sharing. Though I do ask that you keep this between us.”

“I understand. So what was in the drink?”

“As I told you, there is not a single magical test that can determine an unknown substance. And so I began with the list that Sheriff Lamb provided to me to see if the specimen proved to match any of those chemistries.”

He rattled off the names of several prescription drugs: Oxycodone, and others that I recognized from television ads. “Interestingly,” he said, “there was no match.”

“No match?” I echoed, picturing Harry’s I told you so look when he found out. “So you’re saying there wasn’t any sort of drug in the glass after all?”

“I said there was no match with any of the medications on the list. However, it occurred to me that perhaps that list was, shall we say, incomplete. And so I tested for a few other common pharmaceuticals. Once I eliminated the usual illicit substances, I decided to test for other common but legal drugs. To my surprise, I was successful in my first attempt.”

“So what was the drug?”

“Benzodiazepine,” he replied, and then clarified, “It is a sedative. You might know it by trade names like Xanax or Pazaxa.”

I reached for my pen and the piece of paper where I’d written down the magazine issues for reference. I’d heard of Xanax and Pazaxa before, but …

“Benzo-what?”

The Reverend repeated the word and spelled it out, adding, “That is the class of drugs. They are known more colloquially as benzos. Oh, yes, there was colorant still remaining on a bit of the crumbled coating, so from that I narrowed my guess to Pazaxa as the medication in question.”

I jotted all that on my paper and then asked, “But aren’t those drugs for anxiety or depression? Why would Len take one without it being prescribed?”

“I am afraid I cannot answer that,” the man intoned. “Moreover, all I can confirm is that the drug was in the glass. Of course, I’ll mention my findings to Sheriff Lamb, but we won’t know until the toxicology results come back whether or not that same drug was actually in Mr. Marsh’s system.”

Which will take weeks, as the lab in Atlanta is backed up, I silently finished for him.

“Thanks, Dr. Bishop. But I wonder if—”

“I am afraid I have shared everything with you that I can, Ms. Fleet,” the coroner smoothly cut me short. “And now, you must excuse me. I have a client waiting in my office who has been more than patient. Be sure to drop by and see Sister Malthea for your glass.”

And with that, the line went dead.

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