A Corpse for Yew Read online

  Peggy explained about the possibility of yew poisoning and their field trip to the lake to find the bushes the berries might have come from. “I might be able to match the seeds to one of the bushes. Then we’d know where she got the berries.”

  “And are you convinced that’s what killed the chief’s aunt? Because he seems to think you, and I mean both of you, have been dawdling. Maybe taking a few too many field trips while his aunt lies in state in our office.”

  “I can’t say for sure,” Peggy said. “According to what Mai told me about the cause of death, it could be natural or it could’ve been brought on by poison berries.”

  “I assume you told Dr. Lee the same thing you told me about cause of death?” Harold glared at Mai as he got to his feet and began pacing the room with his hands locked behind his back. “Signs of heart attack?”

  Mai nodded. “I told her that, but we both felt that finding the berry stains on her lips and the seeds in her mouth at least warranted further investigation. Peggy told me the berries could cause the heart to stop.”

  Harold’s high brow furrowed as he considered what they’d told him. “And your field trip was this morning, is that right?”

  Both women nodded. Peggy pushed the pizza crumbs under the table with her foot.

  “And have we learned if yew berries were actually the cause of death?”

  “I can’t tell for sure, sir.” Mai swallowed hard. “I sent some blood work to Raleigh, but it might be a while before we know if a toxin was involved. Mrs. Mullis’s heart was in bad shape without any poison.”

  “So it could go either way.”

  “Yes, sir. Her lungs were in good shape. There was no fluid in them. She was dead before she hit the mud. Without the blood work, I don’t know how we’ll tell the difference.”

  “And you found these yew plants near the crime scene, I presume?” Harold questioned his forensic botanist.

  “There were plenty of them,” Peggy acknowledged. “You see, even though her lips were red from the berries, it’s the green seed in the middle of the berry that contains the poison. One seed can kill an adult human. There would be dizziness, possibly vomiting, and heart failure.”

  “And do we know if the seeds that were found came from those plants at the crime scene?”

  “Not yet,” Peggy admitted. “I was coming in to look at them, although we don’t have the technology here that I need to test them.”

  “And were you out procuring said equipment and that’s what kept you from explaining this to Chief Mullis?”

  Mai and Peggy exchanged glances again. “I blame myself for the breakdown in communications, Dr. Ramsey,” Mai said. “Normally we don’t communicate everything we find to Chief Mullis. We were still working on the case, and I would’ve given him my report when we were finished.”

  Dr. Ramsey nodded his head rapidly as he paced, making him look like a tall bird. “That makes perfect sense to me, Sato. I would’ve done the same thing.”

  Mai blinked her eyes more rapidly than Harold nodded his head. “Sir?”

  “What? I believe in giving credit where it’s due. There was no way for you to know that Chief Mullis wanted to be updated hourly on your progress, nor should you have been concerned with making him feel better or getting his aunt out to the funeral home faster. That’s not your job. I’ll speak to him. You two carry on.”

  Peggy got up first, too stunned by his words to say anything. The trip to St. Louis must have done him some good. Mai apparently felt the same way, because she didn’t speak either. The two women walked quietly to the door and started to leave the room.

  “But stop fooling around with this poison berry thing and get me some real evidence one way or the other.” Harold had the last word.

  Mai and Peggy went to Peggy’s workstation. “I know he’s hiding something,” Mai whispered, glancing over her shoulder as Dr. Ramsey prowled the other side of the lab. “I can’t believe he supported what I did.”

  “You were right.” Peggy shrugged. “Why wouldn’t he?”

  The look on Mai’s face answered her question. “We both know why he normally doesn’t.”

  “So did you find any other seeds in Mrs. Mullis?” The question pained Peggy to ask, but she needed to know.

  “No. Those seeds I found in her mouth were it. Could they have killed her without her swallowing them?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose if she’d chewed them, the poison could’ve been released into her system.”

  “The lab in Raleigh can probably identify the poison, but it could take months. They’re always backed up.”

  Peggy nodded. “I’ll do the best I can matching the seeds to the plants.” She held up the plastic bags, which held the seeds. “You can see there’s some damage to them. She might’ve chewed on them.”

  “Would the effect still be the same?”

  “Probably. I’ll consult with a few colleagues and have the answer for you. In the meantime, I’ll take these seeds to a friend of mine who has the equipment to examine them.”

  “You can’t do that!” Mai’s face was suddenly animated. “That would break the chain of custody, and it might make them inadmissible in court.”

  “I can look at them under the microscope, but I can’t make DNA judgments without the proper machinery.”

  “Let me check on that. There must be someone who has that machinery, so the seeds would still be safe forensically.” Mai left to consult with Dr. Ramsey.

  Peggy waited, e-mailing a few friends who might’ve done more extensive work with yew berries than she had. She especially wanted to speak with Sir Nigel, a British botanist she’d met years ago. Studies had been done in England on using yew berries for various ailments. The problem always seemed to be finding a dosage that wasn’t lethal yet did some good.

  “I think I have the answer,” Mai told Peggy. “Dr. Ramsey said we have a contact at UNCC. He has some equipment you could use. I’ll go with you, and we’ll do this the right way so the seeds remain in our custody through the process.”

  Dr. Ramsey put the seeds into a brown envelope, closed it, and sealed it with tape. He put his initials and the date on that seal, then had Peggy and Mai do the same. “Now mind you, use the equipment but don’t let anyone else look at the seeds. This lab at the college has been used before. Have Dr. Dillard add his initials when you get there.”

  “Merton Dillard?” Peggy asked.

  “Yes. Do you know him?”

  “It’s a small botanical world, Harold,” Peggy told him. “We’ve collaborated many times.”

  “Good. That should make this more efficient. I want an answer by the end of the day.”

  “I can tell you if these seeds came from these branches,” Peggy said. “But it may take a lot longer to know if they killed Mrs. Mullis.”

  “One step at a time, Dr. Lee.” Harold looked at the two women over the top of his glasses. “Why are you still here?”

  THE RAIN WAS STILL STEADY on the streets and houses as Mai drove the ME’s van down Tryon Street to the UNCC campus on the northern end of town. There were reports of accidents everywhere. No doubt people had forgotten how to drive in the rain, Peggy decided.

  They got out on the school campus near the arboretum and greenhouse, Peggy holding the envelope under her purse to keep it dry. Opening the door into the botanical garden was like stepping into another world.

  Mai sniffed and put her hand to her nose. “What is that awful stench?”

  Peggy sniffed and laughed. “I’d completely forgotten with so much going on. That stench is corpse flower. It must be blooming at last!”

  9

  Titan arum

  Botanical: Amorphophallus titanum

  This mammoth plant was discovered in Sumatra by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari in 1878. The first cultivated garden bloom was at Kew Gardens in 1889 (from seeds sent back by Beccari). The first bloom in the United States was at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937. The plant grows from a large tuber and
can reach close to 200 pounds. It is said to be the biggest flower in the world.

  “SO NAMED FOR THE TERRIBLE stench of rotting flesh it gives off.” A tall, white-haired man came up and gave Peggy a hug. “A treasure, to be sure!”

  Mai moved her hand away from her face long enough to say, “You’re kidding me! A flower that smells like rotting flesh? Why would anyone have such a thing?”

  “Because they’re very rare outside of central Sumatra in Indonesia, where they grow. They’ve bloomed only a few dozen times in this country since 1937.” Peggy smiled at her friend. “Mai, this is Larry Mellichamp, the director of the UNCC botanical garden. Larry, this is Mai Sato, the assistant ME for Mecklenburg County.”

  “In other words, if this lady thinks Bella smells like rotting flesh, she knows what she’s talking about.” Larry laughed, and Peggy laughed with him.

  Mai looked at them as though they’d lost their minds. “Do we have to be in here with it to use the flower DNA machine?”

  “No, of course not,” Larry said. “But I heard you were on your way over here, Peggy, and I knew you wouldn’t want to leave without seeing our girl.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it!” Peggy started to follow him into the enclosed garden.

  “I’ll wait in the car.” Mai backed out.

  “Nonsense! You’ll want to be able to say you saw this,” Larry encouraged her. “It may be the only time you have a chance to see the titan arum in all its splendor.”

  Mai reluctantly followed the two botanists through the garden, the smell getting steadily worse as they got nearer the corpse flower. As they turned a corner, the plant came into view with visitors and photographers appreciating it. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe that’s a plant!”

  “This is Bella. She’s six years old. She’s young and a little small.” They circled the plant, which was easily six feet tall. “Her spadix reached a temperature of a hundred degrees this morning. We expect her to be bigger next time, which may not be for another five or six years.”

  “This plant probably weighs more than 170 pounds.” Peggy was awestruck by the sight. “Those are thousands of flowers hidden inside at the base of the spadix. That’s the fleshy central column.”

  “They look like little red bugs,” Mai said. “How big is that flower?”

  “The part that looks like an upside-down bell with the burgundy interior, the spathe, usually opens to three or four feet,” Peggy said. “This is incredible. I missed a titan arum that bloomed in London a few years back. I had no idea how remarkable it would be!”

  “It’s almost worth the smell.” Mai wrinkled up her nose. “It doesn’t look real. Or if it’s real, it looks like it came from another world. But why does it smell so bad?”

  “That terrible smell attracts carrion beetles and flesh flies that pollinate it,” Peggy explained. “Without it, it wouldn’t be able to reproduce.”

  “There you are!” Dr. Merton Dillard called out when he saw Peggy and Mai. “I had a feeling you couldn’t come out here without seeing Bella. She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”

  Mai didn’t disagree while Peggy, Larry, and Merton talked about the gigantic flower. There was work to do, however, and Larry promised all of them e-mail photos of Bella the next day.

  “You’re looking for a needle in a haystack, aren’t you?” Merton asked as they left the gardens and walked down the paved paths that led to the central botanical studies area. “Trying to piece together masticated yew seeds with their branches may be impossible.”

  “We might be able to get something together on it,” Peggy said. “It could be important for the case.”

  “Don’t tell me any more!” Merton held up his pudgy hands. “The last time I helped the police, I had to testify in court. I wasn’t too happy about that. I don’t like large groups of people, especially in stuffy courthouses.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” Mai promised. “It would be me or Peggy called to testify.”

  Peggy was surprised to find Merton working at the lab. She’d started to hug him when she first saw him, then checked herself. She noticed he was still wearing gloves. Merton had come a long way by being out of his house, but he probably wouldn’t be interested in that kind of physical contact. The man was obsessed with germs. “I can’t believe they got you out to work again.”

  “Larry lured me here with promises of updated equipment I couldn’t afford in exchange for a few hours a week working here. How have you been, Peggy?”

  “Just fine, thanks.” She glanced at the spray bottle of Lysol at his elbow. His iron gray hair stood straight up on his head as though glued there.

  She reintroduced him to Mai, who attempted to shake his hand. Merton pulled back abruptly. “That’s far enough, young woman. I remember you quite well from the last time. What do you want me to look at? I assume someone has killed someone else and botanicals are involved.”

  Peggy explained what she could about the case. Merton was an outsource. He wasn’t supposed to know all the details. It made the study blind, as far as he was concerned. And she was sure he didn’t want to know any more. “I just need to know if it looks like these yew seeds could have come from any of these sources.” She held out the branches she’d collected from the side of the dry lake.

  “Shouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “I’ll give you a call when I’ve had a look at all of it.”

  “I don’t want to rush you, Merton,” Peggy said, “but could you get it done as quickly as possible? We have some time constraints on this case.”

  “I’ll do what I can.” He shrugged. “Time takes time.”

  Again the possible evidence was signed for and resealed so the chain of custody wouldn’t be broken. Peggy heard the sound of Merton spraying disinfectant as they left him in the lab. Some things never changed. She couldn’t imagine how Larry had managed to get Merton out of his pajamas and his house and back into the lab. The man was a hopeless xenophobe, worried that being around people meant deadly germ exposure.

  Mai smiled as she and Peggy bypassed the garden with the titan arum to get back to the van. “That was easier than I expected it to be. Now we can only hope Dr. Ramsey has been able to stall Chief Mullis.”

  But Dr. Ramsey had not been as successful as Peggy and Mai. He swooped down on them as they came back to the lab, and told them the chief wanted to see them right away. “I apologize. I thought it would be enough that I’m the chief medical examiner. But my absence at the beginning of this case puts you in the hot seat, Sato. He may be willing to hold out another few days if you talk to him.”

  Mai was flustered by the request. “What can I say that you didn’t say? I was here, but I don’t really know any more than you probably already told him.”

  Dr. Ramsey nudged her toward the door. “Maybe you can say it differently. Go on. Take your botanical friend with you. Maybe she can find something to say, since this seems to be all her doing.”

  “I don’t mind talking to the chief at all,” Peggy said with a smile. “Let’s go.”

  It had stopped raining, but the clouds and dampened atmosphere lingered, creating mist and fog on the streets. The temperature had dropped to a more seasonal coolness that probably wouldn’t linger past the next day.

  Mai and Peggy talked about the case as they drove to the chief’s office. It seemed very simple to Peggy that the chief wouldn’t want to bury his aunt before all the possible questions were answered. “Unless he has an ulterior motive.”

  Mai’s face contorted as though she were in pain. “You aren’t going to suggest that to Chief Mullis, are you? Just because he drove his aunt to the lake doesn’t mean anything. It certainly doesn’t mean he was involved in her death. Please, please don’t say that to him.”

  Peggy didn’t promise anything. It might be good for everyone if the question was asked and answered. That way they could all get beyond how and why Lois was at the lake before everyone else.

  They moved slowly through the line of people waiting to be scan
ned for weapons before entering the police department. Peggy and Mai had left their purses in the van and brought only their IDs inside with them. One man seemed to be having difficulties getting through the metal detector. The officers scanned him several times, and still the buzzer went off. There didn’t seem to be anything else he could get rid of that would contain metal, certainly no place he could hide a gun or knife.

  Finally they located the problem: a metal clip holding an elastic bandage on his ankle. Once they understood the situation, it was simple to fix and the line moved quickly.

  Chief Mullis’s assistant, a tired-looking young man with droopy shoulders, met them in the hall as they got off the elevator. “Chief Mullis is in a meeting with Sheriff Bailey. He’d like you to wait in his office. The meeting should be over shortly.”

  Peggy and Mai took seats across from the huge, cluttered desk. Mai drew in an unsteady breath. “I really don’t like this. I don’t know if I can be the chief medical examiner if I have to confront people this way. I’m not good at confrontation.”

  “I hadn’t noticed.” Peggy smiled at her. “Cheer up. Harold isn’t going anywhere for awhile, and you’ll get better as you go along. What about that ring we found?”

  “It was an old ring. I’m having Bosco look it up on the Internet. Or maybe contact an antiques dealer. I don’t know.” Mai glanced at the closed door and bit her lip. “David, who does auctioneering on the side, said he thinks the stone is a carnelian. It has some kind of carving on it. It’s too dirty to tell exactly what it is, so I’m letting it soak in a cleaning solution.”

  “Of course it could belong to any of those poor souls who lived and died in the village.”

  “Or it could belong to the killer.”

  “Or the victim.”

  The door to the office opened behind them, and Chief Mullis greeted them as he stepped into the room. “I appreciate you coming by, Ms. Sato.” He sat back in his burgundy leather chair and made a pyramid of his fingers as he frowned at Peggy. “I recognize you. You work in the lab?”