“He could have added the poison to the shampoo before he went out of town.”
Kat sighed again. “Do you know how often Vicki washed her hair?”
Meryl looked startled at Kat’s unexpected question. “Every other day. I think.”
“Okay, let’s say that Kenny did add the poison before he went out of town. He left on a Sunday, right?”
Meryl nodded.
“That means Vicki would have used that shampoo at least twice, maybe three times, before Friday. So why wasn’t she poisoned earlier in the week?”
“She said she had her hair cut and shampooed by her stylist last week. Plus she alternated shampoos a lot.”
Meaning that Kenny could indeed have managed to switch shampoo bottles before leaving for his trip. Kat became even more determined to clear her brother.
“Okay,” Kat held up her hand. “Let’s consider the method the killer used: DMSO mixed with strychnine.”
“You said earlier that someone could get DMSO at the health food store. And that strychnine is in rat poison.” When Kat nodded, Meryl continued. “So, we just have to find someone with a rat problem who also had a motive to kill Vicki.”
Kat laughed ruefully. “From what my cop friend tells me, rat problems in the city are more common than you might realize.”
“I imagine an Internet search would tell anyone how to mix DMSO with strychnine.”
“You’re right. But Internet search histories can be traced.”
“The killer read it in a book, maybe? Some author used the same method?”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking,” Kat said. “Do you know Hazel Rose?”
“No.”
“Hazel’s a romance writer, but she’s started writing mysteries. She’s also something of an amateur sleuth. She’s on a trip right now or else she’d be solving this mystery. She told me about a book on poisons that she uses for reference. The Richmond Public Library has a copy of the book.”
“Really?”
Kat sipped her coffee. “I went to the library and found the book. I asked the librarian about mysteries featuring poison and she suggested several, including An Unbecoming Death which included a scene that was identical to how Vicki died.”
“So it looks like the killer got the idea from that story.” Meryl looked thoughtful as she chewed her scone. “The book group members all read mysteries.”
“The librarian said that someone else had recently requested the same book. She wouldn’t tell me who. Of course, she probably doesn’t even know. But if we showed her a picture of the women in your book group…” Kat looked at Meryl. “What do you think of that idea?”
Meryl shoved a too-big piece of scone in her mouth and swallowed the food with the help of her coffee. “I really don’t feel comfortable questioning people who could be killers.”
“Okay. Let’s ask ourselves which of these women had a motive. Besides Tina Wood allegedly having an affair with Kenny.”
“I don’t know. We all went to school together. Vicki stole Carol Sarris’s boyfriend in senior year.”
“That was almost thirty years ago. You think Carol would kill Vicki now?” Kat sounded doubtful.
“No. Just saying.”
“Did any of the folks in your group have rat problems? Not that one has to actually have a rat problem to get rat poison, but it’s a place to start.”
Meryl chewed one of her well-chewed nails. “Lots of people have rat problems in the city.”
“You’re right.” Kat drained her latte. “You mentioned that Vicki had been a phone sex operator. So maybe she blackmailed one of her clients.”
Meryl’s face lit up with hope. “I bet that’s what it was.”
“Don’t get all excited. If it was one of her clients, he—or she—would have to have been in Vicki’s house and used the bathroom. It’s pretty unlikely that Vicki would ply her trade as a sex worker in her home. Assuming she even was a sex worker.”
“Yeah. I guess.” Meryl looked distressed at such a promising possibility coming to naught.
“But blackmail? That’s an interesting possibility.” Kat gave Meryl a long look. “How about this scenario: Vicki found out that her dearest friend, her lifelong friend, was embezzling funds from her employer.”
The little color in Meryl’s face drained. “Embezzling? I never heard Vicki mention anyone embezzling.”
“When you said you did ‘everything’ for the Heller Corporation, did that include bookkeeping?”
“Yeah, so. Why are you asking?”
Kat leaned forward. “I heard one hundred thousand dollars is missing from Heller’s general fund.”
“Who told you this? Your cop buddy?”
“The Heller Corporation’s Membership Specialist also belongs to Max’s Gym. According to her, you were fired for embezzling.”
“That’s Patty Oates. And she is lying.”
“I know your mom has a lot of medical problems. I know you took a second job at a fast food restaurant for the extra money. I also know the restaurant is having a problem with rats.”
“You read too many mysteries. Besides Burger King isn’t having any such problem.”
“Did Vicki figure out you were stealing? Was she blackmailing you?”
Meryl said nothing, folding her arms as her gaze shot daggers at Kat.
“Remember when I said that the librarian said someone else had recently requested An Unbecoming Death?”
Meryl still didn’t respond. She sat, looking mutinous.
“She picked you out of a Facebook lineup.”
Meryl rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”
“And the fast food place where you work is C.J.’s, not Burger King.” Kat swiped at the screen on her phone and read, “Former and current employees claim there is a rodent infestation at C.J.’s, a popular fast food restaurant in Richmond.”
“Okay, maybe C.J.’s had a problem. But that happened way before I started there.”
“But they probably still had the poison stashed away.”
Tears suddenly filled Meryl’s eyes and streamed down her face. “My best friend was bleeding me dry all so she could send her idiot son to an expensive pre-med program. I pity th
e poor people who end up being his patients.”
Kat sat back, but said nothing.
“It all started when I borrowed a small amount from Heller so my mom’s insurance wouldn’t cancel. I was going to pay it back. I confessed this to Vicki one night when we drank too much wine. She immediately started blackmailing me and I had to keep embezzling to pay her. A few weeks ago she upped her fee from three thousand to thirty-five hundred. I couldn’t do it. My mom has a lot of medical expenses, and her insurance premiums skyrocketed and my brother cares more about his gambling than our mother. I realized Vicki was never, ever, going to stop.”
“Unless you stopped her.”
Meryl sighed. “Yes. I hate computers and the library had all the information I needed to poison Vicki.”
“You did get the poisoning idea from An Unbecoming Death?”
Narrowing her eyes, Meryl said, “Yes.”
Kat was sure the police would find Meryl’s prints on the book. Leveling her gaze at Meryl, she asked, “So how did you do it?”
“Like you said, I stole some rat poison from work, found DMSO at a health food store, and a bottle of Vicki’s favorite shampoo from another store. I only had to dump some of the shampoo out and add the other ingredients to the bottle. Then at book group I excused myself to go to the bathroom and switched the bottles. Child’s play. Too bad I didn’t get to see the gory results.” The look of pure hatred on Meryl’s face alarmed Kat.
Kat tapped the cover of The Godfather. “‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?’”
“Meryl McKinney, I’m arresting you for…” The man in the Flying Squirrels cap and tattered tee shirt flashed his Richmond Police Department badge and finished reading Meryl her Miranda rights. The woman with the blue-tinted hair and oversized red-framed glasses approached and handcuffed a shrieking, cursing Meryl.
“I’m Detective Thomas Fischella and this is my partner, Detective Stephanie Garcia. You are under arrest.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Meryl hurled at Kat as the detectives hauled her away.
Zorro’s customers and employees froze in their places, not speaking, not moving, as if in a tableau.