THE HERBALIST (Books 1-5)

by Leslie Leigh

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t look as though he was OD’d on the prescription digoxin, but there are still several variables, I’m afraid. We just really have to pray that he shows up positive for one of the herbs.”

  Detective Muller’s phone rang as they were about to depart. He turned to them as he ended the call. “Coroner’s office says they have to send the sample to Phoenix for the herbal assay, and that could take weeks.”

  Brian spoke up. “There’s one place I can be of help,” he said. “I have a friend in that department in Phoenix. I may be able to get him to put a rush on it.”

  “That would be great,” Muller said.

  # # #

  “Let’s stop in Sierra Vista for lunch,” Brian said when they were back on the road.

  “Good idea,” Melissa said. “Here I thought we’d be back in Catalonia for a late breakfast. How about something different? There’s a traditional German restaurant up near Fort Huachuca.”

  “That sounds fun,” he said.

  After a lunch of Jaegerschnitzel, spaetzle, and red cabbage, they were back on the road with three Black Forest cakes for the market.

  “That made somebody very happy,” Brian said.

  “Yeah, I’m sure they don’t get many people buying three whole cakes at retail price at one time. I’ll make a bit of profit from them, but the important thing is I’m providing something different for my patrons once in a while.”

  “But you can’t go wrong with a Chelsea bun,” Brian said, squeezing her knee.

  She laughed. “I’m glad you like them so much.”

  “I do and, obviously, so does everyone else.”

  “Except Brandon James.”

  “The serial-killer-maker?”

  “Hush. Don’t even say that.”

  “Sorry, I just don’t like the guy.”

  “I don’t either. He was actually trying to be cordial, but all it took was catching him off-guard for a second for his true nature to show through. And Kim’s, too…I can’t believe the switch that goes off in her when these guys are around. I never would have believed it myself if I hadn’t known her for several months before Brandon arrived. Between the brothers she seemed like a bright, rational young woman, but as soon as Brandon showed up, every bit of it went right out the window.”

  “I know, or so you keep telling me.”

  She looked at him. “I’m sorry. It really, really bugs me.”

  “Ohhhhh,” Brian said, raising up off the seat and digging into his pocket for his phone. “I turned the ringer off while we were at the White’s.”

  He handed the phone to Melissa who turned it back up. It immediately began buzzing. “You have both a missed phone call and a message from Corinne.”

  “Go ahead and dial up the voicemail,” he said.

  He looked at her, and her brow was knit then her eyes went wide.

  “Oh, my god, Brian. She’s there! She’s at Corinne’s.”

  Brian hit the accelerator and sped toward Sonorita. Melissa continued to listen, as Brian exclaimed, “Use your phone and call Harms! Call 911!”

  Melissa laid his phone in her lap and grabbed her own. She called 911, and then Harms. Fortunately, he wasn’t far out of Sonorita himself.

  Melissa picked up Brian’s phone again and then said, “Oh! Oh! She’s threatening her. She must have a gun. It sounds like…oh my god. It just disconnected. The last thing I heard sounded like a struggle.”

  It seemed to take forever, despite Brian’s speed, to get into Sonorita and onto the gravel road leading toward the Johnston’s.

  Brian screeched to a halt in front of the house, and Harms flew in right behind them. They jumped out of their vehicles at the same time and ran through the oleanders. Harms jumped over the fence while Brian and Melissa went through the gate. They peered into the windows and saw the woman standing calmly holding Corinne with a gun to her head.

  Harms gestured for Brian and Melissa to go around back.

  “Donna? I’m Detective Harms,” he hollered through the door. “It’s over, Donna. Let Corinne go.”

  There was no response. Harms squeezed the handle on the door and ascertained that it was not locked. “Donna, I’m coming in now.”

  “No! If you do, I’ll shoot her. I will.”

  “There’s no point, Donna. There will be more cops here in just a minute.”

  “Sure there’s a point. There’s a point somewhere. If nothing else than to show you who’s in control here. You already know how many I’ve killed. Do you think one more will make a difference?”

  “Donna, I’m putting my gun down. Just let me open the door, so I can talk to you face to face. I think you’re under a misperception.”

  “A misperception? I’ve got a gun to this woman’s brain, and you’re worried about misperceptions?”

  Harms held his arm out in front of the window so that Donna could see his hand and his gun. Then, he laid the gun down on the window casing.

  “I’m unarmed, Donna. Can I at least open the door, so I can see you face-to-face? I won’t step inside.”

  Silence.

  “Donna,” Harms said. “Don’t shoot Corinne. That makes it a whole different ballgame. Up to now all you’ve done is euthanasia. Shooting Corinne point-blank is murder.”

  More silence.

  “Donna?”

  “Open the door, but do NOT step inside. And put your hands up where I can see them.”

  “Okay. I’m opening the door now.”

  He opened the door to see Donna dragging Corinne behind the island in the kitchen, putting distance between herself and him.

  Harms kept his eyes trained on Donna, so as not to betray Brian and Melissa, who were behind her.

  Two vehicles from the sheriff’s office howled, as they bumped up over the curb and into the yard. The oleanders in front obscured everything from Donna, but Harms saw Brian race past him on the left, going to meet the other officers.

  “We have a hostage situation,” Brian said, as quietly as possible. “Detective Harms is trying to talk her down. The perpetrator is holding a woman at gunpoint. Harms has the door open, so that he can talk to her.”

  “Frack!” one of the officer’s said. “How are we supposed to have his back through those bushes?”

  Brian shook his head. “I only know you can’t go up there. The front door is just on the other side of those bushes. If you go through the breach there, you will startle her and somebody will wind up dead.”

  # # #

  “I’m listening,” she said to Harms.

  “First, let her go,” Harms demanded.

  Harms could see Melissa standing outside the back door.

  “Corinne, when Donna lets you go, I want you to go out the back door and come around to me, all right?”

  Corinne nodded her head slightly, indicating she understood.

  “I mean it, Donna. If you kill Corinne, it immediately becomes premeditated murder. In Arizona, that means the needle. If you let her go, we can talk.”

  “I can’t be locked up,” the woman said.

  “Let her go, and we’ll talk about that. Stop now before your crimes become more severe.”

  She cocked the pistol, and yet let her grip on Corinne slip a bit, indicating that while she might let Corinne go, she was going to shoot someone else, quite possibly herself. Then, she let Corinne go completely and turned the gun on Harms. Corinne was halfway across the kitchen, as Donna demanded, “Talk!”

  Before Harms could open his mouth, Corinne opened the back door, and as she stepped out, Melissa stepped in without a sound. Harms hesitated, wondering what Melissa would do when Donna put the gun to her own head.

  Melissa lunged forward, hitting the woman’s arm full force, knocking the gun to the floor. The woman turned to grab Melissa, but Harms was across the kitchen and had Donna bent over the island before she could get a hold of her.

  When Brian and the other officers saw Corinne come around the corner, Brian shouted to her. The off
icers jumped through the breach then and into the house, just as Harms slapped cuffs on the woman.

  “Donna Rae Magnuson, Regina Morrison, Rachel Moore, you are under arrest for attempted murder, for the unlawful deaths of Anthony White and Lloyd Johnston, for fraudulent use of multiple identities in obtaining nursing licensure, and for impersonating a notary public.”

  She stepped backward, jamming her heel down onto Harms’ foot and forcefully throwing herself into him, knocking him back into the sink counter. The other two officers cocked their weapons, but Harms shouted, “Don’t!” One of the officer’s released his hammer and came to subdue the woman so Harms could get up. Harms smoothed his clothes and saw that the other officer still had his gun at the ready. “Put it away,” Harms said. “That’s what she wants—suicide by cop. Not happening. Not today.”

  Melissa walked into the living room and saw a bag slung across a chair. She turned to Corinne who had just come in the door. “Is this yours?” she asked Corinne.

  Corinne shook her head. “It’s hers,” she said, pointing to the woman.

  “Detective Harms,” Melissa said. “I believe if you look in this bag, you will find a vial containing oleander serum.”

  The two deputies started out the door with the woman who glared hatred at Melissa, and Melissa couldn’t resist. “Oh, Donna, just so you know,” she said. “Cigarettes now have a chemical in them that causes them to extinguish when they’re not being puffed on. Lucky Mr. White.” The woman’s face turned from red to white, as the color drained from it. The deputy was reading Miranda rights to her, as he walked her to his vehicle.

  Harms picked up the bag and opened it. “I’m not going to touch anything inside it; it will go to the evidence locker, but I will tell you that I do see a small blue vial in the purse.”

  “That would be it,” Melissa said, feeling triumphant and profoundly relieved.

  Harms turned to Brian. “So, there’s no proof anywhere that she actually used the serum?”

  Brian realized Harms didn’t know about the morning’s incident. He brought him up to speed.

  “That’s the Lucky Mr. White?”

  “I guess I should have said, ‘Lucky us,’ but I wanted her to know that we knew about Mr. White.”

  “The good news, too, is that I just spoke to my friend in the forensics lab in Phoenix, and he says he can get us a rush on the sample from Mr. White as soon as he receives it.”

  “Looks like there’s a possibility we can get this wrapped up quickly,” Harms said.

  “I hope so,” Brian said. “Do you want me to call Detective Muller, or do you?”

  “You can call him if you like, but I will need to touch base with him at some point.”

  “I guess we’ll never know for sure about Howard Foster.”

  “Probably not, unless she confesses. But those others, the eight possibilities—”

  “More likely seven,” Brian said.

  “—seven possibilities, if you want to keep tracking down next of kin, if we get any reports of similar end-stage behavior from them, we may be able to add them to the indictment, or maybe she’ll cop to all of them.”

  Brian nodded. “If not, perhaps I can just give them some closure.”

  Corinne sat down in a chair in the living room and began to shake.

  “Here,” said Melissa, “let’s have you lie down on the couch. Brian, will you see if you can find me a blanket and maybe a better pillow than this,” she said, holding up a stiff throw cushion.

  He nodded and headed upstairs. He was back in just a minute with a blanket and bed pillow.

  Melissa covered her and put the pillow behind her head, speaking soothingly to her. “Are you all right? I mean, no injuries of any kind?”

  “Just my pride,” Corinne said.

  “Your pride?” Brian asked.

  “Yeah, I lunged for her gun and ended up on my face. That’s how she got the drop on me to hold me hostage.”

  “You’re lucky she didn’t shoot you.”

  “I know I am.” She smiled up into Melissa’s face and grasped her hand. “Thank you, thank you so much.” Tears began to roll down her face.

  “You were so quick thinking,” Melissa said. She gestured for Brian’s phone, dialing up voicemail and then putting it on speaker phone for Harms to hear.

  Corinne was the first voice that was recorded: What do you want?

  Then, Donna’s voice: I came for the car.

  Corinne: I thought you were going to meet me in probate court.

  Donna: I can’t wait for due process. Circumstances beyond my control mandate that I leave now.

  Corinne: Why didn’t you just drive away with it after you killed my dad?

  Donna: Because it would have been reported stolen. I didn’t need that kind of heat.

  Corinne: And what would keep me from reporting it stolen as soon as you leave with it?

  Donna: You won’t be able to. You’ll be dead.

  Silence

  Corinne: Why would you kill me over a car?

  Donna: Why not? I killed your dad. Why would it bother me to kill you?

  Harms snatched the phone out of Melissa’s hand. The recording continued, but there were only sounds of struggle. He turned to Brian. “Sorry, Buddy. This is forfeit for now. We have the evidence we need.”

  Brian smiled thinly. “No problem. I have everything backed up. I was due for a new one anyway.

  Chapter 10

  “What a Sunday!” Melissa exclaimed, as they drove into Catalonia. “I wish I had a big hot tub on my back patio. I’d just crawl into it and relax.”

  “So, what would help you relax?” Brandon asked.

  “Maybe some soft music, lavender tea, and kitty-love.”

  He laughed. “How about a nice back rub?” he ventured.

  “Well, what about you, Mr. All-Concerned? What would help you to relax? You must be in even more need than I.”

  “Probably, just the same thing,” he said.

  “That’s a deal,” he said as they pulled up to her cottage.

  “Let’s see what kind of comfort food I have on hand for dinner,” she said.

  “After that lunch, I’m not sure I’m up for dinner.”

  “You mean your adrenaline didn’t burn it all up?” she asked. “I’ll just make us a nice, cool salad.”

  “That works. I need to make case notes while it’s still fresh in my mind and line up the list of people I’m going to call tomorrow.”

  # # #

  Melissa always liked to sleep with her bedroom window open at night, even in the warmest weather. Since she had an evaporative cooler instead of air conditioning, she could do that and still keep cool.

  The way her bedroom was positioned, it was away from street lights, and luckily, although she sometimes heard dogs in the distance, the ones close by were kept inside at night. She was deep into dreamland when she awoke with a start. She listened for the source of what had awakened her. Sweet Pea had jumped off the bed and into the window, so there must be something going on outside.

  She lay for a little bit and heard shrieks of laughter from a woman, and a deeper voice talking. As she listened, she finally concluded that at least the woman, if not both of them, was drunk. She thought about who lived close-by. There were no pubs in that part of town, and she knew all of her neighbors, who were older. She listened again to what direction it was coming from, wondering if it were young tourists staying in the B&B that Brian had just checked out of on the street behind her house.

  As she mentally checked off everyone it couldn’t be, the shrieking suddenly turned into screams and crying, and the male voice was angry. She jumped out of bed then and grabbed her bathrobe and slipped into it and a pair of slippers she found near the bed.

  She got up to see if she could see who it was, and as she stepped out of her room, Brian stepped out of his in jeans, t-shirt, and bare feet. She was going to say something to him, but the screams started up again, and the two of them rushed out ont
o the street.

  It was as Melissa had feared once the crying began; it was Kim and Brandon. Brian and Melissa rushed down the street toward them, and the two were oblivious to their approach. It was easy to see that they were both very drunk. Brandon was squeezing Kim’s arm, and half pulling, half pushing her. Melissa couldn’t tell if Kim had been lying on the ground, and he was pulling her up, or if she had been standing, and he was trying to push her down.

  Melissa looked at Brian, and he immediately got on his phone and dialed 911. The sound of Brian’s voice caused Brandon to look toward them. “You two!” he said. “Why are you always trying to butt-in between me and my girl? She’s just sick, and I’m holding her so she doesn’t drown in her puke.”

  Melissa looked around Kim but saw no evidence of vomit. However, she did tip her head up and see a contusion gathering on her cheek. “Well, well,” Melissa said. “I’ve seen this before, on another of my employees and perpetrated by your brother. Are all of you James’ boys bullies?”

  Sirens were heard close by and flashing red and blue lights came into view.

  “What the?” Brandon said, wobbling back and forth.

  The car pulled along the curb and two deputies jumped out, flashing their Maglites over the scene.

  “What’s going on here?” one deputy asked.

  “It seems Mr. James has struck Mrs. James.”

  “These two are married?”

  “Long story, but, no, just dating.” Melissa proceeded to tell the deputy what had happened while the other deputy had Brandon spread-eagled against the county vehicle. Melissa and the deputy helped Kim to her feet as she swayed and sagged into Melissa. Brian was with the other deputy.

  They checked Brandon’s identification, then brought Kim to the vehicle to look at her. The contusion was blackening very nicely at this point, as were the finger marks on her arm, so there was little doubt of their source. One of the deputy’s took pictures of her injuries.

  One deputy signaled the other, and he pulled Brandon’s arms behind him and cuffed him. “Brandon James, you’re under arrest for public intoxication and for assaulting Kim James.”