A TWISTED MIND (Clean Suspense) (Detective Jason Strong Book 21)

by John C. Dalglish

  “Bye.”

  Jason hung up. “I would love to know what killed Elaine Smith’s husband.”

  “Tough to find out with that last name. There are probably ten thousand in the Austin area.”

  “True, but maybe she’ll tell us herself. Is there a reoccurring Austin number on Dale’s records?”

  Vanessa sorted through several sheets. “What’s the area code for Austin?”

  Jason googled it. “Five-one two and seven-three-seven.”

  Vanessa ran her finger down the top sheet. “Here’s two to the same number with the seven-three-seven area code.” She flipped to the second page. “Two more calls.” On the third sheet, she began to count. “One, two, three, four, five…all the same number.”

  “Likely not tied to the court case. Probably belongs to his lady friend.”

  Vanessa reached for the phone.

  Jason stopped her. “Let’s wait until Dale Ellard is on his way back. He said he would be leaving soon, so we’ll give it an hour.”

  “Make sure he isn’t there to influence her answers?”

  “Right.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The conference room door swung wide, startling both of them.

  Jason swiveled in his chair. “Lieutenant! You scared the crap out of me.”

  Savage ignored the outburst. “You two, my office. Now.” He turned and walked away, leaving the door open.

  Jason looked at Vanessa. “You do something to piss him off?”

  She glared at him. “Me? Why are you assuming it was me?”

  “Because I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything.”

  “Well, I didn’t, either.”

  They stood, gathered their papers, and went back to their desks. After unloading, they went directly to Savage’s office. He sat staring at a piece of paper in his hand.

  Jason paused at the door. “You wanted to see us.”

  Savage impatiently waved them in. “Come, come. I’m not going to bite. Shut the door.”

  Jason led the way, sat down, and Vanessa followed, closing the door behind her. Savage looked up from the paper. “Either of you familiar with a medicine called Uloric?”

  Jason shook his head.

  Savage slid the sheet of paper across the desk. Jason recognized it immediately as a Crime Stoppers tip. “We get a lead?”

  Savage nodded. “It came in about thirty minutes ago. They left it anonymously and hung up quickly, but they said Janet Ellard was murdered with Uloric.”

  Jason locked eyes with Vanessa. “Have you ever heard of it?”

  “No.”

  Savage searched both of their faces. “Please tell me we still have Mrs. Ellard’s body?”

  Vanessa nodded. “Yes. At least, as far as we know, it hasn’t been released.”

  Savage picked up his phone and punched in a number, then put it on speaker.

  “Bexar County Coroner.”

  “Doctor Hatcher?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Eric Savage. I understand you still have the body of Janet Ellard?”

  “Correct.”

  “Does a medicine called Uloric ring any bells?”

  “Is that the prescription name or the compound?”

  Savage shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

  “Okay. I can look it up. What about it?”

  “We have a tip that Janet Ellard was killed with it.”

  There was a moment of silence on the other end. “Interesting. I’ll have to do some research.”

  “So you don’t know if you can test for it?”

  “Not off hand. Can I call you back?”

  “Call Jason or Vanessa.”

  Jason stood. “Never mind. We’re on our way down.”

  Savage nodded. “You hear that, Doc?”

  “I did.”

  “Okay.” The lieutenant ended the call. “Obviously, I want an update sooner rather than later.”

  Jason nodded. “Copy that.”

  Vanessa already had the door open and was headed for the elevator. Jason was right behind her. Five minutes later, they stepped out in the basement and pushed through the morgue doors. Noah Hatcher was sitting at his desk with a large book open in front of him. Jason didn’t bother knocking, but grabbed a seat. Vanessa stopped just inside the office door.

  Noah didn’t look up. “Give me few minutes.”

  Jason and Vanessa waited quietly as Noah flipped pages in the Physician’s Desk Reference, an oversized volume about drugs and their information.

  Eventually, Hatcher looked up. “Gout.”

  Jason shrugged. “I’ve heard of it. So?”

  “Gout is a painful form of arthritis. Uloric is the trade name for a gout medicine. The drug is actually called Febuxostat.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  Vanessa had her pad out. “How is that spelled?”

  Hatcher fed it to her so quickly, she had him do it again.

  Jason shrugged. “But we didn’t find any medicines at the Ellard home.”

  “That may be, but the possible side effects include severe anaphylaxis.”

  “That’s what killed her, right?”

  “Yes. If your tipster is correct, I’ll find the signature for the drug when I run a test panel on Janet Ellard’s liver.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Should have it late today.”

  Jason stood. “Great. Let us know.”

  “I definitely will.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  Jason and Vanessa retraced their steps to the third floor. Before sitting down, Jason stuck his head into Savage’s office and updated him. The lieutenant nodded emphatically. “Stay on it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Back at their desks, Vanessa punched in a number and put the phone on speaker as it rang several times. Eventually, a female answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Elaine Smith?”

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “My name is Detective Layne. I’m with the San Antonio Police Department.”

  “I see. What can I do for you?”

  “I would like to ask you a few questions about Dale Ellard.”

  “In reference to what?”

  “Your relationship with him.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean, Detective.”

  Jason scribbled a note and pushed it to Vanessa. Guarded.

  Vanessa nodded. “How would you describe it then?”

  “We’ve been friends for a long time. Both Janet and Dale were close to Tony and I.”

  “When we spoke to Dale, he mentioned he was visiting a friend in Austin. Would that have been you?”

  “Yes. I lost my husband several months ago, and Dale has been very supportive. He helps out around here. But it is purely platonic, Detective. He slept on the couch last night.”

  Vanessa and Jason locked eyes. Dale Ellard had said he was checking out of a hotel.

  Vanessa switched topics. “How did your husband die?”

  The sudden change of direction seemed to fluster Elaine Smith. “I’m…I’m not sure why that’s important?”

  “Just background information, ma’am.”

  “He had a heart attack.”

  “I’m very sorry.”

  “Thank you.”

  A chilliness crept into Elaine Smith’s tone. Jason wrote another quick note for Vanessa. Visit to Ellard’s?

  Vanessa nodded. “Mrs. Smith, when was the last time you visited the Ellards here in San Antonio?”

  “Oh, it’s been awhile. Probably six months before Tony died.”

  Not the answer Jason was hoping for. If Elaine Smith was involved in Janet Ellard’s death, it was not directly, unless they could put her in town recently. He gestured to Vanessa that he didn’t have any other questions.

  She nodded. “Mrs. Smith, I want to thank you for your time.”

  “You’re welcome, Detective. Is that all?”

  “Yes, ma’am. If I have any
other questions, I’ll call back.”

  “Very well. Good day.”

  The line went dead.

  Jason leaned back in his chair. “What do you make of Dale’s claim he stayed in a hotel?”

  “Hard to say. Either he is covering up a romantic relationship because it looks bad, or he’s trying to prevent a platonic relationship from looking like a romantic one.”

  “Fair enough. But I don’t like it when a person lies about details. You know what they say about the devil.”

  “He has horns?”

  “No! The devil is in the details.”

  She smirked. “But he does have horns, right?”

  Jason groaned. “Sometimes, you’re impossible.”

  Chapter 9

  Jason and Vanessa had returned to the conference room to fill time while waiting for Noah Hatcher to finish his test. Each with their own set of records, they scoured them for anything new that might give them a lead.

  Only Vanessa came up with something, and it didn’t help much. “There were very few calls between Ellard and Elaine Smith in the weeks leading up to Janet Ellard’s death. If they were in a conspiracy together, they had to have communicated in some other way.”

  “Like burner phones?”

  “Yeah. According to these records, the only substantial amount of contact took place around Janet’s death, some of which might just have been Dale reaching out for support.”

  “True.”

  A knock came at the door. Jason reached back from his chair and opened it. “Yeah?”

  Noah Hatcher stood there holding a sheet of paper. “I was told I’d find you two in here.”

  “Come in. Sit down. You get the results?”

  Noah stepped inside but declined the chair Jason offered. “I’ve got to get back, but I wanted to go over this with you. It’s the results of the liver panel. It showed a high level of transaminase, an enzyme related to Febuxostat.”

  “High enough to be toxic?”

  “Yes. Janet Ellard died from an overdose.”

  “I knew it.” Jason smacked the table. “Something was off about this case the whole time. So we have a murder?”

  Noah shook his head. “Not exactly.”

  Vanessa frowned. “What do you mean by not exactly?”

  “Without knowing how the drug got into her system, I can’t rule the manner of death as homicide. The best I can do at this time is a designation of suspicious.”

  Jason groaned. “You’re killing me, Doc.”

  “Sorry, but without knowing how the drug was ingested, I can’t rule on it.”

  “You mean, suicide versus homicide?”

  “Or accident. Theoretically, she could have taken it herself or ingested it by accident.”

  “How do we determine the correct method?”

  Noah handed him the report. “The best way I know of is to determine the source. If Janet Ellard had no access to the drug but someone close to her did, then you likely have a murder and your killer.”

  Vanessa grinned. “You should be a detective, Doc?”

  Noah laughed. “I’ll stick to my own source of headaches, thank you. Uloric comes in tablet form, they’re green in color, and they would have to be ground up to be dissolved in a drink.”

  “Understood.” Jason fingered the report. “Appreciate the delivery.”

  “Anytime. Good luck.”

  Noah left the room.

  Jason stared at Vanessa. “Well, you know what’s next.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Ugh. Savage, unless you want to piss him off for real.”

  She shook her head. “Nope. Dinner can wait.”

  “Not sure I’ve ever heard you say that before.”

  She took a swing at him, but he was already out the door.

  *******

  Lieutenant Savage had agreed with Noah Hatcher, but he wanted to know how Jason and Vanessa planned to discover the source of the Uloric. Jason shrugged and looked at Vanessa. She shrugged right back.

  Savage groaned. “Out of my office. You won’t find your source in here.”

  And so they left but only got as far as their desks. Jason sipped a fresh cup of coffee and stared at his notes and let his mind wander.

  How to discover the source of a drug? Pharmacy, mail order, stolen, sold on the street.

  These were the most common ways, and it seemed unlikely that someone in Janet Ellard’s immediate circle had bought the drug on the street. Besides, it had no effect on the mind, and thus wasn’t useful for getting high.

  If the drug was stolen, it would either be from someone the killer knew, or from a pharmacy. Stealing from a pharmacy was no easy task, and it was extra risky for someone who wanted to commit a the perfect murder. That left an acquaintance of the killer.

  The remaining two means of acquiring the drug would require a prescription. He set down his coffee cup and opened his notepad. “I’m going to start calling everyone in Janet Ellard’s circle of friends and family. We know Janet Ellard was never treated for gout—that’s in her medical records. I need to find out about Dale. If we can find a member of that group who is being treated for gout, we will be ten steps closer to finding our killer.”

  Vanessa was staring at the pile of phone records on her desk. “There must be something I can do with these.”

  “What about determining if any of the numbers are to a pharmacy or doctor’s office?”

  She bobbed her head. “I like it.” She drew the pile closer. “Most of these numbers have a designation as to the source. If it’s a pharmacy, I should find it easily.”

  Jason dialed the first number on his notes—Destiny Carter.

  “Hello?”

  “Destiny, this is Detective Strong.”

  “Oh, hi, Detective.”

  “Are you busy?”

  “Not really. Just holding down the fort at the office. Doctor Ellard asked me to take calls and reschedule appointments.”

  “Makes sense. I wanted to ask you about the medications in the office.”

  “Medications? What about them?”

  “Does the practice keep any meds in stock?”

  “No, at least, nothing more than samples.”

  “Samples?”

  “Yes. The drug companies will leave us samples to give to patients. Doctor Ellard—”

  Jason jumped in. “Which one?”

  “I’m sorry, I know it’s confusing…Mrs. Ellard rarely distributed the samples, but Mr. Ellard often gave them out, usually accompanied by a prescription.”

  “What type of drugs are given to them as samples?”

  “Anti-depressants, stimulants, and anti-anxiety meds are the most common.”

  Jason was quickly realizing that a gout medicine wasn’t going to be on the list. “What drugs specifically?”

  “Zoloft, Prozac, Adderall, Ritalin, Valium. And others along the same line.”

  “Is Damon Stern one of the drug reps who comes to your office?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he leave any drugs when he came to the office on the day Mrs. Ellard got sick?”

  There was a pause. “I’m not sure I should say anything.”

  “If Mr. Stern was being treated, that is all you need say. I’m not interested in the details.”

  Another pause, longer this time. “I don’t know if he was being treated. I never saw any notes or transcripts from his meetings. I…”

  “You what, Destiny?”

  “I just know he visited regularly.”

  Jason’s pulse quickened considerably. “How often?”

  “Weekly.”

  “Is that common with all pharmaceutical reps?”

  “No. Most come by once a month.”

  Jason made his own mental jump to what Destiny was trying to say without saying it. “Do you believe Mrs. Ellard and Damon Stern were having an affair?”

  “No! I mean…I don’t know. I can’t believe she would do that.”

  Though anxious to follow up on the n
ew lead, he still had one thing to cover. “Destiny, do you know anyone who is being treated for gout?”

  “Gout?”

  “Yeah, it’s an arthritic condition.”

  “Actually, I’m familiar with it. My mother was treated for it.”

  Jason’s ears perked up. “Really? How is she doing?”

  “Mom passed away five years ago.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thank you. That’s why Mrs. Ellard was such a blessing. She stepped in as a kind of surrogate mom.”

  “It’s clear Mrs. Ellard was a special lady.”

  Destiny’s voice dropped to a whisper. “She was.”

  “This is going to sound like an odd question, but did gout have anything to do with your mother’s death.”

  “My mother died of a stroke.” Surprise tinged with some annoyance seeped across the phone. “Her gout was years earlier.”

  Jason ran what he knew about Uloric through his mind, which wasn’t much. He had no idea how long it remained potent or when it was patented. “Very well. Thank you for your help.”

  “Of course.”

  “Goodbye.”

  “Bye.”

  Jason hung up and looked at Vanessa. She was just finishing the last page in her pile.

  “Guess what?”

  She sighed. “I give up.”

  “Destiny Carter said it’s possible Janet Ellard and Damon Stern were having an affair.”

  “The drug rep?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is she certain?”

  Jason shook his head. “It’s just her suspicion from what I can tell.”

  “He was at Janet Ellard’s office on the day she got sick, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “We need to interview Mr. Stern again.”

  Jason picked up the phone. “He won’t be keen on it, based on his reaction the last time we spoke to him.” He dialed and put it on speaker.

  “This is Damon. Can’t talk now. Leave a message.”

  “Mr. Stern, this is Detective Strong. I need you to call me as soon as possible, please. You have my number. I will be waiting to hear from you.” He hit disconnect. “Think he’ll call?”

  Vanessa shrugged. “Fifty-fifty.”

  Jason gestured at the phone records. “Nothing?”

  “Not a pharmacy among them.”

  “Huh.” He picked up the phone. “I’m going to the next person on my list. You mind doing some research on Uloric?”