Page 69 of Three Steps Behind

“HEY, HARPER,” Joe Brackman said when they entered the lab. “I didn’t know you were back yet. I thought you’d taken an extended leave.”

“Long story.” One she definitely didn’t want to get into. “Is Ben in his office?”

She needed the director’s permission if she was going to do this.

“Ben is out for a few weeks.”

Her eyes widened. “A few weeks? That doesn’t sound like him.”

Joe looked both ways, then leaned in. “He’s having surgery. But that’s on the down-low.”

“What kind of surgery? Is he okay?”

“I honestly don’t know, but he said he’d be fine and back in no time.”

“Who’s acting in charge?” she asked. Hopefully her permission to use the lab would hold, given the circumstances.

“I am.” Joe smiled.

“Okay. Great.” She smiled back.

Fifteen minutes and Joe’s approval later, Harper approached her workstation. The whir of machines, the cool temps, the focus of the rest of the staff . . . She was back home. Well, this part of her home—her lab.

She set to work, and an hour later they had their results, as disturbing as they were.

“Well?” Deck asked, pushing off the counter he’d been reclining against.

“Not wood ash. Definitely human remains. We’ll have to talk to the crematorium before we can confirm they’re Taylor’s.”

“I don’t get it,” Deck said, coming to look at the sealed evidence bag as she slipped a label on it. “He’d already had her cremated. Why on earth would he do it again?”

“That”—she smiled—“is what we have to figure out. However, I have a feeling I know.”

“Oh?”

“I ran a tox screen, checking for poisonous flora, given what we found in her journal.”

“And?”

“I believe the glass shard I salvaged from the fire was from her perfume bottle. I think Nick tried to get rid of the evidence, but it survived at the edge of the fire.”

“What toxin did you find?”

“Oleander. Unfortunately, none showed up in the remains, but I bet it was there. The cremation just made it too hard to extract.”

“Oleander? One of the poisonous flowers you named.”

“Yep.”

“So Nick poisoned her slowly?”

“I believe so, and it eventually led to a heart attack.”

“Can we arrest Nick, given this information?”

“I think we better confirm the cremation coin belonged to her.”

“Right, and then we take it all to Joel.”