Read Online Of Merlot & Murder (A Tangled Vines Mystery) by Joni Folger - Free Book Online Page B

Mustang. Jackson was not looking forward to telling the man that his mother was dead.
    “I haven’t had time to tape the door,” Jackson said to Reggie Martins, the lead CSI, as he approached. “But I’ve been standing right here since I came out of the room. The door’s locked now, so you’ll have to get a key from the office.”
    As the man headed off in that direction, Toby Raymond hurried over, followed closely by Madison. “What’s going on here?” he asked, his voice starting to rise. “Where’s my mother? And why is the CSI vehicle here?”
    Jackson stepped over to the man and put a hand on his shoulder. “Toby, I’m sorry to have to tell you this way, but your mother is dead.”

six
    To say Toby Raymond had a meltdown after hearing the news of his mother’s untimely death would have been an understatement. Elise’s heart ached for him as she watched him go from shocked disbelief to emotional denial, and on to accusatory anger, in a matter of minutes.
    In his angry phase, he did his best to bully Jackson into allowing him access to his mother’s motel room. When that didn’t work, he dissolved into a pool of hysteria right there on the sidewalk outside the room.
    It was incredibly hard to watch.
    Of course, Elise had no idea how she would react to such news and sincerely hoped she never had to find out. That left her unqualified to judge anyone else.
    She had to give her sister credit, though. Madison and Toby hadn’t known each other long, but she’d sat down next to him on the sidewalk and held him as he wept, murmuring softly and rubbing his back in a soothing manner. After a time, Toby seemed to compose himself a bit, and her sister had helped him back to his room.
    Jackson called Doc Nagle down to the scene to get his opinion and clear the body for transport into Austin. Since Bastrop County had no coroner, the Travis County Medical Examiner’s office would conduct the autopsy and run any tests needed, as it had on her uncle a few months back.
    Realizing Divia’s son was in distress and needed help, the physician had given Toby something to calm his nerves and help him sleep, before heading into the Larson’s room with Jackson.
    Josiah Nagle looked like your typical sixty-ish, small-town country doctor, but looks were often deceiving. He was actually a country doctor-turned-author who had an avid fascination with death by poison. He’d written and published several works of fiction—all featuring murder with this main theme—and it was an area in which he excelled. Somewhat of a local celebrity, the doctor was sharp as a blade and never missed a trick.
    “I agree with your initial assessment, Jackson,” Nagle said when they came out of the room fifteen minutes later.
    He and Jackson were keeping their voices low. Elise tried not to be too obvious as she strained to hear the details of their conversation.
    “The telltale signs are there for cyanide poisoning, but the wound over her eye is substantial,” the doctor continued. “Either could have caused her death, but until an autopsy is conducted I won’t speculate. You’ll have to wait for the reports from the M.E. to be certain.”
    “I figured as much. Thanks for your assistance.”
    “There are definitely questions to be answered. I’ll be interested in what the tests reveal about the wine spill on the carpet.”
    “Yeah. Like if the spill contains cyanide, who put the glass back on the dresser next to the bottle?”
    The doctor nodded. “That would be one question. Another would be who washed out the other glass and left it on the towel in the bathroom?”
    “I know,” Jackson replied with a frown. “I’ll have the team bag that one, too. But I doubt we’ll get anything from it. It seems like someone did a good job of covering their tracks.”
    Elise found that last tidbit disturbing. The Lost Pines motel was a throwback to a simpler time, using drinking glasses that were actually made of glass. In the room, one had