Read Online The Iced Princess by Christine Husom - Free Book Online Page B

almond syrup. I picked up the cup to see if I could identify it. Shehas that Almond Joy special with chocolate and coconut and almond syrups, and I wondered if it was that for a second. Then Doctor Long said she smelled almonds on Molly.”
    Clint blew out a big puff of air.
    â€œCami had no way of knowing she was tampering with possible evidence,” Mark said.
    When Clint didn’t answer right away, I had a feeling he was counting to ten. “I know,” he said.
    Dr. Long was the first to bend over the cup to smell the contents. “I’d be confident saying this is the source, all right; the vehicle of delivery for the cyanide. The cup is about two-thirds full. Our victim likely ingested a lethal dose of poison in the first few sips.” She lifted her head and backed away.
    â€œBut where and how she got it in the first place is what we have to figure out.” Clint turned to me. “Do you or Pinky have a supply of cyanide in your shops?”
    â€œNo, of course not.”
    â€œI asked so we could positively rule out accidental ingestion as the manner of death.”
    Mark nodded. “And you can rule out natural, because what happened here is anything but. That leaves us with either a suicide or a homicide.” He stepped behind the counter and took a sniff. “I don’t smell almonds. It smells like coffee to me. One of Pinky’s medium blends is what my smeller is telling me.”
    â€œThat is the challenge of relying on the scent of almonds to diagnose cyanide poisoning, because only forty percent of people can actually smell it,” Dr. Long said.
    Mark leaned over and took a second sniff. “Really?”
    Dr. Long went on, “It’s genetic. Either you can or you can’t. I’ve only had a few cases of cyanide poisoning over the courseof my career, but the ability to detect the odor has proved helpful each time. I’ve been called to assist other jurisdictions outside of Buffalo County.”
    â€œWell, I didn’t notice the odor on Molly’s body, which I should have in that confined space.” Clint stepped in and did his own sniff test on the coffee. “Nope, I’m with Mark. Coffee is all I can smell.”
    The bell on Pinky’s door dinged. I thought it’d be the Buffalo County guys until Pinky and Erin came storming in through the archway. Then I remembered Clint had locked that door, anyway.
    Clint lifted his arm and pointed for them to halt right where they were. “You can’t come in here. We’re investigating a crime scene. Mark, get some tape from your car to cordon it off.”
    Mark left to take care of it.
    Pinky’s curls bounced around her headband with a life of their own when she and Erin stopped in their tracks. “Then what is Cami doing in there?”
    â€œShe found the victim and has been helping us. But you make a good point.” He turned to me. “Camryn, if you’ll go wait in the coffee shop until we’re ready to talk to you some more.” Clint switched his attention to Pinky. “And you, too. Hang tight until we get back to you.”
    I was abruptly excused from being in the thick of things. And I had to admit it was intriguing watching how the officials worked to get to the bottom of it all. Once I got past the fact that Molly had died, and that someone had probably killed her. Molly and I had not been close friends by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn’t think she would have poisoned herself. It was obvious she was needy, but shehadn’t given any indication she was depressed enough to kill herself. She’d even mentioned wanting to start a family.
    Mark returned with a roll of crime scene tape, and the next thing I knew I was being nudged into Brew Ha-Ha to join the other two Musketeers. Mark secured the tape to one wall then stretched it across the open span and taped it to the wall on the other side. Pinky, Erin, and I stood back, just