Tall Tail

Monday, July 18, 2016

“You could have told me,” Harry complained to Cooper. They were in Harry’s kitchen, and had just split a piece of delicious carrot cake.

“Busy weekend and I worked all weekend. Little stuff, but endless. One fellow forgot his emergency brake and his truck rolled backward into the pond. Unfortunately, he was in it. Stuff like that.”

“Get him out?”

Cooper nodded. “Oh, yeah. Took the fire department, me, and his golden retriever. One of those weekends.”

“Well, so then how did Barbara Leader die?”

“Thallium chloride. The family had requested an autopsy so the body had been sent to Richmond to the state medical examiner’s. They found it in her system.”

“What’s thallium chloride?”

“Kind of like potassium chloride. Mimics a heart attack. Just stops the heart. Usually it’s injected, but she had no injection marks. You die pretty quickly if it’s injected, like a suffering dog the vet puts down. It’s quick. We’re hoping the final report from the examiner’s office can determine how this lethal drug got into her system.”

“Coop, could it be a mistake? An accident?”

Cooper shook her head, then added, “We’ve checked the usual. Financial problems. Marriage difficulties. Depression. Alcohol. Theft. Remember, anyone in the medical profession with a bit of brains can figure out how to steal drugs and then sell them. But Barbara’s life was in good shape, so that also rules out suicide. At least I think it does.”

“Do people use thallium chloride to kill themselves?”

“There are other ways to do that with substances more easily acquired, but I’m sure it’s been done somewhere by someone.” Cooper shrugged.

“I liked her. We all liked her. We weren’t close, but when we were kids it was a small community.” Harry crossed her arms over her chest for a moment.

“Turn on the TV, will you?” Cooper said.

“Sure.” Harry picked up the remote from the kitchen counter, turning on the large-screen TV affixed to a wall.

The cats and dog, asleep in their fleece-lined beds, paid it no mind. They were accustomed to Harry checking The Weather Channel frequently.

Harry flipped through until she came to the local news, which is what Cooper wanted to see. A remarkably clear picture of Edward Cunningham with local reporter Bill Coates appeared. Former governor Sam Holloway’s grandson was being interviewed regarding his Senate campaign.

“You don’t think there’s a war on women?” the reporter asked.

“That’s a Republican problem, not mine,” said Eddie.

“Mr. Cunningham, you are perceived as an old-time Democrat by many, which is really a new-time Republican. Two bills are before the state Senate, one on removing special requirements from clinics that perform abortions, costly requirements put in place by our previous Republican-controlled legislature, and another bill purported to close the pay gap between men and women for equal work. What is your position on both?”

“Well, Bill, I learned from my grandfather. He was criticized by the head of the Democratic Party in Virginia in the late sixties before being elected governor. My grandmother, a nurse, continued working throughout Granddad’s career. The party fellow said, ‘Sam, can’t you keep that woman in line?’ And Granddad quipped, ‘No. That’s why I married her.’ That ought to tell you how I feel about women.”

“Slick.” Harry’s eyebrows rose.

“Didn’t answer the question,” Cooper replied.

“Do they ever?”

The two watched the rest of the news. No mention of Barbara Leader.

“You don’t have to report that the accident is now regarded as a suspected murder?” Harry questioned the deputy.

“Do. But Rick and I will wait until we have the final medical examiner’s report. Gives us a little more time.”

Clicking off the TV, Harry sat at the kitchen table. “Are you sick of this women stuff? I don’t want to hear Eddie Cunningham’s opinion on women.”

“Bored and insulted.” Cooper sat across from Harry. “If anything is brought up as a woman’s issue, it means whoever is bringing it up sees women as second-class citizens. Plus, they’re assuming we all think alike. That’s the ultimate insult.”

“Well, we’re unequal on the money front, but I take your point. The media and politicians think we care only about so-called ‘women’s issues,’ and in Eddie’s case, vote for or against.”

“What it really means, Harry, is there’s money and political gain to be had focusing on women as separate from men. There’s Eddie, pulling an old-boy routine, using his grandfather and grandmother, and I pretty well think he has no concern about equal pay for equal work or any of it.”

“Mmm, seems to be the case. I mean, other than trotting out Chris and the two kids, he steers clear of anything that could be construed as human rights. Ranting against welfare, immigration, on and on. Makes me suspicious, but I’d be even more suspicious if he wasn’t working to promote business, create jobs. At least that’s in his campaign. Anyway, it is boring, but Barbara Leader’s mysterious death is not.”

“No.”

“So back to that. If someone killed her, they would have had to have some medical knowledge. Had to know where to get the stuff.”

“We’ve been checking hospital records, doctors with whom she had a working relationship. I’ve been on it. So far nothing.”

“It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, isn’t it?” Harry commiserated.

“It is, and I always hope I don’t sit on the needle,” Cooper said.