The Venus Fix

Twelve

Detective Perez walked into the office he shared with Noah Jordain to find his partner just starting to make a fresh pot of what everyone else in the department referred to as “Jordain’s mud,” but which Perez had come to enjoy.

The office was standard fare, badly in need of a new coat of paint and a lot of new furniture, but the window looked out onto the street rather than a back alley or a brick wall like the rest of them.

“You are not going to believe this,” Perez said as he sat down, put a wrinkled piece of paper on his desk and tried to smooth it out.

“Try me, anyway,” Jordain said as he added a scoop of chicory to the freshly ground coffee.

“Debra Kamel was poisoned,” Perez stated matter-of-factly.

“Okay.” The second syllable was elongated by his southern accent. “We thought that was a possibility. What’s the surprise? The kind of poison? Does Gordon think it was self-administered?”

“The poison is called atropine,” Perez read. “It’s one of a family of anticholinergic drugs-often referred to as the belladonna alkaloids…easily absorbed from mucous membranes, skin, intestinal tract or lungs.” He looked up. “But in this case we’re talking the membranes. These drugs can be toxic, Gordon said, even in an otherwise safe dose. For instance, an individual who is having his eyes dilated at the ophthalmologist’s could end up in the cardiac unit. It’s happened.”

“Eyes dilated? You’ve lost me. What does this have to do with her eyes?”

“It doesn’t, I’m just giving you some background. That’s one of the basic uses of atropine. It also causes heart attacks. Oh, and get this-belladonna was historically used as a sexual stimulant.”

“You threw that in for what, a little irony?”

“You might think so, but I was thinking that if someone else did this to her maybe it was someone who had a bad sense of humor and used these alkaloids on her specifically because they’ve been known as stimulants going way back in time.”

“Okay. So is that what happened to her? The toxic reaction was cardiac arrest?”

“You know that’s cooked, don’t you?” Perez nodded at the coffee.

“Forgot about it, I was so engrossed by your story.” Jordain turned, poured out two cups and handed one to his partner.

Perez took a sip, then continued.

“Basically what happened probably started with symptoms like dry mouth, high fever…” He consulted the sheet of paper again. “Blurred vision, dilated pupils, vasodilation, rapid heartbeat, excitement, dizziness, delirium, confusion, hallucination, then death resulting from circulatory and respiratory failure.”

“How long?”

Perez read on. “Onset of action is rapid from fifteen minutes to two hours, with death in one hour to one day, depending on lots of factors-route of exposure, dose, sensitivity, health.”

“If we go by what time the first call was logged in Sarasota, Florida, to what time Gordon thinks she died, we’re looking at between two-and-a-half and three hours max from onset. So what dosage are we talking about?”

“The fatal dose of atropine for that time period is-” Perez scanned the sheet of paper “-fifteen milligrams, which is five drops of concentrated extract.”

Jordain was surprised to find his cup of coffee was already empty. He got up and refilled it. “And I suppose this stuff is shockingly easy to come by?”

“You aren’t going to believe how easy.”

“Try me.”

“It’s used in dozens of medicines. Anti-Parkinson drugs, gastrointestinal antispasmodics, urinary tract antispasmodics, ophthalmology, colic, motion sickness, dry secretions, pre- and post-op. It treats bradycardia and is the antidote to organophosphate insecticides. Atropine is also the antidote for cholinergic nerve gases. One interesting note is that, in the Gulf War, much more toxicity was reported from inappropriate use of the atropine syringes found in soldiers’ emergency kits than from actual nerve-gas attack.” He paused, looked up from the piece of paper and shook his head. “But get this. The easiest way to get the damn stuff is from prescription eyedrops. Anyone working in any hospital can grab a handful of vials and slip them into a pocket or purse. No one would notice them missing. A typical stock bin holds about two hundred and fifty vials, and it’s not even considered dangerous. It treats inflammation and is a basic in any eye exam.”

Jordain started to ask his next question when the phone rang. He let it go until the third ring, then grabbed it, said his name, listened, said a brief yes, and then hung up. “Follow-up on the Bullard case. Nothing that can’t wait. I was about to ask if there are other places as easy to get it as a hospital.”

“Yup.” He checked the sheet. “Army supply units would have it. Any doctor might prescribe it. The prescription eye drops would most likely go by the brand name Homatropine or Isopto Atropine, which of course you could get from an online pharmaceutical site. Know what else? You can buy the stuff from any shop or Web site selling Wiccan supplies. They use it to introduce hallucinations. Butler checked and found three atropine injectors for sale at eBay.”

“Paper trail,” Jordain muttered.

“There’s an even easier way to get it. You can grow it yourself. Or take a field trip with a little pocket knife to one of the dozens of medical gardens attached to so many museums and schools. Quite a few have a poison garden and-”

“Damn it, Perez, I got it. You can get the stuff anywhere and everywhere. I can get the stuff. Butler can get it. It’s a no-brainer. It’s probably even growing in Central Park.”

“Probably.”

“Great, so, we know the what. Do we know anything about the how? Do you know the details?”

“That’s the part you aren’t going to believe.”

Jordain’s expression went from serious to impatient, tinged with slight annoyance.

“The poison entered her system through mucous membranes. Specifically through the membranes in her vaginal wall.” He paused.

Jordain made a hurry-up motion with this hand.

“The atropine was mixed into the lubricant she slathered on her dildo.”