Page 110 of Death on a Scottish Train

“I am. I wanted to destroy the evidence, but I had to settle for some papers that had your signature. All a part of my plan B. I also have another cocktail of slightly stronger drugs, in case someone saw my face, which you did. In a way I’m doing you a favor.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Your death won’t be as painful as my brother’s. You’ll just die in your sleep.”

“How did you get the venom into his lip balm? You said you hadn’t seen him in more than a year.”

She cackled. “Well, I lied, didn’t I? I was here three weeks ago to drop off his birthday present. He’d called to tell me he was sorry. He wanted me to come for a visit. I pretended to forgive him. I had noticed the last time he came to apologize for losing my money that he used the balm constantly. That’s when the idea came to me. So, while I was here, I used the bee venom I’d bought on all his toiletries. I’ll be honest, I thought he would die much sooner. It took nearly two weeks for it to work.”

“But you weren’t at the train station that night.”

“Oh, but I was. Just under a different name, and I left early. Well, once I’d pushed my dying brother into a cupboard. He had invited me, and everything fell into place that night. His face was swollen, and he could barely make out who I was by the time I found him. It was quite easy to guide him into that office and then the cupboard. And of course, I hid the EpiPen from him. Now, to finish my plan, we need to head down to your office so you can hand over that death certificate. My car is outside.”

There was no way I’d be going anywhere with this one. But I had no idea what to do.

“Come along, Doctor.”

“No,” I said. “You’ll have to figure out a different plan. I’m not going to help you.”

She laughed. “Forgery, it is.” She raised her taser at me. And then two things happened at the same time. I tossed the umbrella at her like a weapon, and Henry and the rest of Ewan’s team burst through the door.

There was a scream, and I blinked as the lights flickered on. Henry already had her in cuffs. The taser had fallen to the floor.

I turned and hit the floor to untie Ewan. He was still out cold.

“Henry, I need Ewan and Carl to be taken to my clinic. They’ve been dosed with goodness knows what. We need to flush out their systems.”

“Found him,” one of the other officers said.

“Get the bus,” Henry called out. “Boss is also down. Doc needs them transported to the clinic.”

A half-hour later, I had them set up with IVs to help flush out their systems. Henry had found the syringes she’d used, and while they probably wouldn’t do any permanent damage, I felt better making sure we did our best to figure out what was used against the men.

Abigail, who had shown up before we arrived, had taken blood samples to double check the barbiturates in their systems.

We had both men in surgical suites just off the lab.

I’d been taking Ewan’s temp, when his eyes fluttered open. “Doc?” he questioned hoarsely.

“You’re OK,” I said. “We are flushing out your system. Kaitlyn drugged you.”

“Kaitlyn?”

“The victim’s sister. She hit you with the taser, and then shot you full of drugs.”

He tried to sit up. “Have to …”

I pushed him back down. “Do nothing. She’s in custody and was caught trying to kill me.”

He blinked as if he couldn’t quite believe what was happening to him.

“Feel weird.”

“It’s the drugs. They’ll wear off soon, though you might get a headache. Just let the IV do its job and stay still. She’s in jail and isn’t going anywhere. Henry will make sure of that.”

“You OK?” he frowned.

“I am now. I was worried when I found you passed out.”