Family Ties (Chapter Four)

Posted on | Tuesday, January 24, 2012 | No Comments

Chapter Four 

“I don’t know Aunty, but I’m sure it has something to do with what was in the envelope Nathan gave Uncle. How much do you know about Nathan?” Seth asked.

“Nothing much, except that he moved here after his mother died. He’s pursuing a degree in botanical sciences at the university and supporting himself as a gardener,” said his aunt.

Seth was about to warn his aunt when his cell phone rang, interrupting his train of thought. It was Dr. Krishnan.

“Seth, my friend at the lab called this afternoon. He confirmed that the coffee was poisoned.”

“Did he say what it was?” Seth asked.

“Powdered seeds from the pong pong tree. He recognised the smell immediately; he did his dissertation on poisoning deaths in Kerala a few years ago involving the pong pong tree. Quite a crafty poison, almost always comes off as a heart attack. Whoever killed your uncle has more than a passing familiarity with botany,” Dr. Krishnan said.

“But how would the killer have access to that plant? Does it grow here in Malaysia?”

“As a matter of fact, it’s quite common in South East Asia. You may have seen it, it has white flowers. Many people have it planted in their gardens, but few know how lethal the plant is,” the old doctor explained.

And who else could have better knowledge about lethal plants than a gardener? Seth thought grimly as he hung up. Ruben may have wanted his father dead, but why get the gardener involved? But he had still no proof either of them was involved, until he did, everything was just pure speculation on his part.

“What was that about, Seth? I heard you mentioning something about a tree,” his aunt said, looking at him curiously.

He filled in his aunt on the results of the poison test. “Aunty, this is very important. I need you to remember when you last replenished the coffee powder in the jar.”

His aunt’s face paled and her lip trembled, as she struggled to control her emotions. “You’re telling me that your uncle was…murdered?” she choked out.

Seth put his arm around her shoulders. “Aunty, I know this comes as a shock, but try hard to remember. It’s important,” he said gently, but firmly.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened them a few seconds later, still pale, but visibly calmer. “I refilled the coffee jar on Tuesday, two days before your uncle passed away. But he was fine on Wednesday, when I left for my sister’s place,” she said, looking doubtful.

“The lab wasn’t wrong, Aunty. The poison was fast-acting, so someone must have put it in the coffee between the time you left and when uncle drank the coffee on Thursday morning. Did Nathan come to work on Thursday?” Seth asked.

“No, he didn’t. And it couldn’t have been Ruben either, because he hates the very smell of coffee, it always makes him throw up,” his aunt said a little defensively. “Besides he only comes home from his night shift at seven thirty in the morning, so it couldn’t have been him,” she added.






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