Lethal Habit - Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven
Nadine had thought long and hard on what she’d planned to do with Philip. She smiled and sent him a text. He didn’t respond right away, and she wondered if he’d written her off when he answered. “Ah yes Nadine. I remember you quite well. How could I forget?” He put a little smiley face on it which sent a wave of anger through her body. She invited him to meet her at a club for drinks. She arrived early, wearing dark glasses and a beret. He arrived forty-five minutes late.

“Sorry, got tied up with business.”

“Oh, that’s alright, I’m just glad you could make it on such short notice.”

A waiter came by and took their orders. She asked for a gin and tonic and he ordered scotch with no ice. The conversation went back and forth on a very superficial level. When he turned to look at an attractive woman walking by, Nadine slipped something in his drink. He didn’t notice and took a big sip.

“So, you don’t remember anything about our time together?” he said.

She just stared at him. Suddenly he looked pale.

“You’re feeling a little sick now. The thing is I remember exactly what happened that night, Philip. Let’s just say you’re experiencing what some would call karma, or in more western terms, the law of cause and effect. The strychnine won’t take too long to eventually stop your heart. 

“You crazy bitch!”

“That may be true, but it won’t help reverse the effects of what you just swallowed. Hope your little date rape was worth it.”

He tried to get up but couldn’t rise from his chair.

“Any last words before you’re whisked away to the great beyond?”

He gasped and was about to speak when he lost consciousness. The club was very busy, and no one noticed them. She walked away and took a taxi home. An hour later the waiter noticed Philip not moving. At first, he thought he’d passed out but when he went to wake him there was no response. He called the manager who came over, saw the unmoving body and called the police. In fifteen minutes, a detective arrived.

“I’m Detective Morris. Can anyone tell me what happened?” 

The waiter recalled that the deceased was with a woman but couldn’t really give a detailed description other than that she was white and in her late twenties. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to recognize her if he saw her again; it was dark, and he was distracted by all the other customers wanting drinks and trying to get his attention. 

“There’s only one glass on the table” the detective said.,

“She must have taken it with her. She was sitting across from him.”

The detective gave the waiter a suspicious look.

“Here’s my card. If you think of anything else, be sure to contact me.”

The waiter took it and walked away, shaking his head and thinking to himself, “not likely.”
Everyone cleared out of the bar and an evidence team came in to check for latent prints. 

Detective Morris went to the coroner after the evidence was tagged to examine who exactly the man was and see if he could find a reason why someone would kill him.

He asked the coroner, “What can you tell me?”

The coroner said, “He was poisoned with strychnine. As to a suspect or who did it, I have no way of knowing. Sorry.”

“So am I.”