Page 75 of Hoodoo House
“It has to do with something I discovered when looking at some video evidence.”
The blood drained from Sinclair’s face, but he said nothing.
Charlie turned towards the other end of the table. “Mrs Cameron—do you remember seeing anyone around the house other than Mr Yamada around the time of Malcolm’s death?”
She paused. “Bikers. The day before Mr Tull’s body was found, I remember seeing a Harley by the side of the house. I never saw the owner, but I knew it was one of his…visitors. And I remember a young man on a motorbike. Not a loud motorbike like the others. It was quieter. That fellow came by on the day they removed Mr Tull’s body.”
“Was that man the one who burned down the house tonight?”
“It was not. It was someone much smaller in size. I chased him off the property with my rolling pin.”
Cody White,Charlie thought.
“I remember him,” Henry said. “He was nice.”
Charlie continued, “I think I know who that person is and I’ve interviewed him. Now, I have one more question, and this one’s for Henry.”
Henry went pale. He set down his milk. Mrs Cameron reached over and held his hand.
“This is important, Henry. Do you remember how many pills you crushed up and put in Mr Tull’s drink?”
Henry started fussing with his hands. He looked at Mrs Cameron, then glanced at Declan before returning his gaze to Charlie.
“I crushed up…three pills,” he said, slowly. “I couldn’t put in too many, ‘cause I thought he’d feel the grit in the drink and he wouldn’t drink it.” Henry looked down. “I had to stop him.”
“Thank you, Henry,” Charlie said. “Being honest is sometimes hard, and you have to be very brave to tell the truth.
“Now,” Charlie continued, “Declan and I visited the RCMP office this afternoon. We managed to have a quick look at Malcolm Tull’s file and I got a good look at the coroner’s report. It listed the cause of Malcolm Tull’s death…and it wasn’t due to an overdose of primidone.”
Declan looked at him in surprise. Charlie began to think thatnotfilling Declan in ahead of time might have been a mistake.
Mrs Cameron grabbed Henry and gave him a hug. The teen stared at Charlie in disbelief.
“Then, if Henry didn’t kill him, who or what did?” Sinclair asked.
“Ultimately, the coroner ruled that Malcolm Tull died as a result of aspiration. He choked to death on his own vomit.”
“What?” Sinclair said. “That’s such a stupid way to go. What an idiot!”
Charlie continued. “The coroner noted that Mr Tull had bruising on his neck. I believe it had to do with the visitor Mr Tull had on the afternoon before he died—Adolph Moses. He’d come by for a sexual encounter, one that involved choking play. I found a video on the computer that seems to confirm this. The choking may have resulted in the bruising the police report noted. The coroner also indicated that Mr Tull’s throat was swollen, causing a narrowing of his windpipe—not enough to stop him breathing, but enough to make his throat tighter than usual.
“On the night that you, Sinclair, had the fight with Mr Tull, he had already been drinking. The coroner’s report identified a high level of alcohol in his bloodstream. The alcohol in thekumishe drank at bedtime might have added to that, although not by much.”
Mrs Cameron frowned. “But what does this all mean?”
“I’m getting to that. Now—the primidone. The police had originally looked into the possibility of his death being a suicide, since they found his pill bottle on the desk. The coroner noted that there was an increased level of primidone in his system, but the levels were too low to be the cause of his death. Apparently, even though thekumisMr Tull consumed that night had extra primidone in it, which we now know was added by Henry, it was not a lethal dose. The extra primidone would have just made him very sleepy.”
Henry shook his head, “So I didn’t kill Mr Tull?”
Charlie continued, “Ultimately, the combination of alcohol and pills caused Malcolm Tull to vomit. Due to the swelling in his throat, he choked, and by sheer chance, inhaled enough vomit to cause his death. Although there were some questions about the origin of the bruising, according to the report I saw, the police are planning on ruling the death accidental.”
There were mumbles of disbelief from everyone in the room. Declan reached under the table and grasped Charlie’s hand. He looked at Charlie and said, “Great work. Beautiful summary.”
Charlie felt a huge weight lift off of his chest.
“But I still gave him the pills,” Henry said. “He might not have thrown up if I hadn’t given him the pills. I did something horrible.” Henry bent over in tears.
“Henry,” Charlie said, “there were many factors at play. He might have still thrown up without the pills, and he might still have died.” Charlie paused, unsure what else to say.
