Page 54 of The Botanist's Assistant
“I’m counting on better service next time,” Joe says. “I’ll be in touch.”
He hangs up and turns to Margaret. “Why would Blackstone need atropine for his kid?”
Margaret remembers the little boy with the blue-framed glasses in Blackstone’s kitchen.
“Atropine eyedrops can be used to treat myopia in children,but what he’s ordered is rather a high dose. Usually it’s .01 percent, although there’s evidence the higher dose is more effective.”
“So, could Blackstone have used that to poison Deaver?”
Margaret ponders the question. “He’d have to use more than the two missing vials I saw in his office.”
Joe squints in thought. “Could he have made up the story of his son’s myopia and saved up enough vials over the months to kill Deaver?”
“That could be, but the woman said there was a limit on refills. That meant there must have been a prescription. If the atropine were for the lab, he could have ordered as much as he wanted.”
“Unless he intended to cover his tracks by forging a prescription and asking to have it sent to his house.”
“Good point.” Margaret looks at her watch. It’s eight minutes to one. “I’ve got to get back, but thank you for doing this. I have a lot to think about.”
“No problem,” Joe says. “In fact, why don’t I try to figure out if I can see if the prescription was written by a real doctor or if it was forged? It’s a lot harder now with HIPAA, but I can try.” The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects patients from having their healthcare information exposed.
Margaret stands. “I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble,” Joe says. “Like I said, I don’t mindexercising a little journalism muscle if it can help someone, and this seems like a good cause.”
“Well, thank you for the curry and for your help.”
“You’re welcome,” Joe says, “and thanks for listening. It’s good to talk these things out.”
He walks her to the front door. “You’ll have to bring me a couple of those Early Girls when they’re ripe.”
“I will.”
Margaret wonders if she will even have a job at the university by then.
28
A Leaf Turned
Calvin comes back from lunchchattering about how tofu tastes better than he thought it would and going on about barbecue- and jalapeno-flavored sunflower seeds until Margaret has to ask him to stop. It will take some getting used to, the new Calvin, although the last time he tried to quit smoking it lasted all of one day. If six times is the charm to quit a bad habit, then there will be at least four more attempts. Still, as Calvin packs up his messenger bag to leave for the day, she tells him she is proud of him for taking such a big step.
“Thanks,” he says, then pauses. “You know, you’re the first person who ever said they were proud of me. Not my mom. Not my dad. Not even my grandma, and grandmas are supposed to say those things, right? You’re a good person, Margaret. I wish my mother had been more like you.”
Margaret swallows the sudden catch of emotion in her throat. “Thank you, Calvin.”
Calvin’s eyes shine and he scrubs a hand over them.“Whew, must have gotten a whiff of petroleum ether or something.”
“Or something,” Margaret says.
Calvin clears his throat a few times. “As long as I’m working on self-improvement. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Go on.”
“You, um, probably don’t know this but, um, some people call you Big Bird behind your back, including me.”
“I’ve known that for a very long time.”
Calvin’s eyebrows lift. “And you don’t mind?”
