“This is a joke, right?” Pataki asked.
“No,” Liam said solemnly.
“We’re seriously counting on these two to solve my murder?” Lionel commented.
“So let me get this straight,” Garland began. “You two stood here and vehemently claimed it was not murder. That you two had nothing to do with Graves’s death because it was from natural causes. And now you’re taking it back?”
“No,” Liam repeated.
“I don’t understand,” Pataki said, his face was red. It was undetermined if that was from the cold outside, the heat inside, or his frustration with Liam’s one-word answers.
“Natalie and I weren’t innocent because Graves died of natural causes. We’re innocent because we had nothing to do with his death. But I now believe it wasn’t natural causes,” Liam explained.
“You’re serious,” Pataki said, looking like he still didn’t believe Liam wasn’t joking.
“I am.”
“We have the autopsy report. The coroner’s determination. Your county coroner that you insisted the body be taken to. You saying they’re wrong? That Graves didn’t die of a heart attack?” Garland said standing closer and talking louder.
Garland didn’t seem to fluster Liam at all when he said, “Oh, no, Graves definitely did die of a myocardial infarction.”
Pataki pressed one chubby hand to his forehead. “Then I don’t understand.”
“Graves was taking two prescription medications for his hypertension,” Liam began, launching into what Natalie recognized as lecture mode. It was the only time he really let loose, verbally. “Losartan tablets as well as a diuretic. Both medications can significantly raise potassium levels. Add in the fact he ate a banana daily, and he was taking multiple high-potency potassium pills daily and his potassium level would have risen dangerously high. The hyperkalemia led to sudden cardiac arrest.”
Garland looked confused. But Pataki, likely a man familiar with medication judging by his stature, nodded. “So why was this guy taking any potassium at all, much less high doses? The doctor and the pharmacist both would have told him not to because it’s dangerous.”
Liam nodded. “Exactly. But he wasn’t taking it. At least not on purpose. I found two different brands of potassium pills inside Graves’s daily pill case, and the same pills were also inside the over-the-counter bottles that should have contained Magnesium Glycinate and Zinc.”
“Meaning someone swapped the pills,” Pataki guessed.
“Yes. I’d guess it was someone who knew a potassium overdose would be lethal. Which is why it was the perfect murder weapon. After death, cell membranes break down and release potassium into the blood. This makes it incredibly difficult for a Medical Examiner to prove the high levels were present before death rather than just a result of natural decomposition.”
“Wow.” Pataki looked actually impressed. Garland, on the other hand, did not.
“I don’t buy it. How do you know what he was taking if what you claim is true? That you didn’t even know the man and that the only time she met him in person was in Salem. Hmm?” Garland narrowed her eyes at them.
“His landlady called Lionel’s publisher and said if someone didn’t come get his stuff out of his apartment she was going to throw it away. You know already I’m working on getting his book published. I couldn’t have possibly valuable research going in the trash so Liam and I took a road trip to New Haven. It was a lot of stuff to go through so we dumped most of it in boxes and brought it back here to sort through.” Natalie told her.
“It was while going through the boxes I noticed the pills weren’t right.”
“Damn. But who would have access to his pills?” Pataki asked.
So far, they’d been able to stick to the truth. Now it was time for the lies because Natalie was not about to tell Pataki and Garland she knew things from questioning Lionel’s ghost.
She lifted one hand. “I can answer that. I know he used to have his teaching assistants do things for him.”
Pataki drew back, looking shocked and appalled as Garland cringed.
“Wonderful, Miss Chase. Now they think I’m a pervert. Thank you for your assistance,” Lionel said from where he’d been standing behind them observing.
“Oh, no. Not anything, you know, sexual,” she whispered the last word. “I meant like running errands, organizing research and I know for a fact that one of his TA’s duties was to make sure his pill case was filled.”
“We need to speak with these teaching assistants. How many did he have?” Garland asked.
Uh, oh. That was one question she hadn’t thought of. “How many TAs he had is a very good question, Officer Garland. Because that would be the number of suspects, obviously.”
Natalie turned to glance quickly at Lionel, who rolled his eyes before saying, “Four.”
