Slow Kill - Michael Mcgarrity [27]
“Exactly,” Kerney said.
“So how would Dean have done it?” Ellie asked.
“I don’t know,” Kerney replied, as he opened the passenger door. “But the caretaker mentioned that since his return from Santa Fe, Spalding had been complaining about sleeping poorly and blurred vision.”
“Which means his condition may have been deteriorating,” Ellie asked, reaching for her cell phone.
Kerney got out of the unit.
“Where are you going?”
“To find an address for an all-night pharmacy while you call in for a search of Spalding’s car.”
The on-duty pharmacist at the discount drugstore, a woman with a button chin and a long, narrow nose, stood behind the counter at the back of the store and listened carefully as the female police officer described a well-known brand of thyroid medication.
“Yes, it’s used as a hormone replacement.”
“If, as a pharmacist, you wanted to alter or tamper with it, how would you do it?”
“The easiest way would be to coat it with a clear substance. That way the pill would look perfectly okay.”
“Barring that, what could you do?” Ellie asked.
“I’m not sure I understand the question.”
“What if you wanted to change the actual composition of the pill?” Ellie asked.
“Well, this is a medication that you can get in a powdered form. Some pharmacists who specialize in mixing their own compounds like to fill prescriptions that way. But it wouldn’t look anything like the pharmaceutical version.”
The tall, good-looking man with the female officer smiled at her.
“How could you change the dosage or ingredients and yet have it look identical to the real thing?” Kerney asked.
“Same size, shape, color, and brand name?” the pharmacist asked.
“Yes. Could it be done?”
“I suppose, if you made it with a mold. But it would be painstaking work.”
“How would you go about it?” Ellie asked.
“Well, I’d start with making an impression of the lettering on the pill so I could duplicate it,” the woman said. “Then I’d have to build a mold to form it based on the precise measurements of the pill and its lettering.”
“What kind of a mold?” Kerney asked.
The woman tapped her finger against her chin. “Ceramic perhaps, but certainly something that wouldn’t break under pressure when you formed the pill, especially if you wanted to imprint a brand name.”
“What about the coloring?” Ellie asked.
The pharmacist smiled. “That would be the easy part. I’d use a natural dye.”
“Could you duplicate the shape of the pill by hand?” Kerney asked.
“Sure, but it would take some time to make a good supply, and the brand name would still need to be stamped on the pills to make them look authentic.”
“What’s the usual refill supply that’s given to patients?” Kerney asked.
“Three months is the norm, if the patient is stabilized on the dosage.”
“You’ve been a big help,” Ellie said.
The woman looked from the female cop to the man. “Now, please tell me what this is all about.”
“Crime, of course,” Kerney said, stepping away from the counter.
Ellie waited until they were in the parking lot before asking Kerney what he thought should be done next. He suggested having the pill found in Spalding’s pocket analyzed and getting started on the paperwork for a search warrant of Dean’s pharmacy and residence in Santa Fe.
“I don’t have enough evidence to get a search warrant approved yet,” Ellie said as she unlocked the passenger door to her unit.
“I bet you will have after the lab results come back tomorrow,” Kerney said as he ducked into the cruiser. “But you may not need to have the search warrant served right away. If you play your cards right, Claudia Spalding might just crack under questioning. Then you can go for an arrest warrant on Dean and serve both simultaneously.”
Ellie got behind the wheel and fired up the engine. “Want to be there for the Q&A with Claudia Spalding?”
Kerney shook his head and laughed. “Not a chance. Because