Page 16 of Death on a Scottish Train

“I can’t say until we finish the investigation, but we do need to know the ingredients,” I added.

“It’s fairly simple. Coconut oil, peppermint oil, and a bit of wax. I don’t use any sort of preservatives because they can cause cancer. I’m very careful. I promise you.” She wrung her hands, and her eyes were watery.

I hated that we upset her, but we needed to know.

“Please don’t get upset. We are only curious about the ingredients. I just need to make sure. You don’t use bee venom?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. Like I said, too many people are allergic, and I’m looking for a wide audience of women, men, even kids.

“Do you have any idea if maybe this batch was mixed up or perhaps a mistake was made?” I asked.

She shook her head. “While I have bees at home, it is only for the honey. And that is for personal use only. If there was bee venom in the lip balm, it didn’t come that way from my shop. And I wouldn’t use something like that for lips. Though, it can help lips look like they’ve had collagen. But many peoples’ lips are often too thin and sensitive for something like that. I refuse to use anything that might be deemed harmful, no matter what the latest trends might be.”

“What kind of products would you use it in?” I asked. “I mean, I know you don’t, but if you could give us some ideas of things you’ve seen bee venom used as an additive.”

She shrugged. “Under eyes, or maybe some lotions for the face. As I said, it can help with collagen production. But there is too big a risk for allergic reactions. I’m telling you that I would never use it. Maybe some bigger manufacturers might get away with it, but those products would be mass-produced and come with warnings.”

“Do you have any idea how they extract bee venom?” I asked.

She rubbed her forehead. “I remember when it first became popular, I did some research. They use some sort of electric current and a special glass. I can’t quite remember the exact method, but it was fairly complicated. I don’t have the equipment or the knowledge, even if I wanted to do it. If you’re wondering how to get it—my guess is it would be fairly easy to find on the internet. So just about anyone would have access.”

Oh. That wasn’t great. Just about anyone meant we could have way more suspects than we had imagined. Though, it would have to be someone with the knowledge of the allergy, and the cleverness to put it in the lip balm.

“Let me check my records, and I can let you know what he bought. It will only take a minute as everything is on the computer.”

We followed her back to the counter.

She typed a few words into her computer and then nodded. “Right, he’s who I thought. He bought six lip balms. I remember him saying he liked to keep them around his house and office.”

She pushed more buttons. “He was a repeat customer. That was the third set of six he’d bought. He also picked up a lotion with tree tea oil for his dry skin and scalp.”

“And none of them had bee venom,” Ewan said.

She sighed, and I didn’t blame her for being exasperated with us. She’d already answered that same question several times. But Ewan was always thorough. “As I mentioned, I don’t use it in any of my products. If it was in that balm, then someone tampered with it.”

Ewan and I glanced at each other knowing what the consequences were of what she’d just said.

Not only did we have a murder, but a premeditated one.

“Thanks for your help,” I said.

She bit her lip. “This is terrible to say, but once it gets out about how he died, it is not going to be good for business. I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s all I can do to keep up with things as it is.” She glanced worriedly at her son. “This is our livelihood.”

“Dinnae worry,” Ewan said. “No one will hear anything from us.”

She pursed her lips. “You know how this town is, though. It’s bound to get out if that’s how he died.” She whispered the last bit.

“Like Ewan said, we don’t release that sort of information until everything involving the investigation is completed. That said, method of death will most likely be poison. We will be very careful how that is stated in the reports.”

She blew out a breath. “Really?”

“You’ve helped us a great deal with our line of inquiry. Please don’t worry.” Ewan reached out and shook her hand.

She nodded and smiled but I wasn’t sure she believed us. I felt guilty for causing her to worry. She had enough on her plate.

As we left the shop, the sun came out in full view. I welcomed the bit of warmth it provided.

“Well, that will help narrow down the suspect list,” I said.