Jacob’s brows jump together. Incredulously, he asks, “That was the grand plan in kidnapping you? Change the cause of death and presto, magic-o, there’d be no more questions? Like no one would notice or care that you’d been kidnapped?”

I shrug. “He didn’t exactly strike me as a master schemer.”

That’s being overly kind. Sebastian seemed like a nice guy with a get-rich-quick scheme that he just couldn’t let go of, no matter how deep the water got or how quickly he was drowning.

Blake adds, “It took Barnes a single phone call to find out that Sebastian bought the heavy metal-laden supplements with his own credit card. The police already searched his place too, and that’s not all they found.”

“What?” I haven’t heard this part yet. Maybe Blake found out when I closed my eyes for a quick medicine-induced nap that had turned into an hour-long snooze?

Blake tells me and Jacob, “Sebastian had a ‘vision board’ with pictures of Rusty, expensive car catalogs, and fancy house listings. Plus, a whole cabinet of vitamins, smoothies, supplements, and more. They had the medical examiner check them out one by one. She didn’t find anything other than the online supplement . . . at first. But then she noticed something. Sebastian’s patio backed up to the neighbor’s patio, and the neighbor had a bunch of plants and flowers. Including oleander. Does that mean anything to you?”

Blake’s question triggers me to search my mental files for something from my classes or even from trivia tidbits I know, but I come up empty. Shaking my head, I’m excited to learn something new, something that might help me better treat the DBs who pass through my morgue.

“Oleander is majorly poisonous, like one leaf or flower can kill a human in minutes.”

“Richard?” I guess.

“Yeah, it’s too late to know for sure, but it seems likely,” Blake postulates. “I guess Sebastian got impatient when the heavy metal wasn’t working fast enough? Either way, Richard’s death will be ruled foul play.”

I swallow thickly. “I guess Everlife got their way after all.”

I know deep down that Blake wasn’t using me. I think I always knew that. But there are also so many doubts and insecurities, from a lifetime of loss and bullying, covering that core of knowledge that it’s hard to stand confident in it.

Blake’s eyes are soft, full of patient kindness as he reassures me. “Zo, I don’t care about Everlife’s payouts, but Yvette will get the claim money because she didn’t kill Richard. The exemptions are suicide and murder by beneficiary.”

“Oh.” That’s good information and will help Yvette deal with her loss, but it’s not what’s looming at the forefront of my mind and Blake knows it.