are you?”
Alex held his gaze. “I’m the only person who thinks you didn’t kill Tara. So help me
figure out who did before Turner loses patience, shuffles me out that door, and leaves you
to rot.”
Lance’s eyes darted back and forth between Alex and Turner. At last he said, “I didn’t
hurt her. I loved her.”
Like those things couldn’t go hand in hand. “When did you start working with Sveta Myers?”
Lance shifted in his seat. He obviously didn’t like that they knew that name. “I don’t
remember. Two years back? Tara went up there for a plant sale, got to chatting with her.
They got on real good, talking about community gardening and shit. We sold to her for a
while, then we started growing with her, giving her a cut.”
“Tell us about the Merity,” Alex said.
“The what?”
“You weren’t just growing cush. What did you grow for Blake Keely?”
“That model guy? He was always sniffing around Tara, flashing cash like he’s a
celebrity. I can’t stand that asshole.”
Alex didn’t know how she felt about finding common ground with Lance Gressang.
“What were you growing for him?” Turner pushed.
“It wasn’t for him. Not at first. We were selling green to his frat for a while—none of
this shit is admissible, all right? It’s all off the record?” Turner waved him on. “Nothing
special. Dime bags, twenty bags. The usual shit. Then this year, this girl Katie shows up
—”
Alex sat forward. “Kate Masters?”
“Yeah. Blond, real cute, but kinda butch?”
“Tell me more about your taste in women.”
“Really?”
“No, you ass. What did Katie want?”
“She wanted to know where we were growing and if Tara could make some space at the greenhouses for something new. Some medicinal shit, had all these specific rules about
moisture or I don’t know what. Tara got real into working on it with Sveta. Took a minute
but eventually it started growing pretty well. I tried some of it once. Didn’t even give me a buzz.”
Jesus. Lance Gressang had gotten his hands on Merity and he hadn’t even known it.
When Alex thought of the damage he might have done if he’d realized the control it could
give him over others … But someone else had gotten there first.
“You thought it was worthless,” said Alex. “A shit buzz. So you sold it to Blake.”
“Yeah,” Gressang said, grinning.
“And what did you think when he came back for more?”
Gressang shrugged. “Happy to take his money.”
“Did Kate Masters know you sold Merity to Blake?”
“Nah, she was real uptight. Told us it was poisonous and whatever, not to mess with it.
I knew she’d be pissed if she found out. But Blake kept hitting us up for more, and then he
brings this other guy around who wants to know if we can get mushrooms.”
“Who?” Turner asked Lance. But Alex already knew what Lance was going to say.
Lance wriggled in his seat. He looked uneasy, almost scared.
“It was Colin Khatri, wasn’t it?” said Alex. “From Scroll and Key.”
“Yeah. He …” Lance leaned back. The bravado had gone from him. He looked at the
wall as if expecting to find some kind of answer there. The clock was ticking, but Alex and Turner stayed quiet. “I didn’t know what we were starting.”
“Tell me,” said Turner. “Tell me how it began.”
“Tara was at the greenhouses all the time,” Lance said haltingly. “Coming home late, staying up to try mixing shit, putting the mushrooms together with I don’t know what. She
had this little yellow dish Colin gave her. Called it her witch’s cauldron. Colin couldn’t get enough of the tabs she made. He kept coming back for more.”
“Tabs?” asked Turner. “I thought you were dealing with mushrooms.”
“Tara distilled that shit down. It wasn’t acid. I don’t know what it was.” Lance rubbed
his good hand up his other arm, and Alex could see his skin had puckered with
goosebumps. “We wanted to know what Colin was using it for, but he was real cagey about it. So Tara’s like, guess I won’t be cooking for you guys anymore.” Lance held his