‘It says here that one gram of thallium sulphate constitutes a lethal dose in an adult. With doses greater than two grams, the illness progresses rapidly to cardiovascular shock, coma and death within 24 hours.’ ‘If someone wanted rid of him, why not give him a straightforward overdose?’ Rhona suggested. Chrissy shrugged. ‘A waste of good cocaine?’ She slammed the book shut. ‘Neat stuff eh? Colourless, tasteless and odourless. Found as a contaminant in some Chinese herbal medicines, rodenticide and green fireworks, can be mistaken for cocaine and sniffed...’ ‘What did you say?’ ‘I said lots of things, which one?’ ‘You said something about fireworks.’ ‘Green fireworks. It’s in green-emitting fireworks.’ Chrissy gave her a look that accused her mind of being elsewhere, which it was. ‘The victim visited the drug centre a week before he died complaining of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain,’ Rhona read from the report. ‘The doctor there reported him as manifesting acute nervous and gastrointestinal symptoms.
