Susan Wittig Albert - Mourning Gloria (China Bayles Mystery)

Table of Contents

China Bayles Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

THYME OF DEATH
WITCHES BANE
HANGMANS ROOT
ROSEMARY REMEMBERED
RUEFUL DEATH
LOVE LIES BLEEDING
CHILE DEATH
LAVENDER LIES
MISTLETOE MAN
BLOODROOT
INDIGO DYING
A DILLY OF A DEATH
DEAD MANS BONES
BLEEDING HEARTS
SPANISH DAGGER
NIGHTSHADE
WORMWOOD
HOLLY BLUES
MOURNING GLORIA

AN UNTHYMELY DEATH CHINA BAYLES BOOK OF DAYS

With her husband, Bill Albert, writing as Robin Paige

DEATH AT BISHOPS KEEP
DEATH AT GALLOWS GREEN
DEATH AT DAISYS FOLLY
DEATH AT DEVILS BRIDGE
DEATH AT ROTTINGDEAN
DEATH AT WHITECHAPEL
DEATH AT EPSOM DOWNS
DEATH AT DARTMOOR
DEATH AT GLAMIS CASTLE
DEATH IN HYDE PARK
DEATH AT BLENHEIM PALACE
DEATH ON THE LIZARD

The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert

THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM
THE TALE OF HOLLY HOW
THE TALE OF CUCKOO BROW WOOD
THE TALE OF HAWTHORN HOUSE
THE TALE OF BRIAR BANK
THE TALE OF APPLEBECK ORCHARD
THE TALE OF OAT CAKE CRAG

The Darling Dahlia Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert

THE DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE CUCUMBER TREE

Nonfiction books by Susan Wittig Albert

WRITING FROM LIFE
WORK OF HER OWN

TOGETHER, ALONE, A MEMOIR OF MARRIAGE AND PLACE AN EXTRAORDINARY YEAR OF ORDINARY DAYS

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

Published by the Penguin Group

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

PUBLISHERS NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reaction to the recipes contained in this book.

Copyright 2011 by Susan Wittig Albert.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Albert, Susan Wittig.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-101-47627-7

1. Bayles, China (Fictitious character)Fiction. 2. HerbalistsFiction. 3. Arson investigationFiction. 4. MurderInvestigationFiction. 5. Texas Hill Country (Tex.)Fiction. I. Title.

PS3551.L2637M68 2011

813'.54dc22

2010046357

http://us.penguingroup.com

For Peggy Moody

She Without Whom Nothing Happens

Mille phantasmata e daemonu obversatium effigies circumspectarent.

This description of the hallucinogenic effects elicited by the Aztec magical preparation ololiuqui [morning glory seeds], was recorded by Francisco Hernndez, personal physician to Philip II of Spain. He carried out extensive investigations on the flora and fauna of Mexico during the years 157075. [His report] contains a detailed description of the preparation and use of ololiuqui, and he notes that: When the priests wanted to commune with their gods and receive a message from them... they ate this plant; and a thousand visions and satanic hallucinations appeared to them. This is one of the earliest written accounts of the use of a hallucinogen, and it provides cogent support for the belief that primitive cultures employed psychoactive plant extracts to gain access to the supernatural rather than for pleasure.

John Mann
Murder, Magic, and Medicine

A Note to the Reader

Used with care and in the proper context, many drug plants do confer advantages on the creatures that consume themfiddling with ones brain chemistry can be very useful indeed. The relief of pain, a blessing of many psychoactive plants, is only the most obvious example. Plant stimulants, such as coffee, coca, and khat, help people to concentrate and work.... There are psychoactive plants that uncork inhibitions, quicken the sex drive, muffle or fire aggression, and smooth the waters of social life. Still others relieve stress, help people sleep or stay awake, and allow them to withstand misery or boredom. All these plants are, at least potentially, mental tools: people who know how to use them properly may be able to cope with everyday life better than those who dont.Michael Pollan
The Botany of Desire: A Plants-Eye View of the World

Those of us who cultivate herbs sometimes get into the habit of treating them like well-mannered pets. We find them useful in our food, cosmetics, and medicines; we enjoy growing them and using them to decorate our gardens and our homes; and we take delight in their taste, scent, and form. Where herbs are concerned, we like to think that were always in charge.

But sometimes were not as much in charge as we might think. In this book, I want to tell a story built around plants that have power over us, changing the way we feel. These herbs contain phytochemicals that may enhance our moods (such as the bolstering caffeine in coffee and tea that keeps us awake; or the esters, ketones, and aldehydes in lavender that have the ability to ease us into sleep). Or they may stimulate and relax us at the same time, like the nicotine in tobacco, which produces simultaneous feelings of calmness, alertness, sharpness, and relaxation, as well as enhancing concentration and memory. Plant chemicals may also create feelings of euphoria and awareness of sensation (chile peppers, chocolate, marijuana); feelings of alertness and physical and sexual energy (cocaine, derived from the coca plant); and powerful hallucinations (the seeds of certain morning glories, for instance). Plant chemicals may also narcotize us and dull all sensation (morphine and codeine, derived from the opium poppy)useful painkillers when we need them.

Im not encouraging you to experiment with the more powerful of these mood-altering plants. But I do think we need to understand that many of the most common and familiar plants have the ability to influence our perceptions and behaviors. Imagining all herbs as warm and fuzzy feel-good plants is a mistake. Used unwisely, even mild-mannered plants can pack an unexpectedly powerful punch, especially when they are combined with prescription drugs. Before you ingest any plant, consult with the appropriate professionals, do your homework, and use your common sense.

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