Kiss of Death

The victim: successful crime novelist Lori Oliver, who dies after collapsing while making a presentation at a writers' conference. The killer: Dustin Hess, a creative writing professor at Langara College, he who chides anyone who reads and likes Lori's books, people such as his student, Doug Butcher, one of Lori's many über-fans. Betty quickly assesses that Lori was poisoned, and after receiving the toxicology report learns that she was poisoned by a toxin that is not used for anything - and thus needs to be manufactured for this specific purpose - and that even the smallest dose is highly lethal. According to those around Lori - her husband Gary Oliver, her manager Craig Davis and her personal assistant Parker Wexler - Lori had many fans, but she also received many death threats, often mirroring the nature of her stories. Each of the three is a suspect, but Craig in particular, due to emerging circumstances, is particularly cooperative with Angie and Oscar. When they discover the probable delivery method of the poison, the detectives try to piece it together with Lori's recent hate mail. Meanwhile, Dustin, on any signs that the detectives are heading his way, tries to head them off in another direction. The detectives will have to look into Lori's past work to find that connection to Dustin and the motive. With the League of Nations case, the defense's subpoena list grows, which places Angie and Mark between a rock and a hard place. And without telling anyone of his personal situation, Brian receives some unsolicited advice from someone who's been there.