Disturbed Ground (58 page)

Who is she, in the end, but some sad, vast lie?

Hollow.

Empty as an open grave.

APPENDIX I

TOXICOLOGY REPORTS

Trace amounts of drugs found in the bodies’ tissues, given in milligrams per kilogram. Any asterisk indicates prescribed drugs. And “<” is the symbol for “less than.”

#88-3372: LEONA CARPENTER

Age 78, approx. 100 lbs., 5’2”

Drugs                 Brain      

Flurazepam*      0.04       

Metabolite 1     0.13       

Metabolite 2     0.84       

Diazepam         0.74       

Codeine          0.50

#88-3374: DOROTHY MILLER

Age 65, approx. 120 lbs., 5’7”

Drugs                 Brain        Liver

Flurazepam       0.03      0.07

Metabolite 1     0.06      0.09

Metabolite 2     0.97      0.83

Carbamazepine   54.00     68.00

#88-3381: BERT MONTOYA

Age 54, approx. 180 lbs., 5’5”

Drugs                 Brain        Liver

Flurazepam*      0.95      0.88

Metabolite 1     0.09      0.06

Metabolite 2     0.41      0.35

Diphenhydramine <0.50      1.50

Loxapine        <2.50     <7.70

Amitriptyline    0.10      0.49

Carbamazepine   <3.00     <5.00

#88-3382: BENJAMIN FINK

Age 55, approx. 155 lbs., 5’8”

Drugs                 Brain        Liver

Flurazepam       0.00      0.04

Metabolite 1     0.02      1.30

Metabolite 2     1.80      0.66

Loxapine         5.30     15.50

Amitriptyline    3.80     21.60

Nortriptyline     .50     22.00

#88-3384: JAMES GALLOP

Age 64, approx. 132 lbs., 5’10”

Drugs                Brain        Liver

Flurazepam*      0.29      0.36

Metabolite 1     0.19      7.73

Metabolite 2     0.90      5.97

Pheyntoin*       8.50     13.50

Amitriptyline   <0.50      1.10

Nortriptyline    0.50      0.70

#88-3394: VERA FAYE MARTIN

Age 65, approx. 100 lbs., 5’2”

Drugs                 Brain        Liver

Flurazepam       0.15      1.60

Metabolite 1     0.35      0.75

Metabolite 2     1.60      0.13

#88-3395: BETTY PALMER

Age 79, approx. 79 lbs., 5’1½ ”

Drugs                 Liver   

Flurazepam*      1.50

Metabolite 1     3.31

Metabolite 2     1.28

Haloperidol*     2.17

Doxylamine      <1.00

Amitriptyline, an antidepressant, is commonly sold as Elavail.

Carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant, is commonly sold as Tegretol.

Codeine, a narcotic, is often combined with other medications.

Diazepam, a tranquilizer, is commonly sold as Valium.

Diphenhydramine, an antihistamine and depressant, is a common ingredient in medications such as Benadryl and Sominex.

Doxylamine, an antihistamine and hypnotic, is an ingredient in Unisom and other mediations.

Flurazepam, a sedative, is commonly sold as Dalmane; its two metabolites are N1-hydroxethyl-flurazepam and N2-desalkyl-flurazepam.

Halperidol, an antipsychotic, is commonly sold as Loxitane.

Nortriptyline, an antidepressant, is commonly sold as Aventyl.

Phenytoin, an anticonvulsant, is commonly sold as Dilantin.

APPENDIX II

PRESCRIPTIONS FOR DALMANE (FLURAZEPAM)

AVAILABLE TO DOROTHEA MONTALVO PUENTE

(30 pills, 30 mg. unless otherwise noted)

Date           Pharmacy      Doctor        Patient

10/29/85  McAnaw’s  Herrera* Dorothy Montalvo

12/16/85  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothy Montalvo

01/24/86  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothy Montalvo

02/20/86  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothy Montalvo

02/26/86  McAnaw’s           Leona Carpenter

04/11/86  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothy Montalvo

06/09/86  McAnaw’s  Doody**  Dorothea Puente

07/02/86  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

07/24/86  McAnaw’s  Doody    Dorothea Puente

08/22/86  McAnaw’s  Doody    Dorothea Puente

09/08/86  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

09/19/86  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothea Puente

09/19/86  McAnaw’s           Leona Carpenter

11/10/86  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothea Puente

11/28/86  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

12/29/86  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothy Montalvo

01/24/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

02/13/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

02/19/87  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothy Montalvo

03/25/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

04/20/87  McAnaw’s  Herrera  Dorothy Montalvo

05/20/87  McAnaw’s  Mesic    James Gallop (15 mg)

06/15/87  McAnaw’s  Doody    Dorothea Puente

07/15/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

08/12/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

09/01/87  McAnaw’s  Doody    Dorothea Puente

09/25/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

10/29/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

12/01/87  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

01/22/88  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

03/15/88  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

04/13/88  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

05/24/88  McAnaw’s  Doody    Dorothea Puente

06/28/88  McAnaw’s  Doody    Dorothea Puente

07/11/88  McAnaw’s  Doody    Bert Montoya

07/27/88  McAnaw’s  Doody    Dorothea Puente

08/24/88  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

09/26/88  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

11/01/88  Payless   Doody    Dorothea Puente

_______

/*Dr. Jose Herrera has stopped practicing medicine.

/**Dr. Thomas Doody was too ill to testify at Puente’s trial, according to his attorney.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

W
riting nonfiction crime, one is continually struck by how subjective the "truth" can be. Like those proverbial blind men describing the elephant, each person has a singular version of reality. The writer's task, in my view, is to distill the facts down to the essential truth, presenting the reader with an account that flows with authenticity.

Any errors in this text are doubtless due to my own misunderstanding of the elephantine "truth."