Death by Manicure: The Case of the Poison Polish

By Dr. Robert T. Spalding, Jr., Athena Elliot and Karen Stone

Women are suddenly dying after visits to nail salons. All across the US, ricin tainted bottles of nail polish are showing up in beauty shops. Athena Elliott, the number one nail technician in the US figures out the cause of this diabolical domestic terrorist attack and jumps into action. A disgruntled nail polish chemist sets the stage for a real adventure into the criminal mind. Dr Robert Spalding, in his eighth book, offers the reader an actual firsthand account of the US nail salon industry through his first published work of adult fiction. The reader will be a real expert in the nail salon industry after reading this novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781935803058

Book preview

times.

CHAPTER 1

June 6th 2010, Orlando, Florida

At 8 a.m. Athena Elliott opened the curtains and sunshine instantly filled her fourth-floor hotel room making her squint. She showered, got dressed and went down to grab a quick breakfast – cereal, fruit and fresh Florida orange juice. Then it was back to the room briefly to make sure she had everything and then she was off.

Oh damn, I’m going to be late, exclaimed Athena to nobody in particular as she emerged from her car after reaching her destination. The vehicle belied her status as one of the most highly respected women in the nail world. She kept the car more out of practicality than anything else. Putting money back into her business was more important than making a $500 car payment. Besides, it had seen her through some bad times. It had been faithful in its service to her and it got her from points A to B, which was all she really cared about. Her attitude was that you should own something only if you needed it, not just because you wanted it. That’s why she didn’t own more than one car at a time. Her mentality was that you could only drive one car at a time, so there was no need to have more than one. She did wear jewellery but not to the extent that it was overkill. And she wore it because it made her feel feminine, not because it sent a message out to the world about her status because of the value of the items around her neck or on her wrists.

Today, her usually steady world was just a bit off. She had been unable to get a room in any of the really local hotels, and not being a Florida native she wasn’t used to having to stop the car to wait for the torrential rain downpours to end before she resumed driving. She knew she could have avoided this because she could have quite easily gone by plane but she enjoyed driving.

She was ten minutes later than she had planned to be, although the Disney World resort condo where she stayed close with about another 100 nail professionals was a convenient distance from her destination. Not the end of the world by any means, but to her it was discourteous in a professional capacity. Arriving at her destination, she found a place to park and quickly emerged from the car. She slammed the door shut, locked it up and then dashed through the rain shower that was so commonplace to anyone familiar with Florida. Her rather modest entrance was in stark contrast to the seemingly never-ending waves of chauffeur-driven limousines and courtesy cars that ferried guests and professionals to the Orange County Convention Center.

And the place was bustling with activity, for it was early June and the Pinnacle Beauty Show was back in town. It was one of the key events of the year to someone in Athena’s line of work. To the uninitiated, the show was a very lavish beauty expo featuring some very colorful booths. Each year, a number of beauty manufacturers made large investments in their booth displays and usually sent their top staff members to run them. Running over three days, the show hosted contests on applying artificial nails, nail product demonstrations and a galaxy of beautiful models occupying booths and demonstrating other products. There were also lectures and forums that gave useful background into the beauty industry, and it was a golden opportunity to discuss the latest trends and bounce ideas off like-minded people. Athena always came away from this kind of event with many new contacts and always learned something that gave her an edge in a highly competitive market.

Every summer, something in the region of 45,000 people flocked to the event that provided essential education to everyone from bright-eyed industry students and newcomers to experienced industry veterans like Athena. Local hotels made a killing when the show was on, and June was high season.

Renowned for being the highest-rated educational event in the beauty/cosmetics industry, the show always boasted an unmatched business forum, hair and nails competitions, extension and weaves education and much more. It was the place to see and be seen, and Athena knew that you weren’t taken seriously in the trade if you weren’t at this over-the-top event. Or to be more accurate, your company logo needed to make a showing if you wanted your company to make an impact in the beauty industry, and Athena had made sure all was in order.

Athena’s business was, to put it simply, nails. The term nail industry refers to a broad range of entities that have to do with regulation, instruction, licensing, certification, and continuing education. Also included are manufacturers and suppliers of nail products, magazines, and beauty trade shows. The industry interfaces directly with the public in nail, beauty and hair salons, in spas and massage therapy businesses, and one-on-one with individual licensed nail technicians and cosmetologists.

Her formal title and what she put on forms when asked for her occupation was Medical Nail Technician. The product that she became famous for was called Glitzy Tips, a flexible film nail covering that applied to the nail with a special glue. What the public and nail techs alike enjoyed was that with Glitzy Tips there was no drying time, chipping, fumes or chemicals. Removal was made simple and could be done at home. Glitzy Tips was described as being for the girl who wants to stand out and be noticed.

Athena was perfect for the profession she had chosen. A dark-haired beauty with a dazzling smile, she was Greek by descent. She had grown up in Houston, Texas. Her family had many chefs there and she was fully expected to go to culinary school. But she chose cosmetology school instead. If she hadn’t gone into nails she claims that she would be a master chef instead and would own a Bed & Breakfast in a beautiful place somewhere. But it was a safe bet that eventually she would have put a sign up in reception offering to do nails for her guests – for a nominal fee of course.

She had caught the nail bug many years ago. When she was in high school she would go with her mom to get her acrylic nails filled. Her mom was a perfectionist, and it seemed as though she was never pleased with the service that she received at the local salon. Back in those days Mona Nails actually sold their kits in the salon, and Athena had asked her mom to buy her one, and things took off from there. The seeds had already started to germinate in her mind that she wanted to make nails her career. At first her family dismissed the notion as being nothing more than a hobby or a passing fad. Lots of people have a hobby that they are good at and enjoy, but there was a world of difference between a hobby and something at which you could make living – an enjoyable living. Going into her chosen profession meant a great deal of hard work for her, but it was with joy that she embraced her lessons.

To put the requirements into some sort of perspective, now a typical 600-hour nail technician curriculum consisted of 150 hours of instruction on sterilization, sanitation, bacteriology, anatomy, physiology, ethics, salon management, and state law. Then another 100 hours of chemical instruction on product knowledge, ingredients and usage of materials, manicures, pedicures, and EPA and OSHA requirements. Plus 350 hours of physical instruction on massage, manicures, pedicures, nail care, nail artistry, nail wraps, sculptured nails, nail tips, gel nails, and nail safety. So it was definitely not something to be entered into lightly.

In the summer of 1980, between her sophomore and junior years, Athena went to school and formalized her manicuring career. At that time the industry regulations were a little different and Athena’s license required 250 hours.

As a result of dogged perseverance in her younger years, she was now proud owner of SPAthena Healthy Pedicures in Houston. The company motto was HEALTHY PEDICURES HAPPY FEET. Now with 33 years of experience and extensive training, Athena safely restores beauty to the hands and feet of her clients and enhances their self-image and confidence. Even after all these years, she still felt good about her career. She had made a decision that she didn’t regret.

Over the years, media coverage had uncovered many medical complications and even deaths that had occurred as a result of improperly sterilized salon equipment in salons that perform unsafe services. The staff at SPAthena were wise to this, and their emphasis on sterility went toward them winning a Best of Houston 2008 BEST SAFE PEDICURE award. Athena made sure that SPAthena ensured that clients received safe care through the use of hospital-level sterilization of implements and consistent sanitation throughout the environment. Items that could not be placed in the autoclave were discarded after every use, and Athena made it known that if anyone disregarded this rule it meant immediate action.

SPAthena’s policy had always been to care about clients with special health concerns and communicate with their health care provider when necessary to obtain special instructions and medical history. It required a little extra time and paperwork, but Athena had proven that it was worth it. This distinguishing service ensured that individual clients received a safe, quality spa service in a relaxing environment without the possible health risks associated with many salons that had not familiarized themselves with the need for additional caution or were too greedy to spend the money necessary to make their salons and their practices as safe as possible.

A fantasy of Athena’s was that one-day she would own a chain of SPAthena’s all across the country. Her clients would be primarily doctor-referred and she would specialize in clients with diabetes. She wouldn’t actually work in any of her franchises, but she could picture herself flitting between them. And when she showed up at one of her salons she would be treated like royalty and no one would dare disobey the queen when it came to the rigorous standards she had set.

One of the people that Athena formerly admired in the nail industry was a guy called Sharpie Toon. In certain circles Toon was considered to be the king of nail salons in the United States with over 900 of businesses. Many of these franchised nail salons were in Wall-Marks across the nation. He additionally owned Wheat Nail Supply, which made nail tips for nail polish brushes and manufactured whirlpool pedicure footbaths. Add this to the huge Spegal nail salon franchise, and you have what can rightly be considered an empire.

Athena didn’t envision anything on that scale for herself. Her feet were kept firmly on the ground, but she always thought that it would be nice to have a few more salons. She thought that having 10 salons or possibly an even dozen would be good. Then she could flit about between them and get to travel the country. Her goal was to gradually be able to afford to put in fewer hours but still rake in a sizeable cut of the profits. This was a career that she was committed to however, and she could never see herself retiring. She knew that she would always want to continue practicing for as long as she was able and still had the flair that was uniquely hers.

But while reaching for her dreams, she wasn’t afraid to take chances – one of those was starting her own radio talk show. With a rush of success, her business was launched in a whole new direction and soon she was the owner of Nail Talk Radio. Nail Talk Radio was a weekly web-based radio show dedicated to all things nails. Athena and her business partner/co-host Naja has fun on the radio each week but took the idea of representing nail techs and the industry very seriously.

Given enough time, Athena knew she would reach her goals. She had already stamped a name for herself. After all she was the first in the United States to be certified as a Medical Nail Technician (MNT). Athena Elliott had mastered the comprehensive and practical techniques required to perform safe and sterile pedicures. Her salon in Houston exceeded the criteria set by the industry. With an in-depth knowledge of the anatomy and structure of the foot, skin/nail diseases and disorders, and diabetic foot syndrome, Athena was fully trained to provide safe pedicure services.

A Medical Nail Technician is an individual who is a state licensed nail technician that has completed additional advanced classroom or online training and has worked under the direction of a podiatrist to practice advanced concepts with actual patients under the podiatrist’s direction. Nowadays, even MNTs could be nationally certified through a prestigious podiatry association. Whilst she honed her skills to perfection, she knew that no one could accuse her of being selfish. After all she was so committed to the idea of safety that she had helped to open successful salons for others.

With a goal in mind, even in sight, Athena was hoping to add to her collection of awards today. As a certified medical nail technician she was no stranger to awards, but she maintained a modest philosophy – while not denying that winning awards had helped to bolster her career, she placed greater value on knowing one’s self-worth. In her meteoric rise to the top of her trade she had never turned her back on those that helped her and never trampled over anyone to get ahead. Athena was also big on putting something back into the community. Her ethos, although she hated to actually use it given the nature of her work, was you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. She was always willing to help aspiring nail technicians, selflessly setting herself up as what she referred to as a fem-tore (female mentor.)

Athena delighted in the atmosphere around her. It gave her a certain adrenaline lift like no others, yet after about a few hours of running her booth. She heard the first of the announcements she had been waiting for. All the booths were to shut down for 30 minutes while the first phase of the awards began. She quickly put away anything that someone else might covet, checked her hair and makeup quickly with a little hand mirror, and then joined the flow of people moving toward one of the largest banqueting halls where awards were to be announced. Her efforts and certain advancements over the past year, of course, did not go unnoticed by the industry.

As the final model finished strutting her stuff and left the stage, a middle-aged man with a bad comb-over and wearing a tacky tuxedo with velvet collars, took the stage. He fanned himself with an envelope to signify either that the model was hot, he was hot (either generally or because of her) or both. He then went up to a microphone at the podium only to make the rookie error of getting too close causing that very irritating high pitch noise, although that may have been deliberate.

Ooh, that’s rather temperamental isn’t it, much like me these days, he quipped making the mic noise seem more like a set up for his patter. Hello, everyone. I’m Chuck Harris, he then said heartily and paused as if anticipating a rapturous reception.

After a pregnant pause there was some token applause echoing around the place more out of embarrassment than anything else. Thanks, son, I knew I could rely on you, he said and roared with laughter, as he spotted one of the few clappers in the audience. The stranger’s polite enthusiasm quickly vanished as the speaker picked him out for recognition.

Harris had all the smarm of a TV station anchorman, Athena thought as she watched his feeble efforts to handle the event. His teeth were so bright that one almost needed sunglasses to cope with the glare. And he had a smile that was about as real as artificial sweetener. He tossed off a few more lame quips that he’d rather unwisely written himself and that were no more witty than hot enough for ya? and he also threw in a few below the belt references to some of the models. A couple of the show’s organisers were visibly cringing, but the show went on regardless. After all, Harris was Harris and he was always at this event.

Owner of his own range of men’s grooming product, Harris was the sort of person that had achieved just enough in his field to be classed as a celebrity, but who had now kind of lapsed into self-parody. He was like a boxer who had stayed in the ring too long and didn’t know when to call it quits. In Chuck’s case it was a style that suited him perfectly, and the audience however reluctantly warmed to his self-deprecating putdowns. Where some people got stuck in a rut and decided to reinvent themselves, Chuck had refused to move with the times to the point where he had become a kind of anachronism. Yep, that’s just Harris, most thought to themselves as they listened awaiting the first round of awards.

I know you could all listen to me indefinitely, Harris said with another loud laugh, but the wonderful people here at the Pinnacle Show are paying me to do a job. Every year I tell them it’s my last show, but they keep begging me to come back, so I do. I like being here so much that I could do it for free … but I won’t, he said and paused as if awaiting exclamations. I realise that some of the nominees have to get back to their booths so without further ado, this award is for Best Acrylic Nails. The five nominees, and I promise you that Tad Barger isn’t amongst them, are: Susan Little for PerfectPink, Mandy Dayton for HighShine, Raymond Ellis for ReleaseClaws, Athena Elliott for Glitzy Tips and Tammy Bishop for ColorOn, he said glancing at a large white card on the podium.

The fact that her name was mentioned next to last did nothing to her confidence. Athena sat with her fingers crossed and mouthed a silent prayer to the higher beings as she waited. It didn’t matter how many awards she won, Athena knew that she would always feel her heart pound as she listened for what she hoped to be her name. And she wasn’t often disappointed. But Harris had to be Harris as he feigned difficulty in prying the envelope open, and when at last he accomplished the deed there was a brief drum-roll. Gee, he won’t have many rock bands hammering on his door begging for him to join them, Harris said, pausing yet again, this time to wink at the person responsible for the brief drumming. And the winner is ………. Athena Elliott, for Glitzy Tips! Come on down, Athena if you’re here!

This was it. Athena was aware of the people around her patting her back or her arms. Someone shook her hand, and then she was gliding up to the podium with all the enthusiasm of a teenybopper being made prom queen inside, but all the dignity she had honed over her lifetime. Pausing a moment to compose herself before taking the mic, she cleared her throat quickly and then proceeded. Thank you so much, Chick.

That’s ‘Chuck’ … but carry on, Harris said, wondering briefly if Athena had missed his name on purpose.

Oh excuse me, Athena said, giving Harris and then the audience her famous smile. Only those who knew her well knew that she was playing one of her little jokes on the MC. "Thanks, everyone so much. It means a great deal to me. I can’t thank everyone who has helped me to win this treasured award, there are so many of you, but I want to name a few in particular. First and foremost I would like to thank my family for supporting my decision to go into the beauty industry. My SPAthena staff. What would I do without them? And finally a man who has been my mentor, Dr. Bob Spalding. He couldn’t be here today, but he knows what this means to me, and he knows that I share it with