Dab or Die - A 420 Murder Mystery

By O. K. Nelson

Daisy gets more than she bargains for as she looks into a mysterious death at a dab facility. With the help of a new friend and some luck, Daisy may just find a future that is satisfying. If she can live through this that is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rural Road Books
• Release date: Jul 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088187746

Book preview

Dab or Die

- A 420 Murder Mystery

O. K. Nelson

Copyright © 2023 by O. K. Nelson

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Chapter 1

The Office had most of the lights off. Daisy was still shuffling papers, not really wanting to go home. The job sucked, she knew that going in. Crappy hours for the most part - when you weren't traveling at least. The hotels were ok. Takeout is better than the home-cooked crap she scraped together. Barely edible.

Just a little longer. I want to go home tired, she thought. Crash and repeat. Too tired to think meant too tired to care.

The final lights went out and she knew she had only a few minutes before the security guys would set the alarm and make her movements into a big hassle. She had done it before, lost track of time. Not really working, not really goofing around but enough to set the motion alarms off and get the cops called on her.

They didn't point their guns at her but just seeing them, with their hand on their belt, holding the gun - because of her - made her nearly crap her pants. Never again she said. Yet here she was again, cutting it close.

Five more minutes. It will be fine. She pressed one more application through.

'Approved upon self-inspection report.'

The new time-saving process is to have the Grow or Dispensary, or whatever do the State Inspection checklist themselves. If they can send in some camera pics and a few details and of course the four grand - boom approved. Play ball. Have a blast and do your best not to go broke.

Daisy flipped to another file. Dab-A-Doodle Dab Company. Concentrates. Another winning name. Wonder how high they were when they came up with this. Have fun writing that on a check a bunch of times a day. Well, when banks play ball that is. The application looks clean. Small operation, butane system. Checks out. Rural. Land-Use forms are all signed off. The county and city are aware and signed off. Sure, one last one before the alarm is set.

The name didn't register at first. Adam Sorenson. Adam. Daisy thought back. It had been a long time since she had been in the area. A long time since she had even thought of her High School - Coburg. Coburg was small. Most Oregon cities were small but this was like a fingernail on a giant compared to Eugene or Portland.

Adam.

Hadn't moved far. Didn't change much. A ganja man back then, a ganja man now.

Sent the four grand. Had the application all filled out.

Daisy was half in her head when the alarm went off and the warning lights cut through the dark fighting the brightness of the glow of her still-on computer monitor.

Crap! Crap Crap Crap!

You Again Daisy May? Daisy blushed at the policeman. Same one as last time. She was glad it was him and also horrified it was him.

You have a life outside of work? These Cannabis folks give you any time to yourself.? I looked at his uniform and tried to think.

It's just an odd change from being a lawyer. Hours and all. You get it I'm sure. Up all night. Protectin' and Servin'. Oh God, why did I say that? Crap I got to go!

You're free to go. Just. Daisy. Set a notification or something on your phone, maybe. One more time and I'll have to bring you in just to fill out some forms and charge you guys. OK? I wouldn't mind but would hate to waste your time down at the station.

She thanked Officer Lang - got his name this time, and left still feeling the blood warm in her cheeks.

Chapter 2

Daisy, at first, didn't much care to learn about cannabis - this was just a job opportunity. Things had gone south with a relationship at the law firm and she had to find something else. She enjoyed law, to some degree, but it was time for a change. She'd never worked for a government agency before. And it sounded fun. Little did she know.

Never been one to be a quitter. Even when it became obvious that the position was less than enjoyable. More of a paper-in, paper-out, situation.

An odd choice some said, Daisy was never much of a partaker herself. Smoked a little weed in college. But if anything, it freaked her out - she would be one to be hunched up in a corner crying - thinking that everybody was judging her. Paranoid. Swirling thoughts. No fun.

Oregon legalized the stuff some time ago. It had been a bumpy ride getting it off the ground, so to speak. But now there are businesses and brands and boxes of gummies and joint packs. Daisy had ventured into a local dispensary and was surprised to see it looked more like a 711 than an opium den. There were little containers in a refrigerator and the budtender (that's the name they call the kids helping you pick stuff out) explained that it was called dab. It was like the shot version of weed whereas the green bud was more like wine. Dab was concentrated but still took a level of craftsmanship. Customers wanted flavor and finesse went into making it. He explained that the little crystally components on the buds contain the active ingredients and that through a process with solvents or whatever those crystals could get combined, the greenery disposed of and you're left with just the raw components - the active ingredients. A little dab will do you.

Chapter 3

Heard you had another little mix-up with the motion detectors. Daisy had been deep in her work and hadn't noticed her supervisor walking up to her. Raymond was wearing his usual suit, no tie-top button undone but crisp and professional nonetheless.

Sorry Sir, Daisy said, I'll do my best to never let it happen again.

"Oh, it's no big worry but if it does - there will be a fee. It'll come out of your check. Okay? Fifty Dollars. The first couple is free. Third, they charge - better than what we used to do with weed. The first taste was free, then we charged. He chuckled and walked away. His little drug joke got the people around him laughing under their breath.

Daisy knew she was the joke of the department. She moved her head in a way so her medium-length, straight blonde hair covered most of her face. Like a small curtain, shutting everybody off except for what was right in front of her. She wishes she could crawl under her desk. It felt like she was high, like so many years ago - wishing she could just dissolve away, to disappear. Life had not turned out exactly as she had hoped.

She pulled another application from the stack and went about the job of approving it. One down, so very many more to go. Today was going to be a long day.

Chapter 4

There was a small eruption of talking and noise. I pulled my head out of the paperwork to see what was going on.

Daisy, get over here! Raymond was waving me over, his face looked pale and worried. I set down what I was working on and picked up the cup of coffee I had in front of me. Another long night, staring into the dark. I needed a man. I needed something. This boring life was just a repetitive waking nightmare. I wished it would have worked at the law firm. James was beautiful, beautiful, and handsome at least on the outside. I shook my thoughts and looked toward what everyone was looking at.

‘Man dead at Concentrates business.’ Daisy read further. Adam. She read the headline again, and again. No. This had to be a mistake. She just approved the application. Just yesterday. They had been going for some time, the article said. Possibly shipping their stuff out of state. Pizza boxes full of round, thin slabs of the light coffee-colored things they said. A lot of money in it. They found no money. The report said foul play was a possibility, but looked more like an industrial accident. Illegal activity likely, but with the expensive equipment and hefty fee to license up recently they didn't see the lack of money as a problem. The dead body was the problem. It was a small operation. They said they didn't think he had much if any help. A one-man-band. Daisy thought that sounded right, for the most part. Adam had been a loner, popular with the ladies to some degree, but not many friends and no girlfriend stuck around long. He was strange, and had always been friendly to me - Daisy thought. She held back a small, surprising tear. She had not had many people die that she knew. She didn't feel a connection really, but was sad he was dead.

Still, something didn't add up. Adam was always good with money. Made no sense there was none around - or on him.

An Industrial accident?

Daisy didn't think so.

Chapter 5

The drive out to the site was a quiet one. Daisy had thought Raymond would have chatted her ear off. They drove together, in the Cannabis Commission vehicle. Clipboards and papers, cameras and such were all in the trunk. The car smelled fresh, new. Raymond had the AC on way too high for Daisy. His large thick frame is likely well insulated from the heavy food he must be taking in nearly constantly. Daisy huddled in a bit and folded her arms in front of her to keep warm.

You knew him right? Raymond spoke the first words for the better part of half an hour out of the blue. Daisy