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."