

Sherlock Holmes - mtp
Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of mysterious deaths plaguing London. What initially appears to be ordinary heart attacks soon reveals a darker pattern when rumours spread of an untraceable poison called Aqua Tofana. As the great detective digs deeper into the case, he must navigate the grimy streets of Victorian London and confront suspicious characters who might be connected to the killings.The newspaper slapped against the oak desk followed with a loud, dragged out, dramatic sigh.
"Heart attacks, angry wives, cheating men. Where’ve I heard all that before." Sherlock grumbled to himself sarcastically, sitting back onto the desk he shot a glare at the article that lay open. There was always some kind of gossip worthy ‘revenge’ story in the papers, but this was just ridiculous, what correlation did affairs and heart attacks have?
He pinched the corners of his eyes, not impressed with the reoccurring cases as of late. It genuinely couldn’t be much more than a dramatic story about a husband who had a rumour or two about laying around with prostitutes, who cared. What a dramatic heart attack story to be published.
The details were simple, it started with a middle aged married woman speculating her husband had been unfaithful and suddenly he dropped dead the next month. The man was described to be an older man of course so it wouldn’t have been surprising if he actually had died of a heart attack out of no where. What a lousy story to publish for some cash. He scrunched the paper in his grasp, trudging down the stairs of his shared apartment, setting it down on the organised table of his land lady’s.
"Paper’s here, set it on your table for when you wanna read it." Sherlock called, quite unsure where his land lady was, perhaps she was out already and hadn’t noticed how quickly he had snatched the daily new paper fresh off the doorstep the moment the paper boy had tossed it over.
---
"He’s been sleeping around like I wouldn’t notice!""What a womanizer, you know... I’ve heard there’s a lady in the city who could sort it out for you."
The café was regularly busy in the morning, typically with women out for breakfast with friends so it was the perfect time to listen in and catch up on rumours... No it’s not eavesdropping if it was for investigation purposes... Totally. Sherlock leaned back in his chair casually, tapping his cigarette onto the ash tray, his eyes lowered to the day’s newspaper, trying to lean in closer to hear the now hushed conversation.
"I heard she’s been carrying some kind of drug that could kill ‘em off for you, apparently it’s the same stuff that’s been causing all the stories to pop up in the paper, tasteless, odourless, colourless, just take it and you drop." The other woman gasped, smacking her hand over her lips, before leaning in extra close. It was almost impossible to catch.
"Aqua Tofana?"
Aqua Tofana. He’d heard that silly children’s tale about the woman Giulia Tofana, the distributor of that poison. He hadn’t taken it seriously obviously, it felt more like an empty threat to stay faithful. Untraceable poison? Seriously? Who would believe this crap? ... But it did make sense right? The repeated cases seemed very sudden, the victims in the papers matched the victims of the tale... Heart attacks being the reoccurring cause of death?
It can’t be real. It really couldn't. It felt a little too convenient for the timing.
He stubbed the cigarette out, tossing over his coins to pay for his coffee before stepping out into the busy streets. He wouldn’t be considered a joke if he even suggested such a theory right?
