Sherlock: His Enigma Called A

Toxic Theme

"These are poisonous Choresine beetles. They're highly toxic to humans."

"Then why would they be fed to the animals?"

"Because they are preyed upon by a few specific species that sequester the poison in themselves," Adelaide stepped away from the terrarium, "They secrete batrachotoxin, a combined neurotoxin and cardiotoxin. Slightly similar to digitalis. Poison dart frogs are also batrachotoxic."

"So there are poison dart frogs here?"

"Yes, but they don't eat these beetles. The frogs are found in Latin America, whereas the beetles and their predators are located in New Guinea."

Adelaide hummed, retreating into her mind to piece together the puzzle before her. Sherlock watched with admiration. Despite being painfully shy, she would perk up and exhibit utter confidence when in her element- like she was now. Sherlock took a minute to string together the information he'd attained up to that point while she was thinking.

A minute or so later she snapped back to reality and hurried out of the room, "Adelaide?"

"You can come along if you'd like, Sherlock. I'm sure you're curious." She shyly replied. A corner of his lips quirked up and he stepped out to follow her.

"Where are you going, then?"

"There are three possible species that would eat the Choresin beetles. And we need to identify if they're here so that we know and so that no one will get hurt."

"Mind telling me what those species are, exactly?" He asked.

"The Hooded Pitohui, Little Shikethrush and Blue-Capped Ifrita are three of only five known toxic birds worldwide, and each of the three species eat the beetles. All three are found in New Guinea and Australia." She explained, eyes sparking with passion as she dove into her ornithological databanks. Despite that she wasn't wearing her glasses, which Sherlock actually liked because they made her look almost as intelligent as she was, she definitely looked intelligent as she murmured bird and beetle facts.

They checked every room and eventually found the door down to the basement. Sherlock placed his hand over the doorknob before she could, "I'll go down first. Can't have the ornithologist getting hurt by anyone who might be hiding away down there."

She flushed bright red and stammered, "R-Really, Sherlock?"

"Indeed. You didn't bring those toxic beetles to defend yourself with, anyways." This reaped a small chuckle from her that got the other corner of his lips to tweak upwards into a light smile.

He opened the door and felt for a light switch, flipping it on to illuminate a suspiciously well maintained stairwell. He went first and Adelaide followed closely, "Don't touch anything. The walls may have been smeared with poison as a defense."

He stopped and looked at her, causing her to bump into him, "Are you so concerned for my safety?"

"Y-Yu're the world's only consulting detective. Poison hardly seems fitting for you... Besides, Batrachotoxin has no antidote."

"Do I detect fascination with toxins on your part?" She blushed again, "Don't be embarrassed, Adelaide, your knowledge of toxins may very well be critical to this case."

"Okay..." They continued down the rest of the stairs, careful to avoid touching the walls and railings. As they finally stepped down onto the basement floor and turned on another set of lights, a symphony of avian noises pervaded the air.

Birds were lined up around the room in large metal-wire cages, and in the center of the room were a few tables smushed together to form a workbench of sorts. Sherlock's attention was drawn to the lab equipment strewn over them and around the room, "Intriguing." He strode over to examine the equipment while Adelaide walked around to examine the birds.

All of a sudden he heard her leap, followed by a triumphant noise, "A-Ha!! I knew it!" He turned to look at her and found her standing in front of a cage containing a pair of medium sized black and tawny-orange birds.

"Are those what you were looking for?"

"Yes! These are Hooded Pitohui birds. They secrete the most batrachotoxin in their skin and feathers. I was pretty sure that this species was the one the poacher kept. The other two species aren't as toxic," She looked at him, "If I were to touch one of them, the poison would immediately affect the peripheral nervous system and even my heart. It's extremely potent."

"Don't touch them, then," He replied and then placed his hands together under his chin, "There seems to be a theme with the animals. Many of them are toxic- and toxic animals are not typical fare in the exotic pet trade. And given the lap equipment here, I deduce that this is much more than simple poaching."

A few moments of silence followed before Adelaide spoke up, "Someone with an agenda?"

"Precisely."

She rolled her lips, "And given the good health of the animals, the poacher is definitely not ignorant or dumb." Sherlock nodded and eyed her with a slight smile.

"Well, Adelaide, I believe this case has officially become a level ten now thanks to your toxic knowledge." He declared.

"Always glad to help, Sherlock."

Thank you for reading! Shout out to iamsherlocked64!!