Poison help?

[deza.livejournal.com]

I am looking for a poison that fits a rather stiff set of requirements.

1. Onset time of 45 minutes or less
2. Easily available around an average household
3. Won't be detected in a chocolate-fudge brownie
4. Produces minimal or no vomiting

I'd originally planned to use antifreeze, but from what I've found so far the onset time is around 2-3 hours, and I need to kill my character a little quicker than that. I'd prefer not to use arsenic or cyanide, as they both cause large amounts of vomiting and my MC really doesn't have time to clean up that much mess.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

I just realised how really bizarre this question would look, if it weren't in a NaNoWriMo community or if someone didn't know it had to do with writing...

[deza.livejournal.com]

Sad thing is, it really wouldn't be all that out of place on my f-list...

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

Okay, now that's just plain scary! ;)

[andrianna.livejournal.com]

Strychnine

[deza.livejournal.com]

*reads CDC pam on strychnine poisoning*
Oooo, good one!

[andrianna.livejournal.com]

You are more than welcome. :)
Have fun killing off your characters. ;)

[deza.livejournal.com]

I'm actually only killing one, I think. Depends on what the MC and her best friend end up doing to dispose of the body. :)

[andrianna.livejournal.com]

Well, one... so far. ;) There's always the accidental death when someone else eats said brownies. *grinz and plants a plot seed*

[deza.livejournal.com]

Nope--only one brownie was poisoned (hence why I needed something injectable instead of a baking ingredient). :)

[andrianna.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh.... understood! :) And here I thought that it was the "Oh, these have already been baked, but they'd make a great poisoning transporter!" idea.

[deza.livejournal.com]

The basic gist is, my MC found out her husband is cheating on her. She invited the mistress over to discuss the situation. She poisoned a brownie, but kept it set aside until the mistress started acting like a bitch. Being a good little hostess, the MC then handed the plate holding the poisoned brownie to the mistress.

And now she's quietly freaking out, trying to figure out how to dispose of the body before the kids get home from school. ;)

I have lines like "I don't think deer eat hot dogs", so it's pretty obvious that I'm not taking the whole thing too seriously.

[andrianna.livejournal.com]

Very nice!! :)

Can't wait to see how it all turns out.

~Andri'

[alison-sky.livejournal.com]

how about you change them to chocolate rasberry and use holly berries?

otherwise you've got rat posion

[deza.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for an injectable, not something that has to be baked in from the beginning. My MC didn't plan her murder very well--she was really hoping to just make the other character really sick, and overdid it a bit.

[jamileigh17.livejournal.com]

Most medicines have no taste individually. Many can be broken up (aspirin can be ground up easily, gelcaps can be popped, ect) and if mixed in, they probably couldn't be detected. http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/drug_overdose.jsp has a nice list. I'd personally go for sleeping pills and slip a bunch of those in the brownies.

[deza.livejournal.com]

Hee, I'll read through the whole site when I get home. Thanks!

[blackthornglade.livejournal.com]

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic449.htm lists quite a few toxic herbs that can be found in gardens around the country and out in the wild.

http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session2/group12/folklore.htm From this page, your best bet is probably wolfsbane or hemlock added to the food.

Belladonna (often growing wild or cultivated) causes paralysis and sleep rather than vomiting...though it does take 2-4 hours, depending on the dose. If you upped the dose, you *could* cut it down to an hour, but then you might induce vomiting anyway. There is not a cure for belladonna poisoning. Somewhere around 4-5 berries are enough to trigger toxic levels of belladonna poisoning for an adult.

Symptoms are: red skin, dry mouth, burning throat, dilated pupils, intense thirst, overheating due to decreased perspiration, double vision or inability to focus, difficulty urinating, overexcitement and symptoms of restlessness, hallucinations, delirium, manic attacks followed by exhaustion and sleep, giddiness, burning in stomach, nausea, rambling talk, abnormally fast heartbeat, feeble rapid pulse, muscular tremors or rigidity, severe or persistent constipation.

Can increase the effects of prescription drugs such as Amantadine (Symmetrel), Quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex), and Tricyclic anti-depressants like Elavil, Pamelor, and Tofranil.

Foxglove (digitalis), normally a heart medication, can be overdosed to cause the cardio-vascular system to go into overdrive. Belladonna is the cure for foxglove poisoning. Also, administered atropine is not effective in preventing overdose and death.

Aconite/Monkshood/Wolfsbane is cured by foxglove. Local reaction resembles anaphylaxis and eventually respiratory arrest. Vomiting may occur and poisoning can be done in 1-7 hours. This may be the best option if there's a time restraint on your story.

Alternately, you could do a combination of these three. They were, after all, the classical herbs used to poison down through time. :)

[deza.livejournal.com]

Women also used to drip distilled belladonna into their eyes, to dilate the pupils and enhance an "innocent" expression. :)

Thanks!

[blackthornglade.livejournal.com]

Yep, they did. Me, I think I'd have to *REALLY* think twice about that. Course, part of the reasoning on that's from having studied a lot of what these herbs do. *teehee*

[deza.livejournal.com]

Yes, but you'd also probably think twice about using alum and a bloody sponge to convince a one-night stand you were a virgin, too.

It's amazing what we've done to ourselves in the name of a "good" marriage...

[auroraceleste.livejournal.com]

How set are you on the brownies?

Phenol (found in comet) or Carbolic Acid (same thing, different name)

Also, can be countered (cured) with strong liquor, like a good brandy with the brownies :D, so that could be your out, the deceased wouldn't drink as much as the MC expected :P

Also, things are still going to taste a little funny, so the uber-creepy poison specialist suggested making them kinda bitter (too much bitter chocolate) and putting Lilacs on the table, because the smell they give off actually deadens a human's sense of smell and taste, so they'll be less likely to taste anything funny. Perhaps just lilac room spray?

Anyway, the effects of the acid are pretty fast. Face turns extremely red and victim feels painful burning all over body, then they asphyxiate, i.e. 'smother' because their blood vessels can't transfer oxygen to the cells, so the vic's reaction would be much like smothering, and they would die in about 20 min. Could be an intense 20 min, too, with the MC trying to pour liquor down the throat of a person that feels they can't breathe . . .

[deza.livejournal.com]

Cabolic acid--Dame Agatha used that one in a nose spray in Death on the Nile :)

The MC injected the poison into some brownies she made the night before--she actually wasn't expecting the victim to accept her invitation to come out and talk.

Yes, my MC is a flake. A likeable flake, with a body cooling on her kitchen floor.