Yes, poisoning was on my mind too. It reminded me of a dark & clever short story I read a long time ago, but cannot remember the author or title.
Setting: America circa early/mid 19th century (maybe late 18th?)
Plot (warning, spoilers): A timid shopkeeper is regularly bullied by the town drunk. The shopkeeper hires the drunk, who continues to abuse him, and now starts stealing from him too.
The shopkeeper sends him on an errand to pick up some goods from another town. The next day the bully is found dead, some distance down the road, still in the carriage he was driving.
The twist: Among the goods being shipped was a large quantity of wood alcohol (isopropyl for you nerds). In those days, wood alcohol was sold in small barrels, but for this large amount, the barrel is the same size used for grain alcohol. The bully had started drinking on his way back and, being illiterate, drank the wood alcohol thinking it was booze and killed himself.
Does anyone remember the author or title of this story?
Setting: America circa early/mid 19th century (maybe late 18th?)
Plot (warning, spoilers): A timid shopkeeper is regularly bullied by the town drunk. The shopkeeper hires the drunk, who continues to abuse him, and now starts stealing from him too.
The shopkeeper sends him on an errand to pick up some goods from another town. The next day the bully is found dead, some distance down the road, still in the carriage he was driving.
The twist: Among the goods being shipped was a large quantity of wood alcohol (isopropyl for you nerds). In those days, wood alcohol was sold in small barrels, but for this large amount, the barrel is the same size used for grain alcohol. The bully had started drinking on his way back and, being illiterate, drank the wood alcohol thinking it was booze and killed himself.
Does anyone remember the author or title of this story?