The Fatal Sip

Carlton (Thomas W. Ashworth) meets a pleasant stranger (Jeff Elam) at a newspaper stand and the two begin chatting about their all-time favorite serial killers. After reminiscing for a while about how difficult it is for a killer to 'get away with more than one' victim, the stranger proposes a method of his own derivation wherein a special formula of 'hydoxy-metho-xyben-zaldhyde' causes a fatal stroke when the victim reaches the height of 'personal pleasure'. The viewer sees scenes where Mister Blumpkin (Michael Q. Schmidt) dies while being amorous alone and with his wife (Krista Milis). Carlton dismisses the idea as jest as the two make plans to continue their discussion that evening. Upon returning home, Carlton discovers a stack of old newspaper articles, all of which focus on unusual deaths occurring during copulation or orgasm. Excited to share his discovery, he makes his way to the stranger's apartment. While there, he mistakenly enters the man's photography studio and finds it littered with numerous photos of murder victims caught 'in-flagrante-delicto'. Carlton quickly escapes in horror and a chase ensues. Finally, Carlton manages to escape by hiding in the shadows. The stranger continues hunting, and when the opportunity presents itself, Carlton jumps out, overpowers him, and beats him to death. The following day, Carlton is back at the newspaper stand. There, the newsman tells him that the stranger was not a serial killer, but rather a crime scene photographer. On top of that he learns that the stranger's formula for a 'perfect murder' was just the chemical formula for vanilla flavoring. Carlton faints as the story ends.