Top Detective Comics #9

Young King Cole springs into action when a mysterious letter arrives at his detective agency—a desperate plea for help from a woman claiming her life is in danger aboard the Island Belle, a steamer docked at the wharf. What King discovers in the ship's hold is far darker than he anticipated: a young woman named Nell being systematically poisoned by her own uncle and a corrupt doctor who stand to inherit her considerable fortune. With the help of his trusted associates, King must race against time to stop the scheme before the steamer sails and Nell's fate is sealed.

Detective Homer K. Beagle stumbles onto a peculiar case when the zoo's entire supply of fifty thousand worms—the sole food source for Willie, a rare Australian platypus—vanishes without a trace. While Homer tries to look busy investigating what he fears is an embarrassing assignment, he uncovers a black market worm-smuggling operation selling the stolen goods to fishermen at inflated prices. As the crooks close in and Homer's cover falls apart, a wild chain of misadventures—involving dazed fistfights, a flock of hungry birds, and gravity itself—plays out in unexpected ways.

When Dr. Whisper Drew and Zan investigate a series of snake-bite deaths plaguing a small farming community in "Fangs of Death," they uncover a deadly scheme involving the local snake farm. With help from his animal companions Gray and Mikko, Drew must track down the true culprit behind the poisonings before another victim falls. A clever mystery wrapped in suspense and danger, this tale proves that the deadliest serpent isn't always the one that slithers.