20. No Lack of Void

Complete story — includes the ending

When a pickpocket collapses in jail, Joan starts to help, then realizes he seems to have contracted anthrax. He stole the anthrax from someone, thinking it was cocaine, then swallowed it when he was apprehended. The man dies. One of the pickpocketed items leads to Charlie Simon. He had the expertise to make anthrax spores, but they find him dead at his storage locker laboratory. From the empty trays there, Sherlock deduces he made 40 pounds of the stuff. Eugene MacIntosh, a member of an anti-government group known as the Sovereign Army, becomes the prime suspect. He is shot dead by his brother Bart when he goes to Bart's failing farm. However, it turns out that the brothers were actually trying to kill off Bart's herd of cows for a multimillion-dollar insurance scam. Sherlock's close friend Alistair dies, which catches Sherlock off guard. He reacts by acting out of character, causing Joan to go into sober companion mode and making him talk about it. After it gets out that Alistair died of a heroin overdose, Sherlock struggles even more. Eventually, he confesses to Alistair at his grave that he loved him dearly and will miss him.