The Adventure of the Assassinated Actress
Inspector Lestrade has come to 221B Baker Street in a terrible fix. It seems Delores DeVere, sweetheart of the west end playhouses, was murdered at the theatre during a morning rehearsal.
Lestrade gives Holmes the facts:
Delores had taken breakfast with her husband, Wesley Jarvis, at eight-thirty before he escorted her to the theatre at nine o'clock. Jarvis, a self acclaimed explorer recently returned from overseas, returned home immediately as usual because he refused to "suffer" the tantrums of his wife's fellow thespians.
During the rehearsal Delores took a drink from a glass of wine and after a few minutes she began to complain of stomach cramps and feeling nauseous. She had trouble breathing and collapsed on the stage and died. Her dead staring eyes had become puffy and a vile smelling yellow bile trickled from her mouth.
Bertram Redfern, the theatres stagehand, had complained on many occasions about the appalling way Delores treated him because he was a mere "skivvy" and not an artiste. He had purchased the bottle of wine from the Boars Head pub that morning.
Teddy Nettles, the Boars Head landlord, had fallen out with Delores the week before and she had forbidden anyone from the troupe to use the pub which had hurt Teddy's business.
Lily McDermott, the understudy, had been overheard that morning saying that she would be playing the title role on opening night.
Richard Walker, a fan who had taken to stalking Delores after she had rebuffed his amorous advances, had been discovered skulking backstage by the police after the murder.
The police have no idea what poison was used or who administered the fatal dose. Holmes assures Lestrade that he will a) name the murderer b) identify the poison and c) reveal the motive.
Sherlock Holmes pulled a book from the shelf, flipped through its pages and tossed it onto the sofa; then proceeded to perform this ritual with several other tomes before he cried out in triumph.
"You must arrest Wesley Jarvis!"
"He was not present when she drank the wine," said Lestrade flatly
"From the description you gave of the poisons symptoms I can state quite confidently the poison you are looking for is Sapient Curarious, a cousin to the poison Curare. It is derived from a rare black cymbidium orchid found only on the banks of the Amazon. As her husband is an explorer I deduce that it must be he who brought it into the country."
"But he was not present…"
"Although Curare has an almost instant effect when administered by injection, the Sapient Curarious strain, which is administered orally, can have a period of up to an hour before any signs of discomfort are felt. If it had been in the wine then it would have killed her an hour later than she died. Therefore her husband must have given it to her during breakfast."
"Why, Mr Holmes?"
"You say Wesley Jarvis is an explorer yet I have never seen his name mentioned in any journal of merit. Therefore he could not be considered successful and exploration requires immense funding. His wife on the other hand was extremely successful in her career and so would fund his expeditions. I am sure her demise will leave him comfortable financially. Also he has been having an affair with Lily McDermott."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Simplicity itself, Inspector. You told us that Lily McDermott had been overheard that morning saying she would be playing the lead on opening night. If she didn't kill Delores DeVere she certainly knew she was not going to perform on opening night or this would not have been said. Wesley Jarvis planned the murder and told his lover, Lily McDermott, who in turn knew she would take the part as the understudy. If Mr Jarvis never went into the theatre the only way he could reveal his intentions to Miss McDermott would be outside of the theatre setting. What other reason would they have to meet unless for iniquitous purposes?"
"You are a marvel, Mr Holmes."
"It was all rather elementary, Inspector."