We took the man to the living room while the constables watched him closely from behind. They seated him on a chair and I gave a good look at him. I had never seen him in my life. �Who is this man?� asked Lestrade mirroring my thoughts.
�Allow me to introduce you to Mr. Nigel Staunton alias Dr. Ian Unstead.� said Holmes, �You will find that he has an interesting story to tell, Lestrade.�
With a wide grin Lestrade went to Mr. Stauton. �You thought you could fool a man like me, eh? Prepare yourself for your declaration at Scotland Yard.�
A smile appeared on our prisoner�s face. �I might as well give it right now. Please take pen and paper for I think it is fair to give you my reasons for trying to kill Sir Arthur, now that you have caught me. Well, as you know, my true name is Henry Stauton. I wanted to take that man because he is the responsible of my daughter�s death.
�I have lived in India for over twenty years as a botanist. There, I met the woman who became my wife. She bore me one daughter before dying in a plague. I educated my poor daughter, Susan, as best as I could. Two years ago she told me that an Englishman, who was currently hunting tigers, had offered her marriage and she had accepted. I consented to the marriage but I never had the opportunity to meet him. Two months later, word came that he had returned to England for good, never to return. The news broke my poor Susan�s heart, she fell sick and eventually died.
�I vowed I would get revenge, but several impediments stayed my hand until recently. I soon found out who was that man when I arrived at London, a month ago. I sent him a letter warning him of my intentions. This was my first mistake for that putted him on guard, making it more difficult for me to get at him. I found nigh impossible to infiltrate in this house, so I tried my luck with Sir Hillsborough offering to be his physician. Sharing both of us common interests, he readily accepted and I prepared myself for the moment I could lay my hands on my victim. Twice I met him at the table and I saw he did not suspect anything. But I could not put my plan to work on those occasions because he had brought his own food. Such queerness if I may say so! However, today he accepted to try the chef�s cuisine. My heart leapt within me at the sight of my opportunity. I have fancy for Indian magic tricks so I did not found it difficult to put my poison in his drink while I saluted him. But in my excitement I made my second mistake; I took the wrong capsule which contained a far less perilous powder. I realized it when he succumbed to it�s effect but had not died. I had no remedy but to attend him. His own doctor arrived inconveniently quick and hindered me in my intentions.
�I returned quickly to my hotel and found that I had lost the capsule I had used. With the other, I prepared another solution. I had to do it today while he was bedridden or else I would lose my opportunity. So I waited till evening. I sneaked in and� you know the rest. How did you get me, I can not imagine.�
We all turned to Holmes. �Yes Holmes, how did you do it?� asked Lestrade.
�It was quite simple.� clarified Holmes, �We already knew that Richards was not the responsible. The clue that posted me in the correct line of inquiry was the absence of tracks around Sir Rodger�s house. No one had sneaked in or out; far from that, our man went through the main gate. This left any strangers out of the matter. While speaking with Lady Beatrice and with you I carefully observed the hall and the dinning room and found the capsule that Mr. Stauton had dropped. This was enough for me. When I tested it, I found out that it was not a common poison; in fact it was quite rare. I took my results to a public library and discovered that the poison came from an uncommon plant that can only be found in certain parts of Asia. This eliminated the cook and the housemaids. With all his influences Sir Rodger could not have obtained it, so that left him out too. Lady Beatrice evidently loves Sir Arthur and thus she had no reason to kill him.
�The only one that was left was this mysterious Dr. Unstead. I promptly went to the files and discovered that no such doctor existed. I wired Sir Rodger asking him for Unstead�s address and then went to Staunton�s hotel. By that moment, I had already made up my mind regarding his move for this evening. The hotel manager told me Mr. Stauton�s true name, with my case complete I wired Lestrade and here we are.
�A good collection of deductions.� I congratulated.
�Thank you Watson, but for today we had had enough adventures. Come, let us inform Lady Beatrice the result of our investigation and then return to Baker Street for I want to treat you with some violin playing.�