Holmes kept his composure, but all colour had drained from his face. Although he liked to entertain the thought that he was but a brain and the rest of him a mere appendix, I had come to recognize over the years that this "appendix" was actually a great and noble heart capable of compassion and sympathy for his fellow human beings.

"Watson", Holmes said very quiety and I could see that it took him considerable effort to keep his voice from shaking. "Watson, what a fool I have been!" I rose to protest, but he commanded my silence with a wave of his hand.

"I appreciate your loyalty, my friend. But this is not the time to spare my feelings. Yes, errare humanum est... but this blunder of mine has cost a life. I have indulged myself and squandered precious time by deciphering this little musical code..."

He cast a deprecatory glance at the papers we had so hurriedly crammed into the dustbin.

"... when I should have taken measures to prevent another crime. This is simply inexcusable."

We sat in silence for a minute, unsure what to say. But when Holmes spoke up again, his voice had the ring of steely determination.

"Watson, get your coat. We must visit the scene of the crime, before the police have trampled over the last shreds of evidence. Let's try to atone for our blindness by ending this carnage and bringing the perpetrators to justice!"

"Perpetrators, Holmes?" I asked, as we headed downstairs to hail a cab that would convey us to "The Four Willows". "Do you think this is the work of more than one murderer?"

"I believe so indeed", Holmes answered, as we were finally settled within the carriage.

"And consider, Watson, the different modi operandi employed in sending those gifted artists to kingdom come. Vladimir Peshilka was poisoned with chocolates, Mlle. Lacroix died of a bullet, Roseline Filiberto was drowned in the pond, John Amberson possibly evaded smoking himself to death in a very literal sense... and now Miss Svoboda loses her head. Why such varied methods?"

Suddenly a thought struck me.

"Yes Holmes! Why do such a gruesome and inconvenient thing to kill this poor woman? The lady is beheaded in her room in broad daylight and nobody notices anything? As a doctor I can assure you, that this horrible crime cannot have been perpetrated without considerable effort and certainly not noiselessly!"

"Dear Doctor, you have penetrated the heart of the mystery. I commend your professional perspicacity in this matter. It looks as if the cause of death was chosen for dramatic effect rather than for convenience. Why indeed? That is what we must find out. Come Watson, here we are."

Proceed to Part Nine