‘I have already told you I am seeing a young lady!’

‘But two?’ I persisted.

‘Well, Watson, at this very moment, a tall brunette young lady is pacing across the street, staring at these windows in considerable pique.’

Colangelo ran to the window and peered carefully through the narrowest of openings in the sheer curtains. ‘Clara!’ he cried. ‘Damnation!’

‘So, two young ladies, then,’ said Holmes.

Colangelo turned from the window, quivering with rage. ‘Get out!’

‘Mr Colangelo, I have no doubt that your new trade is not really so very different from my own. Fear not, I have no intention of revealing your secrets. Before we go, let me simply examine the device which caused your accident.’

‘No!’

‘You still have it, I presume. Is that it on the table over there?’ At the magician’s hesitation, Holmes continued. ‘Do you not want to get to the bottom of this mystery? Surely you wish to know how this harm befell you?’

Holmes stood, retrieved the device, and sat back down, examining it.

‘Careful, Holmes,’ I said.

Colangelo hesitated, his face working to disguise his fury, and something else. Guilt, I thought.

‘Or perhaps you already know how it happened?’ said Holmes.

The magician looked down at his feet, ashamed.

Holmes said nothing, staring at the man. ‘You did it yourself.’

Colangelo looked around him as if imploring help from unseen beings. His eyes glistened. ‘I am not sure,’ he said. ‘I thought to improve the trick. Make faster. Make a loud sound. More dramatic. I try to adjust the mechanism.’

‘And Madame Borelli?’ prompted Holmes. ‘You accused her husband—’

A tear coursed down the man’s cheek which he wiped away quickly with his right hand. I got a glimpse of the ruined index finger, mangled and missing its tip. He thrust his hand into his pocket. ‘Honestly I do not know. Dario Borelli visited me the day before my accident. He picked up the guillotine. I think maybe he did something. Or maybe it was me. But if Madame thinks it was him, she might—’

‘—feel guilty and return to you? You love her still,’ said Holmes. ‘Understandable. She is a magnificent woman.’ He peered into the small device. ‘I take it you are unskilled with mechanical things.’

‘Yes. I have help when I can afford it. And Ilaria, she is very, very good.’

‘I believe you were not the person behind Borelli’s accident. But carry on, sir, I am sure you will profit by your “mind-reading”.’

Holmes set down the little guillotine, rose, and with a polite goodbye exited the room. I took my leave and followed, Colangelo right behind me. I caught a brief glimpse of the morose magician just before he closed the door with a click.

Out in the hallway I said, ‘Holmes, there is something I do not understand. Why on earth did he draw that silly conclusion about—?’