Miss Mary Sutherland was a wealthy young woman who sought Sherlock Holmes' help in "A Case of Identity". She was engaged to Mr Hosmer Angel, who disappeared on the day of their wedding, leaving her only a mysterious plea that she remain faithful to him no matter what happened. She vows to await his return. Holmes deduces that Mr Angel was a fiction created by Miss Sutherland's stepfather, James Windibank, to maintain access to her substantial inheritance by preventing her from marrying. Holmes, however, does not reveal this information to Miss Sutherland. He claims to Watson that Mr Windibank has committed no punishable crime, and that Mary would not believe him anyway. Nevertheless he predicts that Windibank will continue to commit crimes, graduating to more and more serious offences until he is eventually caught.
Trivia[]
- Mary Sutherland appears as character in a mini-case during "Infamy" chapter of Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter. The facts of her case are essentially the same, but in addition to the canon solution Holmes may alternatively conclude that Hosmer Angel has actually left Mary or that Windibank hired an actor to play her fiancé.