Adelbert Gruner

**Baron Adelbert Gruner** is the main antagonist of the Sherlock Holmes story, *The Illustrious Client.* He is an Austrian Baron who is a shameless philander and a murderer, who killed his wife and only got away with his crime due to a legal technicality and a suspicious death of his witnesses.

## History

Now living in England following multiple crimes throughout Europe, Gruner has won the affections of the old General De Merilles daughter Violet, the two met on a Mediterranean yachting voyage using a series of skillful lies and manipulation, as well as his own good looks, charm and air of mystery and excitement, he had managed to convince her of his innocence in his past crimes, and convinced her to marry him.

A mysterious client contacted Sherlock Holmes through Sir James Damery, aware of Gruner's past Holmes takes on the case, and his first step is to confront Gruner. Gruner however is unmoved by Holmes' investigation, comparing it to "play a hard with no cards in it". And arrogantly boasts of his own success, at conditioning Violet to reject anything bad she hears about him. He also ends the meeting with an implied threat, telling the story of a French detective who was investigating him, who was crippled for life after being beaten up by a gang of thugs, a week after investigating Gruner.

However, Sherlock, with the help of his friend and informant in the criminal underworld Shinwell Johnson, manages to find a Miss Kitty Winters, who was Gruner's final mistress, a woman who's life was ruined by Gruner and wished revenge on him. It's revealed that Gruner shamelessly collects women, and keeps reports of this in a book he keeps. Knowing that reading this book in his own hand, will break Gruner's hold over Violet, Sherlock formulates a plan to steal it. But first takes Miss Kitty Winters to see Violet, to see if this will have any affect. It fails to do so.

Following the warning however, Gruner hires thugs to beat Sherlock up. Sherlock being a strong man, manages to come out the fight unharmed, but seeing an opportunity he has the newspapers reports he is seriously wounded and near death, so that Gruner will underestimate him. He also gives instructions to quickly remove Miss Kitty Winters in case Gruner attempts to have her removed as well.

Several days later, as Gruner is leaving for America and will almost certainly take the incriminating book with him, Sherlock is forced to act. He has Dr. John Watson learn all he can about Chinese poetry in 24 hours, as well as the Baron has an interest in and is quite the authority on the subject. Then using a genuine piece of Ming poetry has him pretend to be another collector there to sell it to them. While Sherlock steals the book.

However Watson is unable to fool Gruner for too long, and confronts him. But before he can do anything, he is alerted by the sound of someone in his back room. Rushing in his just in time to see Sherlock escape out the window. He rushes to the window, only to be doused by vitriol by the vengeful Miss Winters, severly disfiguring his face. Watson stayed on hand til' his doctor arrived.

Following this the plan was a success, and shortly afterwards Violet called off the engagement, while Miss Winters was investigated but after hearing the evidence was only given the most miminal sentence for her actions.

## Personality

On the surface he is a charming sophiscated man who is an expert in Ming china. However he is vicious sadistc liar who uses women as trophies whom he casually discards. In the Granda TV Versian of this story, Miss Winters is a professional artist model who had fallen in love with Gruner until he disfigured her neck and shoulder with vitrol; it is also implied that the "Unnamed Client" was the Prince of Wales who became King Edward VII