In April, Dr. Watson (now a widower), having retained an interest in crime from his previous association with Holmes, visits the murder scene at 427 Park Lane. He sees a plainclothes detective there with police, and also runs into an elderly deformed book collector, knocking several of his books to the ground. The encounter ends with the man snarling in anger and going away. However, that is not the last that Watson sees of him, for a short time later, the man comes to Watson's study in Kensington to apologize for his earlier behaviour. Once he manages to distract Watson's attention for a few seconds, he transforms himself into Sherlock Holmes, astonishing Watson so much that he faints to the ground "for the first and last time in my life."