25th October
Yet again, we have another villain who is hardly mentioned throughout the story but is suddenly a major character at the end. Juan Murillo, from Wisteria Lodge, (a J villain, of course) was also nicknamed the Tiger of San Pedro, which sounds like a superhero but he really wasn’t.
I’m going to be perfectly honest, I’m not going to even attempt to sum up Wisteria Lodge because it is incredibly complex and the plot doesn’t really involve Murillo. I mean, it does, but there are so many details he has nothing to do with. Basically, at the end of the story, a woman wronged by Murillo tells us his backstory, and that’s what I’ll include here.
Watson is also aware of Murillo’s notoriety.
‘The Tiger of San Pedro! The whole history of the man came back to me in a flash. He had made his name as the most lewd and bloodthirsty tyrant that had ever governed any country with a pretence to civilization. Strong, fearless, and energetic, he had sufficient virtue to enable him to impose his odious vices upon a cowering people for ten or twelve years. His name was a terror through all Central America. At the end of that time there was a universal rising against him. But he was as cunning as he was cruel, and at the first whisper of coming trouble he had secretly conveyed his treasures aboard a ship which was manned by devoted adherents. It was an empty palace which was stormed by the insurgents next day. The dictator, his two children, his secretary, and his wealth had all escaped them. From that moment he had vanished from the world, and his identity had been a frequent subject for comment in the European press.’
The woman I mentioned is called Miss Burnet, or Signora Victor Durando, and her husband was sentenced to be shot by Murillo, which is why she is involved.
Murillo was determined to find Miss Burnet’s husband, even kidnapping, gagging her and twisting her arm until she told him where he was. Miss Burnet was continuously tortured for five days, until Murillo gave her lunch, which was poisoned. Murillo and his ‘secretary’ (I can’t think of any other word to describe him), Lopez, took this as an opportunity to run away.
Not to worry, justice is served when the pair, under the names of ‘Marquess of Montalva and Signor Rulli’ are both murdered. The murderers are never found, but it is said they were killed because of Nihilism.
Quick note: by Nihilism, ACD doesn’t mean these guys were killed because of some extreme emos, it was actually a movement from a Russian Revolutionary party from that time. I’m still not sure how that correlates, but hey, Murillo and Lopez won’t be missed anyway.