In Sherlock Holmes’s “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone,” a wax figure resembling Holmes is used in the detective’s deception.
Holmes arranges the figure near a window so that criminals watching Baker Street will believe they are seeing him. The trick allows the real Holmes to move unseen while keeping the criminals confident that their target remains in the room. Watson and Billy help maintain the illusion.
The case concerns the theft of the Mazarin Stone, a valuable jewel. Holmes uses conversation, surveillance and misdirection to draw the thieves into revealing themselves. The wax model is one of the story’s most theatrical devices and reflects Holmes’s willingness to stage an elaborate scene.
This story is sometimes confused with “The Adventure of the Empty House,” which also uses a lifelike Holmes decoy to mislead an attacker. In both cases, the figure resembles Holmes, but the surrounding plots and villains are different.