Poirot's Early Cases
Poirot's Early Cases is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Collins Crime Club in September 1974. The book retailed at £2.25. Although the stories contained within the volume had all appeared in previous US collections, the book also appeared there later in 1974 under the slightly different title of Hercule Poirot's Early Cases in an edition retailing at $6.95.
In this collection, Christie charts some of the cases from Hercule Poirot's early career, before he was internationally renowned as a detective. All the stories had first been published in periodicals between 1923 and 1935.
Plot summaries
"The Affair at the Victory Ball"
asks Poirot to assist Scotland Yard in the strange events which took place at a recent costumed Victory Ball. A group of six people, headed by the young Viscount Cronshaw, attended all dressed in the costumes of the Commedia dell'arte. Lord Cronshaw was Harlequin, his uncle, the honourable Eustace Beltane, was Pulcinella. In the roles of Pierrot and Pierrette were Mr and Mrs Christopher Davidson and finally, Miss "Coco" Courtenay, an actress rumoured to be engaged to Lord Cronshaw, was Columbine. During the ball, Cronshaw was stabbed through the heart with a table knife. The next morning Coco Courtenay was found dead in her bed from an overdose of cocaine.Poirot deduces that, since rigor mortis had set in by the time Cronshaw's body was discovered, the person seen in the Harlequin costume not long before the body was found must have been one of the others. Poirot reveals that the strength with which the knife was plunged into Cronshaw meant that a man was responsible for the crime. He identifies the killer as Christopher Davidson, whom Cronshaw was about to expose as Coco's drug supplier. Davidson killed Cronshaw, hid the body behind a curtain, then took Coco home and gave her enough cocaine to kill her. He returned to the ball, stripped off his Pierrot costume to expose a Harlequin one underneath, and impersonated Cronshaw to throw off suspicion.
"The Adventure of the Clapham Cook"
Poirot receives a visit from a Mrs Todd of Clapham, who insists that he investigate the disappearance of Eliza Dunn, her cook. Two days earlier, Eliza had abruptly left her job without giving notice; she has not communicated with Mrs Todd since then except to send for her trunk that same day. Mr and Mrs Todd have taken in a lodger named Simpson, who works at a bank from which a missing clerk named Davis is suspected of stealing £50,000 in securities.Poirot has his secretary Miss Lemon place advertisements in the local newspapers, encouraging Eliza to reply. Several days later, she visits Poirot and Hastings to explain her disappearance. She had been visited by a solicitor who told her that she had inherited a cottage in Carlisle and an annual income of £300, contingent on her immediately leaving domestic service. Eliza accepted the offer and left her job that day to take a train north, giving the solicitor a letter of resignation to deliver to Mrs Todd. Her belongings were shipped to her soon afterward, though wrapped in paper parcels instead of packed in her old trunk.
After an interview with Simpson, Poirot determines that he had stolen the securities and murdered Davis, intending to hide his crime. Disguised as the solicitor, Simpson concocted the inheritance as a ruse to get Eliza out of the way and then deliberately failed to deliver her letter to Mrs Todd. He used Eliza's trunk to ship Davis' body out of the area, relying on its inconspicuous appearance to avoid scrutiny. He attempts to flee from England but is soon apprehended trying to board an ocean liner bound for Venezuela, and Davis' body is found in the trunk, in storage at Glasgow Central Station.
"The Cornish Mystery"
Poirot receives a visit from a Mrs Pengelley, a middle-aged woman who is afraid that she is being poisoned by her husband, a dentist. She has no proof, only that she suffers stomach pains after eating whenever both of them are at home, but not when he is away at weekends. In addition, a supposedly unused bottle of weed killer is half empty.Poirot and Hastings travel to Cornwall the next day and are shocked to find that Mrs Pengelley died half an hour before. Poirot interviews Mrs. Pengelley's niece Freda Stanton, as well as Jacob Radnor, a young man who had been keeping company with Freda. The two are engaged, but Mrs Pengelley developed an infatuation with Radnor, resulting in a row between her and Freda that prompted Freda to move out.
Some time later, Mrs Pengelley's body is exhumed and found to contain high levels of arsenic, and her husband is arrested and charged with her murder. After attending the committal hearing, Poirot meets with Radnor and presents a murder confession for him to sign. Poirot conjectures that Radnor had intended to take control of the family's money by gaining the confidence of both women, marrying Freda, killing Mrs Pengelley, and framing her husband for the crime. He bluffs Radnor into believing that the police have him under surveillance, and promises to wait one day before turning over the confession and letting them track him down. Radnor signs the document and hurries away; Poirot then admits to Hastings that he had no proof of the man's guilt and could only establish it by deception.
"The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly"
Poirot is called in to investigate the kidnapping of three-year-old Johnnie Waverly, the son of Marcus Waverly, from his home, Waverly Court in Surrey. Prior to the kidnapping, the family received anonymous letters that threatened to take the boy unless twenty-five thousand pounds was paid. The police took little interest until the final letter which stated that the boy would be kidnapped at twelve o'clock the next day. On that day, Mrs Waverly was mildly poisoned and a note was left on Mr Waverly's pillow that stated, "At Twelve O'clock". Horrified that someone inside the house is involved, Mr Waverly sacks all of the staff except Tredwell, his long-time butler, and Miss Collins, his wife's trusted secretary-companion.Poirot and Hastings travel to Waverly Court, where they learn of the existence of a priest hole near the room in which Johnnie was last seen. After examining its floor and questioning both Tredwell and Miss Collins, Poirot deduces that Mr Waverly arranged the kidnapping with the help of Tredwell and a confederate, intending to get money from his rich-but-parsimonious wife. Mr Waverly took advantage of a distraction to hide Johnnie in the priest hole, then brought him out later and drove him off the grounds. He admits to the scheme and reveals that Johnnie is safe at the home of his former nurse, and Poirot promises not to reveal the truth to Mrs Waverly as long as the boy is returned within 24 hours.
"The Double Clue"
Poirot is called in by Marcus Hardman, a collector of various antique precious objects, to investigate a jewel theft. The theft occurred from his safe when he was holding a small tea party at his house. He showed his guests his collection of medieval jewels and later discovered that the safe had been rifled and the objects taken. Four of his guests had the opportunity to take the items – Mr Johnston, a South African millionaire only just arrived in London; Countess Vera Rossakoff, a refugee from the Russian Revolution; Bernard Parker, a young and effeminate agent for Mr Hardman, and Lady Runcorn, a middle-aged society lady whose aunt is a kleptomaniac.Poirot examines the scene of the crime and finds a man's glove holding the safe open and a cigarette case with the initials "BP". Parker denies that either item is his, but Poirot matches the glove to one thrown down carelessly in his home. Later, Poirot receives a visit from the Countess Rossakoff, who is indignant that Parker has fallen under suspicion.
The next day, Poirot visits Hardman and reveals the thief as the Countess Rossakoff. He tells Hastings that it was the double clue of the glove and the case which made him suspicious. Only one of the clues was genuine and the other was deliberately planted as a red herring. As the cigarette case was not Parker's, that must have been the genuine clue. The case belonged to the Countess whose initials – VR – are В Р in Cyrillic. The Countess returns the jewels and leaves London, and Poirot does not tell the police of the theft.
"The King of Clubs"
Poirot receives a visit from Prince Paul of Maurania, who wants to marry the dancer Valerie Saintclair, currently under suspicion for the murder of Henry Reedburn, a theatrical impresario. Reedburn was in love with Valerie although his feelings were not reciprocated. Prince Paul and Valerie saw a clairvoyant the previous week, who turned over the king of clubs in her pack of cards and said a man threatened danger to her. The prince is afraid that Valerie interpreted this to mean Reedburn and attacked him.Poirot and Hastings visit the scene of the crime and the neighbouring Oglander home. Valerie tells them that Reedburn held a secret of hers and threatened her but she did not kill him. She went to his house by prior appointment, and was pleading with him when a man dressed like a tramp attacked him from behind the curtained recess. She fled from the house towards the Oglander home, interrupting the family game of bridge, and has been recuperating there ever since.
Returning to the drawing room, Poirot notices that the king of clubs is missing from the cards on the bridge table. After further investigation, he returns to the Oglander house to assure Mrs Oglander that the police will not find out what happened. He deduces that the four family members set up the bridge game to provide an alibi for themselves, but left one card in the box by mistake. A male family member had gone with Valerie during her visit to Reedburn, accidentally killed him and moved the body, then carried Valerie back home after she fainted; Poirot determines that the son is the more likely culprit due to the physical strength required for these acts.
Poirot explains to Hastings that Valerie is the Oglanders' estranged daughter, having noted similarities between her appearance and theirs. Despite the breach in the relationship, she turned to them in her moment of need. Her story of the tramp will stand and she is free to marry Prince Paul.