The Capture of Cerberus

Poirot is leaving the London Underground at Piccadilly Circus when he passes an old acquaintance, the Countess Vera Rossakoff, on the escalators, going in the opposite direction. She insists that they meet and when asked to suggest a place, responds "In Hell...!" Poirot is puzzled but it is the unflappable Miss Lemon who coolly informs him it is the name of a new London nightclub and books him a table for that night.

The club is in a basement and is decorated in styles of hell as represented by different cultures. It even has a large black, vicious-looking hound at the entrance called Cerberus. Countess Rossakoff introduces Poirot to Professor Liskeard who advised her on the decorations (although he is ashamed of the gaudy results), and to Dr Alice Cunningham, a practitioner of psychology who is engaged to Countess Rossakoff's son, currently working in America.

Alice and Poirot do not get along. She is coldly interested in criminal tendencies and finds Countess Rossakoff's kleptomania interesting, but to Poirot's chagrin, she does not seem at all interested in the legendary detective. His questioning of her manner of dress with her heavy coat and pocketed skirt instead of a more feminine style of clothing does not go down well. However, Alice does find an individual called Paul Varesco fascinating. He is a good-looking lounge lizard with a very dubious reputation and she spends time dancing with him, questioning him incessantly about incidents in his childhood which could have contributed to his personality. Poirot recognises a young Scotland Yard detective in the crowd in evening dress and feels that something is going on.

Seeing Japp the next day, Poirot's suspicions are confirmed. The club is being watched by the police as they have linked it to a drugs ring. They cannot trace the person who put up the money to buy the club but they do know the drugs are being paid for by jewellery. Rich ladies swap their stones for paste imitations and drugs, later denying they knew of the substitution when they contact the police and their insurance companies. Scotland Yard has traced the work done on the jewels to a company called Golconda, and from there to Paul Varesco. The police raid the club but are unable to find any jewels or drugs secreted in the club or on anyone there, particularly Varesco. They are fortunate to pick up a wanted murderer by chance during the raid, and so do not tip off to the drug ring its real reason.

Poirot questions Countess Rossakoff about the true owner of the club. She denies that anyone else is the owner, but she is horrified to be told of its drug connection. Japp tells Poirot of another plan to raid the club and Poirot makes his own arrangements. On the night of the raid, Poirot stations a small man called Higgs outside the club.

The morning after the raid, Japp telephones Poirot to tell him they found jewels in the pocket of Professor Liskeard but that he had been set up. However, no drugs were discovered so someone must have removed it from the club. Poirot tells the astonished Japp that he was responsible.

Countess Rossakoff arrives at Poirot's flat. She happily confesses to Poirot that she put the jewels in the professor's pocket as she had found them in her own bag when the raid started, and so she had to dispose of them as quickly as she could. It was Varesco who planted them on her and she admits that he is the true owner of the premises. Poirot takes her into the next room where Higgs and Cerberus are waiting. Higgs can handle any dog and took the otherwise fierce animal out during the raid.

Poirot asks Countess Rossakoff to order the obedient dog to drop what it is holding in its mouth and it does so. A small sealed packet of cocaine drops to the ground. A shocked Countess Rossakoff proclaims her innocence and Poirot says he believes her – the true criminal is Alice who is in league with Verasco. She carried the drugs in her large skirt pockets and dropped them into her clients' pockets on the dance floor. When the raid occurred and the lights went out temporarily, Poirot was waiting by Cerberus and heard her put the packet in the dog's mouth – and Poirot took the opportunity to cut off a sample of cloth from her sleeve as proof.