The Horses of Diomedes

One night, Hercule Poirot is telephoned for help by a young medical acquaintance, Dr Michael Stoddart. Going to the address given to him, Poirot finds Stoddart in the flat of Mrs Patience Grace, where a debauched party is ending, including use of cocaine. Stoddart had been summoned after Mrs Grace had an argument with her boyfriend, Anthony Hawker. She tried to shoot him as he left the flat, and inflicted a flesh wound on a passing tramp. Stoddart patched up the tramp who has accepted a pay-off.

Stoddart's concern is for Sheila Grant, who he met at a hunt ball in the country. Sheila was at the party, is still at the flat having just woken up and is feeling terrible after the high of the drugs. She is one of four daughters of a retired general and there is every sign that Sheila and her sisters are going wild, getting into a bad set where the cocaine flows freely. Stoddart lectures her about the cocaine and Poirot introduces himself. It is obvious that Sheila has heard of him and is nervous of him. Poirot compares drug-peddling to feeding on human flesh (in his mind, like the horses of Diomedes, who were fed on human flesh).

Poirot visits Mertonshire, where an old friend, Lady Carmichael, gives him details of the Grant family. All the girls are going to the bad as their father cannot control them. They keep company with Hawker, who has an unpleasant reputation, as does another of his "lady friends", Mrs Larkin. Lady Carmichael is thrilled to think that Poirot has visited to investigate some special crime but the detective tells her he is simply there to tame four wild horses. He visits General Grant whose house is filled with artifacts from India. The General himself completes the clichéd picture, sitting in an armchair with his foot bandaged up from gout, drinking port and railing against the world. Poirot breaks the news of the drugs and listens to the old man's cries of anger and sworn threats against whoever is leading his girls into trouble. Leaving the room, Poirot clumsily trips against his host.

Poirot has himself invited to a party at Mrs Larkin's home where he meets Sheila's sister Pamela. Hawker arrives with Sheila, having just come from a hunt, wanting to fill up his liquor flask. Sheila has heard from one of the house servants that Poirot visited her father the day before. He tells her of the threat she is under from her drug taking. As he leaves he hears Pam whisper to Sheila about the flask. Poirot sees the abandoned flask and finds it full of white powder.

Some time later, back at Lady Carmichael's, Poirot tells Sheila that her photograph has been identified by the police. Her real name is Sheila Kelly. The four girls are not the daughters of General Grant, who is not a general, but head of a drugs ring, and the four young women push the drugs for him. He tells an astonished Michael that the "General" overdid his act, as gout is usually suffered by very old men, not the middle-aged fathers of young women. When Poirot tripped deliberately, he bumped Grant's "gouty" foot, but Grant did not notice. Hawker was not a pusher of drugs but a user. Pam and Sheila were trying to frame him on Grant's orders with the flask of cocaine.

Poirot persuades Sheila to give evidence against Grant and thereby smash the ring. By doing so, she will copy the horses of the legend, who became normal after Hercules fed their master to them. Poirot tells an embarrassed Stoddart that Sheila is certain to lose her criminal tendencies with him to look after her.