The Nemean Lion

Hercule Poirot receives a letter from businessman Sir Joseph Hoggin, whose wife's Pekingese dog has been kidnapped. Poirot meets Hoggin, who tells him the dog was taken a week ago but returned for a ransom of two hundred pounds. Hoggin would have left the matter there but for the fact that the same thing had happened to an acquaintance at his club. Poirot meets the petulant Lady Hoggin and her put-upon companion, Miss Amy Carnaby, who is clearly frightened of her employer. Miss Carnaby recounts how she took the dog, Shan-Tung (described by Poirot as 'a veritable lion'), for a walk in the park and stopped to admire a baby in its pram. When she looked down, someone had cut the dog's leash and it had been taken. A ransom note said to leave the money in notes in an envelope for a Captain Curtis at an address in Bloomsbury.

Poirot follows several lines of enquiry. First, he ascertains the name of Miss Carnaby's, now deceased, former employer, Lady Hartingfield, and visits her niece, who confirms Lady Hoggin's view of Miss Carnaby's lack of intellect but essential, fine qualities – caring for an invalid sister and being good with dogs. Second, he interviews the park keeper who remembers the incident of the kidnap. Third, he investigates the address to which the ransom money was sent and finds it is a cheap hotel where letters are often left for non-residents. Fourth, he visits the wife of the man that Sir Hoggin met at his club, who gives a similar story to that told by Lady Hoggin regarding the method of kidnap and ransom demand. Finally, he reports back to Sir Hoggin, where he observes that Sir Hoggin's relationship with his secretary does not seem strictly professional.

Poirot then sends his valet, George, to covertly investigate an address of which he [Poirot] is suspicious. Poirot subsequently visits the address and finds Miss Carnaby, her invalid sister, Emily, and a Pekingese dog, Augustus. They are part of a scam run by women who are companions to rich and ungrateful ladies. These women are poorly paid, without talent and will be cast adrift when they get older. The dog that is taken out for a walk is their own, Augustus, who is let off his lead and is able to find his way back to the sister's flat unaided, thus providing witnesses to the "crime". The "subject" of the kidnap is held at the sister's flat and its owner told of the ransom. Quite often it is the companion who is sent with the envelope of pound notes which goes into a general pool for all the companions involved in the scheme. Miss Carnaby feels guilty for her crime but excuses it on the basis of the way they are treated by their employers – only the other day Lady Hoggin accused her of tampering with her tonic as it tasted unpleasant. Poirot tells them their activities must stop and that the money must be returned to Lady Hoggin, although he is sure that he will be able to persuade her husband not to involve the police.

Poirot meets Sir Hoggin and offers two alternatives: prosecute the criminal (whom he does not name), in which case he will lose his money, or take the money and call the case closed. Sir Hoggin chooses the latter option and accepts Poirot's cheque. Poirot then turns the conversation to murder and tells Sir Hoggin that he reminds him of a Belgian murderer who poisoned his wife in order to marry his secretary. Poirot's meaning is quite clear and a shaken Sir Hoggin returns the cheque to Poirot, telling him to keep the money. In turn, Poirot sends the cheque to the Misses Carnaby, telling them that it is the final contribution to their fund before it is wound up. Meanwhile, Lady Hoggin tells her relieved husband that her tonic no longer tastes so bitter.