The Veiled Lady

Hercule Poirot is at home, reading the newspaper and bemoaning, to Hastings, a lack of interesting cases. Hastings mentions the recent daylight robbery of jewels in Bond Street, where the culprit was arrested but found to have paste stones. Poirot concedes it was a neat coup, yet thinks, were he a criminal, that he could do better.

A veiled lady arrives and identifies herself as Lady Millicent Castle Vaughan, whose engagement to the Duke of Southshire, Hastings notes, was recently announced. Lady Millicent explains to Poirot that at age sixteen she wrote an indiscreet letter to a soldier. The letter is now in the possession of Mr Lavington, who demands twenty thousand pounds for its return. Lady Millicent has already visited Lavington's house, where he showed her the letter, stored in a Chinese puzzle box which he says he keeps in a place she will never find.

In disguise, Poirot and Hastings visit Lavington's house while he is away and find the box hidden in a hollowed log, at the bottom of a wood pile in the kitchen.

The next day, Lady Millicent calls for the letter. She also insists on the puzzle box as a souvenir, but Poirot prevents her from taking it. He then reveals a hidden compartment in the box holding the six missing jewels from the recent robbery. Japp identifies the lady as "Gertie", an accomplice of Lavington, who was killed in Holland a few days before for his double-cross of his gang over the jewels.