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The Secret of Chimneys - Agatha Christie

When they meet up in Bulawayo, Anthony Cade agrees to take on two jobs for his friend James McGrath. Anthony heads for London to deliver the draft of a memoir to a publisher, and to return letters to the woman who wrote them. In England, politician George Lomax persuades Lord Caterham to host a house party at Chimneys. George's cousin Virginia Revel is invited, as is Hiram Fish, a collector of first edition books, along with the principals in a political scheme to restore the monarchy in Herzoslovakia – while assuring that newly discovered oil there will be handled by a British syndicate.

On Cade's first night in London, the letters are stolen from his hotel room by his waiter. The publisher sends Mr Holmes to pick up the memoirs. These were written by the late Count Stylptitch of Herzoslovakia; now that oil has been discovered, the nation is in turmoil between republicans and royalists. On advice, Cade puts a dummy package in the hotel safe. The thief brings one letter to Virginia Revel at her home, as it is her name in the signature of each letter. Unaware she did not write the letters, he wants to blackmail her. On a whim, she pays, and promises more money the next day. When she arrives home the next day, she finds him murdered in her house, and Anthony Cade on her door step. Cade arranges to have the body discovered elsewhere by the police, to avoid a scandal and allow Virginia to proceed to Chimneys.

At Chimneys, Prince Michael, presumed heir to the long-empty throne of Herzoslovakia, is killed the night of his arrival. Cade was at Chimneys that same evening, leaving footprints outdoors but not indoors. He boldly introduces himself to Superintendent Battle, explaining the story of the memoirs, and persuading Battle of his innocence in the murder. After seeing that the dead prince had posed as Mr Holmes, Cade pursues his own ideas in finding the murderer, while Battle leads the main investigation. The next heir to the throne, Nicholas, cousin to Michael, was raising money on his expectations in America. Cade checks out the governess, a recent addition to the household; he travels to France to speak with her prior employer.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond had been stolen from the Tower of London and replaced by a paste copy some years earlier, by a French thief named King Victor. Chimneys is one place where it may be hidden, though many searches have not found it. King Victor was released from prison in France a few months earlier, so Battle expects he will seek to recover it. The night Cade is in France, there is a break-in at Chimneys. Virginia Revel hears the noise, and sees one or two men taking old armor apart. She and Bill Eversleigh do not catch the thief. The next night, the three wait for a second attempt; they catch M. Lemoine of the Sûreté, on the track of King Victor. Battle has been waiting for him. The stolen letters appear in Cade's room. Battle realizes the thieves want him to decode the letter that points to the location of the stolen gem, because Count Stylptitch had moved it from the place where the Queen had hidden it. This is done, revealing the clue: "Richmond seven straight eight left three right". Battle follows the Richmond clue to a brick in a hidden passage, which in turn reveals a puzzling conundrum. Cade slips out to Dover, to find an address on a slip of paper given him by Boris Anchoukoff, valet to the late prince. He finds the meeting of King Victor's gang; Hiram Fish, really a Pinkerton detective on the thief's trail for his crimes in America; and the real M. Lemoine tied up as a hostage.

At Chimneys, all are gathered to hear the mysteries explained. In the library, Boris finds Miss Brun with a pistol, as she means to kill him and get the jewel. They struggle; the gun goes off in her hand, killing her. Miss Brun killed Prince Michael, because he had recognized her as someone else. She was the last queen consort of Herzoslovakia, thought to have been murdered with her husband in the revolution; but she escaped. She wrote the coded letters to Captain O'Neill, an alias of King Victor, and signed them with Virginia Revel's name. Cade introduces the real M. Lemoine to the group, while Hiram Fish snares King Victor, who has been posing as the French detective and in America as Nicholas. Anthony Cade gave "Mr Holmes" the dummy package; he gives the real memoirs to Jimmy McGrath to earn his one thousand pounds. Cade and Fish solve the conundrum; it points to a rose on the grounds, where the Koh-i-Noor is subsequently recovered. Anthony presents himself as the missing Prince Nicholas, ready to ally with the British syndicate. He offers himself as Herzoslovakia's next king. Earlier that day, he married Virginia, who will be his queen.