Inspector French’s Greatest Case · Chapter
A Deal in Stocks explained
Inspector French investigates a stock transaction list found in Mrs.
What happens
Inspector French investigates a stock transaction list found in Mrs. Vane's letter, consulting a stockbroker friend who reveals the list does not add up and appears fraudulent. French realizes the figures may be a cipher, decodes them using a Concise Oxford Dictionary, and discovers a warning message: 'French on your track. Rendezvous Victory Hotel, Leeds. If I fail take your own ticket. Boat leaves on twenty-sixth.' He realizes the boat has already left that day.
Themes in this chapter
Detective Method and Logical Deduction
French systematically tests the stock list, consults an expert, and decodes the cipher using logical reasoning.
Deception and Identity
The stock list is a fraudulent front for a hidden message, concealing the true identities and plans of the Vanes.
Characters to notice
- Inspector French
Decodes the stock list as a cipher, deducing the escape plan.
- George Hewett
Stockbroker friend who identifies the list as fraudulent and not adding up.
- Mrs. Henry Vane
Recipient of the coded message warning her of French's pursuit.
- Mr. Vane
Presumed sender of the cipher message and suspected murderer.
Key passages
“I think the whole thing is just a blooming fraud. And do you know what makes me sure of it? ... It doesn't add. Those figures at the bottom are not the sum of the lines.”
Hewett declares the stock list is a fraud because the totals are incorrect.
Key moment where the list is revealed as not genuine.
“French on your track. Rendezvous Victory Hotel, Leeds. If I fail take your own ticket. Boat leaves on twenty-sixth.”
The decoded message warns Mrs. Vane that French is following and instructs her to meet at the Victory Hotel in Leeds and sail on the 26th.
The decoded cipher reveals the escape plan.