The Cask · Chapter
XXVIII: The Unravelling of the Web explained
La Touche solves the mystery of Boirac's alibi but realizes he needs more evidence.
What happens
La Touche solves the mystery of Boirac's alibi but realizes he needs more evidence. He refocuses on finding the carter who delivered the cask to the rue Cardinet. After a remark by Mallet, he considers that the carter might have been employed directly by a business rather than a cartage contractor. He sends circulars to thousands of employers in selected trades. A reply from Messrs. Corot, Fils points to Jean Dubois, a carter who stopped shaving around the time of the murder. La Touche reconstructs the plot: Boirac, discovering his wife's elopement with Felix, kills her, hides the body in the cask originally containing a statue, and sends it to Felix. He also forges an order for a second cask to return an empty one to Dupierre, altering labels to misdirect. Despite lingering questions, La Touche is confident in his theory.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Appearance
Boirac's elaborate scheme to frame Felix by faking alibis, altering labels, and forging letters.
Love and Jealousy
Boirac's jealousy over his wife's elopement with Felix drives him to murder and a vengeful plot.
Identity and Mistaken Identity
The carter's changed appearance (shaving to growing a beard) and the confusion over the two casks.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Georges La Touche
Solves Boirac's alibi and reconstructs the murder plot; sends circulars to find the carter.
- M. Mallet
La Touche's assistant; suggests the carter might not be employed by a cartage contractor.
- M. Boirac
Revealed as the murderer; killed his wife and used the cask to dispose of the body.
- Mr. Felix
The artist to whom Boirac sent the cask containing the body; suspected of eloping with Madame Boirac.
- Jean Dubois
The carter identified by Messrs. Corot, Fils; stopped shaving after the murder.
- Annette Boirac
The victim; her body was placed in the cask by her husband.
Key passages
“When La Touche solved the problem of how Boirac had faked his alibi, his first impression was that his work was done. But, as had happened so often before, second thoughts showed him that this was hardly the case.”
After figuring out Boirac's alibi trick, La Touche initially thought he was finished, but soon realized more work remained.
La Touche's realization that solving the alibi is only part of the puzzle.
“Why do you think he was employed by a cartage contractor?”
What makes you assume the carter worked for a cartage company?
Mallet's question that shifts La Touche's investigation toward business-employed carters.
“Like a flash La Touche saw. It had gone from the Gare du Nord to Dupierre's.”
La Touche suddenly understood that the second cask was sent to Dupierre's, not the goods station.
Key insight into the movement of the second cask.
“If he could arrange that the police would find the body in Felix's possession, would the artist not then be suspected and perhaps executed?”
Boirac planned to have the police discover the body with Felix, leading to Felix's arrest and execution.
Boirac's motive for framing Felix.