Handlung

Poirot wagers Chief Inspector Japp that he can solve the mystery of a missing banker without leaving his flat.

A wealthy banker, Mathew Davenheim, disappears. He was last seen by his wife, leaving the grounds of his home. Suspicion falls on the head of Mr Davenheim's long-time business rival Gerald Lowen. Chief Inspector Japp gets Poirot involved in the case. However, due to some intellectual bravado by Poirot, he and Japp have a wager that Poirot can't solve the case without leaving his flat, resulting in Poirot being confined to his flat for seven days. This leaves Hastings to gather the clues, and we know how good a sleuth he is... Meanwhile, in between trying to solve the case, Poirot is working on conjuring tricks and looking after a friend's parrot.—grantss

Banker Mr. Davenheim steps out of his house, into the fog, and disappears. Where has he gone? Poirot bets good friend inspector Japp five pounds that he can solve the mystery within the week, without leaving his flat, using Captain Hastings to collect the clues.—Spirit

Just minutes before his business rival Gerald Lowen arrives to meet with him, banker Matthew Davenheim tells his wife he is going to post a letter, steps out of his home into the fog, and disappears. When his wife discovers a few days later that the safe in which her missing husband stored a variety of precious jewels he gave her as gifts has been broken in to, the jewels stolen, Poirot suspects that Mr. Davenheim's disappearance may not be the real mystery, but perhaps the mystery lies in the missing jewels. With Captain Hastings as his eyes and ears on the scene, Poirot accepts a bet from Inspctor Japp that Poirot cannot solve the mystery without leaving his London flat. Of course, Poirot solves both mysteries...but how?—Spirit

After attending a magic show, where Poirot insists there is always a simple explanation to the conjurer's tricks, Inspector Japp challenges him to solve the disappearance of Mr. Matthew Davenheim, without leaving the confines of his apartment. Davenheim had vanished during a short walk from his country home to the village where he went to post a package. Soon after, Mrs. Davenheim realizes that their wall safe has been broken into and that all of her valuable jewels are missing. Using Captain Hastings to interview various witnesses and suspects, Poirot pieces together the reasons for the man's disappearance as well as the motivation behind the crime.—garykmcd

Poirot and Hastings are entertaining Japp after they had all attended a magic show when the conversation turns to the recent disappearance of a banker, Mr. Matthew Davenheim (Kenneth Colley), from his large country house, the Cedars. Boasting, Poirot makes a five-pound bet with Japp that he could solve the case within a week without moving from his chair.

The facts of the case are that Davenheim arrived home from the city at midday on Saturday. He seemed normal and went out to post some letters late in the afternoon saying that he was expecting a business visitor, a Mr. Gerald Lowen (Tony Mathews), who should be shown into the study to wait his return, which he does, alone for well over an hour in Davenheim's study. Lowen is a known business rival of Mr Davenheim & has been coveting a post on his board of directors for a long time. In presents he holds a stake in a company that Davenheim wants to acquire, giving Lowen a bargaining position to get into Davenheim's board

Mr. Davenheim never did return and no trace of him can be found. The police were called on Sunday morning. Lowen has not been arrested but is under observation. He was there to discuss some business in South Africa with Mr. Davenheim, who was in Johannesburg the previous autumn. Poirot is interested that the house has a boating lake, which Japp tells him is being searched tomorrow, and that Mr. Davenheim wears his hair rather long with a mustache and bushy beard. Poirot is certain that Lowen did not kill Davenheim as he would have had to dump the body in the muddy waters around a boating lake which would have got his clothes all muddy, yet Lowen turned up at the house minutes after Davenheim left, immaculately dressed.

On Monday it was discovered that the concealed safe in Davenheim's study was forced open and the contents removed - cash, a large amount of bearer bonds and jewelry. The next day Japp returns with the news that Davenheim's clothes have been found in the lake and that they arrested Lowen. Poirot is still convinced that Lowen could not have forced open the safe as the have noise from the hammer would have alerted Davenheim's wife & servants who were sitting just outside Davenheim's study. A common thief called Billy Kellett, known to the police for pick-pocketing, saw Lowen throw Davenheim's ring into a roadside ditch on the Saturday. He picked it up and pawned it in London, got drunk on the proceeds, got arrested and is in custody.

Poirot has one question for Japp: Did Mr. and Mrs Charlotte Davenheim (Mel Martin) share a bedroom? When the reply is returned in the negative, Poirot knows the solution and tells Hastings and Japp to withdraw any funds they have in Davenheim's bank before it collapses. This predicted event occurs the next day and Poirot reveals the truth. Davenheim knew of his bank's financial troubles and started to prepare a new life for himself by embezzling funds from the bank & converting that into jewelry that he bought as gifts for his wife. Last autumn he did not go to South Africa but instead took on the identity of Billy Kellett. He served three months in jail at the same time he was supposed to be in Johannesburg. Then, to set up Lowen, on the Saturday, Davenheim robbed his own safe before Lowen arrived at the house.

When Davenheim 'disappeared' he was already in police custody as Kellett and no one looked for a missing man in jail. Mrs Davenheim identifies her husband and Japp pays Poirot his five pounds. Davenheim was sleeping in a different bedroom than is wife because he was putting on a beard & long hair every morning (which had shaved off to assume the identity of Billy Kellett).