Air date: 10/02/1991
Published: Fifth story in "Poirot's Early Cases" (1974)
The Double Clue, the next episode to be screened, has never been one of my favourites, if I'm honest.
It introduces the character of the Countess Vera Rossakoff, a Russian-born, high-society jewel thief, who, in the adaptation, Poirot becomes seriously smitten with. Large sections of the episode see Poirot, seemingly drunk in admiration, in the Countess' presence, with rather dreamy piano music accompanying every scene they have together.
This all amounts to considerable embellishment on the original story. Poirot and Hastings are called in to solve the theft of some emeralds from one Marcus Hardman. The crime took place, it seems, while Hardman was hosting a musical evening. Four people saw the jewels and so appear to be in the frame: the Countess, a Mr Johnson from South Africa, one Lady Runcorn, and Bernard Parker, a young man who secures private purchases of jewels on behalf of Hardman.
When a man's glove and a cigarette case, bearing the initials 'BP', are found at the scene (the "double clue" of the title), it appears Parker is the likely culprit. Poirot, however, works out that 'BP' in the Russian alphabet equals 'VR'. When he confronts the Countess she hands over the jewels before departing. Although he declares, "Quelle femme! A remarkable woman!" the attraction is much more subtle and subdued in the original.
In the adaptation the theft appears as one of a series of recent high society jewel robberies. Japp (not in the original) is worried that his job is on the line if he doesn't solve the case, and turns to Poirot for help.
When Poirot first meets the Countess he is immediately overcome. There are some rather strange scenes over the next couple of days where shots of Poirot and the Countess together alternate with Hastings and Miss Lemon (also not in the original, of course) perplexed by Poirot's behaviour, and wandering what the future holds. They decide to try and solve the case (without success, of course), in order to help Japp.
The Countess hands over the jewels while on a picnic, and Poirot, in his customary summing up, spins a tale about a tramp stealing them. Earlier, a tramp had been seen in the gardens by a policeman. A second appearance later (when he shoots at Hastings) turns out to be a private detective hired by Poirot, presumably to set up his false denouement and to allow the Countess to go free. In a parting scene, we learn that she is heading for America. Poirot declares they must both continue their respective work ... but not in the same country.
