Lord Peter Views the Body
A burst water bottle led him to abandon his bed for the living room sofa; there, he secretly witnessed Loder enter a hidden workshop behind a bookcase.
Loder's death was ruled an accident, and Wimsey and Bunter gave the statue of Maria a Christian burial with the help of a sympathetic priest.
After patient investigation, Peter meets with his mother's friend, the Dowager Countess of Medway, warning her that someone is planning a burglary during her granddaughter's forthcoming wedding.
The Dowager Countess is initially outraged that Peter knowingly allowed her to be dressed, undressed, and assisted to bed by a man, but then laughs off the whole affair; she was a famous beauty in her youth, who attracted the attentions of many young men.
The story is notable for containing an entire crossword puzzle in which all the clues are rhyming couplets (or quatrains): for example, One drop of vinegar to two of oil Dresses this curly head sprung from the soil.
Two motorcyclists enter into a high speed chase on the Great North Road, which carries on for many miles and passes many startled passers-by and motorists.
After regaining Mrs. Ruyslander's property, Wimsey then returns to the other members of the club and exonerates Melville by demonstrating how the simple conjuring trick was done, assuring the onlookers that there are some crimes the law does not need to touch.
Mr. Burdock, a local member of the landed gentry, has recently died, leaving two sons: Martin, who married discreditably beneath his class and moved abroad, and Haviland, a businessman in London.
Peter is introduced to a villager who reports having seen a ghostly coach, drawn by four headless horses, galloping soundlessly in the middle of the night, which he takes as an omen of death.
Peter goes to investigate, finding no clues, but meets the High Church vicar and learns of an unusual plan for various village inhabitants to keep an overnight vigil, two at a time, for the deceased Mr. Burdock.
He visits the decaying manor house of the late Mr. Burdock, and discovers, behind a water-damaged copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle, the last will of the deceased gentleman.
While assisting a doctor friend with his experiments in curing diseases in rats, Wimsey and Bunter hear the sound of footsteps and shouting from the flat above.
A moment later, the tenant comes running downstairs to get the doctor, hysterically proclaiming his wife Maddalena has been killed by a Mafioso who broke in through their kitchen window.
A man going by the name of Death Bredon, claiming to be a journalist, heads to an old chateau in France, which contains a laboratory where an aging Count is inventing a formula that may be used in chemical warfare.
However, Bredon, in his supposed pursuit of Wimsey and the story, has been waylaid several times on the journey and nearly misses the train after being locked in a public lavatory.
Bredon is allowed to taste all the wines and venture an opinion so he will not feel left out, and he quickly leaves both "Wimseys" in the dust, proving his real identity.
At Mr Ffoliot's used bookstore, Lord Peter Wimsey and his 10-year-old nephew Viscount St George, alias "Gherkins", discover an old copy of Münster’s Cosmographia Universalis, which is in bad condition and missing several pages.
However, in the middle of the night, Wimsey looks out of the window and discovers that the man-made pond Old Cut-Throat built in the grounds has false islands and a dragon fountain corresponding exactly to the old map.
Mr Pope arrives on the scene minutes too late, in search of the treasure himself (to which he has no claim), and is arrested by policemen waiting in the shadows on Wimsey's orders.
Thomas MacPherson, a final year medical student in Scotland, shows Wimsey the very strange legacy his Great-Uncle Joseph Ferguson left him.
Great-Uncle Joseph, who died at the age of 95 by throwing himself out of a sixth-floor window, bequeathed his grand-nephew only his stomach and alimentary organs, with their contents, preserved in a bottle.
Wimsey suspects there is more to the story than an eccentric old man's whims, especially when he learns that Great-Uncle Joseph was said to be very rich but withdrew more than £84,000 (nearly £5.5 million today) from the bank in the years leading up to his death.
He makes further inquiries and discovers from a friend in the jewellery business that Great-Uncle Joseph bought 12 large matching diamonds from assorted dealers, paying in cash for all of them.
Wimsey immediately sends MacPherson a telegram advising him to open up the specimen, then washes his hands of the matter and attends a rare book auction.
Robert was also discovered fishing in the river that morning, but tried to flee when spotted by MacPherson and slipped and broke his kneecap, and is now staying in the house awaiting the arrival of a qualified doctor.
Meeting with Inspector Winterbottom again, Wimsey recounts his final theory of the murder, in which the frustrated artist opportunistically kills his manager and destroys the face he grew to hate while painting his portrait.
Shortly after the newspapers announce that Lord Peter Wimsey is suspected of having been killed while hunting big game in Africa, Rogers, a disgruntled footman who had been dismissed from his post, joins a mysterious and highly effective secret society of criminals.
This society is unusual in that all members are required to wear black executioner's hoods with white numbers embroidered on them so no one knows anyone else's identity, whenever the gang meets together.
After this time, however, things suddenly start to go wrong for the society – robbery attempts end in narrow escapes from being arrested instead of in lucrative hauls, stolen pearls turn out to be imitation, and so forth.
He offers, in exchange for a quick death and the sparing of Bunter, his mother, and his sister (whom he falsely claims know nothing of the matter), the combination to a secret room in the back of his safe, in which he has a book containing the identities and professions of all 50 members of the society.
