The Mystery of the Blue Train

MONSIEUR LE MARQUIS, an elegant gentleman who merits his mask but not his white hairs DEMETRIUS PAPOPOLOUS, a venerable dealer in unique antiques ZIA PAPOPOLOUS, whose resemblance to her father, Demetrius, is more than physical RUFUS VAN ALDIN, a hard man, with plenty of hard cash MAJOR RICHARD KNIGHTON, Van Aldin's secretary—quick, intelligent, and resourceful RUTH KETTERING, another daughter who resembles her father, Rufus Van Aldin DEREK KETTERING, Ruth's husband, the future Lord Leconbury MIRELLE, an exotic dancer who was not made to be poor KATHERINE GREY, a grey-eyed saint with a sense of humor—and a brand-new fortune VISCOUNTESS ROSALIE TAMPLIN, who has an eye (blue and charming) for a quick penny THE HONORABLE LENOX TAMPLIN, who does not resemble her mother M. HERCULE POIROT, the semiretired Belgian detective who is semimodest about admitting that he is always right ADA MASON, lady's maid to Ruth Kettering, and English to the tip of her red nose COMTE ARMAND DE LA ROCHE, a plausible scoundrel with a fatal fascination for women

It was close on midnight when a man crossed the Place de la Concorde. In spite of the handsome fur coat which garbed his meagre form, there was something essentially weak and paltry about him. A little man with a face like a rat. A man, one would say, who could never play a conspicuous part, or rise to prominence in any sphere. And yet, in leaping to such a conclusion, an onlooker would have been wrong. For this man, negligible and inconspicuous as he seemed, played a prominent part in the destiny of the world. In an Empire where rats ruled, he was the king of the rats. Even now, an Embassy awaited his return. But he had business to do first—business of which the Embassy was not officially cognizant. His face gleamed white and sharp in the moonlight. There was the least hint of a curve in the thin nose. His father had been a Polish Jew, a journeyman tailor.