A mysterious fire destroys a country house purchased by a reclusive, middle‐aged man with a maritime past. The investigation begins when the local authorities note that the lower portion of the house was soaked with gasoline. The only witnesses immediately available are the man’s long‑time servants—a couple known as the Coonses—and a nearby neighbor who reported the blaze. Both the Coonses and a relative—the man’s niece, a young woman who had maintained a strangely distant relationship with him—offer accounts that hint at dubious associations. The Coonses, recently employed as domestic help through an agency, describe a peculiar, secretive employer with obsessive habits regarding his attire and solitude, and mention that the house featured a locked workshop where he worked on an undisclosed “invention.” Investigators learn that the man, who had suddenly acquired life insurance policies worth over $200,000 and drafted an unusual will naming his niece as beneficiary, displayed behaviors inconsistent with a typical retiree. His only contact had been the niece and a few employment records, and his sudden purchase and move into a furnished house raised questions. Meanwhile, several local sources recount that no one besides the Coonses, the niece, and an enigmatic man named Handerson had been present near the property during the night of the fire. Interviews with neighbors and employees from local businesses, including a laundry service handling the victim's clothing, reveal inconsistencies. Records indicate that the domestic workers had only recently been hired, and their employment history does not clearly align with the timeline of the property’s purchase. The investigation uncovers that even the real estate transaction—completed within days of the house’s acquisition—carries suspicious timing when compared with the Coonses’ arrival and the subsequent fire. A separate branch of the inquiry focuses on an account provided by a salesman named Handerson, who witnessed the fire while driving in the area. His description of a man seen near the burning house, and his subsequent involvement during the chaos, gradually raises the possibility that he may not have been an incidental bystander at all but possibly connected with the victim. Detailed examinations of bank records, life insurance policies, and even mundane clues such as laundry bills reveal a pattern: the physical and behavioral descriptions of the victim and of Handerson are strikingly similar. The victim, supposedly a meticulous and private former seafarer, appears to have characteristics that could have been faked or assumed by someone else. The narrative develops into an intricate web of shifting identities and possible insurance fraud. The niece, who at one point used a former married name to potentially leverage influence over her estranged husband, admits that a deliberate cover-up was arranged with the Coonses to hide their past employment ties. This deception, intended to disguise a larger conspiracy involving large life insurance payouts, casts suspicion on all associated parties. The detectives deduce that the timing of the domestic workers’ employment, the niece’s evasiveness about her uncle’s true nature, and the overlapping physical descriptions point to one possibility: the man known as Thornburgh was not who he seemed. Rather, evidence accumulates that he may have been a self-made impostor involved in arson and insurance fraud. As the investigation deepens, the detectives pursue Handerson more aggressively. In a climactic high‑speed chase, Handerson is intercepted when his car is forced to slow. During the pursuit, a deputy’s bullet strikes Handerson and he is fatally injured. The shooting confirms what the detectives had long suspected: the true architect behind the arson, who had deliberately constructed a new identity complete with staged habits and financial transactions, was Handerson. Although the evidence linking the Coonses and the niece to a direct murder charge remains insufficient for a homicide conviction, the case is strong enough to lay charges of arson, conspiracy, and insurance fraud. The case ultimately rests on the realization that the carefully constructed façade—a reclusive, immaculate gentleman with ties to maritime ventures and secret inventions—was, in fact, a clever ruse. By assuming a false identity and by orchestrating a dramatic insurance scheme, the mastermind intended to collect a windfall from the very blaze that consumed the house. The detectives, piecing together subtle clues from everyday records and eyewitness recollections, manage to unmask the elaborate charade, even as the criminal is eliminated in a final, desperate escape.
By Dashiell Hammett · First published 1932 · Genre: Hardboiled Detective Fiction, Crime Fiction, Mystery