The unnamed narrator meets an old acquaintance, Monsieur Pluvet, once an inspector of police and now proprietor of a restaurant. He is invited to share a duck, the speciality of the house, too much for one person, just right for two.
He asks why Pluvet changed his profession, and is told about an investigation into the murder of an elederly colonel who belonged to a group of five friends who would regularly meet after going for a day's walk on their own. It was the menu choice that gave away the identity of the murderer.
Evening Standard, 24 April 1951.
Reprinted in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine #123, February, 1954.
Reprinted in Crime à la Carte, ed. Cynthia Manson, Signet Books, 1994, p. 246-252.
Included in the now discontinued collection Crime and Detection, edited by John Higgins, Lulu.com, 2010.
Included in the collection The Aberdyll Onion and other mysteries, Farrago Books, 2020.