Edward Clayton

In the short story The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest, Edward Clayton was the husband of Marguerita Clayton. He was suspicious of his wife's dealings with Major Jack Rich.

On the night of one of Major Rich's parties, he pretended that he needed to go to Edinburgh on urgent business but encouraged his wife to go to the party alone. He then hid in a large chest in the sitting room of Major Rich's house in order to spy on his wife. The next day, his body was found in the chest by the Major Rich's valet Burgoyne. He had been stabbed through the heart with a stiletto which was usually at Major Rich's writing table. He did not cry out when stabbed because he had been drugged earlier. A gimlet found in Edward's pockets provided Poirot with the answer to what had happened.

In the expanded version of the story The Mystery of the Spanish Chest. Edward's name was changed to "Arnold Clayton". Here his occupation was specified as a senior civil servant in the Treasury. He had to go to Edinburgh to see one "Johnston". There was no mention of the gimlet in his pocket or the fact that he had been drugged. The stiletto did not belong to Major Rich but to another party guest Mr Spence.

Portrayals
In the film adaptation of the story in Series 3 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot, the character name reverts to "Edward Clayton". The character is played by Malcolm Sinclair. There was a gimlet in his pocket but there is no mention of him being drugged before being killed. There are no details of the murder weapon.