In the short story The Million Dollar Bond Robbery, Mr Shaw was one of two joint general managers of the London and Scottish Bank. He and his colleague Mr Vavasour counted and packaged the Liberty bonds before sealing them and locking them in the portmanteau for Philip Ridgeway to carry to New York. While the bonds were in transit, Mr Shaw became ill with bronchitis and was away from work for two weeks.
Poirot later showed that Shaw had stolen the bonds earlier and inserted fake bonds into the portmanteau for Ridgeway to carry. The real bonds were shipped across the Atlantic on board a faster ship. Shaw then feigned illness and disguised himself as a "Mr Ventnor" who occupied the cabin next to Ridgeway. While at sea, Shaw stole the fake bonds from Ridgeway's portmanteau, something easily done since he had a copy of the key. The fake bonds were dumped overboard to create the impression that they had been stolen while on board.
Portrayals[]
Mr Shaw was played by David Quilter in the television adaptation of The Million Dollar Bond Robbery' in Series 3 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot. His role in the theft is slightly altered. At the beginning of the episode, he is almost run down by a car. Then he is poisoned by strychnine in the office and has to spend a long time at home to recuperate. He had stolen the bonds earlier and loaded Ridgeway's travelling portmanteau with fake ones which his partner Mr Vavasour did not detect because of his poor eyesight. Shaw remained at home while a confederate named Miranda Brooks travelled on the Queen Mary and performed the role which Shaw did in the original story.