In the short story Tape-Measure Murder, Sir Robert Abercrombie is mentioned, as a previous employer of Mrs Dorothy Spenlow, when she was a between-maid.
Years before the events of the story, there had been a robbery at Sir Robert's house, where very valuable emeralds had been stolen. The jewels were never recovered.
The police had been of the opinion that Sir Robert's son, Jim Abercrombie, was involved in the robbery. Sir Robert had "hedged a bit about the case", and had tried to call the police off.