The Man Who Was Poe

The only thing they find in the room is a plank, which Dupin demonstrates could have been used as a bridge between the two buildings’ windows. Edmund searches the room at Dupin’s command and finds a white button from Sis’ shoes. He believes that Sis, inspired by Hansel and Gretel, left a trail of “breadcrumbs” for him to find. Dupin is certain Sis was coerced to leave their room. He interrogates the old proprietor who explains that two weeks ago, a tenant was adamant about renting that specific room. The proprietor saw the tenant frequently come and go with another man. She has not seen them in a week, and the tenant owes her a week’s worth of rent.

At a cafe, Dupin tells Edmund that he suspects the man renting the other room was observing the children, waiting for a moment when one would be left alone. He deduces that these men must have lured Aunty away, forcing a child to leave for food. He believes the old man Edmund helped was a part of a ploy to keep him away from the room to give the other man enough time to kidnap Sis. He also thinks that the random message delivered to Aunty in London must have meant that Edmund’s mother was acting under duress, therefore connecting everyone involved in the disappearance of the women (49).

The waiter informs Dupin that someone robbed the Providence Bank of all its gold last night. Frustrated with Edmund’s constant questions, Dupin demands that Edmund find a clothing store and inquire about the price of a coat for himself. Throck, who entered the cafe a while ago, approaches Dupin as Edmund leaves. 

Throck sits with Dupin, who deduces that, like himself, Throck used to be in the army. They commiserate and blame “the officers” for getting discharged. Dupin asks Throck if the note under the door was a threat from him, and Throck emphasizes that he is a man who “sees it through” when working on a case (55). After Throck hurries out of the cafe, Dupin keeps drinking and reflects on the similarities he shares with Edmund: “[B]oth were abandoned boys. Similar first names. Both with lost fathers” (55). They were also each taken in by an aunt and have someone dear to them called “Sis.” Dupin realizes the only differences in their stories is that Edmund is missing a “hateful” stepfather and Sis is still alive. Dupin wonders if he could “be writing this boy’s life,” concluding that if their lives are truly parallel, then Edmund’s story “must end with the death of his Sis”—a thought that terrifies and fascinates Dupin (55).

Meanwhile, Edmund arrives at the clothing store where a “portly” customer tries on a coat while the tailors chat about the gold robbery. The portly man spots Edmund and is visibly startled. Mistaking Edmund for a beggar, the tailor kicks him out of the store. Edmund observes the customer rush out of the store looking around frantically. Humiliated, Edmund returns to the cafe. Dupin is drunk again and has difficulty remembering what he asked Edmund to do over the course of the past day. He sends Edmund off to deliver another letter to 88 Benefit Street. He specifies that Edmund is to deliver it directly to Helen Whitman and only in privacy. He assures Edmund: “I… I am the man who was… is Dupin. I shall bring this… story to a satisfactory end’” (59). Although he promises Edmund that he will remain in the cafe until the boy returns, Dupin promptly leaves for the courthouse once Edmund departs.