Gideon failed to Wake the Dead - John Dickson Carr Part 1of2

The riddle of the stone. Wealthy young Christopher Kent has undertaken a that he cannot work his way from South Africa to England without recourse to his own bank account. With less than twenty-four hours left before he can reveal himself and win the bet, Kent arrives at a London hotel he knows, hoping to scam a meal--only to find himself trapped in a room with a half open trunk and a dead woman's body.