Why did Colonel Lacey change his plans about selling Egyptian souvenir?

In Poirot: The Theft of the Royal Ruby, there's a side story of Colonel Lacey trying to sell one of his many Egyptian souvenirs, to cover his stock debts, and couldn't decide which one he is going to sell. At some point in the main plot, it is however revealed that actually nothing will be sold because "circumstances have changed".

At the end of the episode Poirot only reveals that the need for selling were those stock debts, but either I am missing something obvious or the entire episode ends without any clue or explanation what was these circumstances that have changed or what actually caused Colonel Lacey to change his plans.

Can someone shed some light on this?

plot-explanation poirot

Best Answer

Perhaps he had made some kind of option deal where he was obligated to sell 1000 shares at $10 when the price had shot up to $100 per share. If he didn't own enough, he would have been forced to buy some at $100 to sell to the buyer of the option at $10. He was anticipating this future debt but as the option execution day approaches, the stock tanked to a more affordable level.