Hallowe'en Party

Elspeth speaks to Mrs. Cartwright, a local woman, at the grocery store. Mrs. Cartwright reports that diseased trees will be removed from Quarry Wood.

Mrs. Oliver receives a telegram ordering her to bring Mrs. Butler and Miranda to London immediately. Mrs. Butler demurs, but Mrs. Oliver insists, alarming Mrs. Butler. Miranda goes to say goodbye to a friend before they leave (later implied to be Michael Garfield). Mrs. Butler sadly muses that Joyce was her best friend, who used to tell Miranda “fantastic things about elephants and tigers” (235), connecting to Poirot’s hunch in Chapter 11 that Miranda wanted to have a story to equate to Joyce’s tales.

In London, Poirot meets with Spence, a public prosecutor, Chief Constable Alfred Richmond, and Inspector Timothy Raglan. The men are skeptical of Poirot’s claim (later revealed to be that Garfield and Mrs. Drake collaborated to murder Olga) until he produces proof of a real estate deal (later revealed as Garfield’s Greek Island purchase). Poirot adds that he will soon have a witness to confirm his story (revealed in Chapter 26 as Miranda). Poirot leaves, and the men debate whether the detective will prove correct or if his story is too improbable to be true.

Mrs. Oliver and the Butlers stop on their way to London for lunch. While Miranda is away from the table, Mrs. Oliver comments on how little she knows her friend and how this is universal in relationships. Judith seeks Miranda, whose absence has been unexpectedly long.

Seargent Goodwin, a local officer, calls Elspeth seeking Spence. He reports that a body, presumed to be Olga’s, has been found in a well. The body’s wounds suggest she was stabbed to death.

Miranda waits until her mother leaves the restroom, then sneaks out of the restaurant to get in a man’s car (revealed in the next chapter to belong to Michael Garfield). She laughs at his disguise. They nearly get into a car accident with two young drivers (revealed in the next chapter as Nicholas and Desmond). The man reassures Miranda that Judith won’t have time to worry about her, as Miranda will soon be at her destination.

Mrs. Oliver calls Poirot to report Miranda’s disappearance. Mrs. Butler and Poirot plan to call the police; Poirot tells Mrs. Oliver about the body in the well.

Miranda observes ancient megalithic stones at a site called Kilterbury Ring. The man (revealed in Chapter 26 to be Michael Garfield) claims the stones are for “ritual sacrifice,” which he asserts is not about “punishment.” Miranda worries that telling Joyce about witnessing a murder (per Chapter 26), led to Joyce’s death. She claims she wanted to meet Joyce’s (false) tales of India with an interesting story of her own. The man takes Miranda to the summit and encourages her to drink a “golden liquid.”

Suddenly, Nicholas and Desmond appear, knocking the drink from Miranda’s hands and seizing the knife the man was about to use to stab her. Miranda contends that coming here wasn’t an accident, but rather what she felt she deserved for causing Joyce’s death. Miranda is distraught to learn that Olga has been found in the “wishing well.”

Raglan, Spence, Richmond, and the prosecutor meet with Poirot and Miranda. Miranda admits that she told Joyce she had seen a murder, but that she thinks Leopold overheard. She confirms that Joyce then repeated the story, but claimed it happened to her, not Miranda. Miranda recalls sitting in a tree when she saw a man and a woman carrying a body, a knife, and a bloody scarf. Miranda initially suspected that someone had died by suicide. She told no one, afraid she would be in trouble for spying.

During a second birdwatching incident, she heard the same people talking, this time about going to a Greek island. Miranda realized what she’d seen previously was murder. She identifies the speakers as Mrs. Drake and Michael, the latter of whom she loved intensely.

Mrs. Oliver is impatient to hear the full explanation of Poirot’s solution, as she is shocked to learn of Mrs. Drake’s involvement. He explains that he sought someone who had gotten wet without explanation. He says Mrs. Drake dropped the vase while Miss Whittaker was watching to cover up how she’d actually gotten wet. Miss Whittaker told Miss Emlyn, who sent her to Poirot.

Joyce had not witnessed a crime herself, but Mrs. Drake had always suspected that she and Michael had been seen carrying Olga’s body. Once Poirot accepted the common refrain that Joyce lied frequently, he concluded that Miranda, her friend and a frequent wanderer in Quarry wood, was the true witness.

Poirot likens Mrs. Drake and Michael to Lady Macbeth and Narcissus from Shakespeare and Greek myth, respectively. He names Michael’s motivations as money and his obsession with creating a garden on a wild Greek island. When Michael failed to seduce Mrs. Llewellyn-Smythe, he turned to Mrs. Drake, her heir. Mrs. Llewellyn-Smythe discovered the affair and left the money to Olga as a result. Micheal did not marry Olga, because he believed the courts would rule against her even with the genuine codicil; he hired Lesley to forge the false codicil to ensure the courts overturned her claim and reverted the money to Mrs. Drake. Lesley and Olga were both killed to obscure this crime. Joyce and Leopold both claimed to know more than they did, which led Mrs. Drake and Michael to kill them.

Poirot likens Michael to Lucifer in the Christian tradition as both beautiful and excessively fond of beauty. Poirot notes Michael’s fondness for Miranda; Mrs. Butler confirms that Miranda was Michael’s daughter, as the two had an affair when Judith was young. Her supposed dead husband was invented to conceal that she had a child while unmarried. Poirot produces Michael’s sketch of Miranda, which he has titled “Iphigenia,” referencing a character from Greek myth who is sacrificed by her father.

When he failed to kill Miranda and get away with his crimes, Michael drank the poison he had intended for her. Poirot finds this fitting.