Appointment with Death; Crooked House; Sad Cypress
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Appointment with Death
Murder is always deplorable, of course. But few would deny that some folk are rather more murder-worthy than others. In fact there are some people whose very existence argues that the sanctity of human life has always, and quite properly, been a matter of degree and of circumstances.
Mrs Boynton senior was such a character. And the words that Poirot heard voiced in the still night air by unseen lips were no part of a discussion of the plot of a novel or a stage-play. They were uttered in deadly earnest. "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?"
Judged by ordinary human standards Mrs Boynton was a hateful character; and there were a number of people with reasons for wishing her dead. The reasons were almost all of them good ones. One reason, to at least one person, must have seemed not merely good but imperative. The puzzle was not that murder should have been done - but how it could possibly have been done in the manner it had been by any of those to whom her death brought such clear relief.
Murder is always deplorable, of course. But few would deny that some folk are rather more murder-worthy than others. In fact there are some people whose very existence argues that the sanctity of human life has always, and quite properly, been a matter of degree and of circumstances.
Mrs Boynton senior was such a character. And the words that Poirot heard voiced in the still night air by unseen lips were no part of a discussion of the plot of a novel or a stage-play. They were uttered in deadly earnest. "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?"
Judged by ordinary human standards Mrs Boynton was a hateful character; and there were a number of people with reasons for wishing her dead. The reasons were almost all of them good ones. One reason, to at least one person, must have seemed not merely good but imperative. The puzzle was not that murder should have been done - but how it could possibly have been done in the manner it had been by any of those to whom her death brought such clear relief.
Crooked House
Charles was not engaged to Sophia, although they had a very definite "understanding". Now, after an absence of more than two years abroad, Charles was home again and the time had come to formalise the relationship and name the happy day. But there was a snag; a truly formidable snag. Charles was in the Diplomatic Service; and the Foreign Office, as Sophia herself pointed out, is apt to be somewhat fussy about the wives selected by their career men. Not that even the F.O. would ordinarily have regarded Sophia as persona non grata... It was just that she was almost certain to be short-listed as a suspect in a murder investigation that was getting under way. So too, were the rest of her family. It promised to be the kind of case that Press and Public would love. The victim was none other than the wealthy and patriarchal head of Sophia's family. They all lived in the Little Crooked House, and it was shudderingly plain that one of them must have killed the old man...
Charles was not engaged to Sophia, although they had a very definite "understanding". Now, after an absence of more than two years abroad, Charles was home again and the time had come to formalise the relationship and name the happy day. But there was a snag; a truly formidable snag. Charles was in the Diplomatic Service; and the Foreign Office, as Sophia herself pointed out, is apt to be somewhat fussy about the wives selected by their career men. Not that even the F.O. would ordinarily have regarded Sophia as persona non grata... It was just that she was almost certain to be short-listed as a suspect in a murder investigation that was getting under way. So too, were the rest of her family. It promised to be the kind of case that Press and Public would love. The victim was none other than the wealthy and patriarchal head of Sophia's family. They all lived in the Little Crooked House, and it was shudderingly plain that one of them must have killed the old man...
Sad Cypress
To Elinor Carlyle the arrival of that anonymous letter seemed to be the first link of a chain of circumstances designed by fate to lead her to destruction. It "named no names", but its meaning was clear enough. She was warned that the bond of affection between her wealthy and ailing aunt and the young Mary Gerard might prove to be very much against her own best interests.
The true-or-false nature of the letter soon became an academic question; because Aunt Laura died somewhat unexpectedly. Although the doctor called it a stroke, he had a private and unspoken opinion that was very different; and whatever plans the dead woman might have had for Mary remained conjecture in the absence of a will.
Suddenly Mary's existence assumed a completely new and unexpected threat to Elinor, and when the girl was cold-bloodedly murdered the combination of motive, opportunity and circumstantial evidence seemed like a classic combination. Trial and conviction were likely to be little more than a formality and the defence turned desperately to a leading counsel whose specialty was "the forlorn hope". It was late in the day indeed when Poirot was invited to take a hand - and with it a very unusual brief: "Find something, anything, that will make the outcome less certain; even if she did do it!"
To Elinor Carlyle the arrival of that anonymous letter seemed to be the first link of a chain of circumstances designed by fate to lead her to destruction. It "named no names", but its meaning was clear enough. She was warned that the bond of affection between her wealthy and ailing aunt and the young Mary Gerard might prove to be very much against her own best interests.
The true-or-false nature of the letter soon became an academic question; because Aunt Laura died somewhat unexpectedly. Although the doctor called it a stroke, he had a private and unspoken opinion that was very different; and whatever plans the dead woman might have had for Mary remained conjecture in the absence of a will.
Suddenly Mary's existence assumed a completely new and unexpected threat to Elinor, and when the girl was cold-bloodedly murdered the combination of motive, opportunity and circumstantial evidence seemed like a classic combination. Trial and conviction were likely to be little more than a formality and the defence turned desperately to a leading counsel whose specialty was "the forlorn hope". It was late in the day indeed when Poirot was invited to take a hand - and with it a very unusual brief: "Find something, anything, that will make the outcome less certain; even if she did do it!"
