Hallowe'en Party

Poirot drives to The Elms to speak with Miss Emlyn. He asserts that they both know Joyce’s killer. He writes down four words and shows them to her; she agrees with two, claiming evidence that supports her opinion, but lacks evidence for the remaining two. Poirot refutes Mrs. Drake’s position from the previous chapter that Leopold, as a child, was not in control of his actions. Leopold’s desire for money, in Poirot’s eyes, led directly to his death. He asks for Miss Emlyn’s opinion of Nicholas and Desmond, whom she calls “trustworthy” if silly in “ephemeral things” (230).

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.