Murder at the Vicarage

Leonard Clement, the Vicar of the village St. Mary Mead sits at his table and scorns the badly cooked food. He vents that anyone who murders Colonel Protheroe would do the world a favor. His nephew Dennis tells him that kind of statement will be troublesome if anyone does murder the Colonel. Clement’s much younger wife Griselda asks him for details but then laments that she is a terrible housekeeper. Clement thinks her willful incompetence, youth, beauty, sharp humor, and appetite for fun make her an even worse Vicar’s wife. Clement shares that Protheroe complained about their new curate and insisted on going over the church’s books the next day. A parishioner said she didn’t see evidence of receipt of her 10-shilling donation and Protheroe wants to be sure no one is embezzling. Clement asks his wife what she’s doing the rest of the afternoon, and she says hosting tea for villagers, including Miss Marple, whom she doesn’t like. Clement says he likes the lady’s sense of humor. Dennis says he’s going to the Protheroes’ for tennis. They talk about a mysterious and beautiful newcomer to the village,