Murder on the Orient Express

Poirot continues his discussion with Bouc and Dr. Constantine, presenting them with a list of 10 questions—things that require explanation. Points of confusion include who the handkerchief marked “H” belongs to; who the pipe-cleaner belongs to; who wore the scarlet kimono; who was masquerading as a conductor in a Wagon Lit uniform; why the hands of the watch on Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti)’s body point to 1:15; when the murder was committed; and whether it’s certain that Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti) was stabbed by more than one person. Poirot concludes, “One or more of those passengers killed Ratchett. Which of them?” (215).

Poirot, Bouc, and Dr. Constantine continue to contemplate the case. Poirot summarizes how the murder was supposed to appear: A stranger, “a small man, dark, with a womanish kind of voice” (as testified by Hardman and Hildegard Schmidt), entered the train when it made a stop, killed Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti), and then got off the train (141; 162). However, the fact that the train got stuck in snow ruined this portrayal: Poirot already knows that the murderer is one of the passengers and not somebody from outside of the train because there were no footsteps in the snow leading to or from the train. The murder was planned to look like an outside job, but it’s not.

Poirot also highlights the note found in Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti)’s compartment with the words “—member little Daisy Armstrong” on it (69). This is a real clue, not a red herring, that inextricably links someone on the train to the Armstrong case and Cassetti—making this a murder of vengeance. Poirot brings up the grease spot on Countess Andrenyi’s passport. He says the spot right before the “E” in Elena Andrenyi’s passport led him to deduce that she is actually Helena Goldenberg, the younger daughter of Linda Arden, sister to Sonia, and Daisy’s aunt. He says he inferred that the name on the passport was tampered with to conceal the “H” in Helena’s real name. Bouc and Dr. Constantine point out that Princess Dragomiroff said Linda Arden’s daughter married an Englishman, whose name she couldn’t remember. Poirot correctly concludes that the Princess was lying.

Poirot confronts Count and Countess Andrenyi (Helena Goldenberg) with his theory that Elena is actually Helena. She admits that she is indeed Linda Arden’s other daughter. The Count explains that, when they learned of the “H” handkerchief in Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti)’s room, he doctored Helena’s passport to hide her true identity because he was worried that she would be a prime suspect.

As soon as Helena is discovered, “her voice had changed. It still had the southern richness of tone, but it had become suddenly more clear cut and incisive. It was, for the first time, a definitely American voice” (227). Helena’s true demeanor is revealed as Poirot confronts her: “Her voice rang out passionately. She was the true daughter of that mother, the emotional force of whose acting had moved huge audiences to tears” (228).

With Helena’s identity unveiled, Poirot asks her about the staff who were working for the Armstrongs at the time of Daisy’s abduction. Helena reveals that there was a French nursemaid, Susanne, who killed herself, and a trained nurse, “Stengelberg”. There was also a governess who Helena describes as being “English or rather Scotch—a big, red-haired woman” and who she says was named “Mrs. Freebody” (232; 233).

Princess Dragomiroff approaches Poirot and reveals that the handkerchief with the mysterious “H” is in fact hers, not Helena’s. It’s really an “N” for Natalia, her first name, written in Cyrillic script. Poirot notes that Princess Dragomiroff deliberately lied to him by concealing the fact that Elena Andrenyi is really Helena. The Princess admits to lying, saying, “I would do the same again. Her mother was my friend” (236). Asked if justice shouldn’t outweigh loyalty to one’s friends, Princess Dragomiroff replies, “In this case I consider that justice—strict justice—has been done” (236). As Poirot continues to unveil lies told by the passengers during their various interviews, says, “Lies—and again lies. It amazes me, the amount of lies we had told to us this morning” (238).

Poirot interviews Colonel Arbuthnot again. He asks Colonel Arbuthnot about the conversation with Mary Debenham. Colonel Arbuthnot refuses to answer. Poirot suggests Mary Debenham’s real identity: A governess in the Armstrong household at the time of Daisy Armstrong’s kidnapping. Colonel Armstrong refuses to confirm Poirot’s accusation; they summon Mary.

Poirot accuses Mary of lying about her identity and her affiliation with the Armstrongs. That morning, Mary told Poirot that she’d never been to America; in fact, she’d served as governess in the American Armstrong household. Mary admits to lying, explaining that she couldn’t have the Armstrong story following her around—she has to protect her livelihood as a governess, and being linked to a kidnapping case might deter future employers. Mary claims not to have recognized Countess Andrenyi (Helena Goldenberg).

Discussing these revelations with Bouc and Dr. Constantine, Poirot reveals how he guessed that Mary was the “Miss Freebody” referenced by Countess Andrenyi (Helena Goldenberg). The Countess lied on purpose, trying to conceal Mary’s identity by offering a different physical description (red haired, which Mary isn’t) and fake name (Miss Freebody). Poirot notes that there is a shop in London called Debenham & Freebody and that, in scrambling to lie and come up with a fake name, the Countess apparently picked “Freebody,” her brain linking it to “Debenham.”

Poirot, accompanied by Bouc and Dr. Constantine, continues to unveil the true identities of the remaining passengers, confronting them one by one and detailing how they were linked to the Armstrong case. Antonio Foscarelli was the Armstrongs’ chauffeur. Greta Ohlsson was the nurse (different from the nursemaid who died by suicide, Susanne). Masterman, Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti)’s valet, was Colonel Armstrong’s valet.

Poirot, with Bouc and Dr. Constantine, assembles all the passengers in the restaurant car. He presents two theories of the murder. The first theory reflects how the murder was meant to be seen. It was planned to look like an outside job: A stranger boarded the train, donned the uniform of a conductor, killed Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti), and then got off the train. This theory is clearly false—there are many holes in it, such as the fact that the train was stranded in snow, and there were no footprints going to/from the train in the morning. Bouc points this out.

Poirot then presents a second theory—the true theory. He pinpoints the 12 passengers and explains how each one is linked to the Armstrong case.

Princess Natalia Dragomiroff already had a clear link to the Armstrongs, as she was good friends with Sonia, Daisy’s mother. Hector MacQueen also admitted a link to the Armstrong case. He previously told Poirot that his father was the DA who unsuccessfully prosecuted Cassetti’s case.

Mrs. Hubbard is in fact Linda Arden, the famous actress—and the mother of Countess Elena Andrenyi (Helena) and Sonia Armstrong (Daisy’s mother, who miscarried and died after the girl’s murder).

Countess Elena Andrenyi is Helena Andrenyi, previously Helena Goldenberg. Helena is Sonia’s sister and the younger daughter of Linda Arden. Count Andrenyi was trying to protect the Countess, and this is his link to the Armstrongs.

Mary Debenham was the Armstrongs’ governess at the time of Daisy’s kidnapping. Colonel Arbuthnot was good friends with Colonel Armstrong, who killed himself after Daisy’s murder and Sonia’s miscarriage and death. Colonel Arbuthnot is also in love with Mary Debenham.

Greta Ohlsson was the nurse in the Armstrong household at the time of Daisy’s kidnapping (different from the nursemaid who died by suicide, Susanne).

Hildegarde Schmidt was the cook in the Armstrong household at the time of Daisy’s kidnapping. Pierre Michel is the father of Susanne, the French nursemaid responsible for caring for Daisy when the child was kidnapped. Susanne jumped out a window unable to bear the accusations that she had something to do with the murder. Cyrus Hardman was in love with Susanne.

Masterman, Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti)’s valet, was Colonel Armstrong’s valet at the time of Daisy’s kidnapping and Antonio Foscarelli was the Armstrongs’ chauffeur at the time of Daisy’s kidnapping.

After presenting his theory on each person, Poirot suggests that these 12 people conspired to kill Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti), bringing justice where the legal system failed. Having figured out the 12 passengers’ true identities and motives, Poirot details the various clues, real and false, that helped him solve the case. First, he says how Bouc’s remarks on the diversity of nationalities on the Orient Express, piqued his interest. He reasons:

In America there might be a household composed of just such varied nationalities—an Italian chauffeur, an English governess, a Swedish nurse, a French lady’s-maid and so on. That led to my scheme of ‘guessing’—that is, casting each person for a certain part in the Armstrong drama much as a producer casts a play (262).

Poirot pinpoints other details that helped him identify the lies. For example, Mary Debenham claimed to never have been in the US, but used the term “long distance” for a phone call, which is an American phrase (263). Poirot elucidates red herrings, false clues, like his overhearing French from Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti)’s compartment; the pipe which incriminated Colonel Arbuthnot, who had one of the best alibis, being seen by the conductor and by MacQueen; and the handkerchief that incriminated Princess Dragomiroff, who likewise had one of the best alibis—her own maid and the conductor. Poirot also calls the “mythical woman” in the red kimono a “red herring” (268) and surmises that the bang on his door was meant to awaken him to call his attention to this fake clue. The person masquerading as a Wagon Lit conductor is also identified as a red herring, a fake clue—testified to by multiple liars—to confuse the case.

Poirot realizes, “They were all in it. For so many people connected with the Armstrong case to be travelling by the same train by a coincidence was not only unlikely, it was impossible” (266). He also notes a comment by Colonel Arbuthnot regarding “trial by jury” and notes that a jury has 12 people on it traditionally. Poirot concludes that the 12 accomplices in the murder were delivering justice where the actual justice system failed. Poirot suggests that each of the 12 people in turn entered Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti)’s compartment and stabbed him, which would explain the varied wounds—some made by a man, some by a woman, some made by a left-handed person, and some made by a right-handed person.

Mrs. Hubbard, unveiling herself as Linda Arden, confirms Poirot’s theory. She offers to take the blame for the murder but asks that the others be spared. Poirot, Bouc, and Dr. Constantine agree that the first theory is true and that this is the theory they will present to the police when the train reaches its next destination, thereby shielding the 12 guilty people.