Murder on the Orien Express (Ready to Print)

7/27/2019 Murder on the Orien Express (Ready to Print)

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Chapter 11 - 2

Chapter . 3

Chapter . 4

Chapter . 5

Cha ter 5

TA

CHAPPoirot arrives in Stamboul and checks in at Hotel. There are three letters and a telegram waiting

telegram informs him that there is a development i

case and he must return to London worried and anxwhat is going on asks the concierge to book him a

ticket for a sleeper on the Simplon Ortient Express

p.m that same evening.

In the hotel restaurant Poirot meets up with an

Bouc, director of the Compagnie Internationale des

who will accompany him on the train. While e

restaurant, Poirot takes interest in two men, Ratche

McQueen, at a nearby table. Poirot is immediately

Ratchett. After Poirot finishes his meal he meets M

lounge. The concierge enters and tells Poirot there are

apartments available.

Surprised at the full train, he remarks to Po

world elects to travel to-night! " M. Bouc asures Po

going to asing him compartment number 16, which i

but once they get to the train station for surprise even

was occupied.

M. Bouc wasnt going to let Poirot out of the t

him to take the carriage of Mr. Harris, a man who

shown up for the train. Poirot shares the carriage

McQueen-the same young man he saw with Ra

restaurant.

It is five o'clock on a cold windy morning in Syria.

Detective Hercule Poirot is boarding the Taurus Express on his

way to Stamboul for a few days of vacation. As he boards the

train Lieutenant Dubosc profusely thanks Poirot for his help

saying things such as; "You have saved us mon cher...you have

saved the honor of the French Army."To which Poirot replies,"But indeed, do I not remember that you once saved my life? "

After exchanging some more pleasantries with the General,

Poirot boards the train.

On the train; Mary Debenham, a woman traveling from

Baghdad, whose window is right above Poirots, and Colonel

Arbuthnot a gentelman that Hercule encounters first thing in the

morning, at breakfast.

Surprisingly almost every person travelling in the train

realices that there are not as many passangers as there are

usually.

While sipping coffee, Poirot observes every detail of

Arbuthnot and Debenham. Arbuthnot approaches Debenham,

already eating breakfast, and asks if he might join her.

At two-thirty the train comes to a halt because of a fire

under the dining car. Mary Debenham is extremely anxious and

tells Poirot that she must not miss her connection to the

Simpleton Orient Express. Poirot observes that Mary and the

Colonel become increasingly friendly over the course of their

voyage to Istanbul and overhears conversations between them

that peak his detective's curiosity. Previously, while looking out

at the scenery, Mary remarks to Arbuthnot that she wishes she

could enjoy the countryside.

CHAPTER 1


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Murder on the Poirot obssesed and intrigued with the case that wasrecalling him at London would go over the notes infinitive times

until he could find out something.Later on, M. Bouc lunches with Poirot. While the two men

sit and eat, Poirot looks around the other thirteen passengers:

opposite their table a "big swarthy Italian," a neat Englishman

and a badly dressed American. At a small table one of the

"ugliest old ladies he had ever seePrincess Dragomiroff, with

gorgeous cloth and a collar of pearls, she is super rich and has

quite the personality. Then, theres Mary Debenham sitting with

two other women, a sheep-faced woman with yellow hair and an

eldery American woman who cant stop talking about her

daughter. Colonel Arbuthnot by himself. Against the wall a

middle-aged Scandinavian woman, after her, an English- lookingcouple and, last but not least, Hector McQueen and Ratchett.

The dining car empties and Ratchett comes and sits

opposite Poirot. Ratchett offers Poirot big money to take a case,

apparently he has enemies and that his life is threatened. Poirot

tells Ratchett that he only takes cases that "interest him." Ratchett

asks Poirot why he won't take the case. Poirot replies, "I do not

like your face."

CHAPTER 3 At the Konya stop, when Poirot and the coupstretch their legs, Poirot hears Arbuthnot and Ma

together; Mary says to Debenham "When it's all ove

When it's behind usthen. "

The train arrives at Haydapassar Station

departs for the Tokatlian Hotel, where he plans to

seeing the sites in Stamboul.


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CHAPTER 4At 8:45, the Orient Express arrives at Belgrade. Poirot getsout to stretch his legs, but, because of the bitter cold, quickly

returns to the train. The conductor informs Poirot his luggage has

been moved to compartment number one, M. Bouc's carriage.

M. Bouc moved to the Athens coach to allow Poirot a spot

in first class. Compartment number one is directly next to Mr.

Ratchett and two doors down from Mrs. Hubbard. While returning

to his compartment, Poirot is stopped by Mrs. Hubbard. She tells

Poirot that she is scared of Ratchett. While speaking to Mrs.

Hubbard in the corridor, McQueen and Arbuthnot pass by, Poirot

hears McQueen tell Arbuthnot to come to his carriage to talk

about India and politics.

After bidding Mrs. Hubbard goodnight, Poirot returns to his

carriage, reads for one or two hours and falls asleep. Later at night

Poirot awakens to a loud groan or cry close at hand and the

immediate sound of a bell ringing. The train once again was

standing still and Poirot assumes it is at a station. The Wagon Lit

conductor knocks on Mr. Ratchett's door. From inside a voice

replies, that everything is fine. Satisfied, the conductor moves on

down the hall to another door with a light on. Poirot's watch reads

the time; twenty-three minutes to one in the morning and goes

back to sleep.

CHAPTThe train still stopped, Poirot has difficulty sleeping in

the curious quiet. As Poirot lies in bed he hears the scuffle of

slippers in the hallway. Someone in the car is ringing her

conductor's bell over and over. When the conductor finally

responds, Poirot hears the voice of Mrs. Hubbard who claims

there is a man in her compartment. Poirot then rings his own

bell and asks the conductor for some water. The conductor

informs Poirot that the train has run into a snow bank and may

be stuck for several days. After drinking his water and ready

for sleep, Poirot hears a large thud in Ratchett's compartment

next door. He looks outside his compartment, but only sees a

woman in a scarlet kimono walking down the hallway and the

conductor making entries in a book at the end of the hallway.At 9:45 AM, the train still stopped at Yugo-Slavia,

Poirot finally makes his way to the dining car where all the

guests are gathered and complaining. The passengers are very

anxious and worried about making connections and meeting

relatives, curiously Mary Debenham is not panicking, she is

not as anxious as she was back on the other train.

After breakfast, M. Bouc calls Poirot to his cabin. M.

Bouc tells Poirot that Ratchett has been stabbed to death. The

coroner, Dr. Constantine, has determined that the crime

occurred between midnight and two in the morning. Suicide isruled out as Ratchett was stabbed tenfifteen times. He was


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CHAPMurder on the Orient

The passports and the tickets of all the passengers are

gathered. Poirot will interview each passenger and firsts callsHector MacQueen, the younger man Poirot has seen with

Ratchett. Poirot tells MacQueen that his employer, M. Ratchett is

dead.

The young man is not surprised and replies, "So they got him

after all." MacQueen explains to Poirot that he had worked as

Ratchett's secretary for just over a year. He traveled all over the

world with Ratchett and was particularly helpful because Ratchett

didn't know any languages. MacQueen also tells Poirot that his

employer was American, full name, Samuel Edward Ratchett,

which McQueen thinks is an alias, and was escaping fromsomething.

A few weeks back, Ratchett had begun to receive

threatening letters. McQueen shows one of the letters to Poirot

who determines it has been written by not one, but several people.

MacQueen last saw Ratchett alive at 10 p.m when he took some

memoranda down for him.

In addition, he says that Ratchett received the most recent

threatening letter on the morning the train left Constantinople.

MacQueen is released from the interview.

After MacQueens departure M. Bouc and Poirot discusshis interview, from M. Boucs point of view he is innocent but

Poirot insists that hell suspect until the last minute. Though he

has to admit that stabbing is not in line with MacQueens

character. M. Bouc says, that is more in the line of someone of

The window in Ratchett's compartment was left open,

but M. Bouc think this was done purposefully to make

someone think the murderer escaped out the window. If the

murderer had escaped out the window he would have left

tracks in the snow. The door was locked and chained on the

inside. It is apparent that the murderer is still on the train, in

the Stamboul-Calais coach. M. Bouc asks Poirot to take the

case and Poirot accepts, therefore Poirot asks for a passanger

list, passports and tickets of all involved.


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Murder on

The hands of Ratchett's watch, found in hispointed to 1:15. Lastly Poirot discovers a small, ch

of paper. With a spirit stove, curling tongs and t

from a lady's hat box Poirot is able to read the

member little Daisy Armstrong." Poirot instan

whom Ratchett's really is, an American named Cas

The only doubt it still in their mind is; ho

murderer escaped?

Next step in the investigation is to examin the body and look

for clues in Ratchetts compartment.

Dr. Constantine escorts Poirot to Ratchett's compartment.

The room has been left untouched since the murder and Ratchett

lies dead on the bed. The first thing Poirot notices is that the

window is still open, he checks it out trying to find some

fingerprints but nothing is found.

Dr. Constantine observes that the body has 12 stab wounds

some of them were delivered after Ratchett was dead and Poirot

notices that some of the blows were delivered right-handed and

some left. So, that means that there were two persons in the scene

of the crime?Some of the blows are very deep and others just scraping

the skin. With some information gathered Poirot proposes a

scenario; one murderer comes in, stabs and turns off the lights, a

second murderer comes in and stabs the body again. This could

make sence supousing that whom made the strong stabs was a man

and that a woman made the weak ones.

Poirot keeps finding clues; two different kinds of matches in

the ashtrayone round and one flat, Poirot compares this to

Ratchett's matches and suspects the flatter may have been used by

the murderer. Poirot also finds an embroidered handkerchief withthe initial H on it and a pipe cleaner on the floor.

CHAPTER 7


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CHAPTER 8

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Poirot and Dr. Constantine join M. Bouc in the dining car

for lunch.

Poirot explains the identity of M. Ratchett. Ratchetts,

real name Cassetti, was the kidnapper of Daisy Armstrong.

Daisy was the three-year-old daughter of Colonel Armstrong,

whose mother was the daughter of a Wall St. millionaire, and

the famous actress, Linda Arden. Daisy was the couple's only

child. The young girl was kidnapped and the parents paid

200,000 dollars for her return, but Daisy's body was found

dead.

Mrs. Armstrong then got pregnant and died in premature

childbirth. In consecuence, Colonel, broken hearted, shot

himself.

At about the same time, the child's nursemaid that had been

suspected in the murdered, in desesperation, she threw herself

out the window.

About six month later, Cassetti was arrested, but because

of his enormous wealth and power he got off. Poirot doubt now

is; if the murderer has anything to do with a rival criminal gang

or was it an act of private vengance. There is at least one last

member of the Armstrong family still alive, possibly a youngersister of Daisys mother.

To close up, Poirot rememberd having heard someone

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Murder on the Orien Express (Ready to Print)