Poirot Investigates Murder on the Orient Express
Poirot’s Journey Begins
In Syria, **Hercule Poirot** boards the Taurus Express, returning from solving a case. On the train, he observes fellow passengers **Mary Debenham** and **Colonel Arbuthnot**, who share a table and appear acquainted from the journey.
Upon reaching Istanbul, Poirot plans a short stay but must cut it short due to an urgent telegram recalling him to London. While dining at his hotel, he encounters **Monsieur Bouc**, an old friend and the director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. He also crosses paths with an unpleasant American man named **Ratchett** and his secretary, **Hector MacQueen**, sensing a distinct aura of evil around Ratchett.
Boarding the Orient Express
When attempting to board the Orient Express, Poirot finds that, unusually for the time of year, the first-class carriage is fully booked. M. Bouc arranges for Poirot to share a second-class compartment with Hector MacQueen. In the restaurant car, Poirot observes the diverse group of passengers.
Ratchett recognizes the famous detective and approaches him, offering a large sum of money for protection against death threats he has received. Distrusting Ratchett, Poirot refuses the offer. Later, thanks to another passenger not boarding, Poirot secures a first-class compartment for himself.
A Murder Occurs
During the night, Poirot hears various disturbances in the corridor: screams, bells ringing, and calls to the conductor. The conductor responds to a call from an American woman, **Mrs. Hubbard**, who claims someone was in her compartment. Later, the train is forced to halt unexpectedly due to a heavy snowdrift blocking the tracks.
The following morning, Ratchett is found murdered in his compartment. The door was locked and chained from the inside, requiring it to be broken down.
The Crime Scene Investigation
M. Bouc, along with **Dr. Constantine**, a Greek physician traveling on the train, and Poirot inspect the body and the compartment. Poirot agrees to take on the case to solve it before the train is freed and the local police become involved.
Key findings at the scene include:
- Multiple stab wounds on the body, varying significantly in depth and force, suggesting both right-handed and left-handed attackers, some strong, some weak.
- A pocket watch in Ratchett’s pyjamas, smashed and stopped at 1:15.
- A revolver discovered under Ratchett’s pillow.
- A lady’s embroidered handkerchief (monogrammed ‘H’).
- A pipe cleaner.
- A fragment of burnt paper.
The window is open, suggesting an escape route, but the lack of footprints in the pristine snow outside rules this out. The communicating door to the adjacent compartment (Mrs. Hubbard’s) is locked from Ratchett’s side.
Unraveling the Armstrong Connection
Using ingenious methods, Poirot manages to decipher the message on the burnt piece of paper: “…member little Daisy Armstrong.” This immediately connects the deceased to the infamous Armstrong kidnapping case in America. Poirot recalls the tragic details: the kidnapping and murder of young Daisy Armstrong, the subsequent deaths of her parents, and a falsely accused maid’s suicide. He deduces that Ratchett is, in fact, **Cassetti**, the gangster mastermind behind the Armstrong crime who escaped justice.
Investigating the Passengers
Poirot, assisted by M. Bouc and Dr. Constantine, begins systematically interviewing all passengers connected to the Calais coach where the murder occurred. Everyone provides an alibi, seemingly corroborated by other passengers.
Emerging Clues and Inconsistencies
Further clues surface during the investigation:
- Mrs. Hubbard claims the murderer passed through her compartment and produces a button, supposedly dropped by the intruder, which matches a Wagon Lit conductor’s uniform.
- Testimony suggests a woman in a scarlet kimono was seen in the corridor around the time of the murder.
- Later, the blood-stained murder weapon (a knife) is found in Mrs. Hubbard’s sponge bag.
- A search of the passengers’ luggage reveals the scarlet kimono neatly folded in Poirot’s own suitcase.
- The conductor’s uniform, missing the button found by Mrs. Hubbard, is discovered bundled in the luggage of Hildegarde Schmidt (Mrs. Hubbard’s maid).
The Second Round of Interviews
Poirot meticulously reviews the statements, alibis, and potential motives, identifying inconsistencies. He initiates a second round of interviews, confronting passengers with his deductions. Gradually, he uncovers that nearly everyone in the Calais coach has lied about their identity or their past. Astonishingly, each one has a direct connection to the Armstrong family: the governess, the chauffeur, the cook, the nurse, the father’s best friend, the mother’s sister, etc. They all possess a powerful motive for revenge against Cassetti.
Poirot’s Deductions and Solutions
Poirot gathers all the suspects (essentially, all passengers and the conductor from the Calais coach) in the restaurant car. He methodically lays out the evidence and proposes two possible solutions to the crime:
- Solution One: A simple explanation. An unknown assassin entered the train at the last stop (Vinkovci, where the train stopped near 1:15 AM, matching the stopped watch), murdered Cassetti, and escaped before the train departed. This accounts for some clues but ignores many others.
- Solution Two: A complex, yet more plausible explanation. All twelve passengers connected to the Armstrong family, along with the conductor (whose wife was the Armstrong maid who committed suicide), acted as a collective jury and executioner. They meticulously planned and carried out the murder, each delivering a stab wound to share responsibility. The conflicting clues (pipe cleaner vs. handkerchief, varied wounds, kimono, uniform) were deliberately planted to create confusion.
Justice on the Orient Express
Faced with Poirot’s second, detailed explanation, the passengers confess. They admit to the collective act of vengeance against the man who destroyed the Armstrong family and evaded the law. Given Cassetti’s heinous crimes, Poirot, Dr. Constantine, and M. Bouc sympathize with the passengers’ motives. They agree to present the first, simpler solution—that an unknown assailant committed the murder and escaped at Vinkovci—to the Yugoslavian police when they arrive, thus allowing the Armstrong avengers to go free.