Motive vs. Opportunity
Mr. Petherick, the solicitor, was the next in line to tell his story (or problem, as they called it) for the meeting. The others are afraid that his would be full of legal aspects, but Mr. Petherick confirmed that it's not - it's a simple case. In the end, it proved to be a simple case as promised, with a childish twist.
A client of Mr. Petherick - he named him Simon Clode - was a wealthy man, who's lost by death, first, his only son, and afterwards, the only granddaughter whom he loved dearly. His orphaned nephews and niece were now lived with him. He left in his will, his estate equally to the three. Still on his grief over his late granddaughter, he met a spiritualist called Mrs. Eurydice Spragg, under whose influence he soon found himself. Mr. Petherick was greatly alarmed when, on his dying bed, Simon Clode made a new will, leaving most of his wealth to the spiritualist.
Mr. Petherick did the business, and after the will was signed, he put the document in his overcoat. However, when he opened it after Mr. Clode's death, the will was just a blank sheet. How could it be? Who had replaced the real will with a blank paper? Mrs. Spragg had opportunity, but certainly not a motive; one of the nephews had motive, but not opportunity. At the end, the solution was really a very simple and childish, that it gave Mrs. Marple a good chuckle when it's her turn to offer explanation. What an entertaining little read, and it gives further proof of how fun it would have been to be acquainted with the cheeky Dame Agatha Christie!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Accident
An ex CID Inspector Evans who now lived in an English village told his friend, a Captain Haydock, that he was certain that a Mrs. Merrowdene, was none other than Mrs. Anthony, who had been charged, and acquitted, of poisoning her husband with arsenic, nine years ago. He's theorizing that once a murderer, one will most certainly commit another - in short, there's always a pattern. He found the pattern, and when he met Professor Merrowdene carrying a new life insurance policy, Evans was 100% sure that the woman was ready for action once more. He visited their home, and lo and behold, Mrs. Merrowdene even performed the act before his eyes - what a clever and cheeky woman she was! Now it's up to him to prevent another murder. Would he be succeeded in doing that? Well, I must say that I didn't see that twist coming! That was a genius one from Agatha Christie! The last few sentences implied a good many things that will leave you aghast at the end - it altered the way you se the case, and made it seems like a simple, but complicated one. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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