Original subtitles

♪♪

♪♪

[ Indistinct talking ]

♪♪

♪♪

[ Breathing heavily ]

♪♪

♪♪

[ Indistinct muttering ]

[ Slow jazz music plays ]

♪♪

[ Telephone rings ]

♪♪

Pritchard.

[ Sighs ]

You'll have to stop ringing me here, please.

No.

She's upstairs, in bed.

Look, I said I'll do it, and I will -- in my own time.

Now, please, stop ringing me here.

[ Ominous music plays ]

[ Putter taps, ball clangs ]

♪♪

- The protection of the spirits of the wind, the earth,

the fire, and the water around me.

And I beg you spirits not to let evil

cross the boundary into this room tonight.

[ Breathing heavily ]

Spirits, please help me.

Help me, please.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Ah, Caro.

Tell Hester I'll take breakfast

in the study this morning, please.

Yes, sir.

♪♪

[ Lock rattles ]

Mrs. Pritchard?

[ Knocking ]

Mrs. Pritchard?

Mrs. Pritchard?

[ Knocking ]

Mary?

Mary!

Mary!

♪♪

♪♪

Oh, no.

No.

[ Breathing heavily ]

[ Grunts ]

George?

George?

What is it?

- Mr. Pritchard, you should see this.

[ Gasps ]

♪♪

Look at the geranium, sir.

♪♪

[ Buzzing ]

[ Door opens ]

- It's the wasp season already, Miss Marple.

So I see.

I hope you're killing them humanely, John.

Nasty little predators.

What's the point of a wasp, Miss Marple?

I've never worked it out.

I don't know.

I'm sure they have their place.

- The garden's going to look wonderful again this year, Miss.

I think so.

- Especially if we can get rid of these blighters.

[ Buzzing ]

♪♪

♪♪

Oh.

[ Gasps ]

- Are you all right, Miss Marple?

Uh...yes.

♪♪

[ Busy signal ]

[ Sighs ]

- Hello. - Hello. Yes.

I wonder, is it possible to speak to

Detective William Somerset?

- Yes, I believe he has a hearing

in front of the Old Bailey today.

- Your name, please. - Yes.

My name is Jane Marple.

One moment, please.

Detective Somerset?

There's a telephone call for you, sir.

It's a Miss Jane Marple.

- Oh, for goodness sake. No. I don't want to talk to her.

Tell her -- Tell her to go away.

I've got a murderer to hang.

Only put it more politely than that.

- He won't come to the phone?

- Perhaps you could call back later, Madam.

Goodbye.

Oh, Jane. Jane.

- Scotland Yard. - Hello. Yes.

I wondered, could you tell me

where I can find Sir Henry Clithering?

♪♪

- I'm terribly sorry, but as I've explained to you,

this is a gentlemen's club.

Yes, yes, I know,

but I have traveled some distance already today,

and I need to see Sir Henry Clithering

- on a matter of some urgency. - Jane!

- Oh. - Oh, what is it?

- Well, it's this, Sir Henry. Excuse me.

They're going to hang the wrong person for murder.

Thank you so much.

- I think you'd better come through.

- But Sir Henry, ladies are not allowed beyond the desk, sir.

- I'm a trustee. Make an exception.

- Excuse me. Thank you.

Oh.

♪♪

You need to stop the hearing, Henry,

or there will be terrible consequences.

Are you familiar with the case?

- Well, yes, but I retired from Scotland Yard some time ago.

I carry no authority there.

- But you can get to the people in authority,

whereas I can't, and I need to.

Calm down, Jane.

- Have you ever known me to be wrong, Sir Henry,

in all the years you've known me?

No.

Well, I was wrong here.

I was there when it happened, and I've got it wrong.

[ Sighs ]

Do you remember when old Mrs. Challinor died

in St. Mary Mead?

- Mrs. Challinor was murdered?

No. No, no, no, no, no.

But when she died, she had a knitting basket

that was full of abandoned projects.

They were so entangled that one simply couldn't unravel them.

Well...

that's how I think of this case,

this blue geranium murder.

It became so knotted that it was difficult

to tell one thing from the other.

- Tell me what happened, Jane, and then tell me why it's wrong.

- I'd been invited to the West Country

to visit a friend, Dermot Milewater.

He lives in a village called Little Ambrose.

And to get there, you have to catch a bus

from the train station in Fothersby.

♪♪

There was one other person on the bus.

♪♪

And he was in a mood to talk.

♪♪

- I love nature, don't you?

I love the bareness of the trees and the clouds.

Yes. Yes, I do.

- "My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky."

Wordsworth.

- Yes, yes, and I-I don't mind saying

that I've -- I've been through a tunnel, Missus, um...

Marple. Miss Marple.

- Eddie -- Eddie Seward, or just Ed or Eddie.

Eddie. Eddie.

[ Stammering ]

And as I came through this tunnel, I saw a crocus.

Saw it out the window -- an early white crocus.

And it was beautiful. It was terrifically beautiful.

And I thought I've never really seen nature

as being beautiful before.

And I should have done. I...I should have done.

And then, my heart leaped up, like in the Wordsworth.

It jumped.

♪♪

Uh...

♪♪

...do you think God is in nature, Miss Marple?

I think He is.

♪♪

- I think He shows us how terrifically beautiful...

the world could really be.

- Are you going to Little Ambrose, Mr. Seward?

- I'm going to force the moment to its crisis.

- What moment to what crisis?

- And surrounded by such beauty, I...

I feel I will.

I feel I can do it. Yes.

Yes.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Here.

Madam.

Jane. Jane!

- Oh. - Oh!

Oh, I'm sorry I'm late.

- Hello, Dermot. - But I come bearing gifts.

- Oh, they're beautiful. Thank you.

[ Laughs ]

Well...it's been too long, Jane.

- Yes. Yes, it has. Excuse me.

Mr. Seward, do you know where you're going?

- Uh...Uh, y-yes. Thank you.

It's, uh, it's a beaut-- It's a beautiful village.

Um...

♪♪

♪ Oh, what a beautiful day ♪

♪ I have a wonderful feeling ♪

♪ Everything's going my way ♪

[ Humming ]

Oh. Hello, darling. You're up.

Will you be writing?

Yes. Of course.

- Uh! Now you know full well they're not for you.

- She can't eat them all, can she?

You know, there once was a man called "Daniel Lambert,"

the fattest in England --

- Don't be mean about my sister.

I'm not.

And when he died, the undertakers

had to smash through the window at the front of the house

to get his corpse out because he was so fat

he didn't fit through his own front door.

Am I talking to myself again?

[ Door closes ]

I am, you know.

I am talking to myself.

Let me see.

Hmm.

Hello.

- You must be Miss Marple. - Yes.

Jane, this is Hester.

This is my niece, Robert's daughter.

No!

I remember you when your father had the parish at St. Mary Mead.

You were this tall.

- I remember St. Mary Mead very fondly.

Is it still as pretty?

It is.

But this is, I think, the prettiest village I know --

and with a much more impressive church.

- Yes, well, as impressive as it may be,

it might not be here for much longer.

- We've had some trouble with subsidence on the south wall.

Uncle Dermot's raised funds to dig out the foundations.

- It was a botched job, Jane. They completely ruined it.

- Can't the diocese help? - No.

But we have a plan.

There's a generous millionaire in the village now --

Mr. Trans Europa Airlines,

who bought Summerleigh at auction when Major Frayn died,

lock, stock, and barrel -- all the contents.

- Uh, Hester's cook at Summerleigh now.

Yes.

And our plan is that today,

when he's made captain of the golf club,

we're praying he'll be in a benevolent mood.

[ Horn honks ]

Where is she, Philippa?

- George, she says you can honk the horn all you like,

but it's giving her a migraine.

- I've only honked it twice.

- And anyway, she's decided she's not gonna come.

Why not?

Here, let me help you on your bike.

- No, no. Thank you, George.

She's had her horoscope read this morning over the telephone.

Oh, no.

- And she wants you to ring Dr. Frayn.

- Things are going to fall apart today.

That's what he said.

It's a black day.

The moon is in Mars, or something.

He said there were omens -- omens, George.

Pass me the chocolates.

Where are they?!

He said I should stay inside, or bad things will happen to me.

Not these! The truffles, you useless woman!

And we should all stay here. No golf.

Stay here, in this sanctuary, with me.

Except you.

You can go wherever you like, Nurse Copling.

You're annoying today.

I hope bad things happen to you.

- Darling, you said you were looking forward

to going to the golf club.

You were gonna wear your new dress,

which everyone was going to admire.

Darling, they're expecting you.

- Yes, they're expecting me to lie dying on the floor,

so they can stand 'round laughing at me

whilst I lie dying!

♪♪

♪♪

Thanks for coming, Frayn.

No problem.

- I have to be at the golf club by 3:00.

- I'll get her there as soon as I can.

- Is she in her room? - Yeah. Follow the noise.

George!

Is that Dr. Frayn?!

He said a "black day," Johnny, and you know how sensitive I am.

Is that your magic medicine?

Yes.

Oh.

Mmm.

That works for me. It settles me.

I know.

George bought some hyacinths in from the greenhouse,

thinking that would settle me,

but nothing settles me like you, Johnny.

Will you stay close to me at the golf club?

Yes. Of course.

Will you watch over me all the time?

- So, that afternoon, Sir Henry,

most of Little Ambrose turns up at the golf club.

And I learn from Dermot that George Pritchard's brother,

Lewis, is a penniless writer,

and married to Mary Pritchard's sister, Philippa.

- Two brothers have married two sisters?

Yes.

And that afternoon, there was something very strange

going on between the brothers.

♪♪

♪♪

- What happened to your nose?

- You need to give me 20 quid.

I owe Pilger 20 quid. Haven't got it.

What, he did that to you?

- Yeah. I was walking here. He draws up in that car.

He says things will get a lot worse if I don't pay up.

[ Sighs ]

You need any money, you're gonna have to go through Mary.

No!

- Because she needs to know that the money

is gonna get to her sister, and not some bloody bookmaker.

George, George.

Are you really that much under her thumb?

I know you like carrying a big wad around --

more than most people earn in a month.

[ Sighs ]

- I know you can pay this.

[ Scoffs ]

[ Sighs ]

- And you don't need to tell her.

- Next time, don't bother asking me.

You go to Mary.

♪♪

♪♪

- Sorry. Sorry I'm late.

- Did you bring the fruit pies?

- No. No, I'm afraid I didn't.

I ran out of time.

Oh, not to worry, not to worry.

I just hope we've got enough to go 'round.

- Hazel's an artist, Miss Marple.

We have to allow her a little dreaminess.

Hello.

- Jane Marple. Nice to meet you.

- Are all these people admiring my dress, Johnny?

Yes, they are.

And what was George speaking to

my sister's useless husband about?

Was it money?

- He handed over about £20.

It'll be for the bookmakers again.

Right.

And where is George now? Where is he?

- He's with Reverend Milewater.

Is he?

Well, I bet I can tell you what that's about.

- Well, it escalates every day.

The diocese think that they could make funds available

by the end of the year, but by that time,

the whole thing could have collapsed completely.

- I hope it does, the miserable place.

Darling.

- How much are they after this time, George?

I mean, you people are shameless.

We have been back here two years,

and already we've forked out to redevelop the golf course,

the cricket pavilion, dig out the culverts.

It's like being stuck in a nightmare village

of Oliver Twist going, "More! More! More!"

Well, come on,

tell us how much you've cost by messing up those renovations.

Well, it's in the region of --

- Because you're not going to get any.

And I'll tell you why.

Because I hate that miserable little church.

I hate the way it denies

the true old patterns of the world --

the horoscopes, and the auras, and all of the true things!

I hate the way it bores people to death every Sunday

through this little failure of a preacher.

Oh, ask everyone here, they all think you're boring.

[ Laughs ]

They all think you're a waste of space.

So, no money.

Well, I am done now, so...

so you can all stop gawping.

Shall we go outside,

and perform the ceremony for the new captain?

- Just ignore her, Reverend. She's an awful woman.

If she can say one spiteful thing, she can say a hatful.

She makes her husband's life misery, too, by all accounts,

if that's any consolation.

- God forgive me, but if George Pritchard

were to brain his wife with a hatchet,

there's not a soul in this village

that wouldn't acquit him.

- Couldn't you have stopped her?

- No one can stop her, darling.

You can.

Well, maybe she's right.

Maybe people are beginning to sponge off them.

Wish me luck with the speech.

♪♪

Ladies and gentlemen,

since George Pritchard came to Little Ambrose

and bought Summerleigh from my late father,

we've a lot to thank him for.

The cricket pavilion, the work on the back nine,

and many other small projects that have improved our community

are down to George's generosity.

Quite so.

- So it's a pleasure to invite him

to accept the captaincy of our club,

taking over from the many years' service of my father,

and to perform the ceremonial drive off the first tee.

Let's see if he can beat our captain's record --

held by our ladies' captain, Mrs. Hartopp -- at 183 yards.

- A phenomenal distance, considering she's a woman.

[ Laughter ]

I'll do well to beat that.

Lewis, are your kids out spotting?

- Yeah. They're down there.

- They're being very optimistic.

[ Laughter ]

- Are you worried, Mrs. Hartopp?

- No, you're not worried, are you, love?

She's seen him play.

[ Laughter ]

- Oh! - Very good try.

And it's the...

trees by the river.

[ Laughter, applause ]

Do we get a second go?

- No. - No.

- My kids will never find that, George.

They'll be in there for years.

Come out looking like Rip van bloody Winkle.

[ Laughter ]

Dad!

Dad! Call the police!

[ Children shouting indistinctly ]

Dad!

Call the police!

[ Children shouting indistinctly ]

♪♪

- He's by the river, Uncle George.

Oh, God.

Quick. Turn him over.

Is he dead?

- Come here. Come here, Michael. Peter.

Turn him over.

♪♪

Who is it, George?

Oh.

Oh, my goodness.

♪♪

[ Siren ringing ]

[ Tires screech ]

♪♪

Brute force.

Scratches on the neck to indicate a struggle.

I'd say the murderer was a man, wouldn't you, Doctor?

I'd say a man.

- Is he local? - No.

- Dead maybe...an hour? Bit longer?

Killed upstream, dumped in the river.

No jacket. Nothing in his pockets.

Nothing to immediately identify him, anyway.

- Oh, we have a name, Detective Somerset.

We know who he is.

- And did Eddie Seward say where he'd come from?

I presumed London.

His coat was Savile Row,

and to be on the 10:25 bus from Fothersby

meant he'd most likely arrived on the 8:05 from Paddington.

Right.

- And it was an impulsive visit, Detective Somerset.

I believe he'd only decided to make the journey that morning.

- He told you that, did he?

- No. No, no. He had no travel bag.

- And did he say why he was headed to Little Ambrose?

Yes.

He said he was here "to force the moment to its crisis."

- Well, that could mean anything. - No, no.

It's from a poem about a man called Prufrock

who's trying to summon up the courage

to ask a woman to marry him.

Is it?

- Inspector, I couldn't help noticing when I saw the body

that the bottom half of the tie that killed him was missing.

- Oh, you had a good look, did you?

- Well, you can learn so much

if you're lucky enough to see the body.

Um, can I just ask...

[ Telephone rings ]

...if the other part of his tie was found on or near him?

- Well, that's a police concern, Miss Marple.

Yes.

- Inspector, it seems you've just had a phone call

from a certain lady who would like to see you rather urgently.

- Um, and -- and the scratches on his neck.

I wonder, were they made by the dead man

or by a possible assailant?

- Again, Miss Marple, that's a matter

that should only concern the police.

And what's the name of this certain lady?

Mary Pritchard.

I suggest you wear a helmet.

[ Breathes deeply ]

This was death foretold.

No one took me seriously, and it's about time you all started.

I don't want those pills. I want your magic, Dr. Frayn.

You know I can't take pills without mayonnaise.

- Mrs. Pritchard, I was told you had something urgent to tell me.

That's what she said.

I'm being burgled.

- You are not being burgled!

- Jewelry goes missing from this room.

Yes, it does.

My emerald ring, for one, that diamond brooch,

snuffboxes from the hall tables spirited away.

Now you're in the village, Inspector,

you can take me seriously,

and put all your efforts into this crime, as well.

- Mrs. Pritchard, I have a capital crime here.

Now, I was told you had something urgent to say

about the murder of Eddie Seward.

That was Eddie Seward?

Yes. Did you know him?

Oh, I knew him.

You did, too, didn't you, George?

- Just before I left the Yard, we investigated an Edward Seward

because his wife went missing.

That's right.

And that's what Detective Somerset found out

after a quick phone call.

- He was a member here, you know.

Rich as Croesus, he was.

Inherited a mining fortune.

Never did a day's work in his life.

- Yes, I believe we would have been in the same society events

as Eddie Seward, but we weren't friends.

I wouldn't have recognized him.

Business associates?

No.

Would you like a drink, Inspector?

Or are you all right with tea?

- No, no, thanks. Tea is fine.

Of course.

- So, from what I can gather, he would finance ventures,

some of them nefarious.

Yes, well, I steer clear of financiers like that.

Tea, Mr. Pritchard?

Yes, thank you, Hester.

No, thanks.

- I set up the airline with contacts I had in the Air Force.

Good.

Oh, um, where were you between 11:30

and the events at the golf course this afternoon?

I was here.

Thank you.

♪♪

♪♪

Oh. Hello.

I've been looking for you.

How are you?

[ Sighs ]

I have been here for 40 years, Jane.

And the whole thing's gonna fall down around me.

- You'll raise the money. [ Scoffs ]

[ Sighs ]

This where you write?

- I try to get inspiration from these things.

♪♪

The seven deadly sins.

[ Laughs ] Yes.

And I think we all know who Gluttony is.

Oh, I try to see the good in people, Jane,

but that woman has not got an ounce of it in her.

Never has had.

Someone ought to teach her a lesson.

Dermot.

No, I mean it.

♪♪

She grew up in this village. Did you know that?

No, no.

Well, she was very pretty.

And George Pritchard was her sister's fiancé.

They met when they were in the RAF during the war.

And Philippa was so in love with him.

I've never seen anybody so in love.

And...Mary stole him.

This is George.

Hello.

- She broke her sister's heart.

Philippa married the other brother

out of desperation, I suppose.

I don't know.

And Mary's been such a terrible wife to George.

She makes him live here

so that she can play the lady of the manor

when he needs to be in London.

She bullies him.

She bullies everyone.

- I think Eddie Seward deserved to die.

- That's a terrible thing to say.

- We knew him in London, Philippa.

He was a piece of work.

Drunk and violent.

How do you know that?

- I met his wife -- the one who disappeared.

When?

- Mm, at one of those hideous balls on Park Lane,

where everyone dresses up as if Edward VII

were still on the throne.

[ Cries]

Are you all right?

Penelope Seward.

She was quiet, didn't want to talk.

But she was angry.

She said couldn't go back to the ball

because she had a huge bruise on the side of the face

where he'd hit her.

Oh, and that wasn't the worst.

She had scars on her arms

where she said he'd stubbed out his cigars when he was drunk.

She said if she stayed one more day with him...

I'll kill him.

♪♪

Now, maybe she has.

Oh, Mary.

- Obviously, the discovery of Eddie's body

had spread unease through the village that night.

[ Children laughing ]

- Put the pots in the kitchen, children,

and straight to bed.

Mother!

- Hi, Dad. - Hello.

Hello, Daddy.

- That's a nice sound. It's what I like to hear.

How's the book going?

Going fine.

- Dad, who do you think killed that man?

- Look, children, don't mess.

Can you just take these pots off the table?!

- If you go and put your pajamas on,

I'll be up in a minute.

I'll take that. I'll take that.

[ Typewriter clacking ]

This body down the club would make a good story.

Yeah, a potboiler.

Well, sometimes pots need to boil, don't they?

Otherwise, no one eats.

What does that mean?

- I've put this week's groceries on the tab again.

That's four weeks we owe now.

Can you talk to your brother, Lewis?

Philippa! Philippa!

Everything's gonna be fine.

♪♪

♪♪

- £20, but I don't want to pay it off yet.

I want you to put this on Flavius the Great,

Towcester, 2:15 tomorrow.

Do you know your history?

Flavius -- named, I presume, after Flavius Belisarius --

was the only Roman general who never lost a battle.

He never lost.

♪♪

[ Door opens ]

- Hello. I thought you'd gone, darling.

- Well, uh, Mary asked me if I'd hang around

in case she had a relapse.

A relapse of what?

- Actually, I was waiting for you.

Would you like to go for a drink?

- Yes. A drink would be nice after today.

Good.

34, blond.

Can I have a photograph sent,

because I think she might be here.

I'll look it up.

- Either that or Eddie Seward came to see George Pritchard,

which Pritchard denies.

- Eddie Seward, George Pritchard.

This could be a high-profile case, Bill.

Yeah. I'm aware of that.

If I can wrap this up quickly,

it could be my ticket back to London.

Then, all that stuff will be forgotten.

[ Knocking ]

♪♪

Hang on one moment.

Yes, dear?

- Something I forgot to say, Inspector --

Eddie Seward was a drunk.

That much was obvious.

But from his behavior on the bus this morning,

I don't think he'd been drinking today.

- Well, interesting, but could you walk away now,

because I'm on confidential police business.

- Can I just ask, if I may,

if you think the scratches on his neck were self-inflicted

or the result of a fight?

My friend, Sir Henry Clithering, you see,

says you can always tell if it's self-inflicted

by looking under the fingernails.

- You know Sir Henry Clithering?

- Scotland Yard? - Yeah.

Eddie Seward was a drunk, wasn't he?

- He disappeared from a drying-out clinic

at about 5:00 yesterday afternoon.

As I thought.

And I think his wife must be down here somewhere, don't you?

Yes.

- Well, if you need any help, Inspector, do let me know.

- Who on Earth was that? - You don't want to know.

But I'll bet George Pritchard

knows more about Eddie Seward than he's letting on.

♪♪

♪♪

- Sir Henry. - Oh.

Thank you.

So, both you and Somerset were right.

Penelope Seward was at Little Ambrose.

- Yes. Yes, yes. But wa-- wait.

I have to tell this right.

And this is where it becomes tangled --

like Mrs. Challinor's wool, remember?

Mrs. Challinor's wool?

- Because the next morning, while the whole house was out,

Mary Pritchard had a visitor.

Now, whenever she heard of a new mystic or fortune-teller,

she couldn't resist arranging for a reading.

The one she had scheduled to call that morning

was a fortune-teller who called herself Zarida.

[ Door opens ]

Mm!

Zarida.

Come in. Come in.

Yesterday, I had the most horrific horoscope,

and it all came true.

I am so in tune with the spiritual --

- I cannot come into this room.

I feel evil and danger.

[ Gasps ]

What are they doing here?

Blue hyacinths are a warning, Mary Pritchard.

If you see blue hollyhocks, they will mean danger.

Danger.

- And blue geraniums will mean your death.

♪♪

I'm going to die.

You're not, darling.

- Warning, then danger, then death.

- You certainly got your money's worth this morning, didn't you?

- I was foretold Eddie Seward's death.

Now, I've been foretold my own.

Look...

you don't get blue hollyhocks.

They're pink and they're yellow.

So, I think it's fair to say

that you're gonna be with us forever, Mary.

- You know blue has always been repellent to me, George.

- [Whispering] Then it's a pity food isn't blue.

- Who brought the hyacinths in?

Mr. Pritchard.

[ Sighs ]

Now, are you gonna host the drinks tonight?

You know I've got the golf lot coming 'round.

- I think I might be dead by this evening.

Enough!

Enough of this spiritual poppycock!

George.

- And the crackpots that you listen to.

I hate this, Mary! I hate it!

Everything I've ever done you've ruined!

You ruin every day of my life!

I'm scared, Georgie.

- Well, I'm not scared of you anymore.

- [ Breathing heavily ] - Now you stop this nonsense.

You get out of bed. You go downstairs.

you host this evening, you do it well,

because I'm warning you -- I've had enough!

♪♪

♪♪

- Do you see there, Jane, that great big crack?

Yes. Yes.

Have there been any new arrivals in the village

over the last couple of years?

Women in their 30s?

- Well, there's been a couple of them, haven't there, Hes?

Mm.

- They've had a change of nurse up at Summerleigh.

Nurse Copling came with excellent references,

didn't she, Hes?

She did, yes.

Well, I'm new, of course, Miss Marple.

Been here a year now.

- Oh, well, of course, that makes three of them.

And if only Dr. Frayn would eventually get 'round

to asking you to marry him,

well, then, you'd be with us a little longer, wouldn't you?

If he ever does.

[ Chuckles ]

- Why would Eddie Seward's body wash up at the golf course?

Is there anything upriver from there?

- Well, only an old water mill, but it's practically abandoned.

- Why? What are you thinking, Jane?

- I think that Eddie came to Little Ambrose to find his wife.

I imagine he was going to tell her

that he'd cleaned himself up,

and was going to force the moment to its crisis,

and ask her to take him back.

Oh, but instead, she killed him,

and dumped his body in the river?

Well, perhaps.

- Miss Marple, I heard George Pritchard

lie to the police yesterday.

Oh, where you were between 11:30

and the events at the golf course this afternoon?

I was here.

Thank you.

But he wasn't.

He was absent from Summerleigh the whole time.

[ Sighs ]

Hm.

- Who was the third woman who arrived?

Um...Hazel Instow.

She's lovely.

What do you know about her?

- I came to Little Ambrose, I'd say, 18 months ago,

for the peace and quiet.

- And before that? - I lived in Alexandria.

I love the antiquities.

It had always been a dream of mine to paint in Egypt.

- How long did you live there?

Oh, a number of years.

My sister is married to the British consul.

I'm afraid I never knew this Mr. Seward, Inspector,

so I can't really help you.

Of course.

And before Egypt?

London.

May I ask...

is it possible to make a living doing this?

A small one, yes.

There's a gallery in Chelsea which takes the occasional work.

But it's a vocation rather than a profession for me, Detective.

[ Laughing ] Oh!

Oh! Ah.

Now...

how much would he fetch?

- Oh, no, he's not going anywhere.

That's just a sketch for a commission from the golf club.

When I paint it up, they're gonna hang George

in the clubhouse.

In a manner of speaking.

Sorry.

[ Chuckles ]

- Is she coming down, Caroline?

No, Mrs. Pritchard.

- Hazel, will you perform hostess duties for George tonight?

No, you.

Please.

- What puzzles me is this --

fortune-tellers usually are out for what they can get.

From what I can see,

they just say what Mrs. Pritchard wants to hear.

But this Zarida, she seems to be frightening her

with no advantage to herself.

I don't see the point.

- How did Mary hear of Zarida?

- Susan Carstairs, the nurse before me, put her on to her.

- Why does that not surprise me?

- Nurse Carstairs was really into this sort of thing.

She sent this letter.

She left about six months ago.

It was all very sudden.

- She sent this -- sorry, Hester --

but she sent this recommendation out of the blue last week.

- Did Mrs. Pritchard make the appointment herself?

- No. I rang Zarida at her request.

- Well, I'm going to ring this Zarida now.

Ask her what she's playing at.

- Why did Nurse Carstairs leave so suddenly?

- We have a steady flow of staff here, I'm afraid.

My sister isn't the easiest person to work for.

[ Dial tone ]

Is she not in?

- The number's discontinued.

[ Piano music plays ]

Gonna catch you!

- No running indoors, Peter, please.

[ Boys laughing ]

Boys.

George.

- Ah, Jonathan. Welcome. Come through.

I'm afraid my wife's nerves

have got the better of her this evening.

She won't be joining us.

- What a pity. Hazel.

Evening.

- Like to have a drink? - Excuse me.

Sorry to intrude, Pritchard,

but I wonder if I could have a quick word with your employees

Nurse Copling and Miss Milewater.

Whatever for?

Just routine.

- You can use my study. - Thank you.

- Ooh, yum. - Hey.

These are for later, you little rascal.

Can I have three, please?

Thank you.

[ Laughs ]

[ Children laugh ]

♪♪

- Mrs. Pritchard, I, uh...

took a bottle of Dr. Frayn's magic medicine

from your sister's bedroom.

- Whatever for, Caroline?

You should taste it.

♪♪

♪♪

- So, you've been living with your uncle for over a year now?

- That's right. - And where did you live before?

What was the address?

- Strathleven Mansions, Bayswater.

Did you live alone?

Were you married?

Not married, no.

You don't think I'm that dead man's wife, do you, Inspector?

It's just procedure, Miss.

♪♪

- Have you played the new course, sir?

- I think Mrs. Pritchard might need to see you, Doctor.

Excuse me.

Thank you.

♪♪

- You're a novelist, aren't you, Mr. Pritchard?

That's right. Yeah.

- How is the book going, Pritchard?

You've been working on that for as long as you've been here,

haven't you?

It's a very long book.

What's it about?

Well, it's an historical novel.

It's based on the princes in the tower.

In many ways, it's the best story Shakespeare never wrote.

Didn't he?

- Yes, what we don't tell Lewis

is Shakespeare did actually write it.

He didn't.

He referred to it.

He didn't dedicate a whole work to it.

And what would you know about Shakespeare, anyway, George?

- Nothing. You're right, of course.

Is everyone all right for drinks?

Thank you.

Lewis is nearing the end of it, now, actually, Reverend.

Oh.

- Excuse me. - Yes.

- We saw you talking to the policeman.

Yes.

- We found it by the river.

Oh.

We were making a den.

Well. Very good.

Oh. Inspector.

Yes?

- I think the children have found where Eddie Seward died.

♪♪

♪♪

- Mrs. Pritchard's asked if it's --

Dr. Frayn.

- If it's possible to have a tray of food sent up.

- What is the meaning of this, Jonathan?

- You have the medicine. We were looking for that.

- Why is it filled with water?

- Because your sister's not ill, Mrs. Pritchard.

- She is ill. - Oh, she is, Doctor.

She's nauseous every day.

She has had a succession of viruses,

and she catches everything going.

- The only sickness she has is in her head, Nurse.

- My sister is definitely ill!

- And therefore, the treatment that makes her feel better

is also in her head.

- There has been something seriously wrong with Mary

for years, Dr. Frayn,

and specialists have not been able to get to the bottom of it.

- The only thing wrong with her is that she overeats.

And that's as much the fault of people like you,

who pander to her every taste

with ridiculous amounts of food, Philippa.

She's lost her confidence, she's become agoraphobic,

and she imagines all kinds of ailments

in order to keep your attention.

♪♪

♪♪

[ Breathing heavily ]

♪♪

♪♪

[ Screams ]

♪♪

♪♪

- Oh, George, the hollyhock! It's blue! Look!

[ Sobs ]

But that's impossible.

The hollyhock on the wallpaper turned blue?

- Well, that's what Mary said.

By the time they'd calmed her down,

and got some sense out of her, the hollyhock was pink.

- Which particular hollyhock are we talking about?

- No, it was blue! I saw it turning blue!

I am in danger!

- Just calm down, sweetheart.

Shh.

Come on.

♪♪

♪♪

- You mean she imagined it?

- Well, that's what people thought.

But she didn't think so.

And neither do I. Not now.

I think someone was trying to scare that woman to death.

- What type of wallpaper was it?

- Well, that evening, Sir Henry,

I tried to find out exactly where it was from.

- I designed it, Miss Marple. - Oh.

- Yes. My sister was almost bedbound last summer,

and didn't want to miss the garden,

so had it brought into her room, as it were.

- And George commissioned me to design a wallpaper

from the flowers in the garden.

He was very specific about the flowers that he wanted.

Very adventurous.

- Primroses, and buttercups, and foxgloves, and hollyhocks

all blooming together.

- I call it "Blooming Madness." - Thank you, Hester.

My pleasure, Philippa.

♪♪

This is Susan Carstairs

putting the frighteners on her majesty upstairs.

I don't know how, but I'm sure of it.

- Oh. What, the previous nurse?

What makes you say that?

- Because -- and I didn't want to say this in front of Philippa --

because, well, I think she still holds a candle

for George Pritchard, don't you, Caro?

I do.

- But Nurse Carstairs definitely left Summerleigh under a cloud.

What sort of cloud?

A saucy cloud.

I was hanging around here one night.

I wasn't being nosy, Jane,

but let's say there was a bit of design to my hanging around,

because I had suspicions.

[ George speaks indistinctly ]

[ Indistinct talking ]

♪♪

♪♪

Again.

♪♪

- She left soon afterwards -- overnight.

- I think she saw George as a main chance.

Saw herself as the second Mrs. Pritchard.

And when George realized that, he got rid of her.

- Did Mary know of the affair?

I don't know.

But I reckon Susan Carstairs herself was Zarida,

and scaring the wits out of George's wife

is her way of getting revenge.

♪♪

- I love nature, don't you?

I love the bareness of the trees.

- All right, thank you, children.

If you could just go with the constable now.

- Come on, now. Let's get you home.

- So, this is where he was thrown in the river.

I wonder if he was killed here, as well.

Or took his own life.

- No, this is murder, Miss Marple, clear as day.

I mean, there's no note. Where's the note?

And I've seen murder got up to look like suicide many times.

- When people take their own lives, Inspector,

sometimes, they try and do it in a significant place.

- What's significant about here to Eddie Seward?

Well, it's beautiful.

And he told me that coming through the tunnel

of his alcoholism,

he was taking great strength from nature.

He was finding God in it.

Yeah, yeah.

If he was committing suicide,

why didn't we find him hanging from that tree?

- Because the tie hadn't supported his weight for long,

had torn,

and the body had fallen from where it was hanging.

- So he fell in the river, and just floated downstream?

That's a wonderful explanation.

- Can you think of another? - Yes.

His wife killed him, and made it look like suicide.

- But what if the scratches on his neck

were not the result of a fight,

but his own hands trying to save himself.

- If he's committing suicide, why would he try to stop it?

- Because, as my friend Sir Henry Clithering says,

sometimes people pull out of their suicides.

Inspector, surely you know that.

- No. No. I don't buy it.

This is still a major murder case.

- Inspector, why are you no longer working in London?

Why are you down here?

- Well, as you know Sir Henry,

I imagine you'll find out about it.

There was...an incident.

Involving drink?

Involving drink, yes.

I was on duty, complaints were made,

and...

I was told to sort myself out.

- What was in Eddie's wallet?

- Uh, money, a business card with his club address on it,

tickets for various things.

May I see?

♪♪

- I'm gonna go to London, try to trace his movements

between the time that he checked out of the drying-out clinic

and the time he came here,

see if he met up with anyone.

Good idea.

Thank you.

Inspector, I don't think it's connected to this,

but I believe that someone is trying to scare Mary Pritchard.

Perhaps you should --

- I don't think it would take much to set that woman off,

Miss Marple, do you?

And I agree. I don't think it is connected.

Magical flowers. I mean, honestly.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Hello.

♪♪

♪♪

What's wrong?

Susan Carstairs.

You've slept with her since I've lived here.

That's not true.

- You were seen, George. Don't lie.

Why?

Do you not love me enough?

- Of course I love you. - Then why?

Are we not risking enough for each other, George?

I did it because...

because she was there.

She was there, and you're not -- not like that.

I want to be with you, but you won't let me.

We talk and talk in circles

about how much we want to be together,

but...

you never show that you really want me.

It's always meeting like this.

I love you.

I love you.

I'm so sorry.

I'd do anything for you. You know that.

Don't you?

♪♪

♪♪

[ Ringing ]

- Hello. - Oh, hello.

Is that the Fettiplace auction house?

- Do you think I should go to the police, Reverend Milewater?

Do you think I should tell them about Dr. Frayn,

and how he's failing in his hypocritical duties?

Hippocratic!

- I think it's theft, Miss Marple, don't you?

Charging them all this money for nothing but water.

- Don't be so stupid, Philippa.

It's "Hippocratic" after Hippocrates,

the Greek physician,

not "hypocritic" after everyone in this village.

- He won't be the first doctor

to prescribe a placebo for a patient.

And your sister feels better after the treatment,

doesn't she, Philippa?

It's just deceitful.

When I was in the Air Force...

Oh, here we go.

Back when you were in the Air Force, when you met George.

When you fell in love with him.

♪♪

- During the war, there was this girl, Miss Marple.

She used to do this placebo thing with the black market.

She'd water down perfumes, and whiskey, and things.

Pass off poor-quality nylons for top brands.

We used to call her "the Wasp"

because you'd get stung if you went near her.

She had this obsession with money,

this voracious greed for it.

I think Dr. Frayn is the same.

And I think he should be drummed out of the medical profession

like the Wasp was drummed out of the services.

Now, that looks good.

- Oh, it is -- and it's not for you.

It's to cheer Mary up.

♪♪

- So what would the police do if I went and complained?

- Very little, I'm afraid.

♪♪

- During the drinks yesterday,

did you go upstairs, and talk to Mary?

- You see everything, Jane, don't you?

Well, I thought, if I might speak to her alone,

use what remains of the Milewater charm,

I could bring her 'round to giving us some money.

And?

- Lewis got there before me.

- Well, if you don't give me the money,

they're gonna come back to the village.

They'll hurt Philippa. They'll hurt our children.

They're gonna take everything we've got.

- Everything in that cottage is owned by George and me!

You haven't earned a penny in your life.

The only way you'll be worth anything is if George and I die.

- You know, Mary, you are an evil bitch!

Please go now.

- George! - I'm going. I'm going.

George!

♪♪

- Does he need money because of his gambling on the horses?

I imagine so.

Philippa speaks to me sometimes about it,

how much it worries her.

Look, do you mind if we just stop here for a moment, Jane?

Just...stop in this village of mine?

Dermot?

♪♪

- I walk here every day. I...

♪♪

Look, I have some work to do for Sunday.

I-I really must work.

Maybe you don't see everything, Jane.

That evening, Sir Henry,

as I stood in the center of that quiet, pleasant English village,

I thought of all the tensions

that lay in the foundations of the lives that lived there.

A hundred times,

they'll be back in the morning demanding money.

- Then we will get the money! - We haven't got the money!

- We will get the money! - Where?!

I promise.

And I thought of the one woman

who was going to sleep that night

in genuine fear of her life.

Help me.

The protection of the spirits of the wind and the...

- But little did I realize how right she was to be scared.

In my own time.

Now, please, stop ringing me here.

♪♪

- And how she was not going to see the morning.

[ Breathing heavily ]

[ Knocking on door ]

Mary?

Mary!

♪♪

Oh, no.

No.

[ Breathing heavily ]

[ Grunts ]

George?

What is it?

[ Gasps ]

Look at the geranium, sir.

♪♪

♪♪

- Well, at first sight, it's shock --

syncope, which has caused the blood vessels in the nose

to have hemorrhaged.

You say one of the flowers on the wallpaper has turned blue?

Well, it has.

It's pink again now.

- I don't know. I don't think it was.

This is madness.

We don't know what we saw.

- Well, you've got to get that detective to investigate

the fortune-teller and Nurse Carstairs, Mr. Pritchard.

There was something terribly wrong

about the way she frightened your wife.

Yes, thank you, Caro.

Can you leave us alone, please?

- There had now been two suspicious deaths

within 36 hours, you see.

As news of Mary's death raced through the village,

people found themselves asking terrible questions.

♪♪

Well...

is it true?

Is she dead?

Yes.

How?

- They think she died of shock.

- People don't die of shock, George.

Was it you?

- Did you kill her? - Did I kill your wife?

Yes.

How can you say that to me? How can you?

Go away.

Go away!

♪♪

♪♪

- It was definitely blue, Jane, despite what George has said.

But how?

It's not damaged, or anything.

It's just wallpaper.

♪♪

Everyone in Little Ambrose

was thrown by the events of that morning, Sir Henry --

even Nurse Copling.

- What am I going to do, Hester?

You'll be all right.

- But this will make me unemployed again,

and I thought it was going to be a permanent position.

I know Mrs. Pritchard was difficult,

but I felt at home here.

I was making friends.

- You've still got those friends, Caro.

- We're not going to go away. - I know.

- Nursing must be a very peripatetic kind of life.

Quite lonely at times.

Have you been in it long?

- Well, I learnt my trade during the war, you know,

when we all had to do our bit.

- I served over at Duxford, and then...

Reverend, you don't look very well.

Would you like to sit down?

I'm sorry.

- Can I get you a glass of water?

No, I'll do it.

- Oh. It must be something I ate.

- Where are your family, Caro?

- I don't have any, Miss Marple.

- Have you a gentleman friend?

No.

Mr. Pritchard...

tried the same thing with me

as he did with Nurse Carstairs, Miss Marple.

He tried to teach me a golf swing.

But I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't do what he wanted.

No.

And if you ask me,

I think he's still in touch with Susan Carstairs.

I heard them talking on the telephone once.

I think George Pritchard's a bad man.

The way he carries on, I think he must be.

- Mr. Edward Seward has been staying at the club off and on,

but he wasn't here on Thursday night.

When was he last here?

Oh, two, three weeks ago.

Let's see.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa. Go back. Go back.

What's that name?

- That is Mr. George Pritchard, sir.

Is he a member here, too?

Yes.

- Yes, I did know Eddie Seward.

We moved in the same circles for a while.

He was, uh...

There was resentment.

I was seen as new money, whereas him and his ilk were blue blood,

and made sure you knew it.

- Why didn't you tell me you knew him before?

- Because he turned up dead on my doorstep,

and I didn't want to be dragged into it.

Look, I was never close to him.

I didn't like him.

He was a hopeless alcoholic and a thug around women.

- This man that you weren't close to

lent you half a million pounds three years ago for your airline

to develop haulage routes into Italy and Greece --

A venture that was not successful.

- Yes, but I paid Eddie Seward back every farthing.

You'll find that detail in your documents, as well, Inspector.

- Where were you the morning Eddie Seward

came to Little Ambrose, George?

- At Summerleigh, like I told you.

- But your housekeeper, Hester Milewater,

says that's another lie.

- I've had enough of this. - Sit down, sir.

- Look, am I under arrest? - Sit down.

- I didn't see Eddie Seward that morning.

I haven't heard from him for two years.

I don't know why he was here, or where his wife is.

I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, Inspector.

My wife died this morning,

and I have some things that I have to attend to.

♪♪

♪♪

[ Door opens, closes ]

♪♪

About time you arrived.

[ Knocking on door ]

Yes? Hello?

- Oh, that's an excellent likeness, Hazel.

You have a very distinctive style.

- Yes, people have often said that about the work,

Miss Marple.

- And what, if I can ask, have been your favorite subjects?

- Well, I like portraiture, but my real love is,

well, has always been nature.

I like to think that you can see God in nature.

♪♪

- Hi, Hes. Got your message.

Why didn't you just come 'round to the surgery?

♪♪

- I want an explanation, Jonathan.

You're the one who's been stealing from the house,

aren't you?

The snuffboxes.

The carriage clock. Jewelry.

No, not jewelry.

Why did you do it?

- Because that was my parents' stuff.

Pritchard took advantage of my father when he was in a fix,

and drove down the price on Summerleigh.

He died with nothing to his name.

- But it's not yours anymore, Jonathan.

- I want to get money to marry you, Hes.

What?

- Well, that's why I put up with

that insufferable woman for so long.

She was my most lucrative patient, Hes.

I don't want money.

I want you. Don't you know that?

Oh, you must take all that stuff back,

or that detective will be onto you.

[ Sighs ]

I thought that place was abandoned.

It is.

So why is there a light on?

- He found you through one of your paintings,

didn't he, Hazel?

Who?

- Your husband, Eddie Seward.

I imagine he'd looked for you for two years,

knowing he'd driven you away, maybe to suicide,

sinking deeper into his tunnel of alcohol and guilt.

And then, quite by chance, he recognized one of your paintings

at Fettiplace, the art dealers in London.

Lot 172.

And even though you changed your name,

he recognized it was your hand.

Hello?

Anyone there?

Hello?

♪♪

♪♪

Zarida.

There's no one here.

♪♪

Jonathan.

Call the police, Hazel.

If your husband found you here,

it's only a matter of time before they do.

They'll understand, Penelope.

♪♪

[ Sighs ]

♪♪

[ Screams ]

But who was it?

- The former nurse, Susan Carstairs.

Pritchard's mistress?

- And six months' pregnant,

with George Pritchard's tie tight around her neck.

She'd been installed in the millhouse by George

after he made her leave Summerleigh.

Detective Somerset found evidence

that she had dressed up as Zarida.

He found Mary's missing jewelry on her fingers,

and he also found George's fingerprints all over the place.

Suddenly, he had three suspicious deaths

and one missing-persons inquiry on his hands,

all somehow tangled around George Pritchard.

But how? And why?

- I want you to keep everything you've seen to yourself.

Can I rely on you both?

- Detective Somerset decided not to release news

of Susan Carstairs' death,

but to have George watched while he interviewed Hazel,

who had just rung the police station

and admitted she was Penelope Seward --

news that was already 'round the village.

♪♪

- Philippa. Philippa?

What?

- I suppose you've heard about Hazel.

Oh. Yes, yes.

Caroline and I were just talking about it.

- Caroline. - Hello.

Hello, Miss Marple.

- We think she must have had some kind of...thing over my sister.

- Or Mrs. Pritchard recognized her as Penelope Seward.

She recognized her, yes.

We think she must have...

killed my sister, somehow.

I don't think so.

I don't think Hazel's a murderer.

- Then who's been doing this, Miss Marple?!

Who else could have killed these people?!

- And on this Sunday morning,

we remember in our prayers...

Mary Pritchard...

a member of our community who died yesterday.

I...

Forgive me for saying this.

God teaches us that life is valuable.

It's not to be wasted.

God, when He judges Mary's life,

I fear will judge it to be wasted.

God asks us to live our lives in service to Him,

not dabbling in fancies and superstitions.

I-I'm sorry to say this, Mr. Pritchard,

but God teaches us to live our lives

so that we can try to be good to one another.

- Reverend Milewater. - Philippa, sit down.

- Human beings should not be mean and poisonous.

- I think she was murdered.

[ Crowd murmuring ]

- Philippa, we should leave.

- No, George. She was murdered by that woman.

- I know she was. - Let's leave.

- I saw her --

early yesterday morning, coming back from Summerleigh.

- Why would Hazel want to murder Mary?

- Because you were having an affair with her, George.

Did you think I wouldn't notice that?

Did you think I wouldn't see?

♪♪

And she murdered her husband, too...

...because the day he died, she was late at the golf club.

- Sorry. Sorry I'm late.

- Where had she been if she hadn't been killing him

so she could be with you?

Where had she been?!

- I did see my husband that morning.

He asked me to accept him back.

- Where did this take place?

Well, here.

He just turned up, and said he'd changed.

And that he loved me.

And that he'd always loved me.

But I told him I would never go back to him.

Never go back to him.

Are you in on it, too, George?

Because you're free to marry her, now, aren't you?

Was that always your plan --

to let this -- this wasp to come and live in this happy place,

and then let her sting?!

Shut up, Philippa,

before you say something you'll really regret.

- Did Pritchard follow your husband?

- No. - How do you know?

Were you with him the whole time?

- I know because George told me he didn't,

and I have faith in him.

- Even though you didn't know he was having an affair

with Susan Carstairs.

I have faith in him.

The pregnant Susan Carstairs,

who was found strangled yesterday evening

with one of George Pritchard's ties.

- Don't you talk to her like that.

- Is that the truth, Pritchard?

- Why? What are you gonna do? Write a book?

Because if you do, it will take you 20 years.

What page are you on of your current magnum opus?

Every talent that you've had, every break,

you've wasted it or gambled it away.

Oh, look, I see your friends are here.

- Well, at least I had the good sense

to marry the decent sister, George.

- What did you say? - You heard me!

That's enough, Lewis.

- You spent your entire life leeching off me!

I've lent you money. I've supported you.

And you've resented it all!

All of it!

I'm -- I'm so sorry.

Everyone, I'm...

...I'm sorry.

Hey, George.

Was that the real you?

Eh?

Here.

Take it.

Take it. Take it all.

Pay off your debts.

♪♪

[ Sighs ]

I have to speak to the police.

- You're in no state to speak to anyone, Dermot.

- It's just something that I ate.

But Philippa -- She's got it all wrong.

What?

- The morning Mary was found dead,

Hazel was not on her way back from Summerleigh.

She was coming to see me.

Hazel is a devout woman.

She takes the vows of marriage very seriously.

She was conflicted about her marriage and George's.

- You knew about her and George?

- Well, she used me as a...

a confessor.

I was bound to silence.

Though, that morning, she was very distressed,

having heard of George's affair with Nurse Carstairs.

She didn't know whether she could trust him anymore.

She loved him so much, and he had saved her.

Oh.

So much sin, Jane.

And in such a small place as this.

♪♪

Where are you going?

To find you.

Are you lying again?

♪♪

Before the police arrive,

I need to hear the truth from you, George.

- You painted the wallpaper. You designed it.

You -- You did some sort of trick.

- Did you kill Mary and Eddie?

- You just had to be a bit more patient, that's all.

I would have come to you. I would have taken care of you.

I promised I would.

I'd have found the strength to leave Mary.

- Did you kill Susan Carstairs?

- What? - They know she was Zarida.

Just tell the truth.

♪♪

Darling, let's leave.

Let's go. Let's go.

- Don't hurt me, George. - Come on.

Come on. Come on!

- Don't put your hand on me.

George!

- He made a full confession, didn't he?

- Yes. That he'd killed all three --

Eddie, Mary, and Susan Carstairs herself,

the blackmailer who was trying to ruin him

unless he made her his wife.

But you weren't convinced.

- On the surface, of course, his confession had to be true.

The only reason for it to be false was if he were...

- Protecting Hazel. - Yes.

He was taking the fall, as they say in American books,

for the one woman he really loved.

George Arthur Pritchard,

you are charged with the willful murders

of Edward St. John Hillier Seward, Mary....

- But suddenly, this morning, I knew I'd been wrong,

and that I had to stop the hearing, because, Henry,

the truth of these murders is quite extraordinary.

Do you plead "guilty" or "not guilty"?

Guilty.

Yes, yes.

Please inform Mr. Justice Carmichael

that some new evidence has just come to light

which has a strong bearing on the case he's hearing.

- Mrs. Challinor's knitting box?

That's right, my lord.

Sir Henry understood the allusion.

Did he?

- And the strand of wool that seemed most knotted to me,

that was the key to untangling all the half-knitted jumpers

of Mrs. Challinor's grandchildren...

- Just pull your strand, Miss Marple.

We're waiting.

- ...was, if you were planning to kill someone, my lord,

would you trust to scaring them to death?

Wouldn't you be better making a more secure plan than that,

like poisoning them?

Are you suggesting that Mary Pritchard was poisoned

rather than scared to death?

Undoubtedly.

By her husband?

No. No.

George Pritchard has admitted to these crimes

because he thinks he's protecting the woman he loves.

Of all the seven deadly sins, my lord,

George Pritchard is, I think, Vanity --

the sin from which so many others arise.

It's led him into foolish relationships with other women,

and led, I think, to the gluttony of his wife,

who, faced with a philandering husband, took to her bed

in order to maintain some sort of hold over him.

- No one took me seriously, and it's about time you all started.

And it also led to the dreadful wrath of the woman

he spurned all those years ago

to go off with her prettier sister.

When Reverend Milewater became ill,

he said, "It was just something I ate."

And he was right, wasn't he, Philippa?

He'd eaten something you'd prepared for Mary.

Now, that looks good.

- Oh, it is -- and it's not for you.

It's to cheer Mary up.

- You'd been poisoning her for years, hadn't you?

Sick.

Day after day, dish after dish.

Making life hell for the sister who ruined your dream

of marrying the handsome young pilot

you loved more than anyone else in the world.

- I didn't kill Mary, George.

I just wanted to punish her.

- But someone had worked out what you were doing,

hadn't they, Philippa?

And when Mary died, they scared you

into thinking you were responsible.

Yes.

Into making desperate accusations

against George and Hazel

to deflect attention away from you.

Are you in on it, too, George?

Because you're free to marry her now, aren't you?

Was that always your plan?

- She told me they would hang me for what I'd done.

- And she scared you into getting rid of

all the poison you'd used.

Didn't you, Caroline?

- Caroline and I were just talking about it.

Caroline.

- My lord, do you know how a wasp trap is made?

I do.

Well, it struck me today

how much cyanide of potassium crystals

resemble smelling salts.

What do you mean?

I suggest, my lord,

that Caroline Copling made Mary desperately anxious

through her performance as Zarida the fortune-teller.

[ Breathing heavily ]

♪♪

And on the night of Mary's death,

Caroline had swapped the smelling salts

for cyanide crystals,

because it was the cyanide that killed Mary Pritchard.

On discovery of Mary's body,

Caroline Copling would have had to have acted quickly

in the few moments she had in the room alone.

Using the smelling salts, she turned the geranium blue.

She then returned them,

and removed the cyanide crystals.

- But how did the flowers turn blue?

- Well, my lord, smelling salts are alkaline,

and I think a nurse with a bedridden patient

uses litmus paper, don't they?

For those little tests they do

where blue paper turns red with acid,

and vice versa with alkalines.

[ Chuckles ]

How ingenious, then,

to paste red litmus paper over a red flower --

near to the bed, of course,

where she knew Mary would use her salts,

and the strong ammonia would turn the flower blue.

And then remove the litmus paper afterwards...

...knowing it wouldn't bear close scrutiny.

Why?

Why would I want to kill Mary Pritchard?

- Because I think you knew the Pritchards from before,

didn't you, when you were in the Air Force.

- I learnt my trade during the war, you know,

when we all had to do our bit.

I served over at Duxford.

- And seeing that George was now a millionaire,

you thought you'd change your appearance and name,

and come and see how you could get a piece of it.

This is nonsense.

Sit down, miss.

Thank you, Henry.

I thought it was odd

the way Philippa used the word "wasp" in church.

- Was that always your plan?

To get this -- this wasp to come and live in this happy place,

and then let her sting?!

Shut up, Philippa!

Such an odd term to use

when she'd used it just one day previously to describe the girl

in the Air Force who was in the black market.

- We used to call her "the Wasp"

because you'd get stung if you went near her.

She had this obsession with money.

- And that wasp was you, wasn't it, Caroline?

How easy it must have been

for you to enlist the greedy Susan Carstairs

into your scheme to scare Mary,

then make it look as though she was Zarida

before disposing of her when she was no longer needed.

[ Screams ]

♪♪

To further incriminate George Pritchard

in this string of deaths.

She wanted money.

She said, with Mary dead and George hanged,

Lewis and I would inherit the lot.

And she wanted half of it.

Otherwise, she'd tell the police I'd poisoned her.

That is a complete lie.

You cannot deny it!

You said you'd worked hard, and had nothing.

You deserved it.

You deserved the money.

- Because you are Envy, aren't you, Caroline?

You saw George Pritchard's wealth,

and you wanted it for yourself, whatever the cost.

[ Gasps ]

- Caroline Copling, you are being arrested

for the murder of Mary Pritchard...

- No! - ...and Susan Carstairs.

No! No! No!

- Anything you say will be taken down,

and used as evidence against you.

No! No! No!

No! No!

- And the murder of Eddie Seward?

- No, Inspector, that was always suicide.

[ Sighs ]

The sad end of another love that curdled into bitterness.

♪♪

Thank you.

- Well, Jane, I must come and visit you next time.

Visit the wasp traps.

- It would be lovely to see you.

- Are you all right, Miss Marple?

- Yes, yes. It's just been quite a day.

- Well, as you said to me once, Jane,

nothing's settled until it's settled right.

No.

No, it isn't.

Well...

♪♪

- ...goodbye, Jane. - Goodbye.

♪♪

[ Sighs ]

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