Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced (1985): Season 1, Episode 3 - Part 3 - full transcript

- Oh, may I go into the house sargeant?
- Of course, you're beyond suspicion, Miss Marple.

Nobody is beyond suspicion.

- Good morning.
- Forgive my disturbing, Miss Blacklock.

But the vicar had a dying parishioner
and Mrs Harmon had to rush a child to hospital

so they asked me to deliver that to you.

- Thank you, Miss Marple. Do sit down.
- Thank you.

It contains the funeral arrangements, I believe.

Yes, of course.

If there're any messages.

The vicar is a very understanding man.
No fatuous consolation...

Please tell him the arrangements
will do very well.



Bunny's favourite hymn was
'Lead Kindly Light.'

I realise I am merely a stranger,
but I am so very very sorry.

I just realized what I lost!

Bunny was my only link with the past.

The only one who remembered.

I know.

One is quite alone when the last
one who remembers is gone.

I have very kind nephews and nieces and friends,

but noone who remembers the old days.

You're a very understanding
woman, Miss Marple, and I thank you for it.

I must write a few lines for the vicar.

- The police.
- Thank you, Hannah.

Good morning, Miss Blacklock.
Miss Marple.

Miss Marple dropped in with
a note from the vicar.



But, I am on my way
quite quickly now,

unless there is any question
you'd like to ask me.

- Were you at the tea party yesterday afternoon?
- No, no I was not.

Then there is nothing you can tell me.

She really did come with a note from the vicar.

And I really do recognise a
nosy parker when I see one.

I won't waste time offering
sympathy, Miss Blacklock.

I hope you'll take that for granted,
I feel very sorry about Miss Bunner's death.

- We should've prevented it.
- I don't see what you could've done.

There were lethal tablets in
a bottle at your bedside,

and we'd been guarding the house for days.

You could hardly have searched
everyone who came to the house..

I suppose not.

At any rate, whoever it is has tried to shoot
and has tried to poison you, so who is it?

I haven't the faintest idea, inspector.

Let me off with some suggestions.

I went to Scotland and talked to
Belle Goedler.

The only people who can benefit
by your death are Pip and Emma.

I thought Patrick an
Julia were likely contenders,

but we've checked their background...
- You've what?

That's my job, Miss Blacklock.

Oh, yes of course.
I'm sorry.

And it is clear that Patrick and Julia
Simmons are exactly who they claim to be.

So, I then thought about their mother,
Sonia Stamfordis, Goedler's sister.

Tell me, would you recognise
her if you saw her?

Yes, I suppose I would...

It's thirty years since I saw her.

She must be an elderly
woman by now.

How do you remember her?

She was small, dark...

a very lively young woman.

She'd be gray and weary by
now, like the rest of us.

Well, there's no shortage of elderly
ladies in Chipping Cleghorn.

You are suggesting that Sonia is living somewhere
in this village under an assumed name.

I have to examine the possibillity.

I can think of three women
who match in terms of age,

Mrs. Swettenham, Miss Murgatroyd
and Miss Hinchcliffe.

...All three were here yesterday,

as they were
on the night of the shooting.

The whole idea is ludicrous, Inspector.

Help me to prove it, Miss Blacklock.

Do you have a photograph of Sonia?

Only very old photographs.

They're in an album
in the attic somewhere, I think.

May I see them?

Julia's in the house somewhere.
Ask her to show you.

Thank you.

It's terribly dusty, I'm afraid,
and full of junk.

At the moment, I have a brain like that.

JULIA: We keep meaning
to clear it out.

So do I, Miss Simmons. So do I.

I'm sure the photograph album's in here.

Patrick found it when we first arrived.

We wallowed in nostalgia
and laughed at the silly hats.

God, look at all this.

Aunt Letty just won't throw
anything away.

Are you familiar
with your family history?

I suppose so.

Most of it's pretty boring,
but if I can be of any assistance.

Were these photographs missing
when you looked at the album?

No.

Nothing was missing.

Sonia, self and R.G.

R.G., Randall Goedler.

Sonia and Belle on beach,

picnic at Skeyne,

Charlotte, self, Sonia, R.G.

May I?

All the pictures of Sonia have gone.

I suppose it's a sort of a clue,
isn't it?

Mmm.

Definitely a sort of clue.

Do you think your aunt would mind
if I looked around for more?

I'm sure you don't need a warrant to
protect someone from being murdered.

Bearing in mind
we've failed twice already.

Shall I leave you?

In case you wish to be indiscreet?

Thank you.

It's a breach of confidence,
Miss Marple,

but I'd like you to read these.

Oh, oh, very... Oh, thank you, yes.

I love breaches of confidence.
They're such fun.

I sometimes wish I'd married a priest.

Oh, my dear.

Except it's impossible, of course.

- And, er, have you read these?
- Yes.

What conclusions did you come to?

Miss Blacklock was devoted
to her sister.

Wrote to her two or three times a week,

and their father was a tyrant,
an old-fashioned Victorian doctor

who couldn't stand new ideas.

Probably killed hundreds
of his patients.

I think I rather prefer
old-fashioned doctors to young doctors.

They remove our teeth,
administer very peculiar glands,

take bits of our inside out and then
say they can do nothing for us.

Generally because there's very little
of the original us left.

No, I prefer old-fashioned medicine.

Big black bottles, you know,

of tonic, because you can always
pour them down the sink.

Oh, did you trace the revolver
that shot that young man?

It belonged to Colonel Easterbrook.

Yes. Mrs. Butt told me
the colonel has a revolver.

There's some confusion about
when it was taken.

Did Miss Blacklock's sister
die of consumption?

I believe so.

We know she was in a Swiss sanatorium.

Oh, really?

I mean, fancy using
the colonel's revolver.

Yes, but I don't think Colonel
Easterbrook is Sonia Goedler.

All we know about Sonia
is that she was small and dark,

with something of a temper,
according to those letters.

Oh, yes, oh, these are fascinating,
even if they are a breach of confidence.

I'll leave those with you till
tomorrow, if that's all right?

Oh, thank you. If you would, yes.

I think we're destined for
several hours of fascinated silence.

No, my dear,
I shall prattle on non-stop.

Oh, by the way, is
Miss Blacklock short-sighted?

Yes, but too proud to wear spectacles.

When she comes to church
she sings the hymns she knows by heart

and la-la's her way through the others.

Really?

- I'll see you to the door, Inspector.

- Do be careful, Delilah!
- Delilah?

Yes my husband christened her that.

I'm very much afraid her
moral standards are similar.

Oh, Aunt Jane, I'm sure you
can't see properly.

Well, I do seem
a little cluttered don't I?

Let's get you properly organized.

Well, shouldn't there be
a switch up here.

It's on the flex. Oh, Delilah!

You silly cat!

Oh, oh, my dear, oh, what have I done?

Oh, it's all right Aunt Jane.
It's not your fault,

it's Delilah's. Oh.

Probably fused all the lights in here
now thanks to her. What a nuisance!

No, it isn't a nuisance.

- It's wonderful!
- Oh, look!

You can see, where she's been
chewing at the flex.

That's why it fused.

With the assistance of a shepherdess...

What are you talking about?

Murder, my dear.

And I won't have a word said
against that remarkable cat.

I think you told me, Mrs. Haymes,

your husband was killed,
fighting in Italy.

That's right.

It isn't true. He was a deserter.

I know.

You should have told me.

Do you have to rake up
the dirt about everybody?

Yes, I do, and it's amazing how
many people are able to provide it, too.

I don't want my son to know.

I don't tell him lies about his father.

I just don't talk about him at all.

Silence isn't quite the same
as telling lies.

You were seen speaking to a man
in the summerhouse

the week of the shooting.
Was it your husband?

- I didn't talk to anybody.
- Did he come to you for money?

I haven't seen my husband for years.

You're sure about that?

Silence can be exactly the same
as telling lies, Mrs. Haymes.

RYDESDALE: Yes. Is this intended
to clarify the problem?

Yes. Three people can benefit
from Miss Blacklock's death,

Sonia Stamfordis,

- or her children, Pip and Emma.
- Mmm-hmm.

These are the people who match
in terms of age and sex.

Mrs. Swettenham, Miss Hinchcliffe
and Miss Murgatroyd

for the older generation.

Patrick Simmons, Julia Simmons,
Phillipa Haymes, Edmund Swettenham,

Mrs. Harmon...

At least you've had the decency
to put a query beside the vicar's wife.

Yes, she's strictly on the older side.
Plus the Easterbrooks.

- The Colonel had a pistol.
- Had?

It went missing the week of the murder.

Why didn't he report it?

- Didn't notice at the time.
- Ah.

His wife swears it disappeared
after the murder.

My honest opinion is she's
lying to protect her husband.

Needlessly, because I think
he's a nincompoop.

Would you like my honest opinion?

I need all the help
you can give me, sir.

A murder was committed in the
presence of a group of people.

By logical deduction you have
proved that the likely murderer

was a member of that group.

- Well, I think we already knew that.

Come in.

Er, sir, I thought you should see this.

- I knew she was lying.
- Who?

10 days ago a chap got knocked down
and killed by a lorry in Milchester,

no papers on him,
nobody reported him missing,

he's just been identified
as Ronald Haymes.

Ex-captain in the South Loamshire.

Phillipa Haymes' husband.

It seems like it.

He had some money on him,
and a Chipping Cleghorn bus ticket.

Oh, what date was the accident?

It was the day before the murder, sir.

I took note of that.

And with respect sir, I think we
should take note of how he died.

What do you mean by that?

He ran into the road to push a little
kiddie out of the way of the lorry, sir.

- I see.
- I mean, a good death.

Uh, as death goes, sir.

Yes, we've taken note, Sergeant.

Phillipa. I just heard about... Well...

Just say the name.
He can't hurt anybody.

Your husband. I...

- Do we have to go through it again?
- Yes.

Because whoever bumped off Rudi Scherz

did the same to poor old Dora Bunner
and I take exception to that.

Well, of course.

It could be any one of us next,
and I'd take exception to that as well.

Now then,

everybody who was at the shooting party
was also at the birthday tea,

except for Mrs. Harmon,
so that lets her out.

Well, I should think so, too.

And I think it's a man doing this,

because we all know
what dirty dogs men are.

Well, anybody could have
put the tablets in the aspirin bottle

the day of Dora's party.

Anybody? How?

We all went to the loo, didn't we?

All that tea and sherry
they poured down us,

you'd have had to be
superhuman not to go.

So, back to the first murder.

Now, that little Swiss idiot
comes in here, stands here,

- waves his torch around.
- And the revolver.

No. Not the revolver.
Somebody else had the revolver.

Now, I'm the Swiss idiot.

Where were you?

- I can't remember.
- Of course, you can remember!

I was behind the door.

When it opened, it knocked my toe,
and hurt my corn.

When are you going to go to
a proper chiropodist?

You'll give yourself blood poisoning
the way you poke around at your feet.

Now come and stand behind the door.

Mind your toe.

Now, I'm leaning against the mantelpiece
with my tongue hanging out

waiting for a drink.
Whoever does the shooting

has to slip out into the hallway
through the other door.

There isn't another door.

Not here there isn't,
but at Little Paddocks there is.

Now, think. Who could you see?

More important, Amy Murgatroyd,
who wasn't there?

You're standing behind the torch,

you see a series of faces.

I remember Mrs. Harmon sitting
on the arm of the chair

and Dora Bunner with her mouth open.

And...

That's extraordinary.

...Damn and blast!

Hello, Hinchcliffe.
Make sure you don't forget.

- Hello.
- Hello.

- Hello, Miss Hinchcliffe.
- Speaking.

- Your dog's arrived.
- What?

He came on the milk train
earlier this morning...

- Do you realize what time it is, now?
- It's about 5:15.

Oh, never mind.

I might have guessed it would be
somebody else's fault.

The dog's arrived.

Came on the milk train,

damn fools didn't think we'd be up yet.

Can't stand people doing
my thinking for me.

Damn fools.

But don't you want to know
what it is I've remembered?

We'll carry on when I get back.
Don't forget!

Don't you realize, she wasn't there!

Don't forget.

She wasn't there!

♫ Got no diamonds, got no pearls

♫ Still I think
I'm a lucky girl

♫ Got the sun in the morning
and the moon at night

Oh, do go in, you'll get wet.
I'll only be two minutes.

♫ Sunshine, give me a sunny day

♫ Give me the milky way

♫ Oh, with the sun in the morning
and the moon at night

♫ I'm all right ♫

Miss Marple!

- Oh.
- Hop in, Miss Marple. You'll get wet.

- Oh, thank you.
- All right?

- Can you manage?
- Yeah.

I'll do that.

- Come and have a cup of coffee.
- Oh.

We'll ring the vicarage
and tell them you're on the town.

Don't mind the dog, will you?
Setters, mad as hatters.

100% heart, 1 % brain.

Murgatroyd! We've got a visitor.

Come on, Miss Marple,
a nice hot steaming cup of coffee.

Better let the dog out.

If Murgatroyd hasn't got the kettle on,
there'll be trouble.

Come on, cutie.

Murgatroyd!

That's her name, Cutie.

Have you ever heard
anything more feeble and wet?

Murgatroyd!

She hasn't finished bringing
the washing in.

Better go and see what that dog's up to.

Must have taken leave of her senses,
such as they are.

Murgatroyd! Come on! Come on! Get...

I'll kill whoever did this.

When I get my hands on her.

We must call the police.

Why did you say "her"?

We'd been playing a silly game,

trying to find out
who shot that Swiss boy.

My idea.

My fault.

No. Just tell me what happened.

I was trying to work out
by a process of elimination

who could have slipped out
into the hall that night.

Murgatroyd could see better
than anyone what was going on.

I see.

And as I was going to fetch
the dog, she got all excited

and started shouting out,

"She wasn't there."

- "She wasn't there"?
- That's right.

She wasn't there.

So, you see,
I must find out who "she" is.

Whoever it is will pay the price.

I hope Hannah's prepared an epic feast.

- I've worked quite hard today.
- You surprise me.

Skipped three lectures.
Most days I only skip two.

Julia!

Is something wrong?

This letter.

It's from Julia Simmons.

I thought you were Julia Simmons.

Oh, God.

Caught in the act.

Well, not quite in the act.

What are you talking about?

PATRICK: Well, the fact of
the matter is, Aunt Letty,

it seemed like a bit of a lark.

Just a minute,
you called me "Aunt."

Does that mean you really are
Patrick Simmons?

Oh yes, I really am Patrick.
It's onlyJulia who...

Who isn't Julia.

And whom exactly are you?

I was christened
Emma Jocelyn Stamfordis.

I'm Sonia's daughter, Emma.

- Emma?
- Yes.

But how did you two come together?

At a big party in London,
soon after I was demobbed.

And what is the realJulia
doing in Perth?

PATRICK: She wants to be an actress.

She's been working with a rep company.

We knew mother would have seven fits
so we planned this lark.

She'd go up to Scotland
and get on with her acting.

And I'd come here, pretend to be Julia,
and keep peace in the camp.

Also,

we wanted to be together.

Oh, I see. You two are...

Madly in love.
I think that's the phrase.

Yes, I'm told that can happen.

And was part of this lark the idea
that you might share

- in the Goedler inheritance?
- Yes.

That's not quite what was in
mind, Aunt Letty.

What exactly was in your mind,
Miss Stamfordis?

My parents split up
three years after they were married.

They split us up, too.

- You and Pip?
- Yes.

Pip went with my mother.
I went with my father.

He was a villain, of course,
a thoroughly bad father,

but charming.

Then the war came, and I lost him too.

I worked with the French Resistance,

came to England when
the world had calmed down a little.

Alone and penniless, but knowing there
was money somewhere in the family.

Then I met Patrick,
a marvelous stroke of luck.

He said he was coming here

and I thought you might take pity
on a poor orphan girl

once you knew the full story.

Pity?

A small allowance, nothing excessive.

Why didn't you just tell the truth?

EMMA: Well, we were working up to it,
then suddenly people started

firing revolvers and there were
aspirin tablets causing instant death.

I thought my best plan was
to keep quiet for a while.

We calculated the Inspector
would be bound to suspect

somebody who'd been telling lies.

Yes, I suppose that is reasonable.

But if you are Emma, where is Pip?

I truly have no idea.

We were separated
when we were three years old.

I haven't seen Pip or my mother
for over 20 years.

Is that the whole truth?

The whole truth is,

I came here hoping for a small allowance
from my family's money.

I didn't come here to commit murder,
so that I could inherit the lot.

Yes, I...

I suppose I have no
alternative, but to believe that.

Just a moment, you said you were
in the French Resistance?

Yes.

- You learned to shoot?
- I can shoot.

- In which case...
- If I had shot at you that night,

Letitia Blacklock,
I wouldn't have missed.

Inspector Craddock would like
to speak to all of you.

- Thank you, Hannah.
- All of us?

- Yes.
- But we've only just come in,

- we haven't had time to...
- Miss Amy Murgatroyd

was murdered earlier today.

To be precise, she was strangled
in her garden, just before noon.

I want a precise
account of everybody's movements.

Whoever's doing these
things, Inspector, must be mad,

quite mad.

It doesn't necessarily follow.

Ah, my pearls!

My pearls!

I've never seen her so upset.

- Good day, Miss Marple.
- Good day, Sergeant.

- How is Miss Hinchcliffe?
- Very shocked, I'm afraid.

She seems to have aged 10 years.

We must do something, Sergeant.

- Missing?
- Yes.

- How long has she been missing?
- Oh, about two hours.

She went along the road
to speak to Sergeant Fletcher.

- That's what, about five minutes away?
- Ten at the most.

It doesn't help because
I've lost Fletcher as well.

She suddenly became very
excited about pearls.

- Pearls?
- Yes.

Well, she'd been making
this list in her notebook.

Lamp, violets, aspirins, Bern,

Letty, old age pension, pearls.

Does Miss Blacklock
always wear those pearls?

Yes. We laugh about it sometimes.

I'm very concerned about Miss Marple.
The minute you hear anything,

- you must telephone the station.
- Yes, of course.

Inspector Craddock!

Fletcher, what the hell
are you playing at?

- So you see it's been quite a day.
- So I see.

- But only the one murder.
- Oh, Julia!

PHILLIPA: I understood she wasn't Julia.

Well, I still think of her
as Julia.

Well.

And then, on top of everything else,
that nice Miss Marple has disappeared.

- Perhaps she's on the run.
- On the run?

If she murdered Miss Murgatroyd.

Phillipa!

Can't you
stop talking about murder?

Don't you understand,
I'm frightened. God!

Don't worry, Aunt Letty,
I'll look after you.

Mind you, I could do it better
on a full stomach.

I am hungry, Hannah.

I am frightened.

- Are we having supper tonight?
- You can make it yourselves.

I do nothing more in this house.

If they kill Miss Murgatroyd,
they can kill anyone.

I am going to lock myself
in my room until tomorrow

and then I leave this house for ever.

Good night, Miss Blacklock.

I'll see to dinner.
Might be less embarrassing all round.

Don't be silly, darling.

Nobody wants to sit at table
with an imposter.

Oh, Patrick, if you're acting as
protector, you better taste the food.

I don't want to be accused
of poisoning the omelets.

- Omelets all right for everybody?
- Fine by me.

It's all I can cook anyway,
but I'm outstandingly good.

Do you need any help?

No.

There's something I want to say to you.

Save it! I've had enough drama
for one day.

If you've fallen madly in love
with Edmund Swettenham,

- that is strictly your business.
- It isn't that.

Look, why don't you
make yourself useful.

Go and lay the table in the dining
room or something.

Which is a polite way of saying
"leave me alone."

When I shoot, I shoot to kill.

I'm on your side, Emma. That's all.

- That was excellent.
- Thank you.

Have you eaten anything?

I had mine below stairs,
thank you kindly, Mrs. Haymes.

I'll answer it.

Hello.

Every time the phone rings, I assume
somebody else had been bumped off.

Let's count our blessings.
At least it was none of us three.

You're being amazingly cheerful
all of a sudden, Phillipa,

considering we're surrounded
by death and deceit.

Thank you, Inspector.

Oh, do you think we might have
coffee in the drawing room?

We're expecting company.

Not another announcement
in the newspaper?

Inspector Craddock
has invited himself over.

Well, he hasn't been to see us
for at least 20 minutes.

And he's bringing
the Easterbrooks and the Swettenhams.

- How terribly thrilling.
- Coffee in the drawing room?

- Very well, ma'am.

I don't have to explain why we're here.

Today, Miss Amy Murgatroyd
was murdered, very brutally.

And there's every reason to believe she
was murdered by somebody in this room.

More than that, we believe
the murderer was a woman.

Good God!

I'm going to ask
the ladies present to tell me

what they were doing today between
the hours of 11:00 and noon.

Starting with the young lady who has
been calling herselfJulia Simmons.

- Calling herself?
- Hush, mother.

Between 11 and 12, I was
in Milchester, meeting Patrick

for a secret walk along the river bank.

We have no witnesses.

We could easily have driven in a fast
car to Miss Murgatroyd's cottage,

but we didn't.

I throw myself
on the mercy of the court.

Mrs. Swettenham.

Me?

What were you doing
at the time in question?

Well, either turning the heel of a sock

or cleaning out the gutter,

depending what time the rain started.

CRADDOCK: It started to rain
at 10 past 11.

Ah, well, that means

that I was turning
the heel of a sock until ten past.

Then the rain started and pours
into our passage by the cloakroom

where the gutter's stopped up.

So, I put on my coat and gumboots

and I cleaned out the gutter
with a broom handle.

Do you have witnesses to
the sock-turning or gutter-cleaning?

No.

I called to Edmund but he didn't answer

so I assumed he was at
an important place in his novel.

And were you?

No, I was asleep.

Do you need a witness to that?

I don't think so.

Mrs. Easterbrook?

Oh.

I was in the study with Archie.
We were listening to the wireless.

Can you confirm that, Colonel?

- Er, no.
- No?

We were listening to
the wireless at 11:00.

Are we not talking about 11:00?

We are talking about
between 11:00 and 12.

- Precisely.
- And bear in mind

that you withheld vital information
about a revolver,

so may I have some accuracy
on this occasion?

I was in the study with Archie,
listening to the wireless

and then I toasted some scones,

and in between I went for a little walk.

- Alone?
- I was talking

to Lampson, a farmer from Croft End,
about some chicken netting.

While your wife
took a little walk?

Why don't you ask the others
what they were doing?

That Haymes woman.
And Edmund Swettenham.

He writes books about murder
and he's a communist!

He's always saying that...

I've made it quite clear that we are
looking for a woman, Mrs. Easterbrook.

Before she died,

Miss Murgatroyd made a vital statement
about the killing of Rudi Scherz.

As you will all remember,

Miss Murgatroyd was standing
where I am standing now

when the unfortunate young
man entered through this door.

But it was dark.
Nobody could see anything.

Miss Murgatroyd
was standing here,

so she could see where
the torch was shining.

Only she could see who wasn't in
the room at the time of the shooting.

She saw everything.

I, too, saw everything!

That's impossible.

You weren't even in the room.

No. I am not in the room.

I am just a serving maid
and a foreigner.

I am not fine enough to be in the room

with the proper English ladies
and gentlemen.

You do not even ask me into the room
to answer your questions,

and I know the answers,
because I saw what happened.

Tell us what you saw.

The night of the shooting,

I am in the dining room
cleaning the silver

when I hear the shots.

I look through the keyhole
and I see her with the gun in her hand.

I see Miss Blacklock.

Me?

You must be mad!

But that's quite impossible,
if you think about it, Inspector.

Of course it's impossible.
Because it was you, wasn't it?

Thank you, my dear. Perhaps you
could return to your kitchen now.

HANNAH: Always the kitchen.

You took the colonel's revolver.

You organized the advertisement
in the newspaper with Scherz.

We all know you have
a vivid imagination.

The whole idea is monstrous!

The lights went out, you slipped
through that door into the hallway,

shot at Miss Blacklock,
then killed Rudi Scherz.

EDMUND: And why would I do such a thing?

What possible motive could I have?

I hope you have an explanation
for all this, Edmund.

If Miss Blacklock dies,
two people inherit.

The two we know as Pip and Emma.

Julia Simmons is Emma, that we know.

- And...
- And you think that I'm Pip?

I'm Edmund Swettenham,
and I can prove it.

Birth certificate, schools,
university, everything.

PHILLIPA: He isn't Pip.

- I can prove it, too, Inspector.
- You?

I'm Pip.

Good God, Phillipa Haymes.

Everybody assumed that Pip was a boy,

but we were both girls.

We hadn't seen each other
since our parents separated.

I had the same idea as Julia.

I knew there was money in the family.

I found out where Miss Blacklock
lived, took a job in the area.

I just wanted a little money
to help with my son's education.

Murdering people
wasn't part of the plan,

and when the killing started...

Well, then the letter arrived today

and truly that was the first moment
we both realized...

Who we were.

EMMA: We're getting along famously.

Inspector, will you excuse me please?

Just two minutes.

I wouldn't try to kill Miss Blacklock,
she's been too kind to me

and neither would Edmund,
because he isn't Pip.

- But he is in love with you, isn't he?
- Well...

- Has he or has he not proposed to you?
- Of course, I have!

She's wonderful
and I'm going to marry her.

Edmund, you never tell me anything!

You couldn't possibly have seen me!

It is impossible!

What the devil are you doing?
Truth and lies.

- Liar!
- Charlotte!

- What are you doing in my kitchen?

- Watching you, Miss Blacklock.
- Are you all right, my dear?

- Did I do it properly?
- You were splendid.

I must ask you to come along with me
to answer questions about this incident.

And there will be other charges.

I have to warn you, Letitia Blacklock.

Charlotte Blacklock, Sergeant.

I'm sorry. Charlotte Blacklock.

I'm sorry.

I want to kill you.

I want to kill you!

It's your story, Miss Marple.

Oh, I only just helped a little,
here and there.

Like stage managing Hannah's
performance tonight?

She couldn't have seen Miss Blacklock
through the keyhole

because the key was in the lock.

Yes, you did your best
to ruin the whole thing.

- I was accused of murder, too.
- Really?

I'm almost sorry I missed it.

Edmund was part of our stage management

and he performed magnificently.

What gave you the idea
in the first place

that Miss Blacklock was the murderer?

Oh, the way
the shooting was planned.

It had to take place in total darkness.

Therefore, there could be no fire.
Therefore, the central heating was on.

Everyone commented on it
and no one could arrange that,

except the mistress of the house.

The lights went out, Miss Blacklock
slipped out into the hall,

fired the shots, killed Scherz,
then slipped back into the room.

Then she nicked her ear with
a pair of nail scissors.

If you snip the lobe of the ear,
it releases quite a lot of blood.

And of course, Delilah helped, too.

- Delilah?
- Mmm. The cat.

Yes, if you fray the flex of an electric
lamp and then pour water on it,

the lights fuse.

You see, I didn't realize that
until Delilah demonstrated it to me.

Is that how Aunt...

How Miss Blacklock fused the lights?

Yes, she poured
water from the flowers

onto the frayed flex of the table lamp.

Poor Dora Bunner noticed that
the lamp had been changed.

No longer a shepherd, but a shepherdess.

Or the reverse, I'm afraid I can't
quite remember, but...

Yes, but why start all
the killing to begin with?

Because she
had a guilty secret.

It's a case of once upon a time.

Once upon a time,
there were two sisters,

Charlotte and Letitia Blacklock,

complete with a stupid, cruel
and old-fashioned father.

Letitia Blacklock was a very
successful professional woman,

personal secretary to Randall Goedler.

But Charlotte stayed at home.
She was disfigured.

She had a swelling in her neck.

You know,
a thyroid gland known as goiter.

An operation would have been possible,
but her father didn't believe in it.

But, er, however, just before
the war, her father died,

so she was able to go to Bern
and have an operation,

which was a success.

Except that the operation left
a scar around the neck,

hence the pearls.

Letitia left her job with Goedler
to look after Charlotte in Switzerland.

After the operation, they both
worked in the Red Cross during the war.

And then, quite unexpectedly,
Letitia died.

Charlotte knew that Letitia had
quite a large sum of money to inherit

and also that nobody had seen
her in England for many years.

So she changed identities.

She chose a very quiet,
out-of-the-way village

called Chipping Cleghorn

and waited there for Belle Goedler
to die, then she would be a rich woman.

But of course really, it was her
kindness of heart that let her down.

Dora Bunner wrote to her
out of the blue.

She'd been an old school friend
of both the sisters.

Charlotte was pleased to hear from her
and let her into the secret.

And Dora approved whole-heartedly.

It seemed only right to her in her
confused and muddle-headed mind

that dear Lotty should
not be done out of her inheritance

because of Letitia's untimely death.

So, Dora came to Little Paddocks,

and very soon Charlotte realized that
she'd made a terrible error of judgment.

Dora was unreliable.

She sometimes called her Lotty
instead of Letty.

And then Rudi Scherz turned up,
a much more serious threat.

Did he really know Miss Blacklock?

Yes. We checked.
He'd worked at the clinic in Bern.

I'm sure all he had in mind
was a little petty blackmail

but he was a threat to Miss Blacklock's
whole way of life.

She'd begun to believe in her fantasy,
you see, so she shot Rudi Scherz.

And then of course she found
that poor Dora was unreliable.

I'm afraid it was that conversation
with me in Blue Bird Cafe

that Charlotte partially overheard that
day that really sealed poor Dora's fate.

She tried to make her last day a happy
one by giving her a birthday party.

Really, it was like being kind to a dog
that you're going to destroy.

And Miss Murgatroyd?

Oh, no, she killed
Miss Murgatroyd out of fear.

Poor Aunt Letty.

Nice smile.

Stay where you are. Just one more.

- Miss Marple.
- Oh, Inspector.

- A handsome couple.
- Yes, indeed.

You're an honored guest, I assume?

Oh, well they were quite insistent,
and you?

Oh, no, no, I was just passing.

As a matter of fact,
I read about the wedding

in the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette.
- Of course.

How else would one know what
was going on in Chipping Cleghorn?