Gavin’s analysis masterfully deconstructs the psychological architecture of Christie’s misdirection, showing how the most obvious suspects hide behind the shield of their own confessions. It is a sophisticated tribute to the intellectual duel between the author’s craft and the reader’s deduction.
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Can I Solve ‘The Murder at the Vicarage’ by Agatha Christie Before It’s Too Late…? 🔍🕵🏻♂️Added:
Don't you wish Miss Marle was hot like me? Don't you wish Miss Marle was a freak like me? Don't you? Hi, welcome or welcome back to Gabin Reads It All and to another installment of Christy Crime and Wine. I am your host Sagatha Christie and today I will be attempting to solve the murder at the vicorage by Agatha Christie. This stunning little noll is going to be my next case and I think it's going to be a big one. I think it's going to be a really tricky one. Mainly because this is Miss Marple's first novel appearance. Now if you are new to my crazy crime and wine series, I have had a lot of personal runins with Miss Marple. We do not get on. We do not like one another. And it all began when I did my Sleeper Train from Glasgow to London in order to solve 450 from Paddington, which was my very first Miss Marble book. Now, this is a very sensitive topic, but Miss Marble did phone the real police on me. Yep, she took See It, See It Sorted a little bit too literally, and I've never forgiven her since. So, we've had longunning beef with each other. We have. So, who knows? Maybe Miss Marle might end up helping me with trying to solve the murder at the Vicorage or she might be a lazy cow like she always is.
and doesn't lift a finger. It makes me saggatha Christy do all the work. I wouldn't put it past her. All I really know about the murder at the vicorage is that it is Miss Marle's very first novel appear and she appeared in some short stories beforehand, but this is her first proper novel and it's about a much despised colonel found dead in a local vicar's study. And since the producers up the budget for season 2 of Christy Crime and Wine, we do have my stunning 80 by 120 whiteboard. And I did a little bit of arts and crafts yesterday. It literally took me hours to draw this.
Honestly, I put more time and energy into this than Miss Marble has ever done in a case. So, it will be very bittersweet when we do end up having to wipe this off so that we can start the mystery solving aspect of this video.
But to catch you up to speed, we do have a running leaderboard with me, Slagatha versus Agatha.
So far the score is nine to Slagatha and seven to Agatha. She is catching up.
She's catching up. And we do not want her to catch up, do we? No, we don't. In fact, actually, leave your comments down below. Who do you want to win? Slagatha or Agatha? And if you say Agatha, you're blocked. So, yeah. So far I have solved the mid Roger Akroyd, Death on the Nile, Higgle Porl's Christmas, The Body in the Library, Halloween Party, The Mysterious Affair Styles, Death Comes as the End, Death in the Clouds, and A Murder is Announced. Agatha, meanwhile, has tricked me and bamboozled me in And Then There Were None, 450 from Paddington, The ABC Murders, Crooked House, Five Little Pigs, Evil Under the Sun, and most recently, Cards on the Table. I do also have Murder on the Orient Express up there and that is because I watched the movie before reading the book. I know. So, I couldn't solve it because I already knew what happened. So, the stakes are high in this one. Agatha or Slagatha could get the point. It is all to win. Well, not really cuz I'm still in the lead, but like it's almost all to win in this episode. So, please do give this video a like if you enjoy.
Subscribe if you haven't already. And let's put my good detective skills, good, I mean great, my great detective skills to work.
Oh, this is So freaking messy already.
It is so messy. The people of St. Mary me, the chattiest, messiest group of people I've ever known. I've ever known. Oh my gosh. No wonder Miss Marble fits in there. I have only just finished the first three chapters. I've already been introduced to so many characters and so many of them have have something to say. They have something to say. I already have two suspects. like just because of how utterly utterly ridiculous and crazy these characters are. I am living though. I am living.
But I had to stop reading cuz I was like, how many more characters are you going to throw my way? So I Chrissy is just trying to she's trying to bamboozle me by giving me so many potential suspects. But she ain't getting one over on me. We are cracking a case today and tomorrow. Maybe the day after that as well. Depends on how long it takes me to read this. But it is time to tell you the cast of characters. We don't have a murder yet, but it's probably best to just write people down because otherwise I'm going to get mixed up. I'm going to get lost. Right, grab yourself a cup of tea or a coffee cuz you're going to need it for this. You're not going to believe what the people of St. Mary me have been up to and what they're talking about.
So, let's do characters. I'm just going to run through them. I probably won't give too much about the clues just yet. I feel like I might already have for this case, even though no one's dead yet, but you know. Um, but I just want to give you a rundown. Also, I apologize that the lighting is not the best. Right. Okay. Characters. I feel like the black pen is going to work for like this lighting. So, we're just going to go all black. So, Leonard Oen, I believe, is our main character. He's only ever been referred to as Leonard, but he's the vicer. And this is first person. This is in first person from his point of view. So, we do have let's call him Len. He lives with his wife Grisilda.
Gris Gris elder. Gris elder.
And also his nephew, his young nephew Dennis. And the first thing we know about the victim who's about to come up again. He hasn't died yet, but we know it's going to be in I'm going to put him in red. Colonel Prothero.
I feel like I'm about to give a university lecture on drama. That is honestly how Oh my god, I can't talk. I can't wait to talk about this. I also kind of want to mention Mary as well.
She is in service at the vicorage, but there hasn't really been too much said about her. She is currently serving Len some food at the beginning. That's all.
That's all. And there's already so much hatred, not just towards Colonel Pro, but also from Len to his wife.
Apparently, his wife is 20 years younger than him. But also he says she's incompetent in every way and extremely trying to live with.
Like the fact that he's just talking [ __ ] about his wife straight away. I mean like that's literally page two. In relation to the victim, even Len Len, our main character, says, "I had just finished carving some boiled beef and on resumeuming my seat, I remarked in a spirit most unbecoming to my cloth that anyone who murdered Colonel Prothero will be doing the world at large a service." That's on page one. So, he's already got something negative to say about the victim, and he ain't even the victim yet. Page one. And yet, he's talking [ __ ] about his wife as well. And oh my gosh, the other villagers of St. Mary me talking [ __ ] about everyone. I don't think a single person likes one another. And even Dennis, Dennis says about brother, pompous old brute. No wonder his first wife ran away from him.
That could come up later when I'm doing like a little bit of a victim profile. I might have to mention that just in case that comes up again. We also get mention of someone called hose. H A W E S not hose as in my other occupation as Sagatha Christ do. So Hose is our new curate. He's been with us for just over 3 weeks. So the fact that he's kind of new to the village, we could end up keeping an eye on him, but we don't know too much yet. So again, I'm just I'm just dropping names. I'm just welcoming you in to this really messy freaking village. We also have Mrs. Price Ridley.
Now, she could absolutely have a motive to kill Colonel Pro because she on the anniversary of her son's death, that could also come into play. Like, did Colonel Pro have a hand in it? We don't know. But apparently at the service, she put a pound note in the offeratory bag.
Later, however, when they're reading out the amount collected, the highest note that was given was apparently a 110 shilling note despite Mrs. Price Ridley putting in a pound note. So, is someone taking from the pot? Is someone stealing from this church? Page four, we've already got all of this on page four. I like Agatha Christie, can you calm down, please? And about Colonel Pro as well, there's a remark, both his wife and his daughter are fed to the teeth with him.
Do we suspect people from embezzling the church funds? Is this going to be something that comes up later? And you know what's interesting is that Griselda says about Len is that you're so transparently above suspicion that really it would be a marvelous opportunity if Len was embezzling from the church. So maybe this is something that we shouldn't overlook Len on. Len could be as just as much a suspect as anyone. If his wife is saying he's transparently above suspicion, that could be throwing us off. It would be a little bit too dangerously close to another A of the Christy book that I've read, which I won't mention which one it is cuz I don't want to spoil that one.
So, unless that one was reheating, you know, Miss Marble's first case nachos, then I I don't think that's the case.
So, at 4:30 there is tea and scandal.
And you know what? I kind of love that.
Let's have our own tea and scandal as I don't pay any attention to dishes as well. They really need done. But you know what? I'm going to make a cup of tea. Do you want one? Do you want milk?
Sugar? Literally, I want tea and scandal. We're going to have to. There's so much scandal already. All right.
Like, literally, look at my dishes. Look at my Look, I'm too busy solving crimes to be doing the dishes today. So, at the tea and scandal, that is what Greselda runs. 4:30. She gets some of the other people from the village. I think there's like four people in total, including Miss Marle, Sugar. Who else was going as well?
There was a couple of other people. I've only got old milk. Are you okay with that? Yeah. So, Mrs. Price Ridley, Miss Weatherbe, Miss Hartnull, and that terrible Miss Marble. Look at that. She literally says that terrible Miss Marble. And I said me and Greselda were going to get on great. I've already eliminated Gressela from the suspect list because I mean, if anyone is against Miss Marple, the enemy of thy enemy is thy friend.
So, I'm going to let this steep and then we are joining that teen scandal at 4:30. So, we also have Miss Weatherbe and then also Miss Hartnull and then Miss Marble. You know what? Miss Marble is my number one suspect. Griselda says Miss Marble is the worst cat in the village.
Oh, there's also someone called Mrs. Lrange.
I might have to bend down. I'm telling you, literally, there's so many characters. Mrs. Mrs. Lrange, and she is strange. She's so mysterious.
She arrives like this and takes a house down here and hardly ever goes outside of it. What is she up to? What is she hiding? We have no idea. So then I've I've written a couple of names down. We have Letis Pro.
She is Colonel Pro's um daughter and we already know that she dislikes her father just like his wife also dislikes Colonel.
And I've also written down Lawrence Reading because Lawrence Reading is a artist, an artist, and he is drawing like he he does like drawings of people.
Uh a little bit like, you know, like Jack and Titanic, like draw me like one of your French girls. Well, literally there's apparently a whole halaloo about the fact that Lawrence wants to draw lettuce in her bathing dress, which is apparently a massive scandal. and he found out about it and said no to the entire thing. So she hates him because of that. He hates him as well. Lawrence hates the colonel. And then Let says, "If only father would be decent and die, I should be all right."
Oh my god. And saying this to a room full of people as well. Well, if he doesn't want me to want him to die, he shouldn't be so horrible over money. I don't want a mother left him. So, he has an ex-wife who left him and she wants her father dead and she's mentioning money as well. Anne, Anne hates me.
She's quite decent to me, but she hates me. So, an is uh so it must be Colonel's second wife and stepmother to Let the hell am I going to put her? I'm just going to write an and up here. There we go. This board is already messy. I I've need my tea.
And then we also get mention of someone called Dr. Stone. Not the manga. Do you know what I mean now about there just being so many characters? Dr. Stone. He is a well-known archaeologist. And he has hired a secretary called Miss Cra.
And Miss Cra is much younger than Dr. Stone and everyone's talking about it.
And you know what?
The lot of them misogynists and I know this was written in the 1930s. Okay, I know this was an oldber like this is of the time. I get it. But the way that everyone is just like tearing down Miss Cra, who I I do need to write down as well. I'm going to have to cram her in on this board.
Miss Cra. So yeah, she's much younger than Dr. Stone his new secretary in oh my god the stuff that they say especially Miss Marble and Miss Weatherbe. The two of them just as bad as each other. Just as bad as each other. Miss Weatherbe says no nice girl would do it. Be a secretary to an unmarried man. And then even Len says but Charlie in these days a girl can take a post in just the same way as a man does.
Clock it. Clock it. Len. Yeah. Like she just wants a good job. And Miss Hartull says, "Disgusting, I call it. The man must be at least 25 years older than she is." And the way that they frame that, they literally are blaming Miss Cra for taking this job. Not because Dr. Stone is an older man. In anyway, she just wants a job. She I mean, obviously like things might come up later on. Maybe they're having an affair. I don't know.
But all of this judgment and this is my page 14 because even Graela says, "My BFF." Don't you think that Miss Cra may just like having an interesting job in that she considers Dr. Stone just an employer and Miss Marble replies, "My dear, you are very young. The young have such innocent minds patronizing little cow." But we do find out that Dr. Stone has a temper and he had quite a serious quarrel with Colonel Prothero the other day. And Colonel Prother accused him of being an ignoramus. There is beef because baby now we got bad blood. You know, it used to be mad love between Colonel Prothero and Dr. Stone. Still too hot. Still too hot. And then they're talking about Mr. Reading and they think that Mr. Reading, Lawrence Reading, is romancing it up with Lettuce. Romancing it up with her, the Colonel's daughter.
Quite a romance, isn't it? However, Miss Marble makes eyes and she's like, "Are you sure that Reading has his eyes on lettuce? Are you quite sure?" And then obviously Griselda takes that as like is she trying to imply that I'm having an affair behind my vicer husband's back? Oh, honestly I just know Grisella is about to throw hands and she's about to drag Miss Marble down the floor and I'm going to cheer her on. I am. You know what's so funny as well is that Miss Marble calls Gressela out for lying about something. So Gressella says about uh Mrs. Lrange, her husband was a missionary. Terrible story. He was eaten, you know, actually eaten. And Miss Marble just chuckles and she goes, "Naughty girl." Very unwise thing to do, my dear. If you make up these things, people are quite likely to believe them.
And sometimes that leads to complications.
The way that Miss Marble just dragged Roselda right in front of her face. If Miss Marble wasn't my enemy, I would have lowkey respected that. And you know what? I can't really get a good read on Griselda myself because Griselda even says, "Lawrence never even attempts to make love to me. I can't think why."
And then Len says, "Shie, knowing you're a married woman, Charlie?" And she's like, "Don't pretend to come out of the ark, Len. You know very well that an attractive young woman with an elderly husband is a kind of gift from heaven to a young man. There must be some other reason. It's not that I'm unattractive. I'm not." She's very full of herself. I will say, even though she's my BFF, she thinks very highly of herself. And the fact that she's even saying this to her husband, she honestly will say anything in front of her husband. It's kind of funny. But you know what? Actually, the big kicker is though from this very first section that I just had to talk about that is so dramatic, more dramatic than him getting murdered, which again still hasn't happened yet. But oh my god, Lynn, he walks into the studio where Reading, Lawrence Reading is, you know, supposedly like doing his drawings and things like that, his paintings. But there were two people in the studio and the man's arms were around the woman and he was kissing her passionately. Do you know the woman he is kissing in that studio? Do you know? Can you guess? Is it A, Lis? Is it B, Miss Marble? Is it C, Greselda?
Or is it D anthero?
Hm. Can you guess?
The correct answer is D.
An Lawrence Reading is smooching an Pro in the studio.
An is cheating on her colonel husband.
We have a cheating scandal at page 24.
Page 24. And maybe Miss Marble clocked this on because Len said I paid a grudging tribute to Miss Marble. I had entirely misread her meaning glance at Cressela when Miss Marvel was like I don't think Lawrence is kissing lettuce not lettuce and you know what the first thing that Len says as well when an comes to Len he says I had the feeling that I had never really seen her before the quiet self-contained woman that I knew had vanished in her place was a quick breathing desperate creature for the first time I realized that an prother was Beautiful.
Len, keep it in your pants. Why is that the first thing you think of? And Anne admits that she and Lawrence are in love. You are a married woman. Oh, I know. I know. Do you think I haven't gone all over that again and again? I'm not a bad woman. Really, I'm not. And things aren't aren't as you might think they are. Len is going to keep this little secret, but for how long? And says, "I've been miserable with Lucius from the beginning." So, Colonel Prothro's first name is Lucius. Lucious.
Has anyone ever seen Empire the TV show?
Lucious. So, I'm just going to write Lucious. How do you spell that? I U S.
Look at all of these characters on this board. Isn't that ridiculous? I mean, can you even see it from all the reflection? Look at all of these names.
How am I going to deduce? I mean, I already said, oh, well, we've got two suspects here. The obvious two would be the two people who are having kitus in St. Mary made right under Miss Marble's nose. An and Lawrence. But would that be too obvious? I'm literally on page 30 now.
I'm on page 30. So maybe that's a little bit too obvious. So I will continue reading. We'll get to the murder. We'll find out what happens. But guys, this is going to be a messy one. I just know it.
Oh, guys, guys. Not only have we had the murder happen, we also have two people confessed to doing it. Yeah, I have just finished chapter nine and I can quite honestly say what the [ __ ] So, lots of crazy things have been happening. But before we get like really into the nitty-gritty of it, I thought I would walk you through the murder because you know that comes first.
Second comes marriage. So as we know, Colonel Prothero is the victim. He is the one who gets it. And of course, pretty much everyone in the village hates him. So it was something that I feel like a lot of people could see coming. And yes, he is found dead by our main character, Len, in the study of the vicorage. So here is the little map of the entire village, thanks to Miss Marble, who did draw this in the book.
So, this is a pretty accurate representation. Like, I didn't just make this up, okay? I didn't just make it up.
This is an accurate representation. And here is the vicorage right here. And of course, this is where the body is found.
And you know, we have all of the locals nearby. We do have Miss Marple right outside of it because she's up everyone's ass. And we also have the doctor also adjacent to the vicorage. We also have the studio that Reading was using as a way of drawing and making art. and just some other little loces.
But we just want to focus on the vicorage for now. We don't want to overwhelm you. So the room in which it happened, we do have the poor colonel there. His body was found by Len over by the writing table. Now specifically the body was sprawled across writing table in unnatural position. I don't know if that's going to come up. Maybe something was staged. Maybe something happened. I don't know. But I thought the unnatural position was a an interesting way of saying it. So, rewinding just a little bit, Len actually got a phone call to say that someone in a different parish was dying. Yeah. He has to go and see a man in the village. Len doesn't really elaborate. And I did actually find that a little bit suspicious cuz it just kind of comes out of nowhere, but he has to leave. And we do later find out that when he actually got to the man in the village, I was telephoned for this afternoon to go to a dying parishioner.
When I got there, everyone was very surprised to see me. The sick man was very much better than he had been for some days. And his wife flatly denied teleoning me at all. And the doctor theorized that Len was sent away. Like he was purposefully sent away. So that is very interesting. But he was supposed to see Colonel Pro at the vicorage. And so Colonel Prothro, he arrives at the vicorage at quart 6 and Mary the maid lets him in. And Prothro is going to be like waiting around for Len to arrive.
However, half an hour later, he's discovered by Len around about4 to 7. It was near 7 than it was anything else.
Uh, which was definitely like later than he should have, you know, went to meet him. Finds the body spiral over the writing table and he has been dead half an hourish. That's what the doctor theorizes there was blood congealing.
So, it's apparent that he must have got murdered about half an hour before the doctor saw him and when Len found him.
and he was shot through the head at close quarters which is very interesting indeed. The bullet was fired from a pistol of small caliber uh Mosa.25.
The colonel was also writing a letter as he was shot. And the strange thing is no one heard the shot in the house. So Mary was the only person who was in the house. She didn't hear a shot. She did not hear a shot. She let him in, let him in the study, left.
And this is where things start to get a little bit interesting. So buckle up.
So, Miss Marble sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong. Even after the two confessions, which I will get to in a second, even after the two confessions, she says, "I can think of at least seven people who might be very glad to have Colonel Prothro out of the way." And there's a different colonel who is like investigating. There's just way too many Colonels for my liking. H seven people in St. Mary me. Miss Marple nodded brightly. Mind you, I name no names.
So, she's not going to give us anything.
She's not going to kiss and tell. Well, fortunately for you guys, I shag and shout. So, I'm going to give you seven suspects who it could be and my reasons why.
So, we're going to turn this and we are going to have to rub out the uh beautiful drawing that I made.
We're going to have to rub it out. We're going to This is the real tragedy of this case. I don't care if a man is dead. My soul is going to be dead after this. Are we ready?
Oh.
Oh, this is breaking my goddamn heart.
Look at that. It doesn't even want to come off. It doesn't want to come off.
Why?
Why?
But I have to actually use the whiteboard wipes as well to get the rest of this off. I feel feel like I've just committed murder myself. Cleaning up a crime scene right now. I need to dry it as well. Might as well just use use my gment.
Goodbye. Goodbye. The seven suspects.
Are we listening up? Get your notepads out. Lawrence reading. Definitely one of the main suspects and who I said before as well. Before we even get to page 30, I said this fell. Now, one of the reasons why he is believed to be one of the main suspects is that he does confess to the crime.
He literally goes to the station and says, "Lock me up, officer. I did it." I mean, case closed, right? Case closed.
Everyone pack up. We're going home.
Drinks are on me. Confesses to the murder. I mean, you can't get any more ironing clad than that, can you?
However, obviously, sometimes people lie. People confess to a crime they didn't commit either to protect someone or just to cause drama. To be honest, they're obviously bored. These people in St. Mary me, they're bored. We know because Lawrence actually says this to the vicer during dinner. We know that he owns a Moser pistol. Do we remember what I just said is very likely to be the murder weapon bullet fired from a pistol of small caliber? A mosaer.25.
And he owns one. He literally says on page 34 that he owns a MOSA pistol. That exact one. So that's weird, isn't it?
Len also describes Lawrence as being an excellent shot.
So that also doesn't help the case if he has a reputation for being an excellent shot. He could definitely shoot someone and not miss. However, I mean, if it was shot at close range, then the chances of missing are very low. Anyway, apparently he's a good amateur actor as well. So maybe, you know what, that could that could also work in his favor because he could be spinning a a yawn. He could be telling some tall tales and him confessing the crime could be an act.
And guess who is the last person to see the colonel alive? Well, yours truly, Lawrence. When Len comes back to the vicorage, it was near 7, then half 6 when I approached the vicorage gate on my return. Before I reached it, swung open and Lawrence reading came out. He stopped dead on seeing me and I was immediately struck by his appearance. He looked like a man who was on the point of going mad. His eyes said in a peculiar manner, he was deathly white and he was shaking and twitching all over. He was literally last person reported to see him alive.
And when Len says, I've got to see Prothro about some accounts. Lawrence says Proththero. He began to laugh.
Prothero, you're going to see Proththero. Oh, you'll see Prothro, right? Oh my god. Yes.
That is weird as well, isn't it? It's like he did see well he must have saw the body. He must have done because Mary had let him in. Mary says Mr. Reading came a few minutes ago as for you. I told him you'd be back at any minute and then Colonel Pro was waiting in the study and he said he'd wait too and went there. He's there now. However, Len says no he's not. I've just met him going down the road and Mary says well I didn't hear him leave. He can't have stayed more than a couple of minutes.
So, he definitely was in that room because Mary let him in. Mary obviously didn't hear the shot or anything like that. She let him into the room. He must have gone out the window, completely bypassed Mary, didn't say anything, and just left. So, Mary let him in a few minutes before. He might be covering for someone. He might be covering for someone. So, let's go to the next suspect. And that suspect is an Prof Aro, the colonel's wife, which them two, they're having an affair. And guess who else confesses to killing him?
An. Anne confesses to killing him, too.
So, you're like, "Okay, we've had two separate people come forward about killing him. Is this some kind of effort to try and bamboozle Slagatha Christie?
What is going on?" And it would make more sense for Anne to have shot him because if the colonel was dead for about half an hour, which meant he must have died around about quart 20 6 and Lawrence was only in the room for a few minutes and that was just before he bumped into Len who discovered the body.
So if he' done that, if if Lawrence had shot him while he was in that room, then he would have been completely freshly dead, only dead a few minutes. But he wasn't. So that could potentially rule Lawrence out, but we're not ruling anyone out just yet. But it would make more sense for Anne to have then shot him since she has also confessed. And that would make sense as well. But I'm going to write down confesses to Did I spell that right? Confesses to the murder.
That would make more sense for Lawrence to maybe want to protect Anne. So when he went into that room and he saw the colonel dead, he may have thought, "Oh, that was Anne." And so he's now confessed to the murder to protect Anne.
That could be a possibility, right? That could be a possibility. Or they have been working together. They could have worked together on this. And this could just be one big act. I genuinely don't know. Maybe they're both confessing in order to confuse not just the reader, but the inspectors, the detectives on the case. And it also confuses Miss Marble as well because Miss Marble says, "Oh, well, it can't be them, can it?"
And that makes me want to suspect them even more because I know Miss Marble can't solve [ __ ] Yeah. So, Anne confesses on page 73. You see, it was I who killed my husband. I've hated him a long time and yesterday I shot him. And Anne says that Lawrence confessed knowing that Anne did it. So, that kind of corroborates my story. How did he know she hesitated? Did you tell him still she hesitated? They are being weird. They are being absolutely weird when Lawrence is being questioned as well about where he shot the colonel and he does say the head but he was being weird about it at first. It's almost like they can't get their story straight and it's the same that she can't really seem to get her story straight as she's being interrogated. Yes, I told him she twitched her shoulders with a movement of irritation. Where'd you get the pistol? The pistol or was my husband's.
However, that's a lie. So she lies about the pistol because the butler who has served like the protheros and knows all about you know the colonel says that the colonel doesn't even own a pistol of that caliber. So she's a lion. And you know what another thing is? Yeah, she is having an affair. She's having an affair. So she has reason to get rid of the colonel. is older for one and she would most likely inherit a lot of money through his death and her and Lawrence could get together. They could get it all and they can live their days in peace and happiness. So they they both have motive. I mean yeah I'm going to write this on Lawrence as well. Motive affair. And also like one last thing as well with an is that she was in the area. She was around. She was right there. She was right there at the time.
And Miss Marble does see her. However, Miss Marble is very adamant that it's not her, which again makes me very suspicious because we're very early on in the book right now. And anyone who Miss Marble tries to rule out now.
Just saying. So, and to say that she brought the pistol, Miss Marble says that's a lie because she wasn't carrying a pistol with her when she saw her. She didn't have a handbag, nothing like that. However, obviously, Anne could have stashed it somewhere. She could have set it up somewhere and like gone back for it or or what have you. Like just because Miss Marble didn't say it doesn't mean it didn't happen. But we can get a sense of their movements thanks to Miss Marble. So around about the time of the murder is when Miss Marble sees uh what can I use? Let's use blue. I'm bringing a little bit closer.
This this is the path that Anne walked about a minute or two after a quart 6.
The church clock had just chimed the quarter and Mrs. Pro an she was going for her husband at the vicorage so that they could go home together. So an was around this area. She was around that area at the time of the murder. She had come along the lane, you understand? So she would have come this way uh by the back gate and across the garden. So yeah, she would have come this way from the lane and then when she's leaving, she comes back out that way and the way for her to get home is down the path to the old hole. And when she went to the victory, she came back almost immediately. See, I'm trying to work things out as I'm I'm telling you this like my brainers are going. So that after that encounter with Miss Marble, she went down the loan to the studio aka an went down to the studio and you didn't hear a shot, Miss Marble. I didn't hear a shot then, but you did hear one sometime. Yes, I think there was a shot somewhere in the woods, but quite five or 10 minutes afterwards and as I say out in the woods. So I think these like where I've drawn the trees that's like kind of like where the woods area is. So if the shot came from here, something is telling me that maybe this was all staged. The clock was knocked over and the clock is like 15 minutes too fast. So the clock should have knocked over around about 6:05ish.
However, the colonel wasn't even there yet, which is strange. So, someone must have messed the place up. Maybe got through the window because there was a footprint outside the window. We'll get to that in a second. And so, I think someone's might have set up the scene.
The colonel got there. Mary let him in.
Oh, no. Hang on. Some of this is not making sense. Why would the colonel go into that room when it's a mess and not say anything and start writing a message at 6:20? See, but it was in an unnatural position. So a part of me was thinking, oh maybe he was shot and killed out in the woods and they brought his body in. So an and reading they brought him in through the window, dumped his body in that unnatural position.
Was he shot through the window?
Maybe maybe the colonel was shot through the window and then the place was seen.
May maybe m but then oh my god I I'm honestly I'm losing my mind. I'm losing my mind with this. And anyway, in any case, there's a shot heard out like maybe around about down here. There's a shot. Boom. Kaboom. And before the shot rings out, she goes into the studio. And uh then we have Reading. Reading came down the lane and to the studio as well.
And they came out 10 minutes later. So that would have been around about when the shot was heard in the woods. So, they could have done something to kill the colonel at that time. Oh my god. Oh my god. Like, this is actually like breaking my brain a little bit. I'm not going to lie. Right, we're just going to zoom out a little bit more.
Yes, those are the two main suspects of of that. They were around and there's just so much focus on them. They have the means. They have the reason, the motive. But I did say seven suspects.
Let's briefly go through the other suspects and why they are suspects. So another one is Letise Pro.
So that is his daughter, the colonel's daughter. And she has said multiple times, in fact, all of them have said that she wants her father dead, which obviously isn't enough to go on really, but there was a weird thing that happened after the murder. I believe it's like the next morning and Let comes to the vicorage and she wants to go into the study. She wants to go into the room where her father is dead because she wants to grab her beret. She's left her beret and she's like, "Oh, can you just open the door?" And he's like, "No, we can't do that. Don't be dafted." But she wants it. So, I'm wondering if maybe she accidentally left a clue. Maybe there's a clue in the study and she realized that she dropped something and she's come back to try and get it and the whole beret thing is just a front. She says there are times when I'd like to have done it myself on page 60. And says, "I just drifted around to see if you'd got my beret here, a queer little yellow one. I think I left it in the study the other day." And Graella says, "If you did, it's still there. Mary never tidies anything." And Lat says, "I'll go and see. Sorry to be such a bother, but I seem to have lost everything in the in the hatline. So, it's like she's come to the vicorage and she's like, I'll just get it myself.
I'll just like let myself in. I'll all this that and the other. And Len says, you can't do it. Inspector Stark has locked the room up. And she's like, oh, what a b. Can't we get in through the window? Like, why is she so desperate to just get this nasty piss yellow beret?
H. So, she wants to see the crime scene.
She wants She wants access. She wants access to the crime scene for this stupid little hat. I think there's more to it. I think she's let something in there. I do. And lots of people are saying because she pretends to be all airy fairy. She pretends that she doesn't have a clue. But everyone says, "Oh, she knows more than she lets on.
She pretends that she's forgetful. She pretends this. She pretends that, but she knows more than she's letting on.
She wants to be unassuming. She wants to be unassuming." Emmotive. I mean, her dad wouldn't let her be painted. Maybe she thought that would be her big break for some reason or other. So yeah, she I mean she also does have motive. So that's three. Not a lot on Let's Okay, the next ones they're just going to be like quick little ones because I feel like they definitely have like the least on them. But one of them is Griselda actually. So Griselda.
She is obviously Len's wife and she was apparently away during all of this, but we actually need someone to confirm that alibi. Yeah. Now, on page 44, he talks, "Where's your wife?" And he says, "Gone up to London for the day." But was she really? She could have just said she was going to London. Did anyone actually say her go to London? And that's pretty much like really all I've got. She's a little bit morbid. She doesn't seem to really care that much, you know? It's just nice to have a name on the board, though, in it. Nice to have a name on the board.
And then we also have Dennis, who is Len's nephew. He seems to be very overtly keen about the whole thing. I mean, even though I think it said that he's 16, he's overtly keen. You know, he could have done it, you know, for the drama, for the mems. And he also finds footprint outside window, which, you know, could be more in his favor because, you know, he's actually kind of like helping the case a little bit. But he could have put the footprint there and he could be that excited about the whole crime thing because he committed it that he could be getting very arrogant and he could be telling himself with that footprint. But that's a bit of a stretch. However, he does seem to potentially have an alibi.
He was at a tennis party. But again, I need to I need to interrogate the people who are at this party so that I can get confirmation that he was definitely there. And then another one we have is Dr. Stone. And also in relation to that we have Miss Cra. So they are two people who again I haven't really well we haven't really spoken to them much. We don't really know a whole lot about them but Miss Marble will just confirm that after you know when I was talking about how Reading and An were at the studio around about the time of the murder. It half passed. So around about the time the shark got heard, they strolled out through the garden gate along the lane.
And just at that minute, Dr. Stone came down the path leading to the hole and climbed over the style and joined them.
So like around about that time, Dr. Stone himself was spotted. He was around here, too. Like he met up with the two main suspects in my case. And not just that, but at the end of Lane, I think, but I can't be quite sure, they were joined by Miss Cra. I think it must have been Miss Crown because her skirts were too short. That's again Miss Marble being a judgy little me. So these are the seven names that I think Miss Marble just doesn't want to say out loud cuz she doesn't have the braverism like I do. So we do need way more evidence. One thing I will say, someone did call Len and they got him out of that vicorage so that they could do the murder. And it must have been a female who phoned him because when Len got to the parishioner who was apparently sick, his wife was adamant that she did not call him, which meant there must have been a female voice on the phone pretending to be his wife to lead Len astray. That could have been an or that could have been Miss Cra. I doubt it could have been Griselda then because he would recognize her voice Charlie unless she put on a voice, but I think that's kind of highly unlikely. And obviously like he would still he he would still be very inclined to think that it was Anne or Miss Cra, but I don't think he knows them as much.
And especially since Len did say that he doesn't really know an that well. She was a very quiet person and he could see her for the first time after spotting her kissing Lawrence. You know how I mentioned that quote before about him being like, you know what, actually she's quite beautiful. It shows you that there is quite a lot of distance between Len and Anne. So he is less inclined to believe that it was Anne on the phone than say like Cressela, but who knows?
So there's definitely way more on Lawrence and Anne. My theory right now before we get like too much more into this is that an she says that she killed him through the window. Maybe she did.
Maybe we should actually be taking her word for it. And that could be the genius of this book is that we're making things a little bit too obvious so that, you know, we would overlook that. But I'm kind of doing this in a way to spite Miss Marble because she literally says, "Oh, well, it's not an then." Oh, well, it's not Lawrence Reading then, is it?
See, I need access to the crime scene now. I need to know what the hell happened in there. Oh, hang on. There is an actual, you know, I've got an eighth name. How did I How could I forget this?
We've got an eighth name. And you know what? She could actually potentially have done this. Mrs. Lrange.
And you know what? She could have also been the one to have called him because her voice probably wouldn't be as recognized by Len. She did call in on the colonel, I believe, the day before the murder because the colonel's butler had let her in. She had called by wanting to see him and we don't know why. What business does she have with him? So, the day before Mr. Dennis Clement came, Dr. Stone was here for some time as well. So, Dr. Stone, actually, this could go against him. uh saw victim day before they actually called in but it was strange because there was a lady in the evening a lady who was she butler couldn't remember her name she had given her name and when he told her that the family were at dinner she had said that she would wait what was so important that she would be like okay well I'll wait until he's done then she had asked for Colonel Pro not Mrs. Prothero how long the lady stayed he thought about half an hour colonel himself had let her out and the lady was Mrs. so strange. But why why why did she say him? What did she have to talk about? So before we move on then, Lawrence and Anne, my two leading suspects at the minute. And then maybe Mrs. Lrange, I think we need to learn more about her, but she could be my third. Let's fourth. And then I do think, Dennis, Dr. Stor, and Miss Cra, they could all be maybe like drawn off the board, but we don't know enough about them to be quest. I think Griselda, I think we could be, you know, I am going to rub Griselda out because I really do think that if she had a led him astray, then he would recognize her voice. I do. So, I'm going to take Gressel off the list. But the other seven, they're staying. I'm just hoping that whole clock business is cleared up soon because the whole like, oh, it's 15 minutes fast. It reads 6:22, which means 6:05, you know, 50 minutes before was probably when he died because the clock would have broken around about the time because it would have been a scuffle potentially. He would have knocked it off the table at that time. However, the colonel wasn't even there at 6:05. He didn't get there until 6:15. So, like what? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
Well, after a night of pondering, I feel like we have narrowed down the suspects to five. And I'm also now on page 159.
So, I've read the first 16 chapters. And I feel like things are slowly starting to, you know, formulate in my mind of who the people, cuz I still think it's two, who the people are who did this. I want to refer you to a quote from Miss Cra. She says, "If I committed a murder, I wouldn't go straight off and give myself up." She says that about the fact that Lawrence and Anne both confessed to the crime. And that is why I think that is the genius of this book is that the two people who did it are the ones who confess first in order to bamboozle and manipulate and make things so tricky to follow because so many things just seem so staged and so fake. So some of the reasons why Okay, so I I did take off Dennis. I took Dennis off as one of my suspects even though there was a quote about, you know, adolescent psychopaths.
I think that's a red herring. I don't think there's any substance to it. We're going to take it off the table. And uh I also got rid of Dr. Stone and Miss Crumb herself because it was actually confirmed exactly where they were at the time of the murder. Now I have added Mary or Mary Mary quite contrary. I've added her onto the list the the board of suspects because one she was the only person in the house during the murder and even though she is the maid a lot of times it's like oh you wouldn't suspect the maid you wouldn't suspect the butler. Maybe that's also one of the genius reasons for this. And it would explain why the whole sequence of events is so confusing is because Mary is maybe not being as truthful as possible. And you're probably wondering, well, why would Mary do that? The reason is the victim, the colonel, actually jailed her fella. So to me, that's motive enough.
Gracella says, "You must make allowances for her manners being worse than usual just now. You can't expect her to feel exactly sympathetic about Colonel Prothero's death when he jailed her young man." Did he jail her young man?
Yes, for porching. You know that man, Archer? Mary has been walking out with him for 2 years. And the Colonel got him locked up. Got him locked up. And it could be Mary and Archer together in order to get vengeance for locking him up. So, that whole twoperson theory could be correct. But that's all I pretty much have on Mary. Maybe more things will come up. She's not really my, you know, main suspect at the minute. She's actually bottom of my main suspects. We do then need to go to Mrs. L Strange because more things were mentioned about Mrs. Lrange. She has no clear alibi and won't say anything to anyone. Even when Len comes to hers, Inspector Detective Slack, he is terrible. He is genuinely awful. I don't like him. The amount of times he's kind of ignored evidence like the medical report about the time of death and Stack is just like, "Oh, well, I don't think that's right. I don't think that's right because my gut is telling me it's this and it's that." And it's just like, "Listen to the medical evidence. the only important thing that we need to focus on is the actual evidence. And S's just like, "No, no, no. I I don't say it. I don't say it." So, I don't like him. He's a [ __ ] So, Mrs. Lrange says that yesterday evening between 6:00 and 7:00 during the time of the murder, she was there in her house, and she doesn't have anyone to corroborate. Even her maid Hilda was not there at the time.
It's her day off. Coincidence?
Maybe, maybe not. She was out for a walk early in the afternoon, returned sometime before 5 or Mrs. Hartnull knocked on the door and Mrs. Arrange never answered. So, was she actually in?
And she also will not say what she went to see the colonel about. She's being very tight- lipped about it. She won't say anything. Can you indicate to me the nature of that interview? It concerned a private matter, inspector, I want to say Colonel Pro alone. I did not want to say Mrs. Prothero or Miss Prothero. Then you refuse to say more? Absolutely. So, the fact that she's been tight lipped is very suspicious, but I feel like it's just like overly suspicious. I do think there's going to be a reasonable explanation that we will find out about.
So, again, like she is only fourth on my top five suspects list. Then, Lety really there isn't a whole lot on her that I haven't already mentioned, too. A couple of things, she could have taken the pistol from Lawrence's house the day before. So, Lawrence mentions that he had a little bit of a house party the day before and his pistol's just like lying around. So, anyone could have grabbed it. Anyone could have taken it.
And Lettuce, she was actually at the house the day before. She could have seen the pistol. She could have taken the pistol. And as we said, she dropped a beret. Apparently, she wanted to get into the crime scene. Why? Why is she that desperate on the crime scene?
Because there's probably evidence in there to say that she did it. So, it could have been her. She could have taken the pistol from Lawren's. But my main two are still Lawrence and Anne.
And again, it goes back to that quote.
If I committed a murder, I wouldn't go straight off and give myself in. And you know what else is really interesting too? Something that Cressela says about timelines. So Cressela, Len, Miss Marble, they're trying to come up with a sequence of events. And then Cressela says, "And what we want to find is someone who has a cast iron alibi for 620, but no alibi at all for well that isn't so easy. One can't fix the time."
So the only two people who are so adamant about their alibi at exactly 6:20 are Lawrence and Anne. I really do feel like they're trying to pull a fast one over on me, a fast one over on Slack, even though I don't care if they do do that cuz Slack and [ __ ] off. There is just way too much focus on the fact that they have that alibi and the fact that they've confessed already. And they were both so relieved as well. So when they told Reading that they don't suspect Anne, he let out the breath he didn't realize it was holding. And when Ann is told that they don't suspect Red anymore, Anne let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. They are so like they're just so suspicious.
Okay, so let's just like rewind a little bit. So Lawrence has admitted that he lied about it because he thought Anne had shot and killed the colonel. So he was lying to protect her and then Anne thought that she could save Lawrence by confessing to the crime and she was like, "Oh, I didn't see the colonel when I actually got there." And that was because he was at the writing desk and so obviously she wouldn't be able to see him through the window. But they both have these big stories that seemingly exonerate them both because they're both working together. You know what I mean?
It's like it's kind of low-key brilliant, but at the same time, I'm like I'm kind of hoping it's a different suspect, but there just isn't really enough on anyone else at all. There really isn't. It's literally just those two. So, what we need to focus on something else as well that is definite is the bang, the actual gunshot that killed the colonel. And people are saying about how, oh, it came from the woods. Miss Marble even says that it sounded different. It was different from the usual sort of shot one hears. Yes, there was a difference. Louder, I suggested. No, Miss Marble didn't think it had been louder. In fact, she found it hard to see in what way have been different, but she still insisted that it was. There is such a huge focus on this gunshot. And I'm wondering if this shot from the woods was just a distraction because nearly everyone heard that shot. Even Mary says that she heard that shot. So Mary, while she was in the house, she was distracted by that shot, which could mean that there could have still been another shot at the ex exact same time. Maybe that would explain why people think there's only one shot and it came from the woods.
Maybe that was the distraction. Maybe that was loud enough so that when either Lawrence or an went up behind the colonel, they shot him at the exact same time as that bang. And that is probably why it also sounds a little bit different. Maybe because the bang outside wasn't actually a gunshot and maybe the the shot inside the house kind of like ricocheted a little bit and it just kind of it just sounded different and that would have been really distracting. So yeah, I definitely think that the the murder happened at exactly that time of the shot which would have been around about 6:30ish. But I I I don't know what it was that distracted them. We are currently in the woods where I'm up to in the story and guess who's also in the woods? Lawrence Reading. Len runs into him and Lawrence Reading, he has a stone. He's saying, "Oh, yeah. I'm here to also investigate." Really? I don't know about that. But really, there's not really very many more clues. There's not very many more clues. So, if we go back to the actual drawing, I do think whoever did it came in through the window. There is a tall stand with a pot in it right next to the window. And so when Miss Marbles saw Anne, there was this massive emphasis on the fact that Anne wasn't carrying anything. Maybe Anne put it in the tow stand with a ponet. Has anyone gone back into the crime scene to see where this gun is? Has anyone actually located the pistol? I actually don't know. I actually don't think it's been mentioned. So, let's go like to my an theory then. She comes in through the window. She picks up the pistol that could have been there in the tow stand with the pot in it. She could have picked up the pistol then. And then she goes behind the colonel.
Oh my god, there's a fly. Go away. She goes up behind the colonel. He's slightly deaf, so he wouldn't have been able to hear her. She goes up behind him. Boom. Kills him at the exact same time. Maybe Reading is in the woods causing that distraction with the the shot that goes off. She shoots him at the exact same time and then she comes back, dumps the pistol back into the pot, leaves through the window.
Miss Marvel wouldn't have seen [ __ ] Maybe. Oh, I just saw this. Maybe because Reading, remember when Mary let Reading in? So, Reading could have come through the door, knew what obviously happened. Um, and he was only there for a couple of minutes as well, wasn't he?
He went to the sound with the pot on, grabbed the pistol to get rid of the evidence, and then also leaves out through the window. And that's how they got away with the murder weapon still being there. Maybe that is the current ongoing theory right now. And only because there's just genuinely no one else who would have been there at the exact same time. Like Lettuce hasn't even been mentioned to being anywhere near the scene of the crime. And anyway, I believe she was at that tennis thing, wasn't she? Like she was she kind of has a bit of an alibi. I still need to still need to look into that. But still, Mary was in the house again. Like she could have still done it. Mrs. Lrange, no one really saw her though. No one saw her.
So like the only people who people have seen are Lawrence and Anne and obviously Dr. Stor in in CRA but that was like after the actual gunshot and the murder.
Dr. Stor was at the Blue Bone was up here having drinks and that's where Reading was as well beforehand having a bit of a beverage and then Reading left Dr. Stone there and went to the vicorage. So yes, that is all I have for now. I don't have much more unless something happens to take away from it being an and Lawrence that we need to do a little bit more investigating, but slack is slacking.
Okay. So, we have gone from five suspects to nine.
I have nine suspects in my back pocket right now. Oh, guys, they're doing my head in. Everyone at this St. Mary me, they're doing my absolute head in. They are just a whole bunch of gossip mongerers and I have no idea who the hell to believe. However, I do think we're gonna need some backup in order to explain more about what in the world is going on here. I do think it's about time to bring out the wine, but also to bring out my very distant relative who will be making her first appearance in a Christy Crime and Wine video. But she has been on this channel before. So, let me just let me just go and get her. Let me go get her.
Hello, it's me. Hi, I'm Sister Gavina and Slack the Christy said, "Look, I need proper professional help. If anyone knows a vicorage, it's going to be Sister Gavina and I am here to hopefully crack the case." And I've brought the wine. Let me just pour you a glass, shall I? Okay.
Cheers to us for hopefully solving this one. Right. So, as you can see, the suspect list has expanded quite dramatically, I must add. But we're going to try and go through them one by one to eliminate these suspects. So, I have stopped reading because I do think that we are about to get a reveal and I've stopped at the end of chapter 28 and it seems like there's been some kind of confession, which I don't know what the confession is just yet, but we are potentially going to find out in just a second. So, we must narrow it down. So, Sitha Christie has put Dr. store and Glattus CRA back on the suspect list.
Now, the reason for that is that Miss Marble spotted Cra at midnight going into the woods with a suitcase. So, Miss Marble obviously putting her nose somewhere it doesn't belong. So, who she believes is Miss Cra at midnight going into the woods with a suitcase and then she comes back out without the suitcase.
However, you know, the distance is quite far. It is midnight, so it is dark. So, was it actually Miss Cra that she saw?
Miss Cra does end up denying that that was her. And honestly, after everything Slagatha has told me about Miss Marble, I wouldn't put it past Miss Marble to have made that up. Or at least not to have seen it. Like, it could have been anyone who did it. It could have been anyone. It could have been Anne. It could have been Lettuce. It could have been Mrs. Lrange. It could have even been Lawrence dressed as a woman. Now, as a woman of the cloth myself, it would be very uncchristian of me to say a bad word against Miss Marble, but I'm inclined to agree with Sagathar on this one. And Dr. Stone as well is back on the suspect list. However, I am inclined also to take him off because Dr. Stone.
Okay. So, Raymond West, who is the nephew of Miss Marble, says that the person who was with Len, the the vicer, was not Dr. Stone. Raymond says that he knows the archaeologist Dr. Stone from years ago. And the Dr. Stone who was in the village when Raymond came is not Dr. Stone. Is Dr. Stone an impostor? Why is he pretending to be Dr. Stone if he isn't in fact Dr. Stone that's something we have not yet found out. So that could be something. However, it keeps getting brought up that it's just a peculiar thing and peculiar thing with a capital P and a capital T. So it doesn't really seem to be connected to the murder. But this book is filled with distractions.
One thing I will say is that there is a lack of motive for them to be involved in the case. And Dr. Stone himself has a solid alibi by being spotted with others. like he actually physically couldn't have done it. He was spotted with other people. So, it definitely can't be him. But I do still believe that whoever did it, it was a a couple.
It's two people. It has to be a man and a woman. And so, Dr. Sw and Glattis CR could have been the killers. But I'm going to wipe them off. I I genuinely don't think so. This they just got too solid of an alibi. Yes, it's suspicious that potentially Dr. Stone is an imposter, but it's just not enough to get a warrant for his arrest for the murder of the colonel. Okay, next we have Mary and Archer. So Mary is, of course, Lens's maid, and she again has it in for him, the Colonel, because he jailed her fella. And the fella in question is Archer. And Archer did have a quarrel with Colonel. However, we haven't even met Archer. And we are about to find out who did it. If it turns out to be Archer in Mary, bear in mind Mary's barely been in it. Archer hasn't even been spotted.
That would just be a disservice. I think a huge disservice. And they're just like too late in the game to be suspect. And even the fact that Archer was brought up recently makes me inclined to believe that it's not him. Because when you know in previous Agatha the Christie books, if someone is a suspect right towards the end before the reveal, they're not actually the suspect. They're not actually the people who did it. It's Agatha Christie 101. Whoever is being accused and whoever is the most suspicious just before the poly scene, it's not them. It's not them. I mean, probably nine times out of 10, actually, I haven't read every Yag of the Christy book, but usually it's not them. Whoever is the most suspicious beforehand, it's not them. So, Mary and Archer, they have been evicted. Please leave the Sister Gavina house. Mrs. Lrange. Okay, so we've just found out that Mrs. Lrange is actually dying and the doctor has given her pretty much an alibi between six and seven of the murder. So, that is something I do feel like we have to take into account. The conversation with the Colonel and Mrs. Lrange the day before the murder. Again, I think doesn't have anything to do with the murder. It's again just a distraction. Why is this fly following me around? Can you please leave us alone? Uh, oh my god. Leave me alone. It's like tiny, but still.
I'm trying to solve a case, darling.
Glatty, who is a maid and could overhear some of the conversation, did say some like pretty suspicious things. However, nothing has really come of it. And it's reiterated that Mrs. Lrange doesn't actually benefit anything from his death. She doesn't gain anything. And there was like this whole kind of speculation that maybe Lrange was blackmailing him. However, Len is like, she isn't the kind of person to blackmail someone. She just isn't. She doesn't give that vibe. And you know what? I'm willing to bet Len is on to something here. I I do like Len. I think he's a good character. Will you [ __ ] off? I don't know if you can see that in 4K, but I'm literally being harassed by a fly. You know who I think killed the colonel? That [ __ ] [ __ ] over there.
And also Miss Hartnull, who went to Mrs. Lrange and knocked on the door like the time of the murder. And Mrs. Lrange said, "Oh, she was in. She just didn't answer the door." Well, Miss Hartnull said that she went around the entire house, looked through the windows, and didn't say Lrange at all. And obviously that is backed up by the fact that the doctor does say that Ler Strange was with him and she is again dying. She's literally dying. So I feel pretty good about rubbing Mrs. Lrange off. I genu I don't think she did it. I think anything she had with a colonel before the murder is irrelevant to the murder or it might have a hand in something.
Maybe I mean if I'm going with the Lawrence and Anne and Anne found out about it an could have been jealous you know like if Mrs. Strange was having an affair maybe or like she'd known the Colonel back in the day she is blackmailing him maybe that an found out about it and got pissed and wanted him dead but you know that again we we'll get more into Lawrence and an in a second. Okay, so the final four. The final four. This is the final. The final. And we have Lettuce and Dennis. So, they had to have been in it together. Not one single person could have done it cuz we do have to have the distraction that I am putting forward as my main theory has happened. There was a distraction at the time of the shooting. One of them had to commit the distraction. The other one had to commit murder. Lettuce and Dennis. Now, I'm less inclined to believe that Dennis had anything to do with it with him being the nephew of Len, but he did say, and this came out in nowhere, about like how much in love with Lettuce he is, but again, that's an Agatha Christie book, isn't it, for you?
Sometimes the romance just comes out of nowhere. But Dennis said he would do anything for Lettuce. In Lettuce, we know that she has no qualms about her father dying. She didn't give a [ __ ] And she's been trying desperately to get in that freaking room. Why, you ask?
Well, we do actually find out why she wanted to be in the crime scene. We thought it was for that yellow beret thing, that yellow beret abomination that she probably got from Primark. She actually was wearing that beret the day of the murder. Apparently, she was spotted wearing it. So, her story about leaving it in the study the day before is [ __ ] What did she actually want to be in there for? Well, we find out later when Len he goes into the study, he sees this blue earring and he knows exactly whose earring that is. So, he goes to an because it's Anne's earring and he's like, "Can I just like keep this for just a second?" This is yours, isn't it? She's like, "Yeah, yeah. Can I just keep this for a second?" Yes. So, he goes to see Lettuce and he goes to her, "Lett, Iceberg, why is your penis on a dead girl's phone?" I'm kidding. Why did you plant that earring in the study earlier?
Lettuce planted it there. She planted it there.
She was caught in the act. So, she's caught in a major lie. A major lie. She does explain that it's because she hates Anne. She does. And as soon as she realized that Anne was in trouble, she wanted to pin it on her, which honestly would go against an being the culprit cuz it seems like someone is trying to frame her for murder. Same with Lawrence. It seems like people are trying to pin this on Lawrence as well, trying to make it seem like it's too obvious that it's Lawrence and Anne. But with Lettuce and Dennis, which is a what? Well, what what would their ship name be? Lettuce. Dennis. Like, what is their ship name? I got the Chrissy did not think that one through, did she? But the thing about this and why it doesn't work is that Lettuce couldn't have taken the gun. Initially, it was possible that she could have because she was at Lawrence's the day before. However, the gun, the pistol, was seen at Lawrence's cottage the morning of the murder, which means Lettuce couldn't have taken it.
She couldn't have taken it. And when did she ever go back? We haven't found out if she had gone back. And I don't think she did. It would have been mentioned by now if she gone back to Lawren's. I'm pretty sure. Maybe. I mean, Agatha could still pull the wool over my eyes by the end. But still, she couldn't have taken the pistol at that time. And also, she does kind of have an alibi with the tennis thing. So, like, she wasn't there. And I mean, Dennis would do anything for her. And he did have this random moment where he said like, "Oh, I want to be the kind of guy who has a lot of money so that I could have a wife and she deserve it." And then brings up lettuce.
Honestly, cuz he's he's like 16 years old. Jeez, he might want to slow down.
So, I am very inclined to take these two off the board. So, we'll rub those two out, which means we only have two suspects left. The final two, Lawrence Reading and Pro.
It has been so incredibly obvious from the start that it's them two, that it's almost too obvious. It's almost too good that they have contradicted one another put so much doubt on the case. And yet those two are still the only two people who are capable of doing it and have the biggest reasons for doing it as well. So what else did we learn from the parts that I did? Okay, so this is probably going against an being the person, but we do find out that Anne could not have made that call to Len that got Len out of the village because she was spotted at like 5:30 with her husband and she did not have an iPhone at the time. They weren't invented yet, fun fact. So, she couldn't have called. She couldn't have called. However, what got me was a specific quote, and this is on page 162.
So the inspector says to it was a woman's voice you heard through the telephone. He didn't say it was a woman he heard through the telephone, just a woman's voice.
And again, who is the actor?
Who is a good amateur actor who could have called up and Lawrence could have pretended to have been a woman to get him out of the village? And that would explain why Len didn't recognize the voice because he's never heard Lawrence put on a female voice before. Again, just speculation though. That's not confirmed. That is not confirmed. So, if we go back to what actually happened, okay? And we ignore a lot of the distractions like the letter. I still don't understand the letter that the colonel was writing as he died. And again, they're thinking that it's forged. They're thinking that can't be a good enough letter because he would not have written that he wanted to leave, that he was, you know, sick of waiting and he was going to leave because he'd only been there a few minutes. He was more than ready to stay there. The colonel was more than ready to wait for Len to come back. However, the note says that he's not waiting anymore and he's going to leave, but only after a few minutes. So, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The letter is obviously planted. It isn't actual evidence. So, the only true evidence is that bang, and the bang sounded different, as we know.
However, Len did find a brownish crystal that he'd found in the woods. And the doctor says that looks like pic acid.
And Len asks what that is. And the doctor says, "Well, it's an explosive."
An explosive. That would explain the bang. And also Claraara. Okay, so Claraara is I believe they're made of Oh my god. They're made of uh Ridley, Mrs. Price Ridley. Okay, so Claraara was here. She said she heard a male sneeze.
She heard a male sneeze before the bang.
So there was someone there must have been someone waiting in the woods. with this explosive ready to go and he sneezed. It was definitely a man. A man's sneeze. Which then leads to my theory that it was an who came in through the window. On page 262, okay, page 262, Miss Marble makes a comment about the planned pot. There's a to sound with a ponet. You know how I said that maybe an stashed the pistol there or something? Well, as Miss Marble is in the study, she goes to the window and absent mindly reached up her hand and felt the rather depressed looking plan that stood in a stand. So, Miss Marble is right here. She says, "You know, dear Mr. Clement, this should be watered off in it." And it's just like such a random ass comment in a random ass bloody book.
I'm going to tell you, it's been random ass. And why was this brought up now?
Why the focus on this plant pot right now from Miss Marble is because I think there is some importance to that that thing that thing right there. So an stashed it and then she could have waited for that bang. That would have been her sign to shoot him in the head.
And the colonel again like he was, you know, partly deaf. So he wouldn't have heard her. And even if he turned around and saw her, he would probably think nothing of it because oh that's my wife, you know. So she is the only person I think he would not have a strong reaction to being there. Whereas if it was Reading, he probably would have been like, "What the fuck?" So I think Reading was here waiting outside with the explosive and his his sneeze is heard and then he sets the explosive off and boom because remember at this time Miss Marble is outside. Shaky has a boom as well but An's already been passed and Ren's already been passed. Their actual whereabouts at the time of that shot is not really accounted for. everything leading up to it is and everything after it is. They've been so damned of their actual whereabouts and like making sure that they've established an alibi. So, I feel like all of those things are kind of a little bit explained with my theory. Genuinely, there's nobody else who could do it because I'm telling you, if Lettuce or Dennis had done it, then Charlie Lawrence and an would have seen them because they were hanging around that area. They were there and we knew that from the beginning. Fly if you don't [ __ ] off. I swear they are the only two the only two in the whole entire village who not only just had the means because they were in the area the entire time but also the motive. They wanted him gone so that they could start their love affair together. They wanted to be together. They gained the most from it. And even an will get money from the will and she said in six months time she's going to be leaving with Lawrence and they're going to get away and like she's waiting 6 months cuz she doesn't want the scandal. She just want people thinking that she's just leaving because they think oh she definitely did it then. No, she's waiting and she is going to be rich and she's going to have the man of her dreams. She's literally getting everything she wants right now.
Same with Lawrence. There's just genuinely nobody else. It's got to be them, too. Unless Agatha Christie pulls a fast one. I mean, the last few chapters, it has to be them, too. And I think the genius of it is that they both confess to it straight away to shift suspicion from them because it makes them look honest or at least honest to a fault. And by doing that, they've kind of eliminated themselves from suspicion.
However, they are the more suspicious to me.
Yeah, there are other things happening with like a carrot called [ __ ] and there's like obviously the stuff with Archer that I think might end up coming up as well. But I really do feel like a lot of that is just distracting. It's it's too distracting. It's too much noise outside of the actual case. So, I'm trying to just focus on the facts.
Where's my bottle? Here it is. I'm just trying to focus on the facts and the facts leads and points to these two. So, I'm about to find out if I'm right or wrong cuz we're going to find out together. I'm gonna finish reading The Mid Vicorage and let's live react to the killer or killer's reveal. And let's see as well if Agatha or Slagatha gets the point.
I can't believe I'm filming in my dirty kitchen right now. Please ignore the mess. I will get stuck cleaned up later.
But yes, uh I have no idea when the actual killer reveal is because I'm not doing this as a solve along. I usually do I have solve alalongs with my channel members, but I have so many Agatha Christie books to get through. I need to pick up the pace. So, I'm just guessing here. But I did end my read at Len saying that I've got the confession all right and he has had a a phone call and someone else is going to confess. I don't know who. We don't find out who was making the phone call. So, let's uh let's continue on. So, I'm on chapter 29 now. I'm on chapter 29.
Oh, wait. I think we've just got the actual letter. The actual letter that the colonel was writing before he died.
Len shows uh the detective, Colonel Melchett. Honestly, I'm telling you, there's so many character names. It's really confused me in this book. I'm not going to lie, but he shows the detective person. This is what he was actually writing. My dear Clement, it is particularly unpleasant thing that I have to say. After all, I think I prefer writing it. We can discuss it at a later date. It concerns the recent speculations. I'm sorry to say that I have satisfied myself beyond any possible doubt as to the identity of the culprit. Painful as it is for me to have to accuse an ordained priest of the church. My duty is only too painfully clear. An example must be made and dash.
He looked at me questionly. At this point, the writing tailed off in an undistinguishable scroll where death had overtaken the writer's hand. Apparently, this is about [ __ ] Uh not for a second there. I thought that was about Len for a second. I thought, wait, hang on. Did the colonel who died, did he find something out about Len? So he was writing in the letter about Len doing something to accuse an ordained priest of the church and he's the culprit I the culprit of like well we do find out early in the book that the the£10 note or something or the pound note went missing from making his rounds. Maybe Len was pinching money from the church funds and the colonel found out about it and maybe Len killed him in order to cover it up and he was in the middle of writing that letter when Len could have done it.
However, I don't think that's that's not what happened. That's not what happened.
And anyway, he's saying about horse. So horse is currently drugged on the sofa and they're thinking that he's talking about hoor. So maybe has been the one who who was doing something shady beforehand. So that letter was about him. So it could have meant that hoor is the one who did it. But we still have so many pages to go. It's not hoes. It It can't be hoes. It's too early. It's too early in the polene for it to be hoes.
Yeah. Eva Melchshire is saying, "Fancy keeping this letter. The most damaging evidence you can imagine. That's why I don't think it's hoor. That's why I don't think it's him. It's too easy."
The door open to Miss Marble. She's coming in the room. This is where we're going to get everything. I'm sure Miss Marble is saying, "I'm here to save Mr. Horse's life." So it's not Mr. Horse.
She's literally just She's literally just said it. She's literally just said it. Oh my god. Oh my god. Am I right? Am I right? Okay. Um she says that horse um the letter the overdose. Uh that's what he wants you to think. Oh, he's very clever keeping the letter and using it this way was very clever indeed. And then Lens says, "Who do you mean by he?"
"I mean the murderer," said Miss Marble.
She added very quietly. "I mean Mr. Lawrence reading.
She's not having my life right now, is she? She's not pulling my leg, is she?
She She isn't. She isn't. It It It has to be Lawrence reading, right? It has to be. Don't Don't change your mind now.
Don't pull a cards on the table on me right now. Yeah, that is absurd. Miss Marble, young Redden has been completely cleared naturally, said Miss Marble. He saw to that. That's exactly what I was thinking the entire time. That's what I was thinking. He cleared himself and he cleared an cleared herself and cleared Reading. It was too easy.
Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Money. Money comes back to money. Yeah.
It was Mrs. Prother who actually shot Colonel Protherone, not Mr. Reading.
Am I right? Did I get it right?
Did Did an shoot him? Reading created the distraction, but it was like Reading's idea.
Oh, I noticed the palm in the pot by the window. And well, there the whole thing was clear as daylight. I knew something about that pot would come back. Oh, we're going to hear about the seven suspects now. Okay, so Archer was one of them. Not likely. Uh, then there was Mary. She's been walking out with Archer a long time and she's a queertempered girl. Motive and opportunity. She was alone in the house with him. Mhm. And there was Lettuce wanting freedom and money to do as she liked. Uh-huh. Mr. Dennis had got back earlier from his tennis party. Then he said, "Boys of 16 are so very susceptible and so very unbalanced." Again, I mentioned Dennis is one of my suspects as well. I mean, to be fair, I think I named every [ __ ] in St. Mary me. I think I named everyone at one point, but still, I had nine suspects actually and Miss Marble only had seven.
And also Len. Len was also a suspect too, which I didn't. See, I didn't I didn't accuse him at all, did I? It would have been too eerily similar to another Agatha Christie book, but I'll not say which one. Oh, and apparently Grresselda, she got she got home earlier on the train and didn't say anything. And Miss Bob also said, "Indeed, she was seen, but perhaps you know that." Why is Len hiding the fact that Grilda got home a little bit earlier? Griselda had been seen leaving Lawrence Reading's cottage by the back window at 20 6 on the fatal.
Do not tell me it was Griselda. Do not tell me it was Len's wife in this final hurdle. Do not take this point away from me. I mean, Gressela did say that she did have a thing for Lawrence years ago.
Like she was actually like in love with him. Oh god, don't tell me I overlooked that one. I shouldn't have. Okay, so here's a sequence of events. Maybe this will help clear things up. Lawrence Fred first called on the Victor, knowing him to be out. He had with him the pistol which he concealed in that pot in the stand by the window. When the vicor came in, Lawrence explained his visa by statement that he made up his mind to go away. At 5:30, Lawrence read and telephoned from the north lodge to the vicar adopting a woman's voice. I knew it. I knew it. You remember what a good amateur actor he was? I didn't forget. I didn't forget. Mrs. Pthro and her husband had just started for the village. Mro took no handbag with her.
Really the most unusual thing for a woman to do. It was on purpose to make it seem like she didn't have anything on her. It was a very purposeful move not to have one with her to make people think that she couldn't have the gun.
Just before 206, she passes my garden and stops and speaks so as to give my every opportunity of noticing that she has no weapon with her. She disappears from the corner of the house to the study window. Poor Colonel is sitting at the desk writing his letter to you. He is deaf as we all know. She takes a pistol from the ball where it's waiting for her. Comes up behind him and shoots him through the head. throws down the pistol and his gain out like a flash and going down the garden to the studio. But the shot, you didn't hear the shot.
There is, I believe, an invention called a Maxim silencer. Oh, okay. Oh, so maybe it was a silencer. So, what about the What about the shot from the woods? What about the explosive? Wonder if possibly the sneeze that they made Clara heard may have actually been the shot.
Oh.
Oh, that would be a bit [ __ ] though, wouldn't it? M. Porro was met at the studio by Mr. Reading. They go in together and human nature being what it is, I'm afraid they realize I shan leave the garden till they come out again.
When they do come out, their demeanor is gay and natural. And there in reality, they made a mistake because if they had really said goodbye to each other cuz remember they were supposed to meet up and Redden was supposed to go away. He was supposed to leave her behind and she should have actually been upset. She should have been upset. However, they came out looking happy.
If they had really said goodbye to each other as they pretended, they would have looked very different. But you see, that was their weak point. They simply dare not appear upset in any way. For the next 10 minutes, they are careful to provide themselves with what is called an alibi. Finding Mr. Red and goes to the vicorage, leaving it as late as he dares. Probably saw you on the footpath far away and times it nicely. Picks up the pistol and sensor. Leaves the photo letter with a time on it written in a different ink. Apparently a different handwriting.
When he leaves the letter, he finds the one actually written by Colonel Prothero. What about the shot in the wood? Yeah. Was that a coincidence to which you were referring earlier this evening? That wasn't a coincidence. Very far from it. Necessary that a shot should be heard. Otherwise, suspicion of Mrs. Protherone might have continued.
The pic acid exposed if you drop a weight on it. And you'll remember, dear Vicar, that you met Mr. Red and carrying a large stone just in the part of the world where you pick up the crystal later. The stone suspend above crystals and then a time fuse. Or do I mean a slow match? Someone that take about 20 minutes to burn through so that the explosion would come at about 6:30. This is very convoluted, I must say. I think my original idea that that Re made the explosive go off is when Anne shoots him to cover up the actual sound from within the house, but I guess the whole sneeze thing, but she said it definitely sound like a man sneeze.
So that was a silencer apparently. Okay, I don't know if I buy that, but whatever. Ah, yeah, Mr. Ho. Okay, so the letter that the colonel was writing was about Mr. Ho, and Mr. Ho has been lifting from the church funds. Okay, so that's his crime. That is his crime.
That's why he was going to confess and Mr. Reading saved it so that he could plan it on him. Mhm. Okay. The other telephone call, the one from Mr. Red's college to Mrs. Price Ridley. This is what I call the coincidence. Diagriselda sent that call. She and Mr. Dennis between them. I fancy they' heard the rumors Mrs. Price Ridley was circulating about the vicer and they thought of this way of silencing her. That is so random.
Len's wife and nephew prank called Mrs. Price Ridley.
That is so random. Ooh, a little trap might be permissible. So, they actually there's no like tangible proof of this, but they need to catch an in and reading. Oh, what are they going to do?
They're going to try and form some kind of trap. See, this is when the A of the Chrysy books get really good. I'm like, how are they going to catch the [ __ ] Oh, here they've literally just skipped over the trap. We don't even get to see literally we end the chapter with them ready to do it and then start chapter 32. There is little more to be told.
Miss Marble's plan succeeded. Lawrence Redden was not an innocent man. The hint of a witness of the charge of capsule did indeed cause him to do something foolish. So, we don't even Oh my god, how how much of a letown? We literally just fast forward. We We've We fast forwarded in one page. The trial of Lawrence Redmond and Prothro is a matter of public knowledge.
How do we How do we completely miss the entire trap scene? If this was a Hercule Porro book, we would have seen the entire thing. We would have seen it play out and it would have been wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful. This is a cheat.
This is a copout if I ever saw one.
Yeah. So, they called him, gave hints to it. He could not leave without getting word to Anne. So, he went up to Old Hall that night and he was followed. He threw gravel at Pro's window, aroused her, an urgent whisper brought her down to speak with him. But, as it happened, two police officers were able to overhear the conversation in full and that's how they were caught. But like literally, we're just told about we don't even get to see that. We didn't even get to see that.
Okay, little twist in a way. I did have a kind of inkling about this, but at the same time, I didn't mention anything cuz I thought, oh, there's no really way to it. But the reason Mrs. Strange went to the Colonel is because Mrs. Strange is Lettuce's mother. Mrs. Strange is my mother. She is dying. You know, she wanted to see me and so she came down here under an assumed name. And you know what? I'm I'm Oh crap. I'm sure I wrote that down. Oh, no. Like, please, I don't want I say I don't want it to sound like I'm making that up. I'm I'm pretty sure I did. Write that somewhere. It was like one tiny little thought that I had, but I didn't I didn't pursue it. I didn't pursue it. You're just going to have to believe me. You are. You're going to have to believe me. I wish I'd said something now. She went to see father that night and told him she was dying and had a great longing to say something of me. Father was a beast.
I'm done. I'm finished.
And I won. I won. I got it right. I feel like I should get two points for that since I got two culprits. But no, just one point for getting it right.
Yes, some of it some of the means and the way it happened I didn't quite get spot on, but I did guess that it was Ann who shot him and that it was Reading who was causing the distraction. I did get that right. I did. Oh my gosh. Oh, victory is sweet. As is this red wine.
All right, updated leaderboard time.
Leader board. And honestly, my writing is not the best right now. I am a few sips deep into my red wine. But we have Slagatha.
I haven't even spelled that right. It doesn't matter. And Agatha.
Agatha was on seven.
Sagatha is now on 10. I better go and tell Sagatha the good news. Two seconds.
Oh, thank you so much for the wine, Sister Gavina. I appreciate it. Yeah.
Uh, I have managed to crack another case. I am now in the double digits at 10 books solved. Agatha is falling behind. She's falling behind yet again.
I am extending my lead over the Queen of Crime. The Queen of Crime has met her match in the Queen of Wine. So, she's going to have to try harder next time if she wants to catch up. But that is the end of another Christy Crime and Wine episode. Thank you so much for watching.
I really appreciate it. Don't forget to leave this video a like if you enjoyed and subscribe if you haven't already.
Leave all your comments down below. Let me know if you got this case right when you read it or if you haven't read it.
Did you enjoy following along? It was a little bit of a tricky one to follow along because there's just so many things thrown at you in this. So many characters, so many drama problems that don't even have anything to do with the main case. It was a mess. But hey, we like mess on this channel. I want to give a huge thank you to my channel members for supporting my channel. If you'd like to join my membership, then the link is in the description box. May I hope I will see you in the next video.
Bye.
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