The Fog, the Actress, and the Murder

This flow traces the discovery that the apparent murder by James Reilly was actually committed by the policeman whose presence seemed to secure the scene.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Chance Meeting

A Chance Meeting Familiar Company Tommy and Tuppence meet Mervyn Estcourt and the famous actress Gilda Glen. Her fear of a local ghost story contrasts with her glamorous public image. A Private Invitation Gilda sends Tommy an address in Morgan’s Avenue. Her request suggests that she sees him as a detective, despite his clerical disguise.

A Threatening Poet

A Threatening Poet Reilly's Anger James Reilly declares that he may kill the woman he loves if she marries Lord Leconbury. His language makes him an obvious candidate for violence. A Convenient Warning The threat is overheard by the Beresfords and will later appear to explain Gilda's death. His emotional excess becomes a misleading clue rather than proof of guilt.

A Body at the White House

A Body at the White House The Mist Clears The Beresfords reach The White House and encounter a policeman on the beat. Reilly rushes out moments later, white-faced and apparently horrified. A Murder Scene Inside, Gilda lies dead from a blunt blow. The evidence seems to support the simplest story: the angry former lover entered and killed her.

The False Direction

The False Direction A Handprint in Red Reilly's bloody handprint on the gate appears to connect him to the killing. Mrs. Honeycott and the maid recount a cry and a man rushing upstairs. A Hidden Reversal Tommy questions whether the door opening marked someone arriving rather than leaving. The supposed entry and exit sequence may have been inferred from sounds rather than seen.

The Policeman's Exit

The Policeman's Exit Reconstructing the Beat Tommy realizes the constable could have left the house just before the couple arrived. The cry may have been Reilly's, while the footsteps upstairs belonged to the maid. The Real Killer Gilda's estranged husband, disguised by the fog and uniform, entered and struck her. The figure treated as a protector of the scene was its murderer.

At the Grand Adlington Hotel

At the hotel shortly before six

Shortly after six

During Tommy's first examination

The day after the murder