The Investigation of Alice’s Murder

The A.B.C. Murders

This thread follows how suspicion shifts from Franz Ascher toward a stranger as investigators examine the crime scene and the planted railway guide.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Convenient Suspect A Convenient Suspect from "The A.B.C. Murders". Franz Under Suspicion A threatening husband Franz Ascher has threatened Alice and is found hiding near the railway.

A Convenient Suspect from "The A.B.C. Murders". Franz Under Suspicion A threatening husband Franz Ascher has threatened Alice and is found hiding near the railway.

Franz Under Suspicion A threatening husband Franz Ascher has threatened Alice and is found hiding near the railway. His drinking and hostility make the local explanation seem persuasive. Doubt remains The anonymous warning and Franz’s shaky condition complicate the case. Inspector Glen hesitates to treat the obvious suspect as conclusively guilty.

The Unnoticed Entrance The Unnoticed Entrance from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Busy Street Contradictory sightings Neighbors report multiple strangers, but their accounts are confused and unreliable.

The Unnoticed Entrance from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Busy Street Contradictory sightings Neighbors report multiple strangers, but their accounts are confused and unreliable.

A Busy Street Contradictory sightings Neighbors report multiple strangers, but their accounts are confused and unreliable. The street’s evening bustle allows an unfamiliar visitor to vanish among ordinary movement. A method of inquiry Poirot provokes conversation rather than asking direct questions. The tactic reveals how attention and memory distort what witnesses believe they saw.

The Guide on the Counter The Guide on the Counter from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Deliberate Object No useful prints The railway guide has been wiped, suggesting that its placement was deliberate rather than accidental.

The Guide on the Counter from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Deliberate Object No useful prints The railway guide has been wiped, suggesting that its placement was deliberate rather than accidental.

A Deliberate Object No useful prints The railway guide has been wiped, suggesting that its placement was deliberate rather than accidental. Poirot treats its absence of fingerprints as evidence in itself. A public signature The guide announces the killer’s supposed system. It points toward an elaborate performance instead of explaining the motive for Alice’s death.

The Husband’s Alibi The Husband’s Alibi from "The A.B.C. Murders". Franz’s Account A rough evening Franz claims to have spent the evening drinking with acquaintances.

The Husband’s Alibi from "The A.B.C. Murders". Franz’s Account A rough evening Franz claims to have spent the evening drinking with acquaintances.

Franz’s Account A rough evening Franz claims to have spent the evening drinking with acquaintances. The companions are unreliable, but his condition and behavior do not fit the polished letter writer. A first reassessment Poirot sees reasons to doubt that Franz authored the warning. The gap between the husband’s visible brutality and the murderer’s elaborate staging widens.

A Crime From Outside A Crime From Outside from "The A.B.C. Murders". The Local Theory Falls A stranger’s design The later killings confirm that Alice’s death was part of a wider-looking operation.

A Crime From Outside from "The A.B.C. Murders". The Local Theory Falls A stranger’s design The later killings confirm that Alice’s death was part of a wider-looking operation.

The Local Theory Falls A stranger’s design The later killings confirm that Alice’s death was part of a wider-looking operation. The railway guide was an imposed clue, not an object of her life. A victim selected Poirot eventually learns that Franklin Clarke chose Alice as the first letter in a false sequence. Her murder was designed to attract attention away from another crime.

June 22, 1935, after the discovery

June 22, 1935, during witness interviews

June 22, 1935, at the shop

June 22, 1935, during questioning

After the third murder