Roger Downes assassination attempt

The attempted murder of Roger Downes is a failed attack at a cinema, where a killer apparently confuses Downes with the man he intended to stab. The mistake leaves Downes alive but exposes the possibility that he remains a target: the police arrange surveillance, while Hercule Poirot warns that A B C may attempt the murder again after discovering the error.

The cinema encounter

Downes, a master at Highfield School for boys, recounts that he rose from his seat at the close of a performance. The seat beside him was empty; a man in the next seat appeared to be asleep, with his legs obstructing the way out. When the man did not respond to Downes’s requests, Downes touched his shoulder and realized he was unconscious or seriously ill. Calling for help, he discovered that his hand was wet and red. The man had been murdered.

The account first presents Downes as the person who finds the victim and summons assistance, not as the intended object of the attack. That understanding changes when the police examine where he had been sitting and how he looked. Downes says he had initially occupied the seat next to the murdered man, then moved along, leaving an empty seat between them. He and the victim were of similar height and build, and both wore woollen scarves around their necks.

The mistaken target

Colonel Anderson explains the significance of those similarities: the murderer followed Downes into the cinema but became confused and attacked the wrong man. The police therefore regard the killing as an attempt on Downes’s life that miscarried through mistaken identity. Inspector Crome says this is the only explanation. The evidence establishes the police’s conclusion about the intended target, although it does not identify who the attacker is or explain why Downes was being followed.

Downes had spoken of his weak heart and described the shock of finding the murdered man. Once Anderson tells him that the knife may have been meant for him, the danger becomes personal. Downes asks why he would have been targeted and characterizes the suspected pursuer as a murderous madman. His physical distress in response to the revelation underscores the reversal: the apparent witness to a stranger’s murder may himself have been the intended victim.

Further danger and precautions

The failed attack does not resolve the threat. Hercule Poirot asks Anderson whether A B C might try again after discovering the mistake. Anderson considers that a possibility, describing the killer as methodical and likely to be upset if events depart from his programme. His warning links the mistaken attack to the larger pattern of planned crimes while stopping short of certainty about what the killer will do next.

The police respond by arranging for the house to be watched, with Inspector Rice having made the arrangements. The attempted murder thus leaves Downes not only alive but under protection: the misidentification has prevented the intended killing, yet may provoke another attempt once the error is recognized. The episode turns an apparent discovery scene into a warning that the danger has not passed.