25-02-11, 06:11 AM
| #1 | ||||
| نجم روايتي وعضوة في فريق الترجمة 
|  Agatha Christie - The Clocks  Agatha Christie The Clocks  Plot introduction Sheila Webb* a typist-for-hire* arrives at her afternoon appointment to find a well-dressed corpse surrounded by six clocks* four of which are stopped at 4:13. When a blind woman enters the house* Sheila runs screaming into the street and into the arms of a young man who plays a key part in the investigation that follows. Plot summary It is while visiting Wilbraham Crescent that Special Branch agent Colin “Lamb” finds Sheila running into his arms. He is there investigating areas connected with crescents or the moon while following up a clue to the route by which classified information is leaving the country. At 19 Wilbraham Crescent an investigation begins into the murder. The corpse has a business card in its pocket suggesting that he was an insurance salesman called “R. H. Curry”. This proves to be a false lead* since neither the Insurance Company nor the salesman existed. A colourful group of neighbours is interviewed by Inspector Hardcastle with Lamb in attendance. Things begin to look bleaker for Sheila when her aunt* Mrs. Lawton* is interviewed. It seems that Sheila’s other forename is Rosemary* the name on a leather travel clock that has been found at the scene of the murder. Frustrated* Colin (who has fallen for Sheila) approaches Hercule Poirot* an old friend of his father* to investigate the case* challenging him to do so from his armchair as he had always claimed was possible. He leaves Poirot with detailed notes on the investigation thus far. After the inquest* Edna Brent* one of Sheila’s fellow secretaries* is confused by something said in evidence* and attempts to draw it to Hardcastle’s attention but he is too busy to speak to her. Later* she is found dead in a telephone box on Wilbraham Crescent* strangled with her own scarf. After the police are tired by investigations on who the dead man is* a woman called Merlina Rival(original name is Florence Gapp)turns up and claims the dead man was her husband* Harry Castleton. Colin makes an important discovery when he finds a ten-year-old girl* Geraldine Brown* who has been observing the events at Wilbraham Crescent with a pair of opera glasses while confined to her room. She reveals that a new laundry service delivered a heavy basket of laundry on the day of the murder. Miss Rival returns to the police to state that her late husband had a scar behind his ear in case they needed information* but the police reveal that the cut is only a few months old when she claimed that he got the scar years ago. Later* it becomes obvious that the killer is paying her to say this to the police and is later stabbed to death at a bus station. Poirot’s explanation is based on his inference that since the appearance of complexity must conceal quite a simple murder. The clocks are therefore a red herring* as is the presence of Sheila and the confusion about the corpse’s identity. What Edna realised* having returned early to the secretarial bureau due to the damage to her shoe* is that Miss Martindale never took any telephone call that arranged Sheila to visit Miss Pebmarsh’s house. Miss Martindale* one of the conspirators to the murder* is secretly the sister of Mrs. Bland* one of the neighbors of 19* Wilbraham Crescent. The first wife was heiress to the overseas fortune* but when news of it reached the Blands they decided that the second Mrs. Bland must pose as the heiress in order to obtain the fortune. When* however* Quentin Duguesclin* who knew the first wife* decided to look her up in England* a plan was laid to murder him and relocate the body to Miss Pebmarsh’s house. Miss Rival was murdered before she could leak information to the police as no chances could be taken. At the end of the novel* Colin also unravels the mystery of 19 Wilbraham Crescent and its owner Miss Pebmarsh. :qatarw_com_52228917 Enjoy .gif "Eh S(7)") | ||||
|  |
 |
| مواقع النشر (المفضلة) |
| أدوات الموضوع | |
| انواع عرض الموضوع | |
|
|
.png)
العرض العادي
