NEWSBOY: The Times!

Whoa.

Go on.

Sir.

Ma'am.

- Afternoon, Miss Evershot.

- Good afternoon.

This must be your little niece.

Indeed.

Then it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Bertram's Hotel.

Miss Marple.

There you go, miss.

Enjoy your stay.

- Thank you.

Straight off the press!

Missing millionaire pronounced dead after seven years.

Who gets the Blake fortune?

Buy the news, get the scoop.

Is this your first visit to Bertram's, ma'am?

Miss Marple.

I used to stay here often, but a very long time ago.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you back to Bertram's Hotel, Miss Marple.

Thank you.

INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS I'm sorry, ma'am.

Has it changed that much?

Quite the opposite.

It hasn't changed at all.

How very peculiar.

INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS It's the Festival of Britain, Mr Porter.

I've never seen Bertram's busier.

The whole of society has descended.

Ah, no, I'm afraid Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today.

Yes, I'm so sorry.

BRIGIT SIGHS I know, isn't it?

- Gosh.

- Wait until you see the rooms.

Gosh.

Er, no.

I'll carry my own bags, thanks.

Hello, Henry.

I'm back.

This is my dear friend Brigit.

So sorry.

Erm... Oh, just a minute.

There's a band!

Did anybody order a band?

Whose is the band?

Jane.

- Yes, sir.

Those roses and the tiger skin rug to Mr Vice-Muller's room.

Now, please.

- Yes, sir.

SAXOPHONE SHRIEKS INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS Excuse me.

HUMFRIES: Yes, in the pigeonhole, please.

I am Malinowski.

Room 321.

- Good evening.

I happened to find this dropped in the street.

I believe the intended recipient is a guest here.

Bess Sedgwick.

Lady Sedgwick does not have a reservation at Bertram's.

Oh, that is such a shame.

I wonder if she could be using another name.

Perhaps you could pass it on.

Thank you so much.

I'm sorry.

Sorry.

SHE CHUCKLES - Sorry.

Are you all right?

- Yes.

Do you have a reservation for us?

Jack Britten.

- And Joel Britten.

BOTH: We have a twin room.

Mm.

Miss Walker.

- Can we have two keys?

- I'll see to it.

Welcome to Bertram's.

May I say, what an honour.

I hear the Albert Hall is completely sold out.

Well, that's just too kind of you.

Is this enough of a tip?

I can never tell with your funny money.

Well, erm...

This way, please.

Jane.

Jane, is that you?

Oh, Jane.

How wonderful to see you.

- Selina.

How well you look.

As do you.

And I simply adore your... ..punctuality.

I knew I could rely on you for moral support.

There's nothing I hate more than a will reading.

You remember Sir Richard Blake.

Blake Air, the aviation tycoon.

My third cousin once removed.

We used to summer with him at Mayfield's House.

Till Mummy got ill.

Wonderful man.

Of course, he owned Bertram's.

Not that it's what it once was.

None of the London hotels are really safe nowadays.

Have you heard how many robberies there have been recently?

Quite shocking.

Now, didn't his plane go down over the Indian Ocean?

Sir Richard's?

Missing, presumed dead.

Of course, it's over seven years now, so officially he is dead.

That's the family solicitor down there.

Look at him.

I say... SELINA: Shifty as a jackdaw.

- Yes, sir?

The Blake family are gathering for the reading of the will?

Well, there's only really his daughter, Elvira, and her mother, of course, if she turns up.

If she's not engaged in high-level discussions with NATO or beating a land-speed record or wrestling with a grizzly bear.

Who wrestles grizzly bears?

Bess Sedgwick.

The Bess Sedgwick.

Oh, there's Elvira.

All that money, and look at those ghastly shoes.

Oh, hello, Selina.

Keeps her brushed under a rug at some finishing school, I believe.

Still, the life Bess Sedgwick leads, hardly surprising.

JAZZ BAND STARTS PLAYING Oh, no!

ELVIRA: What's that?

Excuse me!

Oi!

Hey!

Oh.

Mr Armstrong.

My room ain't big enough for the kind of rhythm we got goin' on.

So I was getting to kind of wonder if we could practise in here.

H-Here?

In... in here?

In... in this room here?

Yes.

Yes, of course, Mr Armstrong.

But, erm, for the sake of the Bertram's reputation, if I could ask you not to be too... ..jazzy?

CHEEKY BLAST OF TRUMPET FAINT LAUGHTER One, two.

A one, two, three, four.

Louis, may I join you?

Amelia Walker!

Now the party's started!

My goodness.

Isn't that Amelia Walker, the jazz singer?

AMELIA: ♪ In olden days A glimpse of stocking ♪ ♪ Was looked on As something shocking ♪ ♪ Now heaven knows ♪ ♪ Anything goes... ♪ Let's go and sit down over here.

♪ Good authors too Who once knew better words ♪ ♪ Now only use Four-letter words ♪ ♪ Writing prose ♪ ♪ Anything goes... ♪ You are a maid, Cooper, not a guest.

♪ The world has gone mad today And good's bad today ♪ ♪ And black's white today And day's night today ♪ ♪ And most guys today That women prize today ♪ ♪ Are just silly gigolos ♪ ♪ So though... ♪ BAND STOPS PLAYING SELINA: Oh, my goodness.

That's Bess Sedgwick.

Hello, world.

AMELIA: Come on, guys.

Pick it up.

Let's go.

AMELIA SCATTING Elvira.

Mother.

I hardly recognised you.

My, how you've grown.

How nice you look.

- Excuse me?

- Oh, they're just suggestions.

The sort of thing a mother might say to her daughter when she hasn't seen her for six years.

LOUIS SCATTING AMELIA SCATTING Please excuse me.

Lady Sedgwick, is it?

I am Ladislaus Malinowski.

BESS: Good to meet you.

ELVIRA: Aren't you that famous racing car driver?

- Yes, I am.

- Oh, gosh!

How exciting!

You must tell me all about it when we dance!

That's not a good idea, Elvira.

Oh, really?

I think it's a marvellous one.

♪ The world has gone mad today ♪ ♪ And good's bad today ♪ ♪ And black's white today ♪ ♪ And day's night today ♪ ♪ When most guys today That women prize today ♪ ♪ Are just silly gigolos ♪ ♪ So though I'm not... ♪ JANE: Tilly?

Tilly, are you up here?

Tilly?

Here you are!

Mr Humfries has been looking for you.

Mr Humfries can drop dead.

No.

I don't like the taste.

You'll never sound like Marlene Dietrich.

Yeah, I don't want to!

BOTH CHUCKLE Here.

Who got you that?

I got me that.

My ma always said, "Keep your savings in jewels."

Well, who'd get you savings like them?

SHE CHUCKLES You're such a goody-goody, Jane Cooper.

Me, I ain't gonna be a maid for the rest of my life.

Good heavens, are these Louis Quinze?

- Reproductions, all of them.

- But how can you tell?

The difference between genuine Louis Quinze and reproduction Louis Quinze is that genuine Louis Quinze are not left lying around the dining rooms of London hotels.

There you go, sir.

One.

Two.

Three.

Mickey!

What the hell are you doing here?

Waiting for you.

You're married.

That I am.

Married a lovely lass... ..back in Ballygowlan.

HE EXHALES MISS MARPLE: So where's the will reading to be?

In the hotel?

SELINA: No, in Curtain's office.

Sorry.

So sorry!

Hats, you see.

My hats.

You wear all these?

No, no, no.

These hats, my hats.

Yes.

Do... you... wear... your... hats?

Why I wear my hats?

These ladies' hats.

Mutti gentleman.

How charming.

May I see?

No!

Secret hats!

My designs, client's eyes only!

No hats!

No hats for you!

What an extraordinary fellow.

He's quite famous, you know.

Mutti's of Hanover.

ELVIRA: Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could wear hats like those?

AMELIA: Oh, rather.

But they're so terribly French.

I have to... A glass of water... ALL MURMURING Give him some water.

Quickly!

Please undo his collar.

MAID: Don't panic.

Come in.

Evening, ma'am.

Your cocoa.

- Thank you.

Now there's the smile of a girl with a night off.

Me, ma'am?

Oh, no.

Just had some good news, is all, ma'am.

Good night.

SHE BREATHES DEEPLY Mmm.

INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS HE READS INDISTINCTLY MAID: Ah, that's me done.

Night, Tilly.

WOOD CREAKS BELL TOLLS SOFT GASPING HEAVY PANTING KNOCKING AT DOOR MISS MARPLE: Good morning.

Ooh!

How splendid!

Thank you, er... - Jane, ma'am.

Jane Cooper.

- Jane.

Well, that's my name.

Jane Marple.

- Marple?

- Mm-hm.

Oh.

Well, you be enjoying your eggs, won't you, ma'am?

Good morning to you.

Good morning.

SHE BREATHES DEEPLY Tilly?

Tilly, you up here?

Chef's asking for you, and I said that I'd... MICKEY: Good morning.

Thank you.

Right, the National.

The Royal Academy is closer.

Inspector Bird, Scotland Yard.

RECEPTIONIST: Yes, sir.

Ooh!

Ah, Canon Pennyfather.

Your hat!

Oh, thank you!

I'd so hate to lose it.

Canon Pennyfather!

Canon Roderick Pennyfather?

Ooh!

Er, ah, yes.

You are?

- Lady Selina Hazy.

You were a magistrate with my husband, oh, 20 years ago at least.

Lady Selina!

My goodness!

And how is your husband?

Quite dead.

But please do join us and let us hear all your news.

I'm afraid I have something of a headache, but as soon as I've recovered... My shield is God Most High.

Now, isn't that Psalm 123?

Er...

HE CHUCKLES HUMFRIES: You're in for a treat, Inspector Bird.

Golden Flowery First Flush Tippy Orange Pekoe.

This fine tea is worth considerably more than its weight in gold.

HE SLURPS Mmm.

Lovely cuppa.

So, who had contact with the deceased last night, sir?

Tilly did the evening orders, so any number of guests.

I'll need to speak with all of them.

Bertram's has a reputation to... A girl's been murdered, sir.

Strangled.

Yes, yes, of course.

And if I may say so, Inspector, I was expecting someone a little... ..more mature from Scotland Yard.

I was 22 when I was made commander of my company in Normandy.

I saw more there in a week than you'll learn in a lifetime.

So you keep running your nice little hotel, and leave the grown-up police work to me.

BIRD SLURPS Where were you both last night between one and three?

In my room, just talking.

You were absent from your post for an hour last night.

I was...

I was out the back, on my break.

For an hour?

I was in my room.

Humfries can confirm that.

I ordered room service, and he brought it up.

The manager of the hotel brought up your tray?

I was in my room with a headache.

I had a headache and retired.

- How are you feeling now?

- Much recovered, thank you.

Quite fine.

I'm sorry to hear about Tilly Rice.

Rice?

How do you know her surname, Mr Malinowski?

SELINA: I saw nothing, Inspector, but then who ever notices a maid in a hotel?

Tilly Rice was wearing a hat, rather like Bess Sedgwick's.

Didn't you design that for her?

I design for Lady Bess, yes, but Mutti's hats are not worn by maids!

HE SCOFFS - We were both in our room.

- All night.

- So you saw nothing?

JACK: No.

Now, it's Miss, er, Marple, is that correct?

Yes, Inspector, quite correct.

You saw the deceased last night?

Yes.

She said she'd had some good news.

But I suppose, whatever that news was, it didn't end up being very good at all, did it?

No.

Might I ask... how was she killed?

She was strangled.

Oh.

Poor creature.

How was she dressed?

In a coat and hat, quite smart.

Really?

How very odd.

You see, a girl only dresses in a smart hat and coat if she intends to go out of an evening, and yet last night was not her night off.

I wonder... ..would it be possible to see the body?

See... see the body?

Mm.

Madam, this is a police investigation.

It's not an outing of the Darby and Joan.

HUMFRIES: A murder!

And with Bess Sedgwick here!

CURTAIN: Yes, I'd feel happier if she were out of the picture.

HUMFRIES: Of course.

CURTAIN: As if I haven't got enough going on... We've three Blake Guests expected as it is, and I'm almost out of American rooms!

MISS MARPLE: Oh, dear.

Balls.

I-I beg your pardon?

That's the problem with balls instead of skeins.

They roll off into the trickiest places.

I should be getting back to my office.

Mr Curtain, I have a question for you.

Hmm.

It's about my death.

HE CLEARS THROAT SHE SIGHS Ah.

Hello.

And I suppose these would be the stairs to the roof?

Out of bounds, is it?

Mm.

JANE: Psst!

If I'm not too bold, ma'am, there is another way onto the roof.

Ooh.

If I died, what would happen to my share of Richard's will?

Half would pass to your daughter, and half would go to the newly formed Blake Foundation for the Arts.

Of which you are Chief Executive.

It was your husband's...

I'm sorry, ex-husband's wish that I be responsible for his continued financial affairs.

Over the last seven years, what has happened to Richard's estate?

It has been held in trust.

But you mortgaged the casino in Monte Carlo.

How did you know?

A friend, on the board of the bank.

I had to raise capital to offset some poor investment on Sir Richard's part so that his loved ones would be provided for.

How philanthropic of you.

So you won't mind my perusing your accounts?

HE CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY Well, I don't have them here.

At the will reading, then.

I'll check through your books, make sure everything's in place... ..just in case anything should happen to me.

Right, lads, let's get the stretcher up here, quick as you can.

Come on, Constable.

MISS MARPLE: Poor girl.

JANE: The thing is, ma'am, is that I'm certain that hat's not hers.

I've never seen it before, and Tilly, well, she'd always be the first to show off new clothes.

Really?

I don't suppose it will hurt just to have a little look.

SHE GASPS That's very interesting.

Tell me, Jane, why did you show this to me?

Well, I... Let's put this back, shall we?

It only seems fair to give the police a chance.

JANE: My cousin, Louise Stock, was in service at the Bantrys', and she told me all about you, not gossip, you understand, we'd not be so bold, but just how you notice things and how you solve things.

And Tilly being killed, well, nobody's interested in a maid being murdered.

And I thought maybe you could help, if I'm not speaking out of turn.

- Of course not.

Cos Tilly had a lot more money than she should've done.

She always kept this diary.

Her last entry, the night she was killed, was this...

"123."

- "Money received."

- Yeah.

I think "123" was someone she was meeting.

How very interesting.

I'll help however I can.

Oh, thank you, miss.

And if you don't mind, I'd like to help too cos I notice things like what you do.

And what have you noticed at Bertram's?

- There's things going on.

CHEF: Excuse me.

Like how this place has never changed.

That's not right.

Tell me, Jane, what is an "American room"?

Bertram's makes most of its money from American visitors.

The Americans like a little bit of luxury as standard, so we give them extras, like a wireless and a bathroom in their room.

England, as you see it here, hasn't existed for donkey's years, but it's what the Americans want, so we make it up for them.

I thought Bertram's was too good to be true.

You look disappointed, miss.

I am.

But I'd always rather know the truth, wouldn't you?

Yes.

Speaking of which, I wonder if you could do a little questioning on my behalf.

SELINA: Canon!

You simply must join us for dinner tonight.

CANON: Oh, I'm afraid I can't.

The orphans, you see.

I write to potential benefactors on their behalf.

Nonsense!

I insist.

Well, I understand that Bertram's is busy, Humfries.

Heaving, Miss Blake.

But Brigit Milford and I, we're best friends.

You know, and she relies on me.

What if I wasn't there and she needed help?

You know, and with all this talk of robberies, if only you could move her nearer my suite.

It's Room 223.

It's just down the hall.

Room 223 is an American room.

ELVIRA: If Daddy were still here...

Yes, yes, of course, special room for a special lady.

Really?

Thank you!

Brigit, nothing is too good for you.

I'll just be a minute.

Mr Malinowski.

I wanted to say thanks awfully for such a super ride!

In your car, I mean!

My pleasure, Miss Blake.

First floor, isn't it?

Please, call me Elvira, or El.

Everyone else does.

Or, at least, Brigit does.

Brigit is your friend, with her arm... Polio, yes.

You see, we were just 11, and one afternoon I insisted that we went swimming in the river, even though we weren't supposed to.

She contracted the disease?

Contaminated water.

Yes.

The joke of it is, I didn't even go swimming in the end, I just sat there and read.

So, you see, it is my fault, really.

You care for her still?

That's what friends are for.

LIFT BELL DINGS You're very sweet.

This is your floor, Miss Marple.

I'm lucky to have a friend like Brigit.

I mean, when your mother's Bess Sedgwick.

I'm sorry?

You're Bess' daughter?

Why does that matter?

DOOR OPENS Can I see?

Never a work in progress.

We didn't always see eye to eye, me and Tilly, but I do miss her, you know.

Well, she had spirit, that one.

Fire.

You and Tilly, you were drinking partners.

We'd been known to, erm, to share the occasional tipple.

Was there something she knew, Mickey?

Some secret that could have got her killed?

No.

HE CHUCKLES What's all this about?

Maybe... something you told her?

I said no.

KNOCKING IN THE DISTANCE MEN CONVERSING IN THE DISTANCE Still got those talking pipes, then, aye?

You can hear everything from here.

German, that is.

MEN CONVERSING IN GERMAN I still speak a bit from my service days.

What's he saying?

Something about "waiting for my papers".

"South America."

That's all I can make out.

MEN CONTINUE CONVERSING WOMAN MOANING SHE SIGHS I wish you'd told me that you and Mr Malinowski knew each other.

He said he'd never date your daughter, out of respect for you.

Which is a shame, really, cos I thought he was jolly nice.

Ladislaus and I were involved in some, erm... ..confidential work.

Why is it that you always get everything that I can't have?

You get Mr Malinowski, and you get excitement and adventure... ..and you even had Daddy for years longer than I did.

All those stories of him, you could have told me, but you kept them all to yourself.

What's that?

Nothing.

It's business.

Is it true that you led a cell in the French Resistance?

I'm afraid I can't talk about that.

What?

More damn secrets?

You know, whenever I try to talk to you, I try.

Elvira, wait.

SELINA: Good afternoon, Elvira.

Are you... Oh, Bess.

Do you know, for a moment there, I really thought... Selina.

..that you were... Hello, my dear.

Cousin Selina, hello.

"I, Sir Richard Oswald Blake, being of sound mind and body, "do hereby leave my fortune and estates "to be divided into three equal portions "between my daughter from my previous marriage, "Elvira Louise Blake, "my ex-wife Lady Elizabeth Mary Sedgwick, "and to the newly formed "Blake Charitable Foundation for the Arts."

And that's pretty much it, in the main.

A very straightforward will.

Doesn't he... mention anyone else?

CURTAIN: Ah.

Of course.

"And to my third cousin, Lady Selina Hazy, "who was always so happy "at my Cornish estate, Mayfield House, "I leave to you..." SHE GASPS "..my lithograph print of it as a happy reminder of the place "of which you were so fond."

How charming.

I don't suppose...

I mean... Is it valuable at all?

Ah.

No.

Oh.

You on a break, Gorman?

Er, no, Inspector.

I...

I was looking for you.

I have some information.

Something I overheard.

One of the guests talking in German.

About wanting his papers and South America.

What if there's a Nazi at Bertram's?

INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS Mr Curtain.

The paperwork?

Ah.

I'm afraid it is going to take a little longer... Then I'll be 'round tomorrow at three o'clock sharp.

Let's hope nothing happens to me between now and then.

I'm sure I've seen that before.

Yes.

Like the one at Bertram's.

Copied by the same artist, I expect.

ELVIRA: I'm so glad that's over.

BRIGIT: You poor, poor thing.

ELVIRA: Shall we get a taxi?

I don't feel like...

I'm so sorry about Tilly, Mrs Rice.

I packed up all her things for her.

Nice as I could.

She always thought so highly of you.

"Jane's one to watch," she used to say.

Really?

Mrs Rice.

Did she have more money than she ought?

Oh, yeah.

She said it was him that gave it to her.

That foreigner she was stepping out with.

Do you remember his name?

Lars something.

Louse?

Not Ladislaus Malinowski?

Filthy monkeys.

Worse than Jews.

Mr Mutti, Mr Malinowski.

I'm glad I caught you.

Caught us?

An English expression for "met with".

Ah.

I was wondering if I could see your papers?

Our papers?

Why should we show you our papers?

Well, I say wondering.

I mean, insisting.

If you'd be so kind.

You're a resident of Milan, Mr Malinowski?

123 Via Celoria?

Celoria.

It is very beautiful, Inspector, if you should... Mr Mutti.

Well, this all seems to be in order.

I'm sure you won't mind if I hang on to these to check them out.

AMELIA: ..outside the back, because of the fans.

LIFT BELL DINGS Thank you.

Oh!

Hold the doors!

Good day, my dear.

ELVIRA: Good day, Miss Walker.

Why is it that you hate my mother so?

The way that you looked at her yesterday, I'd have thought you'd have shot her if you could.

Some people deserve shootin'.

And I'm afraid, my dear, your mother is one of them.

What do you mean?

Bess Sedgwick took my husband.

And she didn't give him back.

CALL BELL DINGS RECEPTIONIST: Good afternoon, madam.

How may I help you?

We've been getting The Times, and it's not been ordered.

We asked for The Telegraph.

Oh.

Good evening, er, Jack?

It is, Miss Marple, but however could you tell?

Well, I did happen to notice.

Aren't you left-handed?

Whereas your brother Joel... - Is right-handed.

That's right.

Ah, I see.

So if I'd been carrying my paper like so... Well, then, that would have been very confusing.

BOTH CHUCKLE Oh, Selina, how was the will reading?

Well, fine.

Fine.

Although... Oh.

How odd.

They've moved that painting, the Rembrandt copy.

Mr Curtain had the same one in his office.

It looks like a Vermeer copy now.

HUMFRIES: Mr Malinowski.

MALINOWSKI: Did Bess Sedgwick receive my letter?

I'm sure if she had, I... wouldn't be able to comment.

Letters.

Threats.

Three women.

Three black hats.

BIRD: See what you can find.

Inspector!

I'm so glad to have caught you.

It was the hat, you see.

The hat was all wrong.

Just like Mrs Royston in the post office.

Mrs Royston?

The black hat on poor Tilly Rice's head.

Surely you noticed how similar the dead girl was to Elvira Blake.

Are you suggesting the killer mistook Tilly Rice, the maid, for Elvira Blake, the heiress?

And have you noticed also how very alike mother and daughter are in those hats?

You're saying Tilly Rice was killed because someone thought she was Lady Sedgwick?

I'm saying there are three people who all look very similar.

One of them is dead, and another... ..may be in great danger.

Lady Sedgwick happened to drop this.

You said her hat was wrong?

I can't quite work it out, but it does remind me of Mrs Royston in the post office back in St Mary Mead.

If Mrs Royston saw another woman wearing a coat or a skirt that she liked, she'd always say, "I bought one like that just last week."

Then she'd rush out to buy the coat or the skirt, rather than let anyone know she was copying.

She always wanted everyone to think she thought of it first.

Oh.

I see.

You do?

I'm so glad.

Because, you see, that's what's wrong with the hat.

Underneath, her hair was messy.

Something's going to happen, and it's going to seem as if it came after poor Tilly's death, but really... it came first.

PEOPLE APPLAUDING ♪ Some day he'll come along ♪ ♪ The man I love ♪ ♪ And he'll be big and strong ♪ ♪ The man I love ♪ ♪ And when he comes my way ♪ ♪ I'll do my best ♪ ♪ To make him stay ♪ ♪ He'll look at me And smile... ♪ DOOR OPENS ♪ I'll understand ♪ ♪ And in a little while ♪ ♪ He'll take my hand ♪ ♪ And though It seems absurd... ♪ Do you know if the deceased was planning to meet anyone up here?

- Tilly.

- Sorry?

Her name was Tilly.

And, no, she didn't say she was expecting anyone.

A gentleman friend, maybe?

If Tilly was planning on stepping out, she would've made sure she was wearing lipstick.

How do you know that she wasn't?

Have you been up here already?

Didn't need to.

Her cigarette.

No lipstick marks.

That's clever of you to notice that.

Yeah, well, just because I wear a pinny don't mean I'm stupid.

No.

Well... ..that's me told.

You can see why she loved it up here.

Look at that view.

Well, aren't you gonna look?

I've seen it already.

I don't understand you.

You can't be that much older than me, and yet... and yet you act like you're an old man.

It's been a difficult war.

I've seen that look before.

I thought we were fighting for a better world.

When we come back... ..nothing had changed.

My sister worked in munitions.

"This is it," she said.

"Equality for women."

And then the war ends, and here I am in service.

But even London looks beautiful from up here.

Yeah.

Yeah, it does.

AMELIA: ♪ He'll build a little home ♪ ♪ Just meant for two ♪ ♪ From which I'll never roam ♪ ♪ Who would?

Would you?

♪ ♪ And so all else above ♪ ♪ I'm waiting for ♪ ♪ The man ♪ ♪ I ♪ ♪ Love ♪ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS Ooh, it's good.

- Good evening.

- Good evening, dear.

ELVIRA: You're not for the concert tonight at the Albert Hall?

Oh, no, dear.

We're staying in tonight.

Jazz is such ungodly music, and "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'

" Psalms 14:1.

HE CHUCKLES What is it that's wrong with the plain girl?

Rickets?

- Polio, I believe.

- Mm.

You can see they're quite devoted to each other.

"But the needy will not always be forgotten, "nor the hopes of the afflicted ever perish."

Psalms 9:18.

What very interesting quotations you employ, Canon Pennyfather.

JACK: Good evening, Miss Marple.

Have you, by any chance, seen my brother?

I'm sorry, er... Jack.

That's right.

- Maybe he's at the concert.

- Oh, no.

Neither Joel nor I are very fond of jazz.

Well, enjoy your soup.

HE SLURPS SHE GASPS WATER RUNNING MISS MARPLE: Where is it your Canon of?

CANON: Ely, Miss... - Really?

Why, the Archbishop of York is an old friend of the family.

He runs his province so well, don't you think?

Oh, magnificently, Miss... Ooh!

Really?

Oh, my dear.

Your brother was looking for you just a moment ago.

He went that way.

Oh, thank you, Lady Hazy.

Well, let's hope that we don't have a repeat of last night's excitement.

PEOPLE EXCLAIMING DOOR OPENS AND CREAKS DOOR CLOSES Once again, so many apologies, ladies and gentlemen, for the loss of light.

I'm sure, with a little Dunkirk spirit... What's with the dicky lights in the dining room?

They're A-OK everywhere else.

Oh, dear.

We seem to have lost Canon Pennyfather.

Look at that fog, Jane.

I'm glad I'm not outside on a night like this.

Oh, look.

Even Bess Sedgwick has abandoned her car.

And she's beaten land speed records.

GUN FIRES, PEOPLE SHRIEKING There's a sniper!

MICKEY: Watch out!

Get out of the way!

Be careful!

SHE SCREAMS ALL GASP Somebody do something!

First floor!

This one!

It's locked.

Break it down!

BOTH GRUNT GUN FIRES PEOPLE SCREAMING BOTH GRUNT BIRD: Come on!

What craziness?

GUN FIRES SHE SIGHS That is enough!

I see him.

I see him.

BOTH GRUNT BIRD: Where is he?

HE PANTS Nothing here.

It was bolted from the inside.

Elvira?

Mother!

SHE SOBS Why was he shooting at me?

I don't know what's happening.

ELVIRA CONTINUES SOBBING I just don't understand it.

You knew this was going to happen!

"Know" is such a fervent sort of word, Inspector.

I "know" no more than you, but one has to wonder who the real target of the shooting was.

Those hats, you see, all so similar.

You mean, did the killer think he was firing at Lady Sedgwick, or did he actually know it was her daughter?

But what about her death threat?

Certainly the note was not real.

- No.

No, of course not.

- Mm.

Actually, you've lost me there.

Who sends a written death threat?

Not someone who truly intends to kill the recipient.

It's common sense not to warn them.

I wanted to clear my head, and so I went for a little walk.

I couldn't afford the concert.

My allowance is small until I get my inheritance.

Can't be cheap staying at Bertram's.

Oh, I-I stay here for free.

I've been running 'round Bertram's since I was a little girl.

Now it's all been made so horrible.

I was just coming back from my walk, and I could just see the torches burning, just like when I was little and Daddy took me for a stroll.

'He knew I loved London at night.'

GUN FIRES 'And then it hit the ground, right in front of me.

'And another one.

'And then that man who saved my life.'

GUN FIRES 'And then I...

I just...

I panicked.'

'Where'd you get the gun from?'

'It was Mother's.'

I was looking for her last night, but she wasn't in her room, so to annoy her, I stole it from her bag.

I'm not feeling up to being questioned.

BIRD: You told me you were in your room the night Tilly Rice was strangled.

That isn't true, is it?

No comment.

Someone ran a bath in your room and let it flood the ceiling of the rooms below.

Someone must have come in when I wasn't there.

Who would wanna do that?

Plasterers.

Making work for themselves.

There is a recession on, Inspector.

But if you weren't in your room when the bath was run, were you anywhere near Room 123?

Inspector, how many hands does it take to operate a rifle?

Of the type we found, two.

Yes, of course.

I'm sorry to have taken your time, Miss Milford.

I was at the concert from start to finish, Inspector, as I have already said.

What brought you to Bertram's in the first place?

I have a flight from London airport to Lucerne tomorrow morning.

A flight which I will now miss.

But the real reason for your stay is to design hats?

Ja.

In Berlin now there is no hat industry.

But then in Berlin now, there is no hats and no industry.

During the war... were you loyal to Germany?

My war record is classified.

This is a murder investigation.

I do not answer to police inspectors.

Maybe you're not used to it being that way, but you're in Britain now.

And don't I know it.

Don't it ever stop raining here?

Why did you use the back stairs?

To avoid the fans.

You know, they think they own you.

Is there anything else?

One thing.

What can you tell me about the shooting?

Well, the lights all fused before it started just as I was looking for my brother.

- Did you find him?

- Yes.

Both of us were in the morning room when the shots were fired.

Thank you, er, Jack, isn't it?

Joel, Inspector.

Don't worry, it happens all the time.

SHE GASPS Bleeding hell!

You better watch where you're going!

Or do I have to have a heart attack every time I walk 'round a corner?

"Bleeding hell"?

Well... the situation asked for it.

It's not like I'm addicted to blue language, is it?

Anyway, I was wondering, Brigit Milford, Miss Elvira's friend.

Do you think... - I know what you're thinking.

Her hand.

No.

I've checked her medical records.

There's no question of her faking it.

Oh.

Well... Well... - I'd best be going.

- I'll let you get on.

Well, good night, miss.

Jane.

It's Jane.

SELINA: Oh, Jane, it's the queerest thing, but I just don't seem to have any money any more.

I can't even pay my bill here.

I thought if Richard had left me just a little money... Well, now it's dreaded Plan B, sell Mummy's beautiful necklace.

Selina, I had no idea.

Well, it's only rocks and metal after all.

I'm sure worse things happen at sea.

Oh, no!

They've been...

But I...

I put them in the safe!

They should have been... safe.

Quite expertly cracked.

Oh, Jane.

VOICE BREAKS: What am I going to do?

SHE SOBS Selina, my... HUMFRIES: This makes things very complicated.

Three Blake Guests, we're expecting three guests.

I've had to put them all off.

Not to mention the merchandise.

The buyer can view at my office.

There's plenty of it there.

I hope you're right.

I'm not happy at all with this situation.

CURTAIN: Oh, stop... What is a Blake Guest?

I'm not sure, except that we get them every few weeks.

They always arrive by Blake Air, and it's always at night.

They never have to pay for their bills, and we're always told that they're not to be disturbed.

They stay in their rooms until one night, they've gone again.

I wonder, how many Blake Guests are in the hotel at present?

Just one.

So who occupies this room?

A Mr Jackson.

I've never seen him.

He booked the room for four weeks in advance.

I assumed he was an aficionado of the oriental style.

So Mr Jackson could be anyone.

Oh, I'm hardly qualified to comment on police work, Inspector.

I just get on with running my... nice little hotel.

Room 123.

I wondered if it was significant.

This window gives the best shot of the street.

That's why Mr Jackson, our sniper, wanted it kept at his disposal.

Not that I expect "Mr Jackson" is his real name.

No, and I think Tilly knew exactly who Mr Jackson was and maybe even what he was up to.

By chance this diary fell into my possession.

Tilly Rice, the murdered maid.

"123," and next to it, "money received."

I reckon Tilly was blackmailing Mr Jackson, and that's what got her killed.

I wonder, Inspector, if we could go over events.

The sniper fired from this window, and when you broke down the door...

Which was locked and bolted from the inside.

..the sniper had vanished.

But Elvira Blake said she saw the sniper from the street.

She saw the rifle resting on the windowsill, but can we really be sure she saw any more than that?

But where did he go?

Not out the window.

There were witnesses in the street.

Joel Britten and I were outside that door the whole time!

Anyway, the door was bolted from the inside.

What if the sniper had already left before you got here?

When you forced the door, this part of the bolt was ripped from the door frame, right?

Just like Mrs Royston in the post office.

You mean something happened after it seemed to?

Well, almost.

In this case, I think it happened before.

Wouldn't you say, Jane?

Oh, yes.

You see these holes?

Notice anything odd about them, Inspector?

They've been unscrewed.

Not ripped out by force.

The killer unscrewed this before the shooting, then drew the bolt into it.

When he left, he shut the door behind him.

You thought that you'd ripped it out of the frame.

But it was never in the frame.

Right, so he locked the door from the outside.

But then where did he go?

I came this way, and no-one passed Amelia Walker on the back stairs.

And yet the sniper cannot have simply vanished.

Look, it's, er, highly improper of me to even ask this, but... ..do you have any idea what happened?

No, Inspector.

Not yet.

But it's interesting, don't you think, that the killer needed us to be moved from the Victoria dining rooms and into the morning room before the shooting could take place?

I believe everything we saw was designed as a spectacle.

A show which required its audience.

That's why the killer had us moved so that we could see properly into the street.

Which does rather point us in a definite direction, don't you think?

Yes.

Like what?

That Mickey Gorman... ..was always the intended target.

Well, he kept his paintings down here.

Ah.

MG. Mickey Gorman.

Look.

It's the same woman.

Same dress, same posture.

He was sweet on her, whoever she was.

And she broke his heart.

Look at where he placed her, always just out of reach.

This is love, but from afar.

Lizzy.

Mickey had a wife called Lizzy back in Ballygowlan.

But you wouldn't recognise her.

Not from any of this.

Oh, no.

Jane, look closely.

Look at her necklace.

Miss Marple, I've got a bit of a theory coming on.

Mickey Gorman was a very talented painter.

What if he did these, got himself mixed up in some sort of art fraud?

Cos then he'd be worth shutting up.

Forgery?

Hmm.

I wonder.

Unless, of course, it's quite the opposite.

Come on, we're late.

All right, all right, I'm coming.

KNOCKING AT DOOR JANE: Mr Malinowski?

Housekeeping.

LOCK CLICKING JANE GASPS MALINOWSKI: What are you doing?

Oh!

Sir, you startled me.

I said, "What are you doing?"

Just turning down the bed.

Like I do every morning.

Oh, Lord!

- What?

A face!

At the window!

There is nothing here.

Oh.

I must have been spooked.

What with the shooting and that.

I'm so sorry, sir.

Do you want me to come back later?

Later?

To turn down your bed.

No.

I'm not bothered by such things.

Sorry, sir.

Very well, sir.

Wait.

Your keys.

Oh.

I'd forget my own head.

DOOR CLOSES SHE EXHALES What were you doing in there, Miss Cooper?

SHE EXHALES Nothing, Inspector.

Miss Cooper, I know you've been talking with Miss Marple, who is, I have discovered, a very nosy lady.

Please... ..stay safe.

Me?

Yeah.

I'm so close, Bess.

I'm certain.

If the police don't ruin... MISS MARPLE: Lady Sedgwick.

Your necklace is very beautiful.

Oh.

Thank you.

But I can't help but feel I've seen it before.

In a painting by Mickey Gorman.

Bess.

Elizabeth.

Lizzy.

- Don't call me that.

It was his name for you, wasn't it?

Mickey.

Your husband.

Yes.

We married in Ballygowlan.

He's a wonderful, bloody-minded man, you've never known the like.

It couldn't last.

My family soon saw to that.

You never stopped loving him?

ELVIRA: Was he my father?

No, Elvira.

I was younger than you when I married Mickey.

You came many years later.

Then why did he come here?

BESS SIGHS Because he was a gentleman.

He would never approach me until Richard had legally been declared dead.

That's the measure of the man Mickey Gorman was.

Elvira, you don't seem entirely surprised.

I'm not.

Please don't think I was prying, but I found these letters after Daddy died.

Well, there was one from Grandmama where it all came out.

I was so...

I was so terribly rude to him.

Mickey, I mean.

I thought he'd come to cause trouble.

Oh, no.

Mickey wouldn't do that.

Now I have a lawyer to intimidate.

Curtain?

But you're not seeing him till three.

That's what he thinks.

The element of surprise, Elvira.

Perhaps the two of you could go together.

I always find a journey is such an excellent opportunity to... catch up.

Don't you think?

TIBBS: I'm sorry!

Do you have an appointment?

BESS: No.

Get out of my way.

- You can't just... PAPERS RUSTLING Mr Curtain!

Oh, Lord.

Stop him!

HE GRUNTS, BOTH GASP CURTAIN THUDS HE GROANS CURTAIN: Thank you, Miss Tibbs.

That will be all.

Shall I call the police?

CURTAIN AND BESS: No.

Certificates, receipts, and some very interesting sales records.

You've been doing rather a lot of trading on the Blake estate behind all our backs.

For your own good.

Sir Richard was not the financial genius you all seem to think.

You filthy liar.

This paperwork proves it.

The funds you raised were flowing into your pockets!

- Those dockets prove nothing!

- Oh, really?

Then why were you trying to burn them?

Well, I...

HE STUTTERS HE SIGHS And what will you do now?

Go to the police?

You think I'm afraid of scandal?

None of this will stand up in court.

Then I'll administer my own justice.

HE GASPS AND PANTS Put it down, Lady Sedgwick.

Now.

CURTAIN: I told you no police!

I didn't call them, I swear!

We had an anonymous tip-off, Mr Curtain.

Looks like I arrived just in time.

Yes.

Yes!

Arrest this madwoman!

No, Mr Curtain, the anonymous tip-off was about you.

Someone thinks you've been writing nasty letters.

Me?

What?

Never!

In that case, you won't mind me having a little look.

But...

I've never seen that before.

Hubert Curtain, I'm arresting you for the attempted murder of Lady Bess Sedgwick and for the manslaughter of Mickey Gorman.

You weasel.

Better a weasel than an old witch!

- Old?

OFFICER: Come along.

Miss Marple was right.

It isn't a copy.

It's the exact same one that was hanging at Bertram's.

Art expert, are you now, Jane?

It's the frame I recognise.

The amount of times I've dusted it.

You see this T scratched in there?

But why is it here?

CAB DRIVER: Yes, madam?

- Bertram's Hotel, please.

Ma'am.

Mother?

I'm so sorry about Mickey Gorman.

You must have loved him very much.

Yes.

Mickey.

He was so...

I never meant to be a terrible mother.

- Please, you don't... - No, it's the fear, you see.

To love something so much and, well, for one's own life to be so terribly dangerous.

I...

I could face anything except the thought of something happening to you.

So I put up walls between us to keep you safe.

I won't fail you again.

What the devil's going on, Inspector?

I've been speaking to the Rembrandt expert from the National Gallery.

Apparently our fake Rembrandt is the worst kind of copy.

- What's wrong with it?

- It's the original.

Right.

I want everything that looks remotely valuable catalogued before the experts get here.

What happened to that painting?

What painting?

I want that Vermeer, Humfries!

And I want answers!

Humfries and Curtain are refusing to say anything, but the Rembrandt is real.

I expect you'd guessed that.

I had my suspicions.

Everyone assumes paintings on public display in a hotel are copies without actually checking.

It's quite the best place to hide a genuine work of art.

In plain sight.

But why move one to Curtain's office?

I would imagine he had a buyer lined up.

With the police at Bertram's following the murder, the buyer would have to view the goods at Curtain's office.

And the death threat that you found at Mr Curtain's?

Same handwriting as the one you picked up in the reading room.

He's claiming it was planted.

Do you think Mr Curtain was the sniper in Room 123, Inspector?

Well, if he was, I don't know how he did it.

Vanished into thin air.

I mean, he's not The Invisible Man.

Mm.

All right.

So, persons unknown flood a bath, fusing the lights, so the diners are relocated here to allow a proper view of the street.

But why?

Because in some way, what we thought we saw on the night of the shooting was not what actually took place.

I keep seeing the events of the evening in my mind, and something is wrong.

Some little detail.

But through that lies the answer to everything.

If she was there and the sniper was there, then surely.

But then it could only be possible if one person could be in two places at the same time.

Of course!

The hand!

It was the wrong hand!

Er war's!

Er war's!

It was him!

I'll kill you.

I'll kill you.

Put the gun down and step away from Canon Pennyfather.

Now!

Inspector, it's not what it seems.

Filth.

Monster.

Nazi.

You will pay for what you've done!

Oh, dear Lord, please!

I don't know what he's talking about!

Oh, I think you do, Canon Pennyfather.

Or whatever your real name is.

Ladislaus, put the gun down.

There must be a trial for his kind.

Or they win.

The bumbling, forgetful curate, like something from a play or a story, but who didn't know his Bible or his diocese.

I noticed, Canon, how you only ever quoted from Psalms.

And you thought your church in Ely fell under the province of my friend the Archbishop of York.

But Ely is under the Province of Canterbury, not York.

HE SPEAKS IN GERMAN This man is Herman Koch.

The Butcher of Riga.

HE CONTINUES SPEAKING IN GERMAN But aren't you a Nazi too?

A Nazi hunter, Inspector.

Mr Malinowski's cigarette case with the swastika design, no real Nazi would carry around clues like that.

But someone trying to bring a Nazi out into the open...

This man murdered my family and stole the treasures from my home.

JANE: Of course, the Rembrandt.

You came over all faint the day that you arrived here.

'I thought you were staring at Lady Sedgwick, but you weren't.

'You were staring at the painting behind her.'

Ja.

And when I saw it, I knew he must be here.

This morning I met an associate, and he confirmed from my photographic evidence that this man is the Butcher of Riga!

It's true.

I've been helping Ladislaus since he arrived.

Erm, look here, this has absolutely nothing to do with Bertram's Hotel.

Nazis, war criminals... That's what a Blake Guest is, isn't it, Mr Humfries?

A Nazi on the run, flown in on Blake Air, swapping their stolen treasures for a passage to a safe country.

How dare you.

You... You maid!

Yeah.

You'll be doing your own cleaning where you're going.

So Canon Pennyfather wasn't Canon Pennyfather?

I'm afraid not.

You see, the real Canon Pennyfather is holidaying in Lucerne, and it was very easy to steal his identity.

BIRD: Right.

Let's go back to the beginning.

Tilly Rice was strangled on the roof.

But why?

It was her hat, you see.

It was all wrong.

Tilly was strangled, but her hat was pinned down tight, so her hair underneath it should've been neat, but it wasn't, it was messy, which means the hat was pinned in place after she was murdered.

This is ridiculous.

Who is this girl playing detective?

Go on, Jane.

The hat created a false connection.

If Tilly had been mistaken for Lady Sedgwick, then Lady Sedgwick would have been the killer's real target.

The death threats were just a smokescreen.

Mickey Gorman was always the sniper's intended victim.

MISS MARPLE: The killer wanted us to believe that the death of Mickey Gorman came after the death of Tilly Rice, and, of course, in strict chronological sense, it did.

But the planning of it had always come long before.

Did the killer send the fake death threats to me?

Yes, Lady Sedgwick.

Then the killer was Mr Curtain.

But I've never seen that before.

No, it couldn't have happened... Oh, sorry.

No, it's all right, you go on.

Please.

No, Mr Curtain wasn't the murderer.

The letters were planted in his office by the real killer.

Mr Malinowski?

Why didn't you tell us you were courting Tilly Rice?

Courting?

No!

She was my informant in the hotel.

There you go, sir.

MALINOWSKI: 'My eyes and ears in the hunt for Herman Koch.'

I went to see her the night she died, and she told me she had to meet someone afterwards.

123.

That's what Tilly called the killer in her diary.

Tilly was blackmailing 123 about something that Mickey Gorman told her when he was drunk.

Tilly thought that 123 would make her rich, but, instead, 123 killed her.

Tilly codenamed the killer 123 because she saw them in Room 123 when they never should have been there.

MISS MARPLE: It never ceases to amaze me.

No matter how complicated these affairs seem to be, they always boil down to one thing.

Money.

Lady Sedgwick was about to inherit a vast fortune from her ex-husband, as was her daughter Elvira.

Mr Curtain was about to take responsibility for a third of the entire Blake estate.

Even you had a motive, Lady Selina.

Me?

If Bess and Elvira died, you would inherit Mayfield House.

But surely you don't suspect... JANE: You have to be clear on where everyone was.

Miss Marple and Lady Selina were in the morning room, and Mr Humfries was there too.

Amelia Walker was coming up the back stairs, and Miss Blake was in the street.

Lady Sedgwick and Mr Malinowski were caught in the fog, and Mr Mutti and Mr Curtain were to arrive later on foot.

Both Joel and I were in the morning room with you.

Then I helped you break down the door to Room 123.

Oh, no.

There was only one twin present that night.

- But you saw both of us.

- No.

We saw two sets of clothes on one person.

Have you, by any chance, seen my brother?

JANE: 'All you did was change your clothes.'

I saw your clip-on ties.

'Perfect for a quick-change act.'

Anyone would have thought they'd seen both of you, when in fact, Jack was elsewhere in the hotel for the best part of about an hour.

This is ridiculous!

You can't possibly know... MISS MARPLE: I can, my dear.

You remember when we passed in the lobby?

JANE: 'It wasn't what hand you were holding your paper in 'that gave you away.'

If I'd been carrying my paper...

It was your watch.

..like so.

You wear your watches on different wrists.

It was the wrong hand.

But we didn't kill Mickey Gorman.

No.

You were too busy stealing Lady Selina's jewels.

PEOPLE MURMURING AMELIA: Oh, my goodness!

Oh!

- How can I ever... JACK: Get your hands off me!

I should like to telephone my solicitor!

OFFICER: Be quiet!

BIRD: With Tilly Rice out of the way, 123 put their master plan into action.

The murder of Mickey Gorman.

What was it that Mickey Gorman and Tilly Rice knew?

They knew about Ballygowlan.

A small town in Ireland, where Mickey Gorman married a very young... ..Bess Sedgwick.

What of it?

I'm not ashamed.

We did a little investigation at the records office in Somerset House.

JANE: The secret of Ballygowlan wasn't that you were married to Mickey Gorman, it's that you were never divorced.

SHE GASPS Damn you all to hell!

Yes.

I killed Mickey Gorman and Tilly Rice.

I wasn't gonna let them get between me and Richard's estate.

BIRD: They knew the will was invalid.

Sir Richard left the money to his ex-wife.

But you were never married to Sir Richard.

Aren't you the clever one?

I thought sending myself notes was a cunning touch, and putting one in Curtain's office.

You shot at Elvira and dressed Tilly in the hat.

Yes!

And it was a damn good plan!

Mother!

I'm sorry, Elvira.

I'm sorry for everything.

No!

But you're not gonna get me alive!

GUN COCKS I've always said, whatever else a woman may be, once she is a mother, her child comes first.

But this isn't the way to help her.

This is your mother's attempt to make amends, my dear.

To give her freedom in exchange for yours.

We both know Bess Sedgwick was not the killer in Room 123, and she couldn't have strangled Tilly Rice.

At the time Tilly died, you were with Mickey Gorman, weren't you, Lady Sedgwick?

But then, Miss Blake... MISS MARPLE: Your devotion to Brigit, your driving need to help her in her illness, how far would that obsession take you?

I think you wondered too, Lady Sedgwick.

Blow me down.

You knew the notes were fake.

The note you put in Mr Curtain's desk was one you had already received.

You planted it not to throw suspicion onto Mr Curtain, but away... from Elvira.

Because 123... was your own daughter.

If Brigit was to enjoy any quality of life, you'd need a great deal of money.

The will stipulated that your inheritance was to be paid to "my daughter by my first marriage".

But as the marriage was never lawful, Mickey Gorman and Tilly Rice knew enough to cost you your entire fortune.

There you go, sir.

One.

Two.

Three.

Tilly Rice was blackmailing you.

So it was you she was planning on meeting up on the roof.

TILLY GASPING ELVIRA: But it can't have been me that shot Mickey Gorman.

I was in the street when the sniper fired.

Of course, the crime needed two people to work.

Yourself and Brigit.

That's why you wanted an American room for Brigit.

Cos the American rooms are the only ones with an en suite bath.

'Brigit left her bath to run over 'and fuse the electrics of the floor below.'

MISS MARPLE: 'Knowing the guests 'would be moved to the morning room 'to witness the shooting.'

PEOPLE EXCLAIMING But I couldn't have fired a rifle.

MISS MARPLE: Mm.

Because the sniper was you, Elvira.

Think, Jane.

The hand was wrong.

Of course!

That's so clever!

Miss Cooper, for those of us not so intellectually gifted... Brigit must've left the hotel first, dressed as Elvira... ..then doubled back on herself and put on the hat and a veil.

Is that right?

MISS MARPLE: 'Brigit then approached the hotel 'in full view of us all.'

GUN FIRES 'Elvira fired at her feet.

'You're an excellent shot, like your mother, 'and when Gorman ran out...' GUN FIRES HE GASPS '..you killed him in cold blood.

'Then, knowing staff are never noticed, 'you slipped down the back stairs 'disguised as a maid.

'As you said, you spent your childhood at Bertram's.

'Who knows its hidden routes and corners better?

'Your knowledge of the hotel 'allowed you to creep up behind Brigit.

'Then you stepped forward, 'firing again at the non-existent sniper.

'Almost perfect.

'But you had given yourself away.'

I see him!

You see, Brigit has no use of her right hand, and so she fired with her left.

Once you took over, you used your right hand.

As with the Britten twins, the hand was wrong.

Well, that's quite a theory.

Oh, El.

You're more than I deserve... ..but I can't live with this guilt.

You're right.

Elvira did it all.

For me.

When I found out that Mickey Gorman had got a job here, I thought he'd come to blackmail me.

I swear, Mother, I didn't know he'd only come for you.

OFFICER: All right, miss.

ELVIRA SOBS ELVIRA: Mother.

OFFICER: Come with us, please.

That's it.

Come on.

- No!

I'm sorry, Mother.

I'm so sorry!

I forgive you.

I forgive you!

What I did, I did for good reasons.

You murdered two people in cold blood.

No, young lady, there is nothing good about what you have done at Bertram's Hotel.

But then what happened to the other painting, the Vermeer?

I think we're about to find out.

Miss Walker?

Mr Curtain's secretary tells me you've been a regular visitor to his office over the last few days.

You were the buyer Mr Curtain had lined up for the paintings, weren't you?

If you believe I have the missing Vermeer, Inspector, please feel free to check my luggage.

Do you always travel with this, Miss Walker?

I used to play a bit myself.

A bit rusty now.

Always hated the scales.

Open her up, lads.

Well, I'd better get my money back.

Mr Mutti.

It's home.

Oh, my fathers, they are both home.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

BIRD: It's my pleasure, sir.

What's the matter, Jane?

I was so stupid.

Thinking it was Lady Sedgwick.

How can I ever be as good as you?

Get older.

BIRD: Er, Miss Cooper?

Jane.

Erm, I wonder if I could, erm... ..if you would be so good as to, er... er, if you'd maybe like to consider... You're the most wonderful, intelligent, beautiful woman I've ever met.

When I first saw you, you took my breath away, and it hasn't come back yet.

CHEF: Excuse me.

When I'm near you, I feel drunk, or dizzy, or drunk and dizzy, and like I'm walking on air.

- Inspector Bird.

- Whatever you think of me, if it's a fraction of what I feel for you, if there's any hope you could in your heart...

Inspector Bird!

Yes?

- What's your first name?

CHEF: Excuse me.

Well... it's Larry.

Larry Bird.

Well, Larry Bird, whatever it is you're trying to ask me... ..my answer is yes.

Oh, Jane.

I don't know what to...

I don't know what to... Shh.

Afternoon, Miss Marple.

Oh, good afternoon.

How nice to see a familiar face.

Enjoyed yourself, have you?

Well, it's certainly not the Bertram's I remember.

I'm sorry to hear that.

But then, neither should it be.

Miss Marple!

I just had to tell you.

Larry, Inspector Bird, he's asked me to go away with him.

- And get married?

- Oh, no.

Just live together and see how things work out.

He says, after the war, that's the way things should happen.

Actually, I said that, and then he agreed with me.

And you'd leave Bertram's?

Larry was saying that it's only a matter of time before women are allowed into the police force, and I thought maybe I could.

What do you think?

I think it sounds exactly like the sort of thing I would never have done at your age... ..but always wish I had.

SHE CHUCKLES Things are changing, Jane.

And I think for the better.

Good luck, my dear.

Thank you, Miss Marple.

You've changed my life.

BIRD: Jane!

Well, at least that's real.

MAN: Miss Marple.

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