The murder of Samuel Ratchett was committed by Colonel Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham, with help from the Wagon-Lit conductor Pierre Michel, Mrs. Hubbard, Hector MacQueen, and Greta Ohlsson. First of all, there is the evidence that Poirot heard during the night, and the evidence of the crime scene itself. Poirot heard a cry during the night from Ratchett’s cabin. It was a male voice that said, “‘Ce n'est rien. le me suis trompe.’” This translates to, “It’s nothing. I just tripped.” MacQueen, Ratchett’s secretary, had mentioned beforehand that Ratchett only spoke English: “‘Mr. Ratchett wanted to see the world. He was hampered by knowing no languages.’” The voice that cried out was in French, however, which means that the voice did not belong to …show more content…
Hubbard rings her bell, claiming there was a man in her room, also to act as a distraction. Pierre Michel plays along with her hysterical display, because he is in on it as well. Mary sneaks into Ratchett’s room, adds a few left-handed stabs, and then retreats to her own room. Greta Ohlsson’s only roll was to provide an alibi for Mary, and Hector MacQueen’s only roll was to provide an alibi for Colonel …show more content…
Hubbard’s job to plant the handkerchief, which she stole from Hildegarde Schmidt, and the pipe cleaner, which Colonel Arbuthnot lent to her. There is proof that the handkerchief belongs to Schmidt, because she seemed nervous when she saw it during her interview: “‘I? Oh! no, Monsieur.’ Of the three listening, only Poirot caught the nuance of hesitation in the reply.” Mrs. Hubbard also placed the bloody knife in her sponge bag, and put on a grand show during her interview, trying to sell the fact that she was innocent: “‘It's too horrible!’ she cried. ‘It's just too horrible. In my sponge-bag. My sponge-bag! A great knife— all over blood!’” This evidence shows that the murder was committed by Colonel Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham, with help from Pierre Michel, Mrs. Hubbard, Hector MacQueen, and Greta Ohlsson. Another possible theory is that the murder was committed by Princess Dragomiroff, Hildegarde Schmidt, and Hector MacQueen, with help from the Wagon-Lit conductor Pierre Michel, and Greta Ohlsson. Princess Dragomiroff had the strongest motive to kill Ratchett. She was great friends with Linda Arden, and the godmother of Sonia Armstrong. Dragomiroff and her maid, Hildegarde Schmidt, hatched a plan to kill Ratchett in the night. They asked for help from Hector MacQueen, Greta Ohlsson, and Pierre