And Then There Were None Chapter 12

Breakfast is over and Vera starts to clean up. Emily tries to help, but she's too giddy. Armstrong offers to give her something to calm down, but she shouts 'No!', shocking everyone. She insists on just sitting in her chair until the giddiness passes. Everyone leaves Emily alone in the dining room. She begins to hear a slight buzzing sound. She begins to think about bees, and honey, and then becomes convinced that Beatrice is in the room with her, but she can't turn her head to look. She hears the slow footsteps of someone approaching, then feels a bee sting on her neck.

Everyone is waiting for Emily in the drawing room. Vera suggests going to get Emily, but Blore stops her, and outlines his theory about Emily killing everyone because of religious mania. Armstrong thinks it's possible, and Vera tells everyone about Emily's confession. Wargravewants to know if Emily seemed guilty or remorseful. Vera replies that she didn't. Wargrave suggests they bring Emily into the room so that they can observe her behavior, but when they go to get her, they find she's already dead.

"One more of us acquitted - too late!" Chapter 12, pg. 183 Wargrave says. Armstrong quickly examines the body, finding the syringe mark on her neck. He says that she was injected with poison, probably the same poison that killed Marston. Vera points out the Bee, reminding everyone of her manic episode. Lombard says that it isn't a coincidence - the killer is trying to stay as close to the rhyme as possible. Wargrave asks where the syringe came from. Armstrong says he brought a syringe. They all rush upstairs to search his suitcase, but the syringe is missing. Armstrong claims it must have been stolen.

Wargrave points out that of the five of them, one is a murderer, and the remaining four must be safeguarded as much as possible. He suggests that everyone surrender their drugs and weapons so that they can all be locked away in a safe place. Lombard protests, the relents when he sees that he's outnumbered. Lombard goes to his room and opens his bed-table drawer - but the revolver is missing.

One by one, everyone is strip-searched and their rooms scoured, but the revolver doesn't turn up. They go to the pantry, where the drugs are locked first in a small case, and then inside a cupboard. One of the keys is given to Lombard, the other to Blore, so that even if one of them is the killer, the other could protect the remaining key. Breaking open the chest and case would be so loud that the killer would surely be caught doing it. They are left with one question - where is Lombard's revolver? Lombard claims he put it away the night before, so Wargrave figures it must have been taken during the search for Rogers. Vera suggests that they search the house from top to bottom, but Wargrave says not to bother, since the killer has had plenty of time to hide it cleverly. Blore thinks he knows where the syringe is, though. He leads everyone outside, to the grass near the dining room window. They find the syringe, and the sixth Indian figurine.

They search the house again, but to no avail - the revolver is nowhere to be found.

Topic Tracking: Trust and Suspicion 11
Topic Tracking: Clues 6