Summary

Poirot explains how Simon and Jacqueline carried out the murders as accomplices--even giving each other an alibi. First, they put a narcotic in his bottle of wine so that Poirot could not get in the way of their plan. The scene in the saloon was staged so that it looked like Jacqueline shot Simon in the leg but all Cornelia and Fanthorp saw was Simon holding a bloody handkerchief over his supposed wound. Later, Poirot found the red ink in Linnet's room disguised as nail polish. Simon sent Cornelia after Jackie and sent Fanthorp to fetch the doctor. During the five minutes Simon was alone, he grabbed the pistol from under the settee, ran to his wife's room, shot her in the head and then returned to the saloon and shot himself in the leg using the stole as a muzzle. He then threw the gun...