Cards on the Table

Drowning

Gunshot

A flamboyant party host is murdered in full view of a roomful of bridge players… Mr Shaitana was famous as a flamboyant party host. Nevertheless, he was a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation to view Shaitana’s private collection. Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogether…

## Plot (spoilers)

The mysterious Mr Shaitana hosts an unusual dinner party. His guests include four sleuths – Hercule Poirot, secret agent Colonel Race, mystery writer Mrs Ariadne Oliver, and Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard – and four people suspected to have murdered in their past – Dr Roberts, Mrs Lorrimer, young Anne Meredith, and Major Despard. After dinner, the guests retire to play bridge – the sleuths play in one room, while the others play in another room that Shaitana relaxes in. After the sleuths end their game, Poirot and Race find that Shaitana had been stabbed in the chest, with a weapon from his collection. As he made a veiled accusation about how murder could be committed within one's profession, the sleuths suspect one of the other four guests as his murderer. Each denies this when interviewed. To help his investigation, Poirot takes the score sheets they made in their bridge game.

Seeking the motive and psychology behind the murder, each sleuth finds out about a death connected to each suspect – a female client of Dr Roberts, Mrs Craddock, lost her husband to anthrax, while she herself died afterwards from a blood infection while abroad; the botanist Luxmore died suddenly from a fever, while Despard guided him through the Amazon; an elderly woman died of accidental poisoning when Meredith worked for her; the husband of Mrs Lorrimer was poisoned. During the investigation, tensions among the suspects rise, with Meredith becoming skittish and afraid, despite offers of support from Oliver, Lorrimer and Despard. Sometime later, Poirot visits Lorrimer, who reveals to him that she killed her husband and that she has a terminal condition. She then confesses to the murder, but Poirot refuses to believe this, suspecting she wishes to protect Meredith. The next morning, Lorrimer is found dead by Roberts – she committed suicide, leaving a note admitting to the murder.

That same morning, Meredith decides to take her flatmate, Rhoda Dawes, for a punt in the nearby river, as they await a visit from Despard. Suspecting another death, Poirot and Battle race to her cottage, arriving after Despard to watch Meredith attempt to drown Dawes. After she falls in, both are rescued; Dawes survives, but Meredith dies in the aftermath. Poirot invites Dawes, the sleuths, and the surviving suspects of the dinner party to his apartment, whereupon he accuses Dr Roberts of killing the Craddocks – the husband's shaving brush was contaminated with anthrax during a house call, while Mrs Craddock was given a viral infection during her anti-typhoid inoculations for her trip abroad. Shaitana was killed because Roberts believed his words at dinner hinted to his crime, while Lorrimer was murdered by him to create a scapegoat – she died from a fatal injection of anaesthesia. Although Roberts protests, he eventually confesses when Poirot reveals a window washer who witnessed Lorrimer's murder and Battle makes clear that the police have a strong case against him.

Poirot later explains that his theory was based upon Roberts' recollection of the bridge game – he could remember little of it, except for the grand slam that he made, but could remember much about the layout of the room they played in. This was in direct contrast to what the other suspects recalled. In addition, Lorrimer's body was found to have the mark of a hypodermic needle. To elicit a confession from Roberts, Poirot hired an actor to pose as the witness he provided. A police investigation later reveals that Meredith killed her employer when she found out about her petty thievery and that she intended to murder Dawes, while Poirot reveals that Despard did not kill Luxmore – both he and Luxmore's wife revealed that the botanist contracted fever, but died from a shooting accident. With the murder solved, Despard courts Rhoda.

## Characters

* Hercule Poirot – Belgian private detective. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party.
* Ariadne Oliver – Crime fiction writer, and Poirot's friend. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party.
* Superintendent Battle – A top detective from Scotland Yard who likes to project a professional image of stolidity, with a wooden expression. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party.
* Colonel Race – A Secret Service agent. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party.
* Sergeant O'Connor – Handsome and tall police sergeant. Known for getting facts from women for police investigations, earning him the nickname of "the Maid's Blessing".
* Mr Shaitana – The first victim of the case. A wealthy, but mysterious man, known to be a collector of rare objects. Has a fascination with crime, primarily focused on murders and the people who commit them. In Hindi, his name means 'the naughty one' (The translation is noted to allude to the devil, being a cognate of Satan).
* Dr Geoffrey Roberts – The killer of the case. A successful physician, who is bright but showing signs of age. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party, whom alludes to Roberts having killed one of his patients; goaded to kill his host in order to expose his crimes.
* Mrs Lorrimer – The second victim of the case. A widow and expert bridge player. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party, whom alludes to Lorrimer having killed her husband.
* Major John Despard – An explorer and sport hunter. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party, whom alludes to Despard having killed someone on an expedition in a shooting accident.
* Anne Meredith – A young woman, formerly a companion to several elderly women. A guest at Shaitana's dinner party, whom alludes to Meredith having killed one of her employers. Dies from drowning during the case.
* Rhoda Dawes – Anne's wealthy friend and flatmate. A lively, direct, and polite young woman.
* Mrs Luxmore – A widow, whose husband died in suspicious circumstances during an expedition.
* Miss Burgess – Loyal secretary of Dr Roberts.
* Elsie Batt – Former parlourmaid to Mrs Craddock, a patient of Dr Roberts until her death from illness while abroad.

## Quotes

*“Speech is the deadliest of revealers.”*

*—* Hercule Poirot