Murder at the Vicarage

Clement sits in his study, which is more accessible from the road than the front door, a design that leads to constant interruptions. That afternoon, teenager Lettice Protheroe wanders in through his French doors, looking for Dennis. She appears to be absent-minded and forgetful of the time, an attitude that the vicar thinks is for affectation. She reveals their household is tense because her father forbade the young, handsome artist Lawrence Redding to continue painting her in her bathing suit. Colonel Prothero banned Redding from their house. Lettice declares her stepmother, Anne, hates her and that she would run away if she had any money. Clement is interrupted by his curate Mr. Hawes, who asks about the status of Colonel Protheroe’s dive into the church books. Clement later attends tea with his wife and four elderly women, including Miss Marple, who discuss the relationship between Dr. Stone, an archeologist excavating a barrow on the Protheroe property, and his young female assistant, Miss Cram. Miss Marple notes that Dr. Stone and Protheroe quarreled. Miss Wetherby confirms Lettice’s story about Protheroe arguing with Mr. Redding. They also speculate about Dr. Haydock, whom one of them saw leaving a newcomer’s house. The newcomer is a mysterious Mrs. Lestrange. As they prepare to leave, the conversation returns to Lettice and Lawrence Redding’s relationship. Clement opines Lettice isn’t Redding’s type, and Miss Marple likens the situation to another where it was the wife, not the daughter, as she looks at Griselda. Clement takes this as an accusation toward Griselda and preempts further criticism of her by saying they gossip too much. Miss Marple says he is unworldly, that she’s old enough to not expect much of human nature, and that gossip is usually true.

Griselda appreciates that her husband defended her from Miss Marple’s apparent accusations, despite Miss Marple’s renowned accuracy. Clement doesn’t think his wife is being unfaithful, but he wishes she’d watch what she says around the older parish ladies. When Clement goes to the Wednesday evening service, he sees Mrs. Lestrange, who invites him back to her house. He notices she is classy and beautiful but seems to need something. He addresses this before he leaves, and she responds that she thinks no one can help her. When Clement leaves Mrs. Lestrange’s house, a neighbor pounces on him asking for information about Mrs. Lestrange. Clement is unable to say much. He goes past Miss Marple’s house to the Vicarage and to the studio to see how Redding’s painting of Griselda is going. He walks in on the artist kissing Mrs. Protheroe. Mrs. Protheroe comes to see Clement a few minutes later. She says she loves Redding and that she doesn’t know what to do. She leaves after she agrees not to do anything rash. Clement feels uneasy and doesn’t like that she seems desperately in love with a much younger man.

Griselda tries to run the household better and asks the cook to make different things for their dinner with Lawrence Redding. The meal culminates with oysters served with nothing to open them. Lawrence Redding is an attractive man of 30. Clement characterizes him as good at everything. Redding doesn’t seem distraught that Clement caught him kissing Mrs. Protheroe until he and Clement are alone. He asks the vicar what he plans to do and thanks him when Clement says he intends to do nothing. He does, however, counsel Redding to leave. When Dennis and Griselda return, the conversation turns to the village’s dullness, and they admit a murder or a robbery of the silver from Old Hall, Colonel Protheroe’s home, would spice things up. Redding jokingly offers his Mauser pistol as a weapon and says he heard Mr. Stone and Protheroe talking about the silver that very day. He notes that Stone doesn’t seem to know much about archeology, and Dennis says it’s because he’s in love with his assistant, Miss Cram.

The next day, Thursday, Protheroe stands in the street with Clement and loudly says he spent the morning sentencing poachers and that he’ll be by that evening to look at the books. Clement sees Hawes and notes that the curate seems ill. Clement tells Hawes to go to bed. Griselda goes to London. When Clement gets home, Redding is there. He says he means to do as Clement advised and leave St. Mary Mead. The phone rings just as Clement sits down to finish his sermon. The caller asks him to attend to a dying man who lives two miles away. He calls Old Hall to tell Protheroe that he will be back by 6:30 pm, about 15 minutes after they agreed to meet.

When Clement returns at approximately 6:45, Lawrence Redding is leaving. He is pale and hysterical. Mary, the maid, says Colonel Protheroe has been there since 6:15 and Redding arrived only a few minutes ago. When Clement goes into his study, he sees Protheroe slumped over his desk, shot in the back of the head. Mary calls Doctor Haydock, who lives a few houses down the road. The doctor says the Colonel died about a half hour ago, and the cause of death appears to be murder. Clement says his call to visit a dying man was spurious. Mary says she didn’t hear a shot but was on the other side of the house. When the constable appears, Haydock says he believes the weapon was a pistol, like a Mauser. Inspector Slack arrives and rudely dismisses any attempt Clement makes to tell him that the clock that stopped at 6:22 is wrong because they always set it 15 minutes fast. Under the body, they find the beginning of a note saying he couldn’t wait anymore with the time noted as 6:20. Griselda returns and is baffled by the clock, saying that if the clock reads 6:20 it is actually 6:05 and Protheroe had not arrived at the house at that time.

Clement is annoyed that Inspector Slack won’t listen to him about the clock. Griselda goes to Old Hall to comfort Anne while Dennis is excited that a murder happened in their midst. He tries to investigate around the house since the study is locked by the police. When Griselda returns, she says Anne seems terrified instead of shocked. The next morning Mary tells them Lawrence Redding has confessed to the police. Miss Marple arrives and finds out about Redding. Griselda says she doesn’t believe it. Miss Marple says his confession appears to prove he has nothing to do with it and that the behavior Clement saw is further evidence since, if he had committed the murder, he’d have acted cool instead of erratic. Griselda explains the puzzle of the clock and the time written on the note. Lettice comes in looking for her yellow beret. She can’t, however, get into the study where she suspects she left it. She decides to go tell her stepmother Anne the news that Redding has been arrested. Colonel Melchett, the Chief Constable, arrives, and Clement goes out to meet him.

Colonel Melchett tells Clement that Redding walked into the station and said he shot the Colonel. He handed in his pistol. Melchett wants more information about the rumor regarding Redding and Lettice. Clement says that speculation is all wrong. Melchett asks Clement to come with him. They stop at Doctor Haydock’s house. The doctor gives them a bullet proving the weapon was a .25 Mauser. He doubts anyone heard the shot on the other side of the house with the study doors closed, though Miss Marple might have heard it from her house, which is closer to that room. Melchett doesn’t think there was a silencer because when they asked about it, Redding seemed confused and said he quarreled with Protheroe before he shot the man. Clement says they didn’t have time to fight, fix the clock, and then leave. The doctor says Protheroe was dead at least a half hour, Redding’s point in his confession about shooing him at 6:45 isn’t possible. He is lying.

The three men go to the police station to talk to Lawrence Redding. He answers questions awkwardly and seems not to remember turning the clock back. While questioning him, a note arrives for Clement from Anne Protheroe. It asks him to come and says she doesn’t know what to do. Melchett looks at the note and the three men go to Old Hall. The butler confirms all seemed normal the day of the murder and confirms Protheroe and Redding quarreled over Lettice’s portrait. He adds that the day before, Mrs. Lestrange arrived after dinner when the other women were out. Anne confesses to killing her husband and says Redding confessed out of love for her. The gun was her husband’s and she killed him around 6:15. Miss Marple saw her going to the studio after. Melchett and Clement leave and ask the valet if Protheroe owned a pistol. The valet says he did not, which makes them wonder why Anne lied.