Cards on the Table

Belgian detective Hercule Poirot encounters Mr. Shaitana, a wealthy and feared London socialite known for his devilish appearance and lavish parties, at a snuffbox exhibition. Shaitana boasts that he collects "the best" criminals: murderers who were never caught and against whom no suspicion has ever fallen. He invites Poirot to a dinner party to meet his "exhibits." Poirot warns that such a hobby is dangerous, but Shaitana dismisses the concern.

At the dinner, Poirot discovers Shaitana has assembled eight guests in two deliberate groups. Four are "sleuths": Poirot himself; Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard; Colonel Race, a man with Secret Service connections; and Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, a famous detective novelist. Four are Shaitana's suspected murderers: Dr. Geoffrey Roberts, a cheerful society doctor; Mrs. Lorrimer, a composed, intelligent widow and expert bridge player; Major Despard, a lean, scarred explorer; and Anne Meredith, a shy young woman in her early twenties. Over dinner, Shaitana makes pointed remarks about murder methods, causing a tense silence.

After dinner, two bridge tables are arranged: The suspects play in the drawing room while the sleuths play nearby. Shaitana settles into a chair by the fireplace and appears to fall asleep. When the sleuths finish and return, Colonel Race discovers Shaitana dead, stabbed through the heart with a jewelled stiletto from a nearby table. Superintendent Battle takes charge and questions the four bridge players, all of whom confirm that no servants entered the room and that each of them left the table at least once during the evening.

Poirot reveals Shaitana's secret purpose: The dinner placed four sleuths opposite four people Shaitana believed had gotten away with murder. One suspect must have panicked and killed him. Battle interviews each in turn. Roberts is cooperative, pointing to Despard. Mrs. Lorrimer is dignified, confirming she spoke to Shaitana but refusing to speculate. Anne is nervous, admitting she may have walked about the room. Despard is direct, pointing to Roberts. Poirot studies the bridge scores and outlines psychological profiles: Roberts is a bold risk-taker; Anne is timid but could kill from fear; Despard is cool and resourceful; Mrs. Lorrimer would only commit a premeditated crime, making her least likely for this impulsive murder. The investigators divide their efforts, with Poirot insisting they must uncover each suspect's past crime, since criminals repeat their methods.

Battle investigates Roberts and, through Roberts' secretary Miss Burgess, learns about the Craddock affair. Mrs. Craddock, a patient infatuated with Roberts, provoked her husband into confronting the doctor. Mr. Craddock died shortly afterward of anthrax from an infected shaving brush, and Mrs. Craddock later traveled to Egypt after Roberts inoculated her for typhoid, dying there of an obscure blood infection. Battle suspects Roberts engineered both deaths but cannot prove it. Poirot's own inquiries reveal telling contrasts: Roberts can describe Shaitana's room in detail but cannot recall any bridge hands, while Mrs. Lorrimer remembers nothing about the room but reconstructs nearly every hand, including a grand slam Roberts bid recklessly during the third rubber.

Mrs. Oliver visits Anne at Wendon Cottage in Wallingford, where Anne lives with her friend Rhoda Dawes, but Anne refuses to cooperate. Battle interviews Anne, who gives her background as an army officer's daughter left penniless but omits a brief stay at a place called Croftways. Colonel Race reports that Professor Luxmore, a botanist who accompanied Despard into South America, died during the expedition. The death was attributed to fever, though one dismissed bearer claimed Luxmore was shot. Despard tells Poirot the truth: The professor, delirious with fever, was staggering toward a river. Despard tried to shoot him in the leg to stop him, but Mrs. Luxmore, the professor's wife, flung herself on Despard and jerked his arm, causing the fatal shot. Poirot believes Despard and eliminates him as a suspect.

Rhoda visits Mrs. Oliver and reveals that Anne was present in a house where a woman accidentally swallowed hat paint, a poisonous liquid, instead of medicine and died. Battle travels to Combeacre in Devonshire, where he learns that Mrs. Benson, Anne's employer for about six weeks, died after drinking hat paint from a mislabeled bottle. The death was ruled accidental, but Battle becomes convinced Anne switched the bottles. Poirot separately confirms that Anne is a habitual thief by leaving her alone with expensive silk stockings at his flat; she steals two pairs. Poirot theorizes Mrs. Benson caught Anne stealing and Anne killed her to avoid exposure, but both investigators agree this cautious crime does not match the bold stabbing of Shaitana.

With the other suspects seemingly eliminated, Mrs. Lorrimer telephones Poirot. She reveals she is terminally ill and confesses to killing Shaitana, describing how she slipped the dagger into her sleeve and stabbed him while she was dummy, the player who sits out the hand and is free to leave the table. Poirot recognizes that this impulsive crime contradicts her methodical character. He presses her until she admits the truth: She actually saw Anne lean over Shaitana's body with guilt and fear on her face. Mrs. Lorrimer murdered her own husband years ago, the secret Shaitana held over her. Feeling sympathy for Anne, she wishes to take the blame before her illness claims her. Poirot warns that Anne is more dangerous than Mrs. Lorrimer realizes.

The next morning, Battle phones with shocking news: Mrs. Lorrimer is dead from an apparent overdose of sleeping tablets. Three confession letters were found, one each for Roberts, Despard, and Anne, in which Mrs. Lorrimer claims responsibility for Shaitana's murder. Roberts arrived early at the house and claimed to find her already dead. Poirot suspects the letters are forgeries: The parlourmaid confirms that Anne visited Mrs. Lorrimer the previous evening and that no letters were written afterward. Poirot and Battle rush to Wallingford.

At Wendon Cottage, Anne has lured Rhoda onto the river, knowing Rhoda is the only person who can connect her to the Benson poisoning. Anne deliberately tips Rhoda from their punt, a flat-bottomed river boat. Despard, walking along the towpath, plunges in and saves Rhoda first, then returns for Anne. Battle and Poirot help pull Anne from the water, but she has been under too long and dies.

Back at Poirot's flat, Poirot delivers his final revelation: Roberts killed both Shaitana and Mrs. Lorrimer. That morning, Roberts arrived early at Mrs. Lorrimer's house, sent the maid away, and injected the heavily sedated woman with a fatal dose of Evipan, a barbiturate anaesthetic. The confession letters were forgeries Roberts wrote to frame the death as a suicide. Poirot produces a supposed window cleaner who claims to have seen Roberts administer the injection. Cornered, Roberts concedes defeat and is arrested. The bridge scores were the crucial clue: During the grand slam in the third rubber, all players' attention was riveted on the cards, and Roberts, who was dummy and therefore free to move about, had the opportunity to leave his seat and strike. His bold character matched the crime, just as his previous murders were carried out openly under professional cover. Mrs. Lorrimer had truthfully seen Anne lean over the body, but Anne had merely discovered Shaitana was already dead and retreated in silence, fearing she would be blamed. Poirot reveals the window cleaner was actually a hired actor; the bluff worked because Roberts, like a gambler who had overplayed his hand, finally folded. The novel closes with Despard and Rhoda together, their budding bond confirmed.