The Moving Finger

Jerry returns home and puzzles over the clues with Joanna. She assesses them herself, wondering if Partridge could be the writer and if she simply lied about what Agnes said on her phone call, and then left the house to murder her when Jerry and Joanna were out. Her top suspect, however, is Mr. Pye, whom she thinks is a lonely and unhappy person with little care for others. This shocks Jerry, since he and Nash have always assumed that the writer and killer is a woman.

Jerry walks into town where the high street is full of villagers discussing the latest tragedy. Dr. Griffith looks particularly tired and worn, while his sister Aimee, in contrast, is full of energy and gusto as usual. She admits to Jerry that she persuaded Megan to return home on the day that she stopped by their house, to stop the gossip that was swirling around Elsie Holland and Mr. Symmington. She reveals that some villagers believe that Elsie Holland is angling to marry Mr. Symmington now that he is a widower. Jerry is disgusted by this conjecture, but Aimee simply says that the townspeople always assume the worst.