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"He [Poirot] felt the spell of Margharita Clayton. But he was not entirely sure about her...Such women could be, though innocent themselves, the cause of crimes." -The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, p. 151.
The Sum of It:
Our last short story recap of the year! I'm going to fixate on one particular story from the last three collections I've read, as it has a nostalgic connection for me (more on that later!) The Mystery of the Spanish Chest (which makes an appearance in The Harlequin Tea Set & Other Stories) details the rather gruesome death of a Mr. Edward Clayton. His super stabbed body was found in a rather elaborate, decorative Spanish chest in Major Charles Rich's home. Creepily, the body was discovered the morning after a party had been happening in that very room the entire evening before! Mr. Clayton's wife was in attendance at the party, and her husband was also supposed to be, but he was unable to at the last minute...but did attempt to visit Major Rich before the party. Poirot meets Mrs. Clayton and is, of course, instantly a bit entraceled by her beautiful face and is like oh yeah she def had the hots for Major Rich and vice versa (#affair???!!!), but she insists they didn't have anything going on. Poirot does his usual Poirot thing and interviews everyone who was at the party to see if there's something missing or if it really is as simple as Major Rich killed Mr. Clayton to marry Mrs. Clayton. Poirot must harken back to his remembrance of Shakespeare plots to figure it out!
The YOA Treatment:
I've written before about how my parents introduced me to Poirot from an early age. Masterpiece Mystery! was one of my earliest television memories, and, in particular, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest. Once upon an age ago my parents decided to tape that episode on VHS (along with The Kidnapped Prime Minister) and I would watch it over and over and over and OVER! To this day my father can't bear to watch it because I wore him out of that Spanish chest death with my repeated viewings! It's funny to think that television helped shape my ferocious appetite for reading, but it's rather true. Even though I can probably recount to you every detail of The Mystery of the Spanish Chest episode (that duel at the beginning! So dramatic...), I still loved reading the short story version and transporting myself back to my younger days when my Agatha journey was just beginning.
-A.
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