Murder on the Orient Express
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Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Agatha Christie is the world’s best known mystery writer. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in 44 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her writing career spanned more than half a century, during which she wrote 79 novels and short story collections, as well as 14 plays, one of which, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in history. Two of the characters she created, the brilliant little Belgian Hercule Poirot and the irrepressible and relentless Miss Marple, went on to become world-famous detectives. Both have been widely dramatized in feature films and made-for-TV movies. Agatha Christie also wrote six romantic novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. As well, she wrote four nonfiction books including an autobiography and an entertaining account of the many expeditions she shared with her archaeologist husband Sir Max Mallowan. Agatha Christie died in 1976. 1 Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS HarperPaperbacks by Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY POSTERN OF FATE CROOKED HOUSE ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE THE CLOCKS Coming Soon THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS POIROT INVESTIGATES THE MIRROR CRACK’D ENDLESS NIGHT BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS MURDER WITH MIRRORS FUNERALS ARE FATAL NEMESIS DEAD MAN’S FOLLY DEATH COMES AS THE END DESTINATION UNKNOWN MRS. McGINTY’S DEAD A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY DEATH ON THE NILE PASSENGER TO FRANKFURT THE MOUSETRAP AND OTHER PLAYS MURDER IS EASY 4:50 FROM PADDINGTON AT BERTRAMS HOTEL SPARKLING CYANIDE THE PALE HORSE HICKORY DICKORY DOCK SLEEPING MURDER THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY THIRD GIRL HERCULE POIROT’S CHRISTMAS CURTAIN 2 Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS AGATHA CHRISTIE Murder on the Orient Express HarperPaperbacks A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers 3 Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed’ to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.’ This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. HarperPaperbacks A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022 Copyright © 1933, 1934 by Agatha Christie Copyright © renewed 1960,1961 by Agatha Christie Mallowan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of The Putnam Berkley Group, Inc., 200 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. This book is published by arrangement with G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of The Putnam Berkley Group, Inc. This book was previously published under the title “Murder in the Calais Coach.’ Cover illustration by Jenny Tylden-Wright First HarperPaperbacks printing: November 1991 Printed in the United States of America HarperPaperbacks and colophon are trademarks of HarperCollinsPublishers 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 4 Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS CONTENTS CONTENTS.................................................................................................................................... 5 PART I............................................................................................................................................ 7 THE FACTS ............................................................................................................................... 7 1............................................................................................................................................... 7 AN IMPORTANT PASSENGER ON THE TAURUS EXPRESS.................................... 7 2............................................................................................................................................. 12 THE TOKATLIAN HOTEL............................................................................................. 12 3............................................................................................................................................. 17 POIROT REFUSES A CASE........................................................................................... 17 4............................................................................................................................................. 21 A CRY IN THE NIGHT................................................................................................... 21 5............................................................................................................................................. 23 THE CRIME ..................................................................................................................... 23 6............................................................................................................................................. 29 A WOMAN....................................................................................................................... 29 7............................................................................................................................................. 33 THE BODY ...................................................................................................................... 33 8............................................................................................................................................. 39 THE ARMSTRONG KIDNAPPING CASE.................................................................... 39 PART II......................................................................................................................................... 41 THE EVIDENCE...................................................................................................................... 41 1............................................................................................................................................. 41 THE EVIDENCE OF THE WAGON LIT CONDUCTOR ............................................. 41 2............................................................................................................................................. 46 THE EVIDENCE OF THE SECRETARY....................................................................... 46 3............................................................................................................................................. 49 THE EVIDENCE OF THE VALET................................................................................. 49 4............................................................................................................................................. 53 THE EVIDENCE OF THE AMERICAN LADY ............................................................ 53 5............................................................................................................................................. 58 THE EVIDENCE OF THE SWEDISH LADY................................................................ 58 6............................................................................................................................................. 61 THE EVIDENCE OF THE RUSSIAN PRINCESS ......................................................... 61 7............................................................................................................................................. 65 THE EVIDENCE OF COUNT AND COUNTESS ANDRENYI.................................... 65 8............................................................................................................................................. 68 THE EVIDENCE OF COLONEL ARBUTHNOT .......................................................... 68 9............................................................................................................................................. 73 THE EVIDENCE OF MR. HARDMAN.......................................................................... 73 10........................................................................................................................................... 77 THE EVIDENCE OF THE ITALIAN.............................................................................. 77 11........................................................................................................................................... 79 THE EVIDENCE OF MISS DEBENHAM...................................................................... 79 5 Agatha Christie MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS 12........................................................................................................................................... 82 THE EVIDENCE OF THE GERMAN LADY’S-MAID................................................. 82 13........................................................................................................................................... 86 SUMMARY OF THE PASSENGERS’ EVIDENCE....................................................... 86 14..........................................................................................................................................