And Then There Were None

After breakfast, Justice Wargrave proposes they meet in a half hour to discuss their situation. Everyone rises and leaves the room except for Emily Brent, who feels woozy. She starts to feel drowsy and notices a bee on the windowpane. She thinks about honey, then imagines Beatrice Taylor is in the room with her, dripping wet, having come from the river where she drowned herself. Emily feels a prick like a bee sting on the side of her neck.

While everyone waits for Emily Brent in the drawing room, Blore takes the opportunity to share his belief that Emily Brent is the murderer. When they return to the dining room, however, they find Emily Brent dead, her lips blue.

Vera notices there is a bumble bee in the window, but Dr. Armstrong confirms Emily Brent died from a hypodermic syringe to the neck. Lombard surmises that the killer placed a bumble bee in the room because they want their murders to be as close to the rhyme as possible. For the first time, Lombard seems shaken.

Justice Wargrave asks if anyone brought a hypodermic syringe to the house, and Dr. Armstrong reluctantly admits that he did, as is common for doctors to do when traveling. When Dr. Armstrong takes them to his room to show them the syringe, he is panicked to find that it is missing from his suitcase.

Justice Wargrave proposes that everyone hand over any weapons or drugs they have in their possession, including his own sleeping tablets, Dr. Armstrong’s medicine case, and Lombard’s revolver. Lombard angrily refuses to relinquish his gun, but reluctantly acquiesces after Justice Wargrave implies the rest of them will coerce him by force. When they all go to Lombard’s bedroom, however, they find the revolver is missing.

Justice Wargrave prompts them all to remove their clothing. Vera puts on a bathing suit and the men strip their outer clothing so they can each be searched for Lombard’s revolver. Justice Wargrave suggests they store all possible lethal drugs in a case that requires a key, and then lock the case in a cabinet that requires a different key. He gives one key to Lombard and one key to Blore, with the logic being they are the strongest and would have to fight one another to obtain the key.

They don’t find Lombard’s revolver, but they do find the syringe and the sixth soldier figure, smashed, both thrown out the dining room window.

The five remaining guests sit in the drawing room watching one another, uneasy and alert. They have agreed that only one person should be allowed to leave the room at a time while the remaining four wait for them to return. Dr. Armstrong seems the most on edge as he repeatedly lights cigarettes and bursts into nervous speech. Vera offers to make tea, and they all go into the kitchen to watch her prepare it.

Later that evening, Vera decides that she can’t sit any longer and goes to her room to take a shower. When she opens the door, she is greeted by a distinctly familiar smell of the sea. She suddenly thinks of Cyril again, and how if it weren’t for the spoiled, whiny child, she would have been able to marry Hugo. Vera is suddenly afraid and is certain there is someone in the room with her. Something cold and clammy, and smelling of the sea, touches her throat and she screams.

The men run upstairs at the sound of Vera’s screams. It turns out that it was not a hand that wrapped around Vera’s throat, but a ribbon of wet seaweed hanging from her ceiling. Lombard thinks it was meant to frighten her to death. They suddenly realize that Justice Wargrave is not amongst them and hurry downstairs. They find Justice Wargrave sitting in his high-backed chair in the drawing room, wearing the missing scarlet curtain and a judge’s wig made from Emily Brent’s yarn upon his head. Dr. Armstrong motions the others to stand back as he approaches Justice Wargrave’s body. He removes the judge’s wig and declares with shock that the judge has been shot in the head. Lombard bursts into a hysterical laugh and recalls the line from the nursery rhyme: “Five little soldier boys going in for law; one got in Chancery and then there were Four” (185).