Character Journal
Act 1 Scene 1
It is bedtime for Daisy, at 8 o’clock, and she has been playing with her parents for a little while now. This is a routine, they have so much on their plate during the day they make time for Daisy before bed. Her parents say good night and I begin the process of taking Daisy to bed. She never wants to go to bed so I have to make a game out of it in order to get her up the stairs. She takes her games very seriously though and sometimes takes things far to a point where she could get hurt. When I am taking her to bed tonight, she is trying to push me up the stairs and trying to get me to go faster and is moving around me so that I could fall, or she could fall. I stop and pick her up and carry her to her bed. I tell her to get into bed and no more nonsense, so she gets under the covers. I turn off the light and I can tell her eyes are still open, so I tell her to close her eyes. She closes them and I leave to let her sleep. I go down and clean up after her playtime and her dinner. Then I go to my room and get ready for bed, when I pass Daisy’s room, I listen in to hear her stirring about still but it is quiet, so I continue on because I think she is asleep. I take a bath and braid my hair to let it dry. I fall asleep and wake up the next morning to get myself and Daisy ready. Daisy has been studying with a governess. When I go to Daisy’s room before I open the door, I feel a difference in temperature. I open the door, the sheets on the bed are thrown back and stirred, and the window is open. I scream and run to Mr. And Mrs. Armstrong and the police are called.
To tease, to tickle, to usher, to motivate, to warn, to restrain, to calm, to rally, to settle, to cheer
To motivate Daisy to bed
Act 1 Scene 3
We are entering the train platform. I enter carrying Princess’s luggage as well as mine and passports and tickets. I have been carrying the suitcases from our transportation to the platform and through porters and checking-in. Princess did not pay for a porter because I am there to assist her and have already carried them thus far. The train is in front of us when we enter and although I am lagging behind Princess I know where I am going because I have been on a train before, and I have the tickets, but I cannot speed ahead because I have the luggage. I don’t know where the specific compartment is, but I know how to get to the loading area. I want to find our compartments so that I can put the suitcases down finally; I don’t want to let the Princess know I struggle with them because I said I would assist her and helping others makes me feel better about myself. When I am dealing with Princess’ suitcases, I have to make sure I am paying attention more to the state of her luggage after she has complained about me hitting them on things and not having control over them. Michel, Princess, and I all know of each other and what we are doing here but I have not met Michel until today. He lived here and was working the entire time this was orchestrated. On the fourth side is more of the train and the station as well as some of the city off on the right. I have on my cross necklace and my brochure watch as well as my glasses. My attire is messed up after carrying the suitcases so I have to fix that; I am also hot and wearing a thick sweater under my jacket so taking it off to cool down could be a good idea. I am going on this train to help murder someone and then lie to get away with it, I’m anxious to say the least.
The suitcases are attracting my attention when I enter the platform. They are very heavy but I have carried them thus far and I can’t look like I am struggling because the Princess will get upset and a porter will come over and take the luggage and she has already paid for me so this is the least I can do. The Princess is getting upset that I am falling behind and clearly struggling so I assure her that I am capable of carrying them. Michel comes over to greet the Princess and offers to take my luggage but calls me madame. Michel attracts my attention because he thought I was married which how dare he assume I was so I correct him that I am not married or devoted to anyone but God. Princess then catches my attention scolding me for mentioning God so I quash her since I am a missionary and in fact devoted to Jesus, so it is always an appropriate time for me to talk about God and my faith. I switch to impressing Michel and all with my kindness to others because I am about to do the worst thing I have ever done to a person. God attracts my attention again because I want to prove to him that I will devote myself to him and helping others for life. Princess then pulls me back from God again rushing me onto the train. [being forward and vocal about my beliefs thinking they might be impressed with who I am but then my parents/friends dismissing me or choosing to argue instead] Michel then directs me to my compartment who I am sharing with Mary, which I knew I was rooming with her before when the plan was being constructed. Mary arrives just as I am about to wait to board the train. I want to endear myself to her since we will be sharing a compartment, and I am looking for companions to help ease my inner turmoil.
To impress, to teach, to reprimand, to scold, to endear, to quash, to reassure, to enlighten, to order, to praise, to convince
To impress God and others of my devotion to God and helping others
Clean my glasses, adjust my clothing/take off jacket, wipe of suitcases, check passport and tickets, pray, adjust necklace, set suitcase down, look at the strangers, give Princess her passport, relieve back/arm/leg pain
Act 1 Scene Four
Michel has taken the princess’s bag’s and handed them to a porter to be taken on the train but I decided to keep my bag because I want to have it in my possession so that it is not rummaged through and it is providing me comfort with the idea of boarding the train which is very small and the fact that once I board the train the plan officially starts and the course of actions with killing Cassetti cannot be stopped. Michel insists that my bag will be handled with care, but I still resist. The princess gets frustrated that I am taking too long and tells me to just take my bag so we can board the train. We get in line to board the train and there are a couple of people waiting in line to be shown to their compartments. The princess cuts in front of the line and just walks past people and I notice this, so I follow behind apologizing to everyone and saying I am just following her and apologizing for her cutting. Princess talks to a man helping us locate our rooms and talk to him for a bit. I am taking in the rest of the platform and the train with all its noise from the engine stirring and workers talking and walking about. The people in line are talking and all the stimulus is becoming overwhelming. [waiting to go into the audition room and looking around to see everyone, trying to decide if they are calm or as panicked as I am, becoming overwhelmed with everyone talking and the time counting down while I try to think about my preparation.] Princess boards the train so I show the man our tickets and passports, but Princess calls out to me to hurry up again when I am trying to make sure we are allowed on the train. Her rushing me is making me feel more overwhelmed and I can’t seem to calm myself down so I want to reach out to princess and connect with her to see if she is feeling overwhelmed like I am and try to bond with her over these events so I can relieve myself of the stress. When we get on the train it is still cool since the people are still boarding and the air outside is rushing in, but it is not as cold as it was standing outside. When we enter the train, it feels like the walls are closing in on me and that there is not enough space to relax and breathe. The murder is heavily tied to the train and once stepping on there is no escaping the weight of the worry, I have for what is about to occur. [hearing that you are line to go into the audition room and the panic starts to overwhelm that I have to think about something else to deal with what is about to happen] I try to reach out to princess and endear myself to her but she dismisses me, so I feel no relief. The princess travels to her compartment and I follow behind.
I go follow princess to her compartment and I go back to mine to put my suitcase in and then help princess settle in. I take her suitcases from the porter and go to find someone to give her absinthe. I come across Michel who I ask for absinthe and he says he will have it brought to her room. I go back to my compartment and Mary has arrived with her luggage. I start preparing my outfit for the next morning and Mary tries to talk to me some about how I am feeling and I start to break down from thinking about taking someone’s life. Mary calms me down and I leave to go check on the princess and if her absinthe arrived. When I talk to the princess she tells me that there Poirot is a detective and to be on high alert. I begin to panic more when I learn there is a detective on board and that makes me panic. He was not supposed to be here and he could figure out who did it and I begin to panic that we will be caught and that this is the wrong thing to do because it is not just a coincidence that he is on board, nothing is a coincidence only part of God’s plan. I begin to think that God is saying that what we are going to do is wrong despite thinking that this plan to murder Cassetti was a part of God’s plan for justice. Princess has to calm me down and tells me to just go back to my compartment and wait until dinner. I pray to God and read my bible to calm myself down until dinner which is at 7 o’clock. Mary is there so I try not to bother her because princess just shut me down for panicking. I go to princess’s room at 7 o’clock but she is not there so I go to the dining car and I already see her sitting and eating. I tell her that I went to her room to grab her and ask if I could sit with her. She allows me to but not happily so I sit and eat. I try to talk to her about her life and fleeing Russia, where she has traveled, what she plans to do in France but she is not too excited to talk and by the end asks if we can finish our meal in peace and quiet. Princess finishes her meal and goes back to her room requesting more absinthe. I see Mary sitting by herself in the dining car so I go ask if I could sit with her. We talk for some time testing the waters to see how the other is feeling and then she decides to leave and go look around the train so she excuses herself. It is now 9:30 and I decide to go check on the princess and she is adamant that she is fine and doesn’t need anything but before I leave she asks if I could get her another rug/blanket and I find Michel who provides me one to give to her. When I return to her compartment she asks for more absinthe and something to eat so I find Michel again who sends both to her. I go back to her compartment and knock on the door but she does not answer and I hear someone else’s voice inside so I decide not to disturb her. I notice it is round 10:30 and it is getting closer to killing Cassetti so I begin to feel worried and go back to my room. I find Mary there who comes out of the bathroom just as I am entering. I begin to ask her questions like is this the right thing and what are we going to do about the detective and I begin to spiral and Mary tries to console me and tells me to trust the plan and that she has to go find Arbuthnot to talk about tonight. I realize I have not checked on the princess again and am feeling guilty over the murder that is about to happen so I see if I can be of any help to someone else. I knock softly in case she is sleeping and she asks who it is so I say my name and there is a pause before she says I can come in. She is sitting in bed drinking some of her absinthe and she asks what I want. I was just checking in on her before I prepared myself for bed. She says she is fine and then tries to see if I’m going to ruin the plan with my wailing and panicking. She reminds me of what a terrible person Cassetti is and how they all died and that he got away without any punishment and that this is what he deserves. I’m reminded why I agreed to do this and I promise her I will not mess up anything. I go back to my compartment and I change into my nightgown to be more comfortable and read my bible and pray for forgiveness if this is the wrong path. I feel the train stop and hear people moving about outside. I pull the shades up and look out the window and we are not at the next stop and there is snow everywhere. I look at the time and it is around 12:30 and I hear footsteps outside of my door. I open the compartment to see what is going on Michel had rushed past my door. I go to the princess’s compartment to see what is going on and I hear another voice coming from her compartment, I don’t want to disturb her so I go back to my compartment and I begin worrying that the train stopping is a sign from God that this should not be done since it throws a wrench in the plan of it being a person who boarded the train, killed Cassetti, and left. Mary comes back to the room and I ask her what is going on and if we are still killing him and Mary comes back around 1 o’clock and says that the plan is still happening but there have been some changes made. I begin to panic and think that this is the wrong thing to do again but Mary consoles me and reminds me of the monster Cassetti is and ensures that the plan is solid and no one will suspect me. I begin to pray to God for forgiveness and promise my devotion to him and for the souls of the Armstrong family and for the soul of Cassetti that whatever wrong was done to him that he may forgive. A scream interrupts my prayers and I know the plan has started so I go back to praying and then I read the bible until there is a soft knock at the door and Mary opens it and Arbuthnot is there saying it is time. It is around 2:15 and Mary goes to Mrs. Hubbard’s compartment. I wait for Mary to return and Arbuthnot escorts her back and Mary tells me to go to Mrs. Hubbard’s compartment. When I enter Mrs. Hubbard is waiting with the knife in her hand and the adjoining door is opened. She takes my hand and walks me into the room which is dark and she stands in the corner and I begin to break down looking at the body and I am flooded with many emotions and memories of the Armstrongs and the case and I stab him shallowly and quickly. I turn to Linda Arden and she takes the knife from me and I quickly leave the room and go back to my compartment. Mary is sitting there and when I enter we hug tightly for some time and then I begin asking her what will happen tomorrow and she says that Poirot will find his body and have questions for people and that there is no way for him to figure out it was us because of the plan to break down and pray to God again. After I have exhausted myself emotionally I change back into my nightgown and I lay in my bed numb thinking about the murder and the Armstrongs and what I will do to be forgiven for my sins. I try reading more of my bible and at some point I fall asleep because I wake up and it is 7 o’clock but I am still exhausted so it must not have been long I was asleep. I look out the window and see we are still stuck and there is a lot more snow and it is cold when I sit up out of the blankets. I read more of my bible and pray to God and I get dressed in the clothes I laid out the night before. Mary is asleep and I am anxious about when his body will be discovered and what will happen. I cannot sit in the compartment anymore so I go out into the hall and decide to go to the dining car to get some coffee. As I pass by Cassettis apartment I get a chill by the door and immediately speed up my pace as I think about what lies behind the door. I move past it quickly and go to the dining car. I drink some coffee while I read my bible and I check the time after a while and it is 9:30 and no one else has come into the dining car. I begin to worry again about Cassetti’s body and head back to my compartment to see if Mary is awake because I need a companion. I think about going to the princess’ compartment but I don’t want to deal with waking her or disturbing her so I go back. Mary is no longer in the compartment so I take a moment and decide to go look for Mary. I am heading back to the dining car to look for her when princess finds me and I realize I did not see if she needed help. (This all happens throughout scene 6-9 and is based on time stamps in those scenes)
To impress, to endear, to entertain, to capture, to humor, to overwhelm, to tame, to beseech, to poke, to enthuse, to tickle, to placate
To befriend the princess so I have a companion to deal with my stress
Dealing with suitcase and passports/tickets, dealing with tightness of train, removing/loosening articles of clothing, trying to capture princess attention, dealing with noises from people outside and noises from train
Act 1 Scene 9
I am on my way to look for Mary in the dining car when the princess comes across me and then MacQueen, the one assisting Cassetti comes in with a tray and I leave not knowing what to do since he is bringing it to his room. The princess and I stop a little way down and listen in and we here Monseuir Bouc come to the door and princess pushes me forward to go back and see. We get there and Monsieur Bouc is trying to open the door, but it is locked, and Poirot enters telling him to break down the door. There is a breeze coming from the room and it drastically changes the temperature. I cannot help keeping quiet. I am terrified of them opening the door because then it will all become real, and I will see what I have done, and the world will know. [when I was younger, and my cousin and I would fight and then I would regret it and know they are going to tell and desperately trying to persuade them not to tell and that everything is okay] I want to persuade them I have no idea what is going on. When they are trying to push in on the door and I see Cassetti’s body and how much blood there is and all the stab wounds and how pale and lifeless he is I cannot control the fear and remorse. There is blood soaking his blankets and his pajamas and I can barely see the original color. His arm falls and is limp and there is a smell coming from him. [Seeing a dead animal on the road and the blood and thinking of its last moments and what it must have felt. Then seeing it remain there for the next couple of days in a worse state of decomposition.] I must alarm God with my remorse and my despair for taking a life so I may be forgiven. No one else is freaking out like I am and no one seems to be really acknowledging the horror of what we did they don’t acknowledge the life force that is now gone and Poirot starts immediately trying to figure out who did it so I want to punish them for what we’ve done and Poirot and Bouc for not taking a moment to see a life has been taken and the tragedy in that. [The man my mom told me about who ran over a kitten and then just disposed of it and had no respect for its life.] Then I feel guilty for yelling at them because I took his life too and princess yells at me to calm down and Poirot tells her to take me to my compartment.
The princess brings me back to my compartment and tells me to calm down and that I will be suspicious if I keep acting like this. I tell her that we shouldn’t have taken a life that he could have been caught or God would have found another way to punish him. Princess tells me this was the punishment he deserves and what’s done is done and that we cannot be caught. She leaves me and I begin to pray to God for his forgiveness and repeats her promise of her devotion to him and helping others in order to earn it. I get up to get my bible and I see a note by the door asking me to go to the dining car with the princess. I immediately go to her compartment worrying about what is going to happen. I knock on her compartment door, and she opens it with her note in her hand and I ask what it is about and what is going to happen. The princess tells me that Poirot is investigating and knows about the Armstrong case, and I start to panic because he discovered who he is and might start to figure out who did it and then I will go to jail. The princess yells at me to calm down and pull myself together so that I don’t give anything away and we go together to the dining car.
To punish, to panic, to persuade, to beg, to alarm, to plead, to command, to condemn, to implore, to deflect
To punish myself and others for murder we committed
Act 1 Scene 10
Princess and I enter the dining car and Monseiur Bouc is there setting up drinks and there is a table with passports. Monseiur Poirot is not there yet and Monseuir Bouc greets us saying that Poirot is grabbing supplies and will be with us momentarily. He offers us something to drink and the princess says that we will wait until Monsieur Poirot is here. She mentions to me that he must not be that great since he is running late to his own meeting. I go to pull a seat out for the princess, but she stops me and says she will stand until he arrives. Poirot arrives shortly after this, and the princess tells him to make it quick and directs me to pull out her chair. Monsieur Bouc is pouring her a drink and then pours me some water as I sit. Poirot begins asking the princess questions about her passport and then a handkerchief. I begin to worry about Poirot figuring it out when he starts asking so many questions about the princess and I try to calm myself. He asks me if the handkerchief is mine which I examine closer to see the quality which is very nice and it hand it back to him and I want him to know it could not be mine for me to use my money to buy something so nice for myself when other people need money would be cruel and I am saint-like. Poirot then asks the princess where she was last night from 12 to 2 and he is asking her many questions and I worry that he will do the same and I worry about the lies I have to tell in order to protect myself. I have an alibi already that was created in the plan, and it was with Mary, and we were in our compartment just chatting and we went to sleep. He doesn’t ask me any more questions and moves on to ask if we’ve been to America which I have but if he knows I’ve been to America, he might associate me with the case and start to figure the plan out, but princess does not lie about this question which worries me too. I say that I haven’t been to America and hoping to prevent more questions I tell him that I want to go to raise money for babies in Africa however this doesn’t work and he says that I am very religious which seems like he is doubting me or judging me so I hammer into him my devotion to God and helping others. He compliments me on my efforts and moves on from questioning me which relieves me. [When J is asking me about what happened when I went out and working around the truth I know would get me in trouble] He asks if we knew the man who was murdered last night and I want to seem compliant and innocent, so I immediately tell him that his name was Ratchett but upon saying his name the memory of his body and killing him comes back to me and I need to convince God that I am remorseful. Princess however says that his name was Cassetti and says that he deserves to go to hell. I am shocked that she revealed she knew who he was despite her saying the countess told her. She begins to talk all about what happened to Daisy and the Armstrongs and reveals she knows Linda Arden. I begin to panic that Poirot is going to figure it out and as she nails into him the facts of the case I become overwhelmed with the despair I felt hearing about and witnessing the deaths and how my prayers were unable to do anything and I feel the eyes of Poirot and Bouc scanning me and I try to distract myself from what she is saying but then the princess turns and yells at me for praying for his soul and regretting what I’ve done and she says she deserves to be flogged and cut up and thrown into hell for murdering Daisy but all I can think about is how that will be done to me because I murdered somebody and I cannot stand all the fear and pressure anymore so I run out of the room [M talking about her sister and saying terrible things about her and then telling me I am like her sister].
I stop to breakdown in the hallway and Princess tells me to calm herself enough to get up and go to her compartment. I go into her room still distraught, and the princess apologizes that she took it too far and did not mean to attack me. I take some time to calm myself after discussing the fact they are all going to hell for this because killing is a sin and princess says that he was a monster who showed no remorse for killing and that I will be fine. When I am calm enough, I decide to go back to my compartment to try to rest but the gunshot goes off when I am about to leave Princess’s room. Both the princess and I leave the room, I do not know what is happening and I am freaking out because I know nothing about what is happening with this plan anymore. I go to where the commotion is, at my compartment door where they are calling Mary’s name and I realize Mary might be hurt. MacQueen says to try Ratchett’s room, so we all run down the hall and the compartment door won’t open even though it was previously pushed open. They push open the door and I scream because Mary is lying there on the ground with blood coming out of her arm and a gun next to her.
To impress, to challenge, to silence, to enlighten, to ridicule, to soften, to disarm, to convince, to command, to rebuff, to assist
To convince Poirot that I am innocent/willing to comply, and I am sorry that he was murdered
Drinking water, cleaning glasses, taking handkerchief and looking at it, pulling out the princess’s chair, looking at the time, ways to manipulate my clothing so that I am calming/distracting myself
Act 2 Scene 1
Poirot says not to touch anything once again just skipping over the fact that someone has been killed. I do not understand how this could have happened this was not a part of the plan we discussed. The countess then says that she is still alive, and I thank God. [When E started behaving weird and could tell he was hurt but had no idea why] Colonel Arbuthnot is there consoling her and Poirot is trying to figure out what happened and I want to be there for Mary but when I go to console her I cannot deal with seeing the blood and her in pain so I move away. [when E was whining in pain and I wanted to hug him but his whimpers from the pain were hard to bear] The countess has her bag fetched and is tending to Mary and she begins to cut her sleeve to reveal the wound but I cannot stomach to see the wound and the blood and must look away and pray for her [cleaning up vomit or dog poop or sorting through the trash trying to find something you lost]. Poirot begins asking Mary who did this to her and investigating before she is even completely bandaged. But I am curious as to figure out what happened and if this was a part of the changes to the plan Mary was talking about earlier. Mary says that she woke up feeling dizzy and had a headache and that she went to find aspirin and saw Mrs. Hubbard’s room was ajar and went in to find some. The countess is throwing the blood-soaked clothes right on the floor in front of me as Mary is talking and it is hard not to ignore it and listen to Mary. Mary says that she went into Mrs. Hubbard’s makeup bag to look for aspiring but when she reached in there was a knife and it was covered in blood. I begin to panic because they are giving away the murder weapon and I did not know about this. I figure all of this must be a part of the new plan, but I do not know why they are choosing to do this. Mrs. Hubbard tells Poirot where her makeup bag and he goes to look. Colonel Arbuthnot leaves Mary’s side to follow Poirot and I move to comfort her but the blood on the ground and the bloody clothes on the floor and her bloody sleeve and Ratchett’s body are all obstacles in my path to comfort her. Mrs. Hubbard/Linda Arden is still talking, and I look up to see that Poirot is holding the knife that we killed Cassetti with and it has blood dried all over it and it is much larger than I remember it being last night and I cannot believe I drove that knife into someone and took their life. [M holding up my phone after reading my messages] I cannot stand to be around all of these lies and the blood and my sins and I just want to be rid of it all. Poirot says that he wants to speak to people and mentions the princess and me again and that sends me over the edge, and I leave the room immediately.
Princess and Mrs. Hubbard/Arden catch up to her and try to calm her down saying that Mary shot herself to prove she is not the killer and that the people in the interview room were not the killer. I am relieved that Mary was not ever going to die but I am still panicking because he wants to speak with me again and none of that makes me innocent and I am worried about being caught. I go back to my compartment to calm myself and wait for Mary to return to check on her. Mary comes back after her interview, and I check on her and ask her why this was the thing to do to prove innocence. Michel enters the compartment with his key, Poirot, and the countess, and they apologize for entering suddenly and they ask where my suitcase is. I point to where it is and ask why but before they answer Michel takes the suitcase and they ask for me to follow them. I start shouting after them to give my suitcase back.
To repel, to expel, to console, to confront, to avoid, to animate, to question, to suppress, to subdue
To comfort myself and Mary
Console Mary, don’t look at the blood and wound, stay away from the knife, touch necklace/manipulate clothing to calm myself
Act 2 Scene 3
I am tired of people doing things without my knowledge or permission. They didn’t ask to see my suitcase or give me a reason why and then they took it to a room full of people with the intention of opening it. I want the suitcase back and I want an explanation, but the countess prevents me from getting my suitcase. Monsieur Poirot says that Michel said I saw a second conductor on the train last night. I did not see a second conductor last night but I do know that a second conductor was part of the plan and he was supposed to be smaller so I lie to prevent Poirot from accusing one of us and he says then the uniform must be in one of the suitcases and he chose mine which means he thinks it could be me and he is opening the suitcase which contains my undergarments and my personal belongings and he is displaying them to the room. [when M took my phone and read my messages without my permission] When the princess pulls the uniform out, I am shocked and terrified because I did not put that in my suitcase and it now implicates me of the murder and everyone is staring at me and I need to prove to them I didn’t put that jacket in there and then I need to myself and God to understand that I am not a murderer that this was one time and I am in agony over it. [When J became so frustrated with me and casted me out and I was asking for forgiveness even though I knew I did something wrong and felt terrible after doing it even though in the moment I was upset and in a mood so I justified what I was doing.] Poirot tries to console me and say he doesn’t believe I did anything wrong but I don’t believe him because he assumed the uniform was in my suitcase and he starts asking me questions about the last time I looked in my suitcase which was yesterday and then asks if someone could have put it in there which I have no idea and he seems to think I know how it ended up there, implicating me, and so I insist that I have never seen it and have no idea how it got there. Then I hear the princess step near me and tell Poirot to leave me alone and that I cannot take his bullying. Poirot apologizes and says that I may be escorted to my room, and everyone may leave but then Mrs. Hubbard/Linda Arden steps up to him and says that he kicks us out when things get juicy and the princess starts to fight with her, sticking up for me which hasn’t happened until right now. [When people start getting upset because I am upset, and it makes me more upset] Monsieur Bouc interrupts them before things get out of control and tells us to go back to our rooms. I want to get out of there and away from the shame immediately and when I go to stand up from taking back my suitcase, he offers me a hand which I take but only because I need to get up. I do not like how Poirot treats people and I thank the princess for standing up for me. Princess, Mrs. Hubbard/Linda Arden, and I leave the dining car.
I immediately question the princess and Linda Arden about how the uniform is in my suitcase and why it’s there and what is going on. They tell me that Michel put it there so it would not seem like I had anything to do with it because why would the killer be so careless to leave the evidence in their own luggage? I calm down knowing that it was in an attempt, so he doesn’t suspect me, but I am still upset that I am in this situation in the first place, starting with the murder of Daisy, and I want to be away from all of it immediately. I go back to her compartment and find Mary there and talks with her until she says she needs some rest, so I leave her and plan to go to princess and I see two notes by the door. I look at them and see it is from Poirot, so I make my way to the princess’ compartment and when she opens her door, she is holding a letter as well with the same information “Please make your way to the dining car immediately”. Even the princess does not know what he is going to do, and we go to the dining car together.
To chastise, to hammer, to plead, to overpower, to subdue, to question, to convince, to settle, to quash, to beg
To prevent Poirot from accusing me
Take my suitcase back, hug/rock with the suitcase, hide/lock the suitcase
Act 2 Scene 5
When princess and I enter the dining car Colonel Arbuthnot and MacQueen are there with notes as well and then Mrs. Hubbard, the countess, and Mary enter with their notes as well but Poirot is late again. He comes in with Bouc and some extra chairs and tells us he is sorry he is late and that he had to get his ducks in a row. I take his statement literally and ask where the ducks are because they will help to cheer me up and distract me but the princess tells me that there are no ducks. [Having a long day/bad couple of days and looking forward to the plans I made with my friends only for the plans to be cancelled] Poirot tells us to sit down because he has an announcement to make and waits until we are all seated to say that he has figured out who killed Bruno Cassetti but that he must interview one last person: Colonel Arbuthnot. At this point I am wondering if he knows who did it and why he is interviewing the Colonel now. The Colonel stands and although answers his questions doesn’t give much away until Poirot starts to corner him with what he said to Mary about the trip and getting it behind them. I think they were referring to getting the murder behind them and therefore believe Poirot might have cornered him but Colonel Arbuthnot reveals he is married which I did not know. I thought Mary and him were getting to know each other and were both single and I would normally frown upon this but in recent events I am in no place to judge and check myself. Poirot begins to push the Colonel again and the Colonel slips and says he deserved to die proving he knew that Ratchett was Cassetti. He tries to cover it up by saying we told him that but Poirot begins to question him further which turns into him attacking the Colonel for not giving enough respect to Colonel Armstrong. Colonel Arbuthnot yells back at him to shut up and then in a swift movement he picks Poirot up by the collar and is screaming in his face. I’m afraid that Colonel Arbuthnot is going to hurt Poirot or kill Poirot so I jump up to try to stop him because there cannot be any more death. Monsieur Bouc and Mrs. Hubbard/Linda Arden pull the Colonel back and I sit down and Poirot says that we have all been lying to him which worries me that he has figured out all of our secrets. Poirot says that he knows precisely who did it and how it was accomplished. He starts out by listing the facts of the case and then points out there are two possible solutions which concerns me but by this point I am still not sure that he has figured it out and I have been caught. The first possible solution he poses is the plan we came up with, the idea of a stranger boarding one station in a uniform and leaving on another after killing Cassetti. Linda Arden/Mrs. Hubbard says that is what she has been telling him and Bouc congratulates him but the princess says to everyone that she does not think he is done which is true because he said he had two possible solutions and only said one. He says there were two events that made what we planned impossible, the first was the snow because there were no footprints no one could have left so he says the killer is still on the train and is one of us. I look to the others to see how they are responding to this and if they are as worried as I am. At this point I am worried that he is going to blame one of us and someone will go to jail and then I will feel guilty or that someone could be me and the rest get away with it. Poirot continues on to say finding the note that said “remember little Daisy Armstrong” was the second event proving that it was not a random enemy but someone avenging the death of Daisy. He then begins to lay out the clues that led him to the second possible solution. He points out that it is unusual for so many different people to be on the train at the least busy time of the year. He then moves on to last night when Mrs. Hubbard screamed that someone was in her room and the murder of a businessman with eight stab wounds in his chest some of different strengths and some used with different hands. He then points out all the clues he found at the crime scene but there was one that was important to him: the watch. He says it wasn’t the time but where he found it, in his pajama pocket that confused him because no one sleeps with a watch in their pajama pocket. He figures out from this that we did not kill him during 12 to 2 or at 1:15 which our alibis covered but after 2 o’clock. Mrs. Hubbard/Linda Arden stands up to leave the room and says we don’t have to listen to this but Poirot forces her to sit down which worries me because she doesn’t resist but she complies. Poirot then begins again and says the second clue that he found at the crime scene was the handkerchief that he showed to the princess and I in our interview. He holds it out and says it belongs to the princess but it isn’t hers because the initial is H and her initials are N.D. But Poirot counters her and reveals that her initial in the Russian alphabet is written like the letter H and the princess takes the handkerchief. I did not know it was her handkerchief do not know where Poirot is going with all of the information. Is he going to accuse one person or does he know the truth? He then references the gunshot and how he knew immediately it was a sham and that Mary shot herself. He approaches Mary and lays out the evidence talking about powder burns and how it would be unlikely for someone to miss from two feet away. Mary denies the claim saying she’d have to be crazy but Poirot counters and says that she would do it if she were totally committed to a plot. He is much more aggressive now than in other interactions with him. He brings up how strange it is that four people on board are connected to Daisy and now I am beginning to accept the fact he has discovered the truth and that this is my punishment from God. He then addresses Mary identifying her as the governess for Daisy and now I know he has figured it out. He looks at me and identifies that I was the baby nurse for Daisy. [Child getting in trouble for something they did but thought they could hide.] Then he identified Michel as poor Susanne’s father and Mrs. Hubbard as Linda Arden. Poirot figures out it was the eight of us who killed him and attacks me by saying we played God together which is part of the reason I regret the murder. Poirot says he must tell the police the truth and I begin to imagine my life sitting in a jail with all of this guilt and regret. But Linda Arden and the countess speak up and say that he will tell them the truth about the conductor because turning us in would be an injustice. But Poirot resists and says that it is justice if you commit a crime you must pay the price and this strikes me because this is what I have been holding myself to and it reminds me I deserve a punishment and this is God’s punishment so I am terrified. The Colonel steps up and argues that Cassetti murdered Daisy and indirectly killed four other people for money and got away with it. Poirot explodes and says he has never turned his back on the wall and with the way the world is changing with Germany we need laws more than ever or we will be barbarians. He cannot let us go and Mary tries to plead with him that Cassetti was a monster and he deserved it but Poirot is still persistent but then Mrs. Arden asks to speak and asks if he would have preferred it if Bruno Cassetti got away with it and if that is the justice he is looking for. I can see Poirot is listening to her and she has the attention of the entire room. She says he has all the evidence to support the idea that the murderer was an unknown person who boarded the train in a uniform and leave. She points to the princess, MacQueen, and I as reliable witnesses of the man in the uniform and we can’t all be lying. She says if he turned us in there would be more trials where we would have to relive the most terrible moment of our lives. She asks Poirot to examine his heart to figure out what he wants. Poirot says he is moved and turns to Bouc to ask what he should do. I am praying that he will let us go and that this will remain in the past as I spend my future trying to make up for it. Monsieur Bouc believes the first solution to be correct and there is deafening silence as I wait to hear Poirot’s decision. When Poirot says we may go with God, I realize he is letting us go and relief falls over my body and I can breathe again. I feel as if this was from God so I thank him and Linda Arden comes over to the table to hug the princess and she consoles me and I console her. I then try to hug the princess but she denies me and just as I am about to catch Mary’s attention, the train moves and I move to look out the window and there are people outside shoveling snow and trying to get us out of there. I thank God for this too and I look to see if the princess can see the people outside getting us out. By then I notice that the Colonel calls Poirot name and I turn to see he is not in the dining car anymore. [This entire time of Poirot laying out the evidence is like when I am talking with M and she is asking questions or pointing out things but not getting to the point where she reveals/calls me out on what I did. I know I’m going to get in trouble and there will be consequences and I’ll have to find ways to make it up to her but Poirot letting them get away with it is like if there was no lashing out or punishment from her and still feeling guilty over what I did especially now that I know she knows and still feeling the desire to do things to make up for it or work to be better.]
To chastise, to subdue, to expel, to convince, to impress, to inquire, to punish, to question, to soothe, to support
To express regret for forgiveness
Fiddling with the note, pulling out the princess’s chair, looking or not looking at evidence
Character Journal 4 is located on the next page.