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Summary On The Taurus Express

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After reviewing the evidence, Mary Debenham, Hector Macqueen, and Colonel Arbuthnot are responsible for the murdering Samuel Edward Ratchett. Mary Debenham, the young English governess, is a prime suspect in the murder due to a substantial amount of suspicious activity. At the start of the novel, while Hercule Poirot was aboard the Taurus Express, he studied Ms. Debenham’s personality in such great detail that after observing her on the Orient Express, he immediately identified various inconsistencies. Ms. Debenham and the Colonel acted differently among one another on the two trains. While on the Taurus Express, Ms. Debenham and the Colonel discussed personal information among each other. “[...] they discovered some mutual friends, which had the immediate effect of making them more friendly and less stiff” (Christie 10). They opened up with one another and were friendly. On the Orient Express, they acted opposite, seeming as if they were never acquainted. “At the next table, a small one, sat Colonel Arbuthnot—alone. [...] They were not sitting together”(Christie 18). Poirot, at first, assumed that the reason that they sat independently of each other was due to Ms. Debenham fearing that her reputation would be tainted, but with further knowledge, it can be inferred that they sat apart to not be assumed together. They would not want to be seen together if they both took part in the murder. Another instance of Ms. Debenham’s suspicious behavior can be displayed during the two train delays. Despite the similar environments, she acted opposite in each situation. On the Taurus Express, during the delay, she acted frantic and anxious, desperately asking when the train would continue. “But we can’t afford delay! This train is due in at 6.55 [...] and catch the Simplon Orient Express on the other side at nine o’clock. If there is an hour or two of delay we shall miss the connection”(Christie 11). Why did Ms. Debenham need to catch that particular train so badly? By the next day, another Orient Express would be there to take her to London. Ms. Debenham would have had to catch that particular train in order to fulfill her plans of killing Ratchett. After Ratchett was murdered, Ms. Debenham was caught in yet another

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