Page "After the Funeral" Paragraph 8

Poirot focuses on the Abernethie family, and a number of red herrings come to light.

Rosamund Shane, one of the nieces, is a beautiful but determined woman who seems to have something to hide ( which turns out to be her husband ’ s infidelity and her own pregnancy ).

Susan ’ s husband, Gregory, is a dispensing chemist who had been responsible for deliberately administering a nonlethal overdose to an awkward customer.

In a surprising twist, he confesses to the murder of Richard Abernethie near the close of the novel.

He is discovered to have a punishment complex.

Timothy Abernethie, an unpleasant man preoccupied with his own health perhaps to gain attention, might have been able to commit the murder of Cora, as might his country-tweed, strong, healthy wife, Maude.

Even the genteel Helen Abernethie left Enderby to fetch her things from her London flat upon agreeing to stay longer at Enderby.

In short, all the family had been alone on the day Cora was murdered, for enough time to reach the rented cottage and do the deed.

Did any of them do it?

Perhaps identifying the murderer may depend on finding a nun whom Miss Gilchrist claims to have noticed twice?

But what can all this have to do with a bouquet of wax flowers under glass to which Poirot pays attention?