The next morning, Slack tells Clement he traced the call that falsely asked for help with a dying parishioner. It came from the empty lodge at Old Hall, and fingerprints on the phone there were wiped clean. It wasn’t Mrs. or Miss Protheroe, as witnesses saw them elsewhere. The crank call to Mrs. Price Ridley came from Mr. Redding’s abode at a time when he was gone. Slack thinks the call and the pistol were both attempts to throw suspicion on Redding. Griselda interrupts the two men and says Miss Marple wants to see Clement. Miss Marple is busy as she prepares for her nephew’s visit, but she pauses to tell Clement that she saw Miss Cram go into the woods with a suitcase at midnight and leave without it.

The whole village is excited on the day of the inquest because this is the first murder there in 15 years. After all the characters testify, the verdict is murder by a person or persons unknown. Clement escapes the throng of people through the archeologist’s upstairs room at the local pub to avoid journalists. Dr. Stone and