Project Gutenberg's The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie

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Title: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Author: Agatha Christie

Release Date: July 27, 2008 [EBook #863]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES ***

Produced by Charles Keller

THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES

By Agatha Christie

CONTENTS

I. I GO TO STYLES
II. THE 16TH AND 17TH OF JULY
III. THE NIGHT OF THE TRAGEDY
IV. POIROT INVESTIGATES
V. "IT ISN'T STRYCHNINE, IS IT?"
VI. THE INQUEST
VII. POIROT PAYS HIS DEBTS
VIII. FRESH SUSPICIONS
IX. DR. BAUERSTEIN
X. THE ARREST
XI. THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION
XII. THE LAST LINK
XIII. POIROT EXPLAINS

CHAPTER I. I GO TO STYLES

The intense interest aroused in the public by what was known at the time
as "The Styles Case" has now somewhat subsided. Nevertheless, in view of
the world-wide notoriety which attended it, I have been asked, both by
my friend Poirot and the family themselves, to write an account of the
whole story. This, we trust, will effectually silence the sensational
rumours which still persist.

I will therefore briefly set down the circumstances which led to my
being connected with the affair.

I had been invalided home from the Front; and, after spending some
months in a rather depressing Convalescent Home, was given a month's
sick leave. Having no near relations or friends, I was trying to make
up my mind what to do, when I ran across John Cavendish. I had seen very
little of him for some years. Indeed, I had never known him particularly
well. He was a good fifteen years my senior, for one thing, though he
hardly looked his forty-five years. As a boy, though, I had often stayed
at Styles, his mother's place in Essex.

We had a good yarn about old times, and it ended in his inviting me down
to Styles to spend my leave there.

"The mater will be delighted to see you again--after all those years,"
he added.

"Your mother keeps well?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. I suppose you know that she has