When London businessman Rex Fortescue dies after drinking his morning tea, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Neele spearheads the investigation. An autopsy reveals the cause of death was poisoning by taxine, a toxic alkaloid obtained from the yew tree, and that Fortescue ingested it with his breakfast, while a search of his clothing reveals a quantity of rye in his jacket pocket.

Superintendent Spence informs Hercule Poirot of the case of Mrs McGinty, an elderly charwoman, apparently killed by her lodger, James Bentley, for her savings of £30, which she kept under a floorboard. Bentley is convicted and to be executed for the crime, but Spence does not think he is guilty. Poirot agrees to go to the town of Broadhinny and investigate the murder further. Poirot finds that Mrs McGinty often worked as a cleaner at the houses of people in the village. No one wants to talk to Poirot, and most believe Bentley is the killer.

During a search among Mrs McGinty's possessions, Poirot finds a newspaper from which an article has been cut out. The newspaper is dated a few days before the murder. He later discovers that the missing article is about women connected with famous murder cases, and includes photographs of them. He also discovers that Mrs McGinty had purchased a bottle of ink in a local shop shortly before her murder. He concludes that she had recognised one of the women in the article, and had written to the paper in question. Someone must have found out about it and then killed her to prevent her from talking. Poirot and Spence, using the ages of people in the town, conclude that someone is either Lily Gamboll, who committed murder with a meat cleaver as a child, or Eva Kane, who had been the love interest who inspired a man to murder his wife and bury her in a cellar. Another possibility is that someone is Evelyn Hope, the daughter of Eva Kane. Shortly afterwards, Poirot discovers the murder weapon, a sugar hammer, left around in plain sight at his boarding house and accessible to all the suspects. In an attempt to flush out the murderer, Poirot claims to know more than he does and is nearly pushed under an oncoming train. Poirot decides to show most of the suspects the photos at a party. Mrs Upward claims to have seen the photo of Lily Gamboll, but does not say where.

Mrs McGillicuddy is on the said 4.50 train from Paddington, on her way to stay with Miss Marple. Mrs McGillicuddy is shocked however, when a second train draws level with hers and she sees a young woman being strangled. But when she reports the matter, no body has been found and no young woman has been reported missing.

Miss Marple sets out to investigate.

In legal history, an animal trial was the criminal trial of a non- human animal. Such trials are recorded as having taken place in Europe from the thirteenth century until the eighteenth. In modern times, it is considered in most criminal justice systems that non-human persons lack moral agency and so cannot be held culpable for an act.Animals, including insects, faced the possibility of criminal charges for several centuries across many parts of Europe. The earliest extant record of an animal trial is often assumed to be found in the execution of a pig in 1266 at Fontenay-aux-Roses.

Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885 – February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, Hopper named suspected communists and was a major proponent of the Hollywood blacklist. Hopper continued to write gossip until the end of her life, her work appearing in many magazines and later on radio. She had an extended feud with another gossip columnist, arch-rival Louella Parsons

1/2 One morning, Hercule Poirot's post includes a distressing communication from an elderly spinster seeking his help, but not saying why.

What intrigues him most is that the letter was written two months ago.

He persuades Captain Hastings that they must investigate immediately.

Hercule Poirot: John Moffatt

Captain Hastings: Simon Williams

Miss Lawson: Joanna David

Theresa Arundell: Tracy Wiles

Charles Arundell: Ifan Meredith

Ellen: Elizabeth Proud

Miss Peabody: Rosalind Knight

Dr Grainger: Sam Dale

Bob the dog: Richard Beadsmoore

Music: Tom Small

Producer/Director: Enyd Williams

Afternoon Play:

First broadcast: Thu 7th Dec 2006

14:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM

2/2 Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings are now on the trail of murder. And a little wire-haired terrier is proving very helpful in their deliberations.

Hercule Poirot: John Moffatt

Hastings: Simon Williams

Miss Lawson: Joanna David

Bella Tanios: Becky Hindley

Dr Tanios: Sam Dale

Theresa Arundell: Tracy Wiles

Charles Arundell: Ifan Meredith

Chemist: Damlan Lynch

Bob the dog: Richard Beadsmoore