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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2014
Copyright © Agatha Christie® Poirot® The Monogram Murders™
Copyright © Agatha Christie Limited 2014
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Sophie Hannah asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780007547425
Ebook Edition © September 2014 ISBN: 9780007547432
Version: 2017-03-20
For Agatha Christie
Contents
17. The Older Woman and the Younger Man
18. Knock and See Who Comes to the Door
Extract from Closed Casket, the new Hercule Poirot novel by Sophie Hannah
‘All’s I’m saying is, I don’t like her,’ the waitress with the flyaway hair whispered. It was a loud whisper, easily overheard by the solitary customer in Pleasant’s Coffee House. He wondered whether the ‘her’ under discussion on this occasion was another waitress or a regular patron like himself.
‘I don’t have to like her, do I? You want to think different, you feel free.’
‘I thought she was nice enough,’ said the shorter waitress with the round face, sounding less certain than she had a few moments ago.
‘That’s how she is when her pride’s taken a knock. Soon as she perks up, her tongue’ll start dripping poison again. It’s the wrong way round. I’ve known plenty of her sort—never trust ’em.’
‘What d’you mean it’s the wrong way round?’ asked the round-faced waitress.
Hercule Poirot, the only diner in the coffee house at just after half past