The Man in the Brown Suit · Chapter
XX explained
Anne and Suzanne discuss their suspicions about Sir Eustace and Colonel Race, and Anne devises a plan to secretly stay behind in Cape Town to watch Pagett while pretending to leave for Durban.
What happens
Anne and Suzanne discuss their suspicions about Sir Eustace and Colonel Race, and Anne devises a plan to secretly stay behind in Cape Town to watch Pagett while pretending to leave for Durban. Suzanne agrees to keep an eye on Sir Eustace and Race during the trip to Rhodesia. Anne says goodbye to Sir Eustace, who complains about Pagett and his new secretary, and later executes her plan by leaving the train at the last moment.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Trust
Anne deceives Pagett and Sir Eustace by pretending to leave for Durban while secretly staying behind to spy on Pagett.
Adventure and Romance
Suzanne and Anne treat the investigation as an exciting adventure, with Suzanne joking about tracking dangerous criminals.
Characters to notice
- Anne Beddingfeld
Anne plans to secretly stay in Cape Town to watch Pagett, suspects everyone including Sir Eustace and Colonel Race.
- Suzanne Blair
Suzanne agrees to watch Sir Eustace and Colonel Race, helps Anne with her plan to pretend to leave for Durban.
- Sir Eustace Pedler
Sir Eustace complains about Pagett and the murder at Mill House, offers Anne a secretary job, and mentions leaving Pagett behind in Cape Town.
- Guy Pagett
Pagett is staying behind in Cape Town; Anne plans to watch him. He runs to fetch eau de cologne for Suzanne but misses Anne.
- Colonel Race
Mentioned as a possible suspect; Suzanne defends him, noting his secret service connections.
Key passages
“Anne, you surely can’t suspect Colonel Race or Sir Eustace?” “I suspect everybody,” I said darkly, “and if you’ve read any detective stories, Suzanne, you must know that it’s always the most unlikely person who’s the villain. Lots of criminals have been cheerful fat men like Sir Eustace.””
Anne tells Suzanne that she suspects everyone, including Sir Eustace and Colonel Race, because in detective stories the villain is often the least likely person.
Anne expresses her distrust of both Sir Eustace and Colonel Race, using detective story logic.
“It’s quite clear that I must stay here and watch Pagett, and this is the best way to do it. I must pretend to leave for Durban this evening, take my luggage down and so on, but really I shall go to some small hotel in the town.”
Anne decides to pretend to leave for Durban while actually staying in Cape Town to secretly observe Pagett.
Anne outlines her plan to deceive Pagett by faking her departure.
“First a perfectly strange woman has the impertinence to get herself murdered in my house—on purpose to annoy me, I do believe. Why my house? Why, of all the houses in Great Britain, choose the Mill House? What harm had I ever done the woman that she must needs get herself murdered there?”
Sir Eustace complains that the murder at his house was a personal affront, as if the victim chose his house deliberately to annoy him.
Sir Eustace expresses his frustration about the murder occurring at his property.