# The Last Link explained — The Mysterious Affair at Styles

> Chapter companion for The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.

## What happens

Poirot reveals the final pieces of the puzzle, explaining that Mrs. Inglethorp herself destroyed the will by burning it in a fire, that Mary Cavendish administered a narcotic to Cynthia and Mrs. Inglethorp, and that the strychnine came from a precipitated bromide in the medicine. He reconstructs the events leading to the murder, clearing up misconceptions and identifying the true culprits.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

Poirot uncovers the hidden actions of Mary Cavendish and the true cause of Mrs. Inglethorp's death, revealing how appearances misled everyone.

### Justice and Truth

Poirot systematically dismantles false assumptions and presents the factual sequence of events, leading to the resolution of the case.

### Marriage and Betrayal

Mary Cavendish's jealousy and her secret actions highlight the betrayal and mistrust within the Cavendish marriage.

## Character check-ins

### Hercule Poirot

Delivers the final explanation of the crime, revealing the truth behind the will, the narcotic, and the strychnine.

### Mary Cavendish

Confesses to administering a narcotic and attempting to retrieve a paper from Mrs. Inglethorp's room, driven by jealousy.

### Emily Inglethorp

Posthumously revealed to have destroyed her own will and died from strychnine precipitated in her medicine.

### Cynthia Murdoch

Was drugged by Mary Cavendish, explaining her deep sleep during the night of the murder.

### Lawrence Cavendish

Reacts to the revelations, understanding the drugged cocoa and the delay in strychnine symptoms.

## Key lines

> The temperature on that day, messieurs, was 80 degrees in the shade. Yet Mrs. Inglethorp ordered a fire! Why? Because she wished to destroy something, and could think of no other way.

Despite the extreme heat, Mrs. Inglethorp lit a fire solely to burn a document, as wartime waste paper restrictions left no other means of disposal.

_Poirot explains the incongruity of the fire as key evidence of will destruction._

> Mrs. Cavendish administered a safe, but effectual, narcotic to both Mrs. Inglethorp and Mademoiselle Cynthia.

Mary Cavendish gave a harmless sleeping drug to both her mother-in-law and Cynthia.

_Poirot reveals Mary's role in drugging the victims._

> The strychnine that killed Mrs. Inglethorp was the identical strychnine prescribed by Dr. Wilkins.

The poison came directly from Mrs. Inglethorp's own medicine, where it had precipitated as crystals.

_Poirot identifies the source of the strychnine._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysterious_affair_at_styles_se/chapters/xii-the-last-link
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysterious_affair_at_styles_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysterious_affair_at_styles_se/chapters