# XXXIII: The Living and the Dead explained — The Old Man in the Corner > Chapter companion for The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy. ## What happens The Old Man in the Corner unravels the de Genneville peerage murder, proposing that the Hon. Robert de Genneville murdered his lawyer Timothy Beddingfield, swapped clothes with the corpse, and fled to start a new life, while the police mistakenly suspected Beddingfield or the Earl of Brockelsby. ## Themes in this chapter ### Deception and Forgery The central deception involves the swapping of identities between the murderer and victim, using clothes and a battered corpse to mislead police. ### Justice and Impunity The murderer escapes justice by framing a dead man and exploiting police assumptions, highlighting the flaws in the investigation. ### The Power of Observation The Old Man uses keen observation of details (height, hair, clothing) to reconstruct the crime, contrasting with the police's failure. ## Character check-ins ### Polly Burton Polly listens to the Old Man's explanation and is left puzzled and doubtful. ### The Old Man in the Corner He presents his theory of the murder, emphasizing the swap of identities between Beddingfield and de Genneville. ### Timothy Beddingfield The lawyer who disappears after the murder; the Old Man claims he was the victim, not the killer. ### Robert Ingram de Genneville The Hon. Robert, twin brother of the Earl, is accused by the Old Man of murdering Beddingfield and assuming his identity. ### Earl of Brockelsby The twin brother of the Hon. Robert, initially suspected due to motive and the night porter's hesitation. ### Mrs. Higgins Beddingfield's housekeeper, who testifies about his habits and the messenger who collected his portmanteau. ## Key lines > I say that it was the lawyer who was murdered at nine o'clock that evening, and that Robert de Genneville, the ruined man, the hopeless bankrupt, was the assassin. The Old Man claims that Beddingfield was killed at 9 PM, and de Genneville killed him. _This is the core twist of the chapter, reversing the assumed roles of victim and killer._ > Then the murderer proceeds to dress his victim in his own clothes. With the utmost care he places his own rings on the fingers of the dead man, his own watch in the pocket; a gruesome task, but an important one, and it is thoroughly well done. The killer dressed the corpse in his own clothes and jewelry to mislead investigators. _Highlights the meticulous deception central to the crime._ > Two years have elapsed since the crime; no trace of Timothy Beddingfield, the lawyer, has ever been found, and I can assure you that it will never be, for his plebeian body lies buried in the aristocratic family vault of the Earl of Brockelsby. Beddingfield's body is hidden in the Brockelsby family vault, ensuring it will never be discovered. _The Old Man's final reveal underscores the impunity of the murderer._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_man_in_the_corner_se/chapters/xxxiii-the-living-and-the-dead - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_man_in_the_corner_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_old_man_in_the_corner_se/chapters