Death by Drowning by Agatha Christie. Short summary

5 seconds

A short story from the collection «Thirteen Mysterious Occurrences.» Sir Henry visits Colonel Arthur Bantry at St. Mary’s Meade again. On the morning of his arrival, a local girl, Rosa Emmott, is found drowned.

1 minute

After a memorable dinner at Colonel Arthur Bantry’s, some time passed, and Sir Henry came to visit St. Mary-Mead again. That morning a local girl, Rose Emmott, was found drowned in the river. The peasants gossiped that Rose was pregnant with the young architect Rex Stanford and had drowned herself out of shame.

But Miss Marple believes that Rose was murdered. The elderly lady thinks she knows who the murderer is, but she has no proof. She asks Sir Henry to help with the investigation.

The police suspect Stanford of the crime, but he denies his guilt. He has no alibi. The police and Sir Henry visit the cottage of Mrs. Bartlett, a widow, who has a young man named Joe Ellis. Joe was in love with Rose and was ready to marry her and raise someone else’s child. At the time of the murder, Joe has an alibi.

After a brief investigation, Sir Henry discovers that Mrs. Bartlett pushed Rose into the water because she herself was in love with Joe. The woman confesses to the crime.