Tape-Measure Murder: A Short Story by Agatha Christie (1941)

"Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend." -Agatha Christie

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The local seamstress Miss Politt was making a house visit to see Mrs. Spenslow for a fitting. After no one answering the door a nearby neighbor Miss Hartnell helps her see if she is in since she knew it was the housekeeper's day off. They discover that Mrs. Spenslow is dead. After they go to tell the police Miss Hartnell runs into Mr. Spenslow whom does not seem to have any emotion whatsoever after hearing that his wife was dead.

The police gain counsel from Miss Marple within thirty minutes of the news of the body being discovered. Everyone has their bets on Mr. Spenslow that he killed his own wife to gain a wealthy inheritance. But Miss Marple is not convinced of this by any means. She explains to the Chief Constable, "you can't have a murder without a motive," which the husband may very well could have.

There was a possibility that she had connections to a younger man, so some assumed that the husband would have done away with her. But Miss Marple had known Mrs. Spenslow for a while and her and her husband were quite happy in their marriage so she knew that her husband certainly would not have committed this crime. After some great detective work on Miss Marple's part she deducts two clues that make it exactly clear whom the murderer was, one being a tape measure.

This had to been one of the shortest Agatha Christie stories that I have ever read. But very intriguing and quite amusing. I am amazed that a murder occurred and within a matter of hours, the entire case is solved. I know that St. Mary Mead where Miss Marple lives is a rather small village, but to have a murder solved in that amount of time is crazy. Another thing that came to thought is the amount of murders that actually occur in this village. There has been on account several murders in at least 4 other books Christie wrote. Wonder why it happens so much in this particular village in England. But sometimes the smallest towns have the most greatest stories to tell, and their's just so happens to be their murders.

Murder fascinates many readers including myself. Is it due to fact that not two murders are alike? Or is it the excitement of something dangerous, but it's in a controlled environment that we can choose to read and experience? Perhaps its the joy of trying to figure out who did it and trying to solve it ourselves before the author reveals that detail to us. Whatever the interest may be that sparks joy for the reader, it gives a great splash of color in our imagination and personalities.

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I have attached a wonderful audio adaptation read of this short story read by Joan Hickson whom played Miss Marple in the BBC television series from 1984-1992.