The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: Chapter 10 Summary & Analysis

Inside the house, Dr. Sheppard, Poirot, Flora, and Major Blunt meet Mr. Hammond, who’s been speaking with Mrs. Ackroyd. Mrs. Ackroyd tells the group that she believes Ralph to have “accidentally” killed Roger. Poirot pulls the lawyer aside for a chat, and Dr. Sheppard, unsure whether or not he should join, comes near. Poirot invites Sheppard to his side, saying, “We investigate this affair side by side.” Mr. Hammond explains that he finds it unlikely that Ralph Paton killed Roger Ackroyd, although Ralph was pressed for cash. Ackroyd’s will has just been opened: he’s left 500 pounds to Raymond, 1,000 pounds to Miss Russell, 10,000 to Mrs. Ackroyd, 20,000 to Flora, and the rest to Ralph.

Poirot then pulls Dr. Sheppard aside and gives him instructions: he wants Sheppard to bring up the name of Mrs. Ferrars to see how Major Blunt reacts. Sheppard proceeds with his instructions, and Blunt simply says that he knew Mrs. Ferrars, betraying no signs of discomfort. He adds that she seemed to have aged a lot lately. The men chat, and Blunt brings up the fact that he’s come into a legacy recently, but lost his money on “some wild-cat scheme.” Sheppard sympathizes and relates his own story. Sheppard then reports back to Poirot on what he’s learned.

At lunch, Mrs. Ackroyd tells Dr. Sheppard that she’s hurt about being left only 10,000 pounds. She adds that Roger Ackroyd admired Miss Russell greatly, hence the money he left her. She also remembers how Miss Russell tried to marry Roger—a plan that Mrs. Ackroyd thwarted. Annoyed, Sheppard asks Mrs. Ackroyd about the inquest, and Mrs. Ackroyd seems surprised—surely, she says, Roger died by accident. “Brutally,” Dr. Sheppard explains that he was murdered.

Raymond recalls that Roger cashed a check for a hundred pounds yesterday afternoon, and adds that he usually leaves the money in his unlocked desk drawer. Inspector Raglan, who’s in the house asking more questions, goes with Raymond, Sheppard, and Poirot to search the desk. The money is still in the desk but, much to Raymond’s surprise, forty pounds are missing. One of the servants who Ackroyd trusted, Raymond suggests, must have stolen the money. He recalls that Ackroyd had recently hired a housemaid named Elsie Dale. He also notes that one of the parlormaids just announced that she’d be leaving.

In the housekeeper’s room, Inspector Raglan, Dr. Sheppard, and Poirot speak with Miss Russell about Elsie Dale. Russell explains that Elsie would never have stolen money—she has great references and is always well behaved. The men also speak with Ursula Bourne, a parlormaid who gave notice after Roger became annoyed with the way she arranged his papers. Ursula insists that she was nowhere near Roger’s desk last night—that was Elsie’s job. Poirot asks Ursula how long her confrontation with Roger was—half an hour, Ursula says. Russell explains that Ursula has good references from Marby, an old estate.

Before the men leave the housekeeper’s room, they ask Miss Russell her opinion of Parker. She doesn’t say anything, but purses her lips. Inspector Raglan notes that Parker is “wrong” somehow, but adds that he couldn’t have killed Roger—he had too many duties around the house.

Dr. Sheppard wonders if any of the papers on Roger’s desk contained important information—this might explain why Roger had such a lengthy talk with Ursula about how she arranged them. Poirot points out that Ursula is one of the only suspects without an alibi—and yet she would seem to have no motive. Poirot also points out that Sheppard has been assuming that Mrs. Ferrars’ blackmailer was a man when, in fact, it could have been a woman. Poirot decides that tomorrow they’ll go to Marby. He admits to Sheppard that everything points to Ralph’s guilt—however, he intends to follow through on his promise to Flora to “leave no stone unturned.”