british army officer · agatha christie · hercule poihot · loyal friend · detective fiction · 1920s setting · chronicler · earnest · mystery genre · ww1 veteran
Sunlight spills over the seaside café, illuminating Poirot and Hastings at their breakfast table. The air is thick with the promise of leisure, yet Hastings’s gaze drifts past his friend. Across the room, by the window, a young woman fights back tears. Hastings nudges Poirot, his eyes darting discreetly toward her hidden sorrow.