Pierre is a veteran French conductor for the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, working on the Paris-Calais car of the Orient Express. The investigators see Pierre as a dependable, honorable man, but not as one “remarkable for brains.” Thus, he appears to be incapable of deception, much less murder. However, suspicion falls on Pierre when a button from a Wagons-Lit uniform is found in Ratchett’s compartment. He’s connected to the Armstrong case through his daughter, a nursemaid for Daisy Armstrong, who later committed suicide after the police scrutinized her for Daisy’s kidnapping.
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Pierre Michel Character Timeline in Murder on the Orient Express
The timeline below shows where the character Pierre Michel appears in Murder on the Orient Express. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1 Chapter 4
...groan and notices that the train is stopped. Peering into the hallway, he sees the conductor (Pierre Michel) check in on Ratchett and a voice responds in French that everything is...
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Part 1 Chapter 5
...can’t fall back to sleep afterward. He reaches for the bell to ring for the conductor, but as he does he hears a nearby bell ring a few times before the...
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When he arrives, the conductor explains to Poirot that Mrs. Hubbard believes she saw a man in her cabin and...
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Further details of the murder follow. Ratchett was discovered by the conductor at 11 that morning, but his door was locked and bolted. A window was open...
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In conversation with the conductor, Pierre Michel, and M. Bouc, Poirot determines that the train car was locked after dinner...
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Part 2 Chapter 1
First up is Pierre Michel, the conductor, who seems a bit shaken and flighty. Poirot asks him to describe the events of...
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...Arbuthnot late into the night. After making up MacQueen’s cabin, Pierre Michel talked with another conductor in the adjacent train car until he was summoned by Mrs. Hubbard. He attended to...
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Pierre Michel almost omits a detail about Poirot poking his head out close to 2 a.m., with...
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Pierre Michel seeks validation from both Poirot and M. Bouc that he hasn’t been negligent in any...
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Part 2 Chapter 4
...trains…and all the outrages I’ve read of.” Soon, she gathered the courage to ring the conductor’s bell. After Pierre Michel turned on the lights, they found no one there, which “seemed...
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...the investigators’ skepticism. But she offers a piece of evidence, a button from a train conductor’s uniform which she found near her bed, and is gratified when Poirot accepts it, saying...
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Part 2 Chapter 6
...becomes clear to him, but insists that he has not lost a button, and finds conductors from the adjacent train cars to vouch for him. Pierre Michel insists that he saw...
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Poirot again dismisses Pierre Michel and calls for the Russian Princess Dragomiroff. The investigators offer to meet her in her...
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Part 2 Chapter 9
Continuing with his story, Hardman describes how he kept watch all night, describing Pierre Michel ’s movements just as Pierre told Poirot. He notes that no one else could have...
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Part 2 Chapter 12
When the three conductors, including Pierre Michel, arrive, Hildegarde claims that none of them are the man she saw....
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Part 3 Chapter 9
Linda Arden goes on to fill in the gaps of the conspiracy. Pierre Michel had been the French nursemaid’s daughter and Colonel Arbuthnot had fought with Colonel Armstrong in...
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