Question: Mr. Partridge's new job does not start until next month, and they will not receive the insurance pay-out until Mrs. Partridge has been missing for seven years. But Mrs. Partridge says the landlord will evict them on Monday if the rent is not paid. So how does Mr. Partridge stay in the house? And how can they afford to get a secret apartment and new glasses for Mrs. Partridge?
Question: One of the detectives says that attackers don't usually wear masks and gloves. Is that realistic? I would have thought many would disguise themselves.
Question: Why did Howard and Charlotte throw the drinking glasses into the fireplace on their anniversaries?
Question: Mrs. Teleton says that she won't divorce her husband, nor allow him to "obtain a divorce." What is the difference?
Question: The plot gives the impression that Ben was just using Sharon, but how? If he was always planning to murder his wife, then having a girlfriend would only add suspicion.
Answer: I don't think Ben always planned to murder his wife. He wanted to "have it all": stay married and carry on a relationship with Sharon (or someone else - he may have done this before). He lied to Sharon about his wife refusing to grant him a divorce. As Sharon's mother discovers, his wife knew nothing about the affair. She believed that she and Ben were happily married. Ben decided to kill her later, after she heard about Sharon (from Sharon's mother). She pointed out that he would not receive much money if they divorced. Presumably, he thought he could inherit money if she died.
Answer: It's an old custom. Throwing a glass into a fireplace and smashing it after drinking a toast is supposed to indicate that nothing can ever exceed that toast's importance. It ensures that the glass will never be used for another toast or even for an ordinary drink that would lessen what the previous toast represented.
raywest ★