The murderer in “The Twisted Scarf” is Mrs. Carlisle, who disguised
herself as a man when killing Doris Hatten before the story opens.
Cynthia Brown sees Carlisle among the Flower Club people touring
Wolfe’s collection and recognizes her as the “man” who visited Doris
shortly before she was killed. Cynthia tells Archie that she knows who
killed Doris but, for no good reason, consistently refers to the killer
as “he.” Mrs. Carlisle, catching on that she’s been recognized,
strangles Cynthia in Wolfe’s office before she can talk to Nero. Then,
as the last Flower Club members trickle out of the brownstone, she
“discovers” the body! If she hadn’t done so, there wouldn’t have been a
story and she wouldn’t have been a suspect. So why did she do something
so stupid? If I may revert to Keeler-speak, what motivated and motived
her? Stout never tells us.