Hilda Lee

In the novel Hercule Poirot's Christmas, Hilda Lee is the wife of David Lee.

Hilda is described as an "over-stout dumpy middle-aged woman", who is not clever or brilliant, but has a force about her. There is something "warming and endearing in the sound of her voice", and she has a "vital hidden strength that appeals to weakness". She has "mouse-brown hair", which is unflecked with grey, and "steady hazel eyes" which shine out like "beacons of kindliness".

At the beginning of the novel, David and Hilda hae received a letter from Simeon Lee, asking them to come home for Christmas. David asks Hilda what they should do about it. Hilda is hesitant about pronouncing anything too final, because she knows how much David depends on her, and that she can probably influence his decision finally. However, in the end she tells him that she wants him to go, as she believes that Simeon is old and in feeble health, and wants his family to be with him for Christmas.

After all the family have arrived at Gorston Hall, Simeon asks them to come up to his room. He has them overhear him speaking to his solicitor about changing his will, and says several things that anger them. When the rest of the family has gone, Hilda tells Simeon that she believes that he wanted his family around him to "set them all by the ears", and that this is his idea of fun. She tells him that she is afraid for him.

Hilda is in the music room with David, when they hear the sound of furniture being overturned in Simeon's room upstairs, and a scream. She later tells Poirot that the scream sounded like someone who had no soul, and that it was inhuman like a beast.

Hilda later tells Poirot that David easily might have killed his father, but that he did not. She says that David was playing the "Dead March" at the time of his father's death, and so the wish to kill was in his heart, but he did not act on it.

During the denouement, Poirot explains that he considered Hilda a possible criminal from a psychological standpoint. He says that she is the kind of person who is capable of taking the law into their own hands, although never through selfish motives.

It is revealed that while David was playing the "Dead March" on the night of the murder, Hilda went up to Simeon Lee's room. She was the person whom Pilar Estravados had seen at Simeon's door. Hilda explains that she was going to tell Simeon that she and David were leaving at once. She knocked on the door, but got no answer, and then discovered that the door was locked. She then heard the sound of furniture being overturned, and a scream. Hilda explains that she had said nothing about this before, as she was afraid that they would think that she killed Simeon.