"That's what I thought," beamed the coroner. "The murderer entered and left through the door. And some of those clerks, if not all of them, must have seen him—or her. I tell you they're in a conspiracy to shield the murderer."
Britz extended a hand toward the glass partition.
"Look down this room," he said. "The murderer, presuming it was a man, must have passed down this long aisle into the office. Then, it was necessary to repeat the journey in order to escape. Had there been a conspiracy, then those thirty clerks must have remained quietly at their desks while the assassin walked out of the room. Do you believe these men would have permitted him to escape?"
"Suppose he carried the pistol in his hand, don't you believe he could have intimidated them?" ventured Greig.
"Sure!" joined the coroner. "And the men may now be ashamed of their cowardice."
"That wouldn't have prevented them giving the alarm after the murderer left," declared Britz. "No, coroner, no one saw the slayer enter or leave. In fact, he did not enter through the door."
"Then how did he get in?" demanded the coroner. "Through the wall? Or did he fire through the ceiling or floor?"
"As I said before, there is no secret panel in this room," was Britz's rejoinder.
"Then you believe Mr. Whitmore committed suicide?" suddenly fired the coroner.
"No."