“When did you last see James Patterson alive?”
“When he rushed past me in the lower hall. I ran upstairs a few minutes later, but the smoke was so dense the men about me were like shadows, and I could not distinguish one from the other.”
“When did you first hear of James Patterson’s death?”
“On my way through the house to open windows. I came across Julian Barclay bending over a man lying on the floor. He informed me that it was James Patterson, and that he had been overcome by the smoke.”
“Was Mr. Barclay kneeling by the body when you first saw him?”
“Yes.”
“What was he doing?”
McLane shot a questioning look at the coroner’s expressionless face. “Barclay appeared to be testing Patterson’s pulse when I reached him,” he answered.
“How was the body lying?”
“Partly on one side; the head, one hand tossed above it, lay toward the back stairs, and the feet pointed toward the burning room.”