“I am glad I am here,” answered Shively, tilting back in his chair to make room for McLane to reach his desk. “I wanted to come before, but was detained by business; however I’ve sifted out the evidence extracted at the inquest at Atlanta.”
“And your conclusions?” demanded Calhoun.
“I at first thought the Japanese, Ito, guilty, but now I believe a fellow traveler, Julian Barclay, poisoned Tilghman,” responded Shively.
“Julian Barclay? Humph!” Calhoun clasped and unclasped his long, strong fingers. “He was mentioned in the newspapers as having been the first to find Jim Patterson’s dead body—and now you say you suspect him of having some connection with Tilghman’s murder. Humph!” McLane, who had started at the mention of Julian Barclay’s name, sat silent, studying the men, and debated in his own mind how much and how little he should tell them.
“Your reasons, Dr. Shively, for thinking Barclay guilty of poisoning Tilghman,” demanded Calhoun, breaking his silence.
“I have been in communication with a porter who has made out a sworn statement of having seen Julian Barclay leave the train and go toward the station entrance, and then bolt suddenly back into his Pullman car, with every indication of a desire to conceal himself. I have also found out through the Pinkertons’, whom I employed, that none of the few passengers traveling north in Barclay’s Pullman remained in that car while the train was in the Atlanta station.”
“Hah! Then Barclay had the car to himself,” Calhoun stared at Shively. “And unobserved he could do as he wished without fear of detection.”
“And also, let me state just here, that if innocent, Barclay could not prove an alibi if no passengers were in his car while the train was in Atlanta,” interposed McLane.
“He gave no alibi in his deposition,” retorted Shively. “That first directed my suspicion toward him. He must have committed the crime immediately on his return to the train, for Norcross and I got back from eating a light lunch in the station and stood in the vestibule of the smoking car until just before the train started, when we went back to our own section for a brief stay. And the conductor was standing in the vestibule of the car when we left it,” he added.
“With you and Norcross there and later the conductor it would have been impossible for a criminal to sneak on board your end of the smoking car,” commented Calhoun. “But a car has two entrances—what about the other?”