- Upstairs, Sheriff Purley and Tom sense that something is "off." They find that all the drawers have been messed up, as if someone had been hastily rummaging through the contents.
- Tom knows this is unusual because Birdy had told him that Mrs. Breen was a very neat housekeeper.
- Sheriff Purley and Tom speculate about who might have been there, when, and what they were looking for.
- The Coroner says that there is no sign of violence and that Mrs. Breen seems to have died of natural causes.
- With Mrs. Breen's body secured in the back of the undertaker's wagon, the group starts back for town.