In the Heat of the Night

“If you went over there now you might make an inadvertent slip and that could be serious.”
    Duena looked up at him with an expression which combined disappointment and reproach; George Endicott suddenly decided that perhaps in his capacity as councilman he ought to exchange a few words with Bill Gillespie.

    Arnold spoke through the bars to Sam Wood. “You’ve got another visitor.” He swung open the door to admit Virgil Tibbs. The Pasadena detective walked in without an invitation and sat down on the edge of the hard bunk.
    “Well, Virgil,” Sam asked wearily, “what is it now?”
    “I just wanted to tell you,” Tibbs replied, “that I’m going in to see Gillespie as soon as he gets back here. When I do, I’m going to prove to him, so that even he can see it, that you’re innocent. I think I can make him let you go.”
    Sam spoke without inflection. “Why don’t you just give up and go home. I thought you were smart.”
    “I haven’t finished my job,” Virgil answered. “The world is full of a lot of people who never accomplished anything because they wouldn’t see it through. I have two things left to do here: to get you cleared and out of here, and to deliver a murderer to Gillespie. Then I can go home.“
    “I wish you luck,” Sam said. He didn’t look at Virgil as he spoke.
    “Before I go in to see Gillespie, I want to clear up a point or two with you,” Tibbs said. “I’m pretty sure I know the answers, but the less I have to guess, the stronger my case is going to be.”
    Sam shrugged his shoulders. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.
    “On the night that we rode together on patrol, you made a slight change of route and you made it on purpose. At the time I didn’t know why. I think I do now. You wanted to avoid going past the Purdy house, i s that right?”
    Sam showed some signs of life. “Virgil, I wish you wouldn’t mess in this. I know you’re trying to help, but...”
    “Also,” Virgil continued, “I think I know why you didn’t want to go past the Purdy house that night.”
    “Have you been driving past there?” Sam asked suspiciously.
    “No,” Tibbs answered, “I didn’t have to. Harvey Oberst told me all I needed to know the day he was here in the station.”
    He stopped then and there was silence for a while. Sometimes he found it best to let someone have the opportunity to collect his thoughts. He knew that Sam was thinking and that is exactly what he wanted him to do. Finally Sam Broke the silence.
    “Virgil, let’s go back to the beginning. You’ve said several times I changed route on you that night. Why do you think so?”
    “There’s nothing to that,” Tibbs replied. “The night we were together you detoured down a short stretch of dirt road. When I was waiting for you outside the diner a little after that, I noticed the dust the road had left on the car.”
    “That’s not unusual,” Sam interrupted.
    “Granted, but the night you picked me up at the railroad station, there was no dust on the car. That means you couldn’t have gone down that dirt road shortly before you picked me up.”
    “Maybe you just didn’t notice the dust.”
    “I noticed. Besides, I had a hunch the car had been washed that afternoon, and I later checked with the garage that maintains the official cars. Even a light film of dust would have been visible.”
    “You mean when I arres— when I brought you in for questioning, you still took the time to notice how much dust there was on my car? You couldn’t, you were a little too scared at that point, Virgil.”
    “No, I wasn’t,” Tibbs answered. “I simply kept my mouth shut until I knew what the score was. It was the only safe thing to do. But I kept my eyes open because I’m trained to do that.”
    “Well, for example, how do you know that it hadn’t rained and settled the dust on that short stretch?” Sam persisted.
    “I checked the weather-bureau records on that point.”
    Silence took over once more. Sam digested the information he had just been given and decided that to hold out any longer would be not only foolish but probably useless. Whether he liked to admit it or not, Tibbs knew his business. Then Sam reflected that at least the man whose race had created a barrier he had found almost impossible to climb was on his side. That was a comforting thought. He decided to give Tibbs his reward.
    “So far,” he admitted, “you’re right.”
    “I wish you’d told me earlier, Sam,” Tibbs said