With one person unaccounted for and presumably hiding, Agent Reginald “Reggie” Davis convened the remaining six in the first-class lounge. He stated that because Judd Dodge was alive and in hiding, Judd was also the likely killer. Jack Lapsford, shaken, questioned whether Judd killed Edith Gerhardt and Herb Pulaski, and Reggie affirmed it. Anna weighed Judd’s possible motives, concluding that framing her might be part of a broader plan and fearing he intended further murders.

Dante Wentworth asked how Judd faked his death. Reggie pressed Seamus Callahan and Dante on how they failed to notice Judd was alive when they carried him to his room. Anna considered whether the oversight was plausible and decided it was, given the tablecloth over Judd’s body and Seamus’s admitted inexperience checking pulses. Tension spiked when Dante implied Seamus might have helped Judd; Seamus threatened him before Anna intervened, reminding them that a killer was at large.

Anna affirmed she had likely seen Judd earlier moving through the train, not an apparition, and reasoned he had probably cut a drapery cord from her room before killing Edith. She and Reggie rejected the idea that Judd had jumped off the train, citing the deadly blizzard and Judd’s careful planning. Anna noted Judd knew the Phoenix intimately, including roof access, meaning he could be anywhere.

Reggie proposed an active search instead of waiting four hours for arrival in Chicago. Despite Seamus’s worry that splitting up would aid Judd, Anna agreed with Reggie that they could not assume safety. Reggie set a plan: two search teams covering front and back halves of the train, with Reggie paired with Anna and Seamus paired with Dante, keeping the armed men separate.

Reggie warned that Judd was probably armed and dangerous and instructed that if found, Judd should be shot in the leg to stop him without killing him. Jack Lapsford complained about waiting, and Sal Lawrence refused to hide. Anna asked if they preferred locking themselves in rooms, but Sal chose to assist, grabbing two champagne magnums as improvised clubs and handing one to Lapsford.

Reggie assigned Sal and Lapsford to patrol the lounge and dining car while the two armed pairs searched the rest of the train. The group accepted that they must cooperate to locate Judd before he attacked again.