“No incident in England, anything you know about before you were married?”
“Oh no, nothing of that kind. She didn’t get on with her family very well, that was all. Her mother was rather an eccentric woman, difficult to live with perhaps, but . . .”
“Any signs of mental instability in her family?”
Tim opened his mouth impulsively, then shut it again. He pushed a fountain pen about on the desk in front of him.
The doctor said: “I must stress the fact that it would be better to tell me, Tim, if that is the case.”
“Well, yes, I believe so. Nothing serious, but I believe there was an aunt or something who was a bit batty. But that’s nothing. I mean—well you get that in almost any family.”
“Oh yes, yes, that’s quite true. I’m not trying to alarm you about that, but it just might show a tendency to—well to break down or imagine things if any stress arose.”
“I don’t really know very much,” said Tim. “After all, people don’t pour out all their family histories to you, do they?”
“No, no. Quite so. She had no former friend, she was not engaged to anyone, anyone who might have threatened her or made jealous threats? That sort of thing?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Molly was engaged to some other man before I came along. Her parents were very against it, I understand, and I think she really stuck to the chap more out of opposition and defiance than anything else.” He gave a sudden half-grin. “You know what it is when you’re young. If people cut up a fuss it makes you much keener on whoever it is.”
Dr. Graham smiled too. “Ah yes, one often sees that. One should never take exception to one’s children’s objectionable friends. Usually they grow out of them naturally. This man, whoever he was, didn’t make threats of any kind against Molly?”
“No, I’m sure he didn’t. She would have told me. She said herself she just had a silly adolescent craze on him, mainly because he had such a bad reputation.”
“Yes, yes. Well, that doesn’t sound serious. Now there’s another thing. Apparently your wife has had what she describes as blackouts. Brief passages of time during which she can’t account for her actions. Did you know about that, Tim?”
“No,” said Tim slowly, “No. I didn’t. She never told me. I did notice, you know, now you mention it, that she seemed rather vague sometimes and . . .” He paused, thinking. “Yes, that explains it. I couldn’t understand how she seemed to have forgotten the simplest things, or sometimes not to seem to know what time of day it was. I just thought she was absentminded, I suppose.”
“What it amounts to, Tim, is just this. I advise you most strongly to take your wife to see a good specialist.”
Tim flushed angrily. “You mean a mental specialist, I suppose?”
“Now, now, don’t be upset by labels. A neurologist, a psychologist, someone who specialises in what the layman call nervous breakdowns. There’s a good man in Kingston. Or there’s New York of course. There is something that is causing these nervous terrors of your wife’s. Something, perhaps, for which she hardly knows the reason herself. Get advice about her, Tim. Get advice as soon as possible.”
He put his hand on the young man’s shoulder and got up.
“There’s no immediate worry. Your wife has good friends and we’ll all be keeping an eye on her.”
“She won’t— You don’t think she’ll try it again?”
“I think it most unlikely,” said Dr. Graham.
“You can’t be sure,” said Tim.
“One can never be sure,” said Dr. Graham, “that’s one of the first things you learn in my profession.” Again he laid a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “Don’t worry too much.”
“That’s easy to say,” said Tim as the doctor went out of the door. “Don’t worry, indeed! What does he think I’m made of?”
21
JACKSON ON COSMETICS
“YOU’RE sure you don’t mind, Miss Marple?” said Evelyn Hillingdon.
“No, indeed, my dear,” said Miss Marple. “I’m only too delighted to be of use in any way. At my age, you know, one feels very useless in the world. Especially when I am in a place like this, just enjoying myself. No duties of any kind. No, I’ll be delighted to sit with Molly. You go along on your expedition. Pelican Point, wasn’t it?”