Part 2 (1/2)
”All right. So now you know.”
”Then where the h.e.l.l is she, Doc?” The drug was not as all-powerful as it had been and I was beginning to feel excitement again.
”We don't know, Steve.”
”How about the guy that hauled me out of that wreck? What does he say?”
”He was there when we arrived. The car had been hauled off you by block and tackle. By the time we got there the tackle had been burned and the car was back down again in a crumpled ma.s.s. He is a farmer by the name of Harrison. He had one of his older sons with him, a man about twenty-four, named Phillip. They both swore later that there was no woman in that car nor a trace of one.”
”Oh, he did, did he?”
Dr. Thornd.y.k.e shook his head slowly and then said very gently. ”Steve, there's no predicting what a man's mind will do in a case of shock. I've seen 'em come up with a completely false ident.i.ty, all the way back to childhood. Now, let's take your case once more. Among the other incredible items--”
”Incredible?” I roared.
”Easy. Hear me out. After all, am I to believe your unsubstantiated story or the evidence of a whole raft of witnesses, the police detail, the accident squad, and the guys who hauled you out of a burning car before it blew up? As I was saying, how can we credit much of your tale when you raved about one man lifting the car and the other hauling you out from underneath?”
I shrugged. ”That's obviously a mistaken impression. No one could--”
”So when you admit that one hunk of your story is mistaken--”
”That doesn't prove the rest is false!”
”The police have been tracking this affair hard,” said the doctor slowly. ”They've gotten nowhere. Tell me, did anyone see you leave that apartment with Miss Lewis?”
”No,” I said slowly. ”No one that knew us.”
Thornd.y.k.e shook his head unhappily. ”That's why we have to a.s.sume that you are in post-accident shock.”
I snorted angrily. ”Then explain the license, the date with the reverend, the hotel reservation?”
Thornd.y.k.e said quietly, ”Hear me out, Steve. This is not my own idea alone, but the combined ideas of a number of people who have studied the human mind--”
”In other words, I'm nuts?”
”No. Shock.”
”Shock?”
He nodded very slowly. ”Let's put it this way. Let's a.s.sume that you wanted this marriage with Miss Lewis. You made preparations, furnished an apartment, got a license, made a date with a preacher, reserved a honeymoon suite, and bought flowers for the bride. You take off from work, arrive at her door, only to find that Miss Lewis has taken off for parts unknown. Maybe she left you a letter--”
”Letter!”
”Hear me out, Steve. You arrive at her apartment and find her gone. You read a letter from her saying that she cannot marry you. This is a rather deep shock to you and you can't face it. Know what happens?”
”I blow my brains out along a country road at ninety miles per hour.”
”Please, this is serious.”
”It sounds incredibly stupid to me.”