“I don’t know. Why?”
“A severe attack sometimes leaves the brain in a weakened condition and a convalescent patient might become afflicted with an uncontrollable propensity to pilfer shining objects. If such an impulse is not checked at the outset by medical treatment it may gradually develop in a monomania for thieving,” answered Potter. “Do you believe Miss Langdon is a kleptomaniac?”
“I do—it is the only grounds on which I can explain her conduct.”
“Suppose you give me some of the details of the robberies for which you think Miss Langdon is responsible,” suggested the physician.
Quickly and tersely Duncan described the loss of his father’s forty dollars, which had first aroused his suspicions of Marjorie’s honesty; then related all that Admiral Lawrence had confided to him about the stolen codicil. “And to cap the climax,” he concluded, “comes the theft of Mrs. Calhoun-Cooper’s pearl necklace at the ball last night.”
After he ceased speaking, Potter, who had listened to his account with absorbed attention, rose and slowly paced the room in deep thought.
“Have you any direct proof that Miss Langdon is implicated in the loss of the necklace?” he asked, resuming his seat.
“No, none; only an intolerable fear——” Duncan’s voice shook.
“I understand.” Potter tugged at the lobe of his right ear until it crimsoned. “Is Miss Langdon poor?”
“Naturally,” dryly. “Otherwise she would hardly be earning her own living.”