“There are no terms to come to.”
“Is this your last word, Mr. Nicholson?”
“If you will pardon the liberty I take, Mr. Steele, I shall venture some last words on another subject. As I said when you came in, you are not looking well. Do you know what paranoea means?”
“I do not.”
“Then, if you take my advice, you will consult a physician and ask him about it.”
“I’ll ask you, to save the physician’s fee. What is paranoea?”
“It is a disease of the brain, and its symptom is fear. The victim imagines that someone, or everyone, is plotting against him. All the energies he possesses are directed towards the circumvention of conspiracies that are wholly imaginary. This disease, if not checked, leads to insanity or suicide.”
John Steele rose to his feet.
“Does paranoea ever lead to murder, Mr. Nicholson?”
“Quite frequently.”