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; Charge. She reminded Melinda ; take i tituation. ~—StiA no. ‘mews | But the weeks passed and still she was unable 4 to emerge trom the bottomless pit of depression into which she had sunk. She went back to her doctor, and this time he told her frankly that she had to go away. “You are living in the past,” he aid, “and it's terribly bad for you: You are ‘wearing your- self out with anxiety and worry, What you need more than” anything is a” rest, a change and some sunshine, Go abroad.” Melinda agreed. She knew that was what she longed for. But she still could not make mou i her mind to do anything ; mat ia a way, I suppose, sho. telt "that she abould remain in England so that she could be at hand if there were an: ments it M.L5 obtained any news of Maclean, May came round Bane with the first anniversary ; his disappearance. A move at. —last . And then Mrs. Dunbar took that something would soon have to be done about the -children. Fergus would be eight years old in “September and after farten school in Sevenoaks he and five-year-old Donald were dlal attending. Impressed by her mother’s arguments, Melinda agreed to go | abroad-~but at first only for a holiday: she wanted to return to Beaconshaw, . But her mother urged her to brogder view of their ife for all of them would be far easier abroad, and, whatever Mélinda herself might have desired, it would obviously be better for the children, Mrs, Dunbar" herself would really have preferred. to return to her own try. but Melinda would "Slated rr ‘of that: the oR develop: , that | could no longer go to the kinder- | was far loo, far Mother was hopefu Neither aelings nor, sh: now learned, M.I5 bad feard anything more from or about Maclean. and although she pre- sumed a search of some kind was still continuing, the authorities no longer seemed to be particu- larly interested. It should now be ossible id induce Melinda herself to forget all about it and try seriously to remake her lite, But later, after Melinda had disappeared, she ~ reproached herself and the secu- rity authorilies for fils lack of foresight , “I was Melinda's. best Protec: tion.” she said to me. was | usually with ber and would Talk with . M.LLS Paris was the next suggestion. th Melinda and her mother would have liked to live in Paris but it was expens and neither of them quite liked the idea of a French school for the boys. Finally, on Mrs. Dunbar’s pro- ial, it was decided that after a old ay in France they would Bove" Geneva to live and the vs would attend the excellent internationa] school there. Melinda's brother-in-law Jay Sheers, found them a farmhouse in Normandy where they could be reunited for the summer A few days before Melinda and her family were due to leave, the senior M.1.5 investigator tele- : Mrs. Dunbar at Bea- [ never Have left her at all - e pnaw and aald he would rt had I thought there was any dan- , , ——__-]-_., xer that Donald would try to con tact her. But why didn, M15 tell me there was even an outside chance of her being contacted T ~ “Ht they had warned me J _ would have done anything to stop her going, from taking & igstep which can only mean un~ {happiness for her and for my - grandehii dren.” [World copyright] tq talk to her. They met in Lan- nm, and be took her to a c#e. | She had imagined he would have something to tell her, but his ine formation was all negative, Mrs, Dunbar asked for assur- ances that if anything was learned, any discovery made. she and Melinda would be imme- diately informed, wherever they were. He said: “1 will get in touch with the Maclean family.” This by no means satisfied Mrs. Dunbar. She pointed out that, as Donald's wife, Melinda had the right to be informed immediately there were any developments. “ You must certainly commun|- cate with her first,” che insisted. | And although she received no ! definite undertaking on this point Mrs. Dunbar went off to join linda and the children with gem slight feeling of reassurance to