◆ SpookStack

source concerning something that happened in Geneva to ap Englishwoman and her thr children, particularly aa th| woman was Mrs. Maclean. One imagines that the Foreigt Office and the security officers pursuing the inquiry would have appreciated a far longer period of secrecy, but as the news had broken this was no, longer possible, and a statement giving an accurate and surprisingly full summary of the then known facts was issued from Whitebsll. A. Foreign Office spokesman tade some extremely interesting comments. He said that it was “entirely a matter for specul tion whether Mrs. Maclean left to join her husband.” Iie emphasised that she was an “entirely free agent” and was under no obligation to report her movements. While the disappearance of any British national “was @ matter for concern." the British authorities were, inthis case, still anxious to acquire “any addi- tional information” about the Burgess-Maclean case, and it was therefore “natural that two security officers "whose names were not given—should have been sent at once to Switzerlan Finally, there was “no evidens the disappearance was not volu! tary.” “Word from Melinda ? ‘The first piece of hard informa- tion was obtained during that day —Wednesday—when Mrs, Dunbar received a telegram sent to her in Melinda's name. 1k jranded in at 11 am, in the one- man branch office at Territet, an outlying. suburb of Nontreux, Where "Melinda had told her mother she Was going to spend the week-end. Written in a foreign handwrit- ing, it said: z a A Z eWitZERLAND Wy F GENEVA and son-in-law Jay Sheers, who had flown down from Paris. That night she decided to te:e- phone to her other daughter, Mrs. Catherine Terrell, in New York, to break the sad news to ber before she had the shock of reading it in the newspapers-~ which, however, had not yet got wind ‘of the ‘sensational new development in the Maclean cgise. And it was through this per- ffctly natural telephone message tjat the news of Melinda's dis- appearance reached the Press of tke world. For spending the day with Mrs. Terrell when her mother's tele- phone call came through was a woman triend whose husband was a journalist, working on a small New York newspaper and also as a tipster for one of the big news agencies. That night he telephoned the ‘story to his newspaper and agency. By Wednesday morning the world , knew that Melinda Maclean and hgr three children had vanished. ‘he immediate result in London ws'a fiood of inguiries at the Hines Fekcign Office by journalists The investigators appeay to sedking confirmation—or denial— J have missed a most valuable,aand dt hhis’story from an American simple, chance of getting some tacting you—-unforeseen eircuin- stances have arisen am staying here longer please advise school- boys returning about a week's time—all extremely well—pink rose ui marvellous form—fove from all—Melinda.” It had been™ “Terribly sorry delay in con- __ { line on the people behind Melinda's disappearance. She had told her mot she was going to Territet. Mrg Dun- bar passed on this informa- tion at least 24 hours befqre the telegram was handed in ‘at the very place Melinda had. indi- cated; widespread investigations were being made by the Swiss police and high-ranking British officers: and yet no one seems to have thought of keeping watch in Territet. There was nothing at all to aarantee that Melinda would in Fact go to Territet, and it is «un- likely that she did so. Pattern as” before But already there was a cegain similarity in pattern betyeen this and the earlier disapppar~ ance of Burgess and Macfan, and it would surely have heen well «worth while keeping Sone man in this small suburb where any stranger would be quickly remarked ? The post office clerk—-who could not at first be found for he had shut up shop and gone off to work on his farm—at once remembered the dispatch of the telegram, for at that season of the year the trafic at Territet) was insignificant. | It had been handed In by a heavily made-up foreign woman who ‘haa. presumably uninten- tionally, drawn attention to her- self and the telegram by the fact! that it was written in such bad, English that even a Swiss clerk. had to ask for certain small alterations to he made. | it is unlikely that even if the’ messenger—and she was .cer- tainly nothing more—had ‘been found, she would have led. the Police to her superiors, But, with a little foresigi®. it fs possible that valuable infopna-” tion might have been obtafhed. and it was badly missed. [World copyright] 423