"
"But"--Kerry stared--"you say that the perfume was harmless."
"That which was sold to casual visitors was harmless, Inspector. But I
strongly suspect that regular clients were supplied with something
quite different. You see, I know no fewer than thirty unfortunate
women in the West End of London alone who are simply helpless slaves
to various drugs, and I think it more than a coincidence that upon
their dressing-tables I have almost invariably found one or more of
Kazmah's peculiar antique flasks."
Chief Inspector Kerry's jaw muscles protruded conspicuously.
"You speak of patients?" he asked.
Margaret nodded her head.
"When a woman becomes addicted to the drug habit," she explained, "she
sometimes shuns her regular medical adviser. I have many patients who
came to me originally simply because they dared not face their family
doctor. In fact, since I gave up Army work, my little practice has
threatened to develop into that of a drug-habit specialist."
"Have you taxed any of these people with obtaining drugs from Kazmah?"
"Not directly. It would have been undiplomatic. But I have tried to
surprise them into telling me. Unfortunately, these poor people are as
cunning as any other kind of maniac, for, of course, it becomes a form
of mania.
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