appointment with the consultant registrar who admitted all the patients, but was told that he could not possibly divulge any of their patients’ private medical records. Moreover, the psychiatrist who had been dealing with Amanda’s case was no longer working there. Dr Eamon Suchet had moved to a practice elsewhere; Anna was given his forwarding address. When she called to make an appointment, his secretary said he would be available either within the hour or first thing the next morning.
Anna arrived at the Harley Street practice in time to see him that morning. She was surprised how young Suchet was. He was charming, explaining that his private practice ran from the Harley Street address, but he was also attached to a clinic in Tooting. He told her how distressed he had been when he had read about Amanda’s murder. When he mentioned patient confidentiality Anna stressed that all she wanted was to establish certain details about Amanda’s background.
‘She was brutally murdered, and if there is anything that will help us track down her killer, then I am asking that you assist my enquiry.’
‘Well, it was some time ago . . .’
‘You said you were very distressed by her death. Did she continue to see you after she left the Drury?’
‘Not lately. Amanda was a hard patient to forget. I followed her career so she was often in my thoughts. I admired the fact that she had made such a success of herself.’
‘Her mother booked her into the clinic, didn’t she?’
‘Yes, I believe so, but I only had one short interview with her parents.’
‘Was she addicted to cocaine?’ Anna asked.
‘She used cocaine, but I wouldn’t say she was an addict. Her problems were more psychological.’ He hesitated, adding: ‘I feel very uncomfortable discussing her case.’
‘Surely not, if it can help us find her killer? Right now we have no suspects and very little evidence to help us move the enquiry forward. Do you recall who visited her?’ Anna persisted.
‘Yes, only because they were quite well-known, now even more so. They were the actors Scott Myers and Rupert Mitchell, and her agent, but I don’t recall her name. Amanda was only in residence for four weeks, then she left, and with it being a private clinic, we couldn’t stop her. She agreed to continue seeing me as a private patient.’
‘Here?’
‘No, I didn’t have this practice then, so she said she would book appointments with me at the Drury whenever she felt she needed help – if that is the best word to describe it. She made three appointments but never kept them. I left a couple of months later. I did contact her, via my secretary, to give a forwarding address and let her know that if she wished to see me I was always available, but I never saw her again.’
Anna opened her notebook. ‘When you describe her symptoms as not being drug-related but psychological, what exactly do you mean?’
Suchet sipped from a glass of water.
‘Amanda had been through a bad termination and it resulted in her being unable to conceive a child. She had been hospitalised with internal bleeding and subsequently her doctors performed a hysterectomy. Tragic for a girl so young. I think her parents had played a major part in persuading her to come into the Drury. She was using cocaine and binge drinking, but as I said before, she was not an addict and had tended to use cocaine on a social level rather than being dependant on it. But what she had begun doing was self-mutilation. Her arms and her thighs were covered in small abrasions. Self-mutilation is a cry for help, and only by inflicting pain upon themselves do victims feel they are in many ways “alive”. The secrecy of self-injury and the pain of it relieve the fact that they feel unworthy and have little self-confidence and even less—’
‘I’m sorry,’ Anna said, interrupting him, ‘but if Amanda felt unworthy, with no confidence and low self-esteem, how could just four weeks be enough for her to
Anna arrived at the Harley Street practice in time to see him that morning. She was surprised how young Suchet was. He was charming, explaining that his private practice ran from the Harley Street address, but he was also attached to a clinic in Tooting. He told her how distressed he had been when he had read about Amanda’s murder. When he mentioned patient confidentiality Anna stressed that all she wanted was to establish certain details about Amanda’s background.
‘She was brutally murdered, and if there is anything that will help us track down her killer, then I am asking that you assist my enquiry.’
‘Well, it was some time ago . . .’
‘You said you were very distressed by her death. Did she continue to see you after she left the Drury?’
‘Not lately. Amanda was a hard patient to forget. I followed her career so she was often in my thoughts. I admired the fact that she had made such a success of herself.’
‘Her mother booked her into the clinic, didn’t she?’
‘Yes, I believe so, but I only had one short interview with her parents.’
‘Was she addicted to cocaine?’ Anna asked.
‘She used cocaine, but I wouldn’t say she was an addict. Her problems were more psychological.’ He hesitated, adding: ‘I feel very uncomfortable discussing her case.’
‘Surely not, if it can help us find her killer? Right now we have no suspects and very little evidence to help us move the enquiry forward. Do you recall who visited her?’ Anna persisted.
‘Yes, only because they were quite well-known, now even more so. They were the actors Scott Myers and Rupert Mitchell, and her agent, but I don’t recall her name. Amanda was only in residence for four weeks, then she left, and with it being a private clinic, we couldn’t stop her. She agreed to continue seeing me as a private patient.’
‘Here?’
‘No, I didn’t have this practice then, so she said she would book appointments with me at the Drury whenever she felt she needed help – if that is the best word to describe it. She made three appointments but never kept them. I left a couple of months later. I did contact her, via my secretary, to give a forwarding address and let her know that if she wished to see me I was always available, but I never saw her again.’
Anna opened her notebook. ‘When you describe her symptoms as not being drug-related but psychological, what exactly do you mean?’
Suchet sipped from a glass of water.
‘Amanda had been through a bad termination and it resulted in her being unable to conceive a child. She had been hospitalised with internal bleeding and subsequently her doctors performed a hysterectomy. Tragic for a girl so young. I think her parents had played a major part in persuading her to come into the Drury. She was using cocaine and binge drinking, but as I said before, she was not an addict and had tended to use cocaine on a social level rather than being dependant on it. But what she had begun doing was self-mutilation. Her arms and her thighs were covered in small abrasions. Self-mutilation is a cry for help, and only by inflicting pain upon themselves do victims feel they are in many ways “alive”. The secrecy of self-injury and the pain of it relieve the fact that they feel unworthy and have little self-confidence and even less—’
‘I’m sorry,’ Anna said, interrupting him, ‘but if Amanda felt unworthy, with no confidence and low self-esteem, how could just four weeks be enough for her to
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