Back for Christmas

Originally Aired: December 23, 1956 In Suspense #679, "Back for Christmas," Professor Herbert Carpenter has endured twenty years of marriage to his dominating wife Hermione, who manages every detail of his life down to which necktie he wears. But the mousy professor has found unexpected romance with Marion Markham, a bookshop proprietor who shares his love of botany, and he's made careful plans to change his circumstances. As Hermione busily prepares for their lecture tour to America, insisting they'll be "back for Christmas," Herbert works on a peculiar project in the cellar—a wine bin that his wife ominously notes looks more like a grave. While Hermione dismisses the cook and draws her bath upstairs, Herbert secretly phones Marion to confirm their rendezvous at the aerodrome. His cryptic words suggest that only one Mrs. Carpenter will be boarding that flight to America. As the professor puts the finishing touches on his carefully constructed plan, the question becomes whether his scheme for freedom is as foolproof as he believes, or if something will go terribly wrong before the plane takes off.