The Pharmacist
: Part 3 – Chapter 36

Jack wanted to interview Alice Roberts again and soon. There was a difficult balance between moving a case on as quickly as possible and being sensitive to the victim’s plight. The information-gathering stage was crucial and speed of the essence, but the fact that it was already several weeks since the last sighting of Tom Roberts added another dimension to the case. There were so many shifting issues here and Alice’s memory was still not as reliable as Jack would have liked.

Before leaving Melkinthorpe, he’d asked Brenda Chapman to come to the station for an interview and to make her formal statement. Talking to her away from Alice’s cottage would offer fewer distractions and Brenda was happy to comply. Perhaps she needed a break from what must be a somewhat tense situation.

Brenda arrived at Hunter’s Lane mid-afternoon. Jack and Claire Swift started the interview, hoping to build up a more detailed picture of Rachel, her relationship with her mother and anything else of relevance from an independent source.

‘Thank you for coming in, Mrs Chapman,’ Jack began. ‘DC Swift here will take your statement shortly, but first, we’d like to ask a few general questions. Is that okay?’

‘Fine, anything to help catch that monster,’ Brenda replied bitterly.

‘How long have you known the Roberts family, Mrs Chapman?’

‘About fifteen years, I think. I always knew of them, ever since Alice’s family were killed in the accident. Matlock’s a small community; we were all shocked by the tragedy. Our children went to the same school too, but it wasn’t until after my son died that I really got to know Alice.’

Jack nodded, encouraging her to continue. Claire opened her notebook and started writing down a few details.

‘It was a bond, I suppose. Both of us have lost a child. We understood how it felt and our friendship grew from there. Our husbands got along too, and we often socialised together, but generally, it was only Alice and me.’

‘And what about Rachel, what was she like as a child?’

‘Rather strange. To be honest, I could never take to her – she was a sullen girl and it was an effort for her to speak to anyone. It always seemed that she couldn’t be bothered with me. Alice said that Rachel was shy and a bit of a loner, but that was just an excuse to my mind. Between us, I think Alice and Tom spoilt her, always trying to make up for losing Jenny, you know? In the circumstances, it was understandable and I was probably guilty of doing the same with my own kids after Harry died, but they were normal.’

‘Are you suggesting that Rachel wasn’t normal, Mrs Chapman?’ Claire asked.

‘Maybe that’s a bit strong, but she was surly and unsociable to the point of rudeness. Even when Jenny was still alive, my Harry used to say none of the other children at school liked Rachel. They only put up with her for Jenny’s sake – now, she was a popular girl – but that’s another story. Harry even went so far as to say that some of the other children were frightened of Rachel, the way she stared at them, she looked straight through you, you know?’

‘Were there any specific incidents that concerned you about Rachel?’ Jack was aware that this was all very vague. They were getting a picture, but not a very clear one. He preferred facts and reliable data.

Brenda looked thoughtful. ‘There was the incident with the school guinea pig…’

‘Go on.’

‘Each holiday, a different child was allowed to take Freddie – that was the guinea pig – home to look after. At the end of one summer term, Jenny was chosen to take him home and was thrilled. But Rachel didn’t want to have him. I think she was jealous of anyone, or anything, which took her sister’s attention away from her. The day before school broke up, Freddie was found dead in his hutch. His neck was broken, and the staff didn’t know how it could have happened. One of the children insisted they’d seen Rachel at the hutch with the door open, but naturally, she denied it, and the matter was dropped. The children whispered about Rachel having killed the poor creature, but they were so scared of her that the whispering stopped almost as soon as it started. There was probably nothing in it, it wasn’t the sort of thing you could prove, but I believed it at the time.’

Claire made a few more notes in her book, writing the words ‘hearsay’ and ‘vivid imaginations’ in the margin.

‘What about Alice and Tom’s relationship. Would you say they were close as a couple?’ Jack was keen to move on.

‘Yes, very. Tom worked away quite a bit and Alice missed him terribly – they were devoted to each other and so close, not surprising really after all they’d been through.’

‘So, you wouldn’t think he was the sort to have an affair?’ The question needed to be asked, all avenues were to be explored, and Brenda’s reaction was exactly as he’d expected.

‘That’s ridiculous! Tom loved Alice. It was plain for all to see. He would never look at another woman. They were both so excited to be retiring and able to spend more time together. There’s absolutely no way that Tom would leave her for another woman if that’s what you’re thinking.’

‘I’m sure you’re right, but we have to consider every possibility. And can you confirm when the last time you saw Tom Roberts was?’

‘It was a short time before they left Matlock; sometime in May, it would be. I can check the date and get back to you?’

‘Thank you, that would be helpful.’

The interview continued in a similar vein, with the only solid evidence being a positive sighting of Tom Roberts a few weeks earlier, proving that Rachel lied about his supposed death four years before. Other than that, Brenda’s statement was mainly hearsay, bordering on small-town gossip. However, a picture of Rachel was emerging, which made Jack think she was capable of far more than the lies and abandonment they’d already discovered. He would continue to probe into the family dynamics during his next visit to Alice. His determination to replace Rachel was increasing with every new piece of the puzzle they uncovered.