DC Claire Swift spent the early part of her morning liaising with social services and replaced the phone after talking to a rather harassed social worker. The woman had visited Millie and her grandmother at the hospital. She informed Claire that they’d decided to release the little girl into her grandmother’s care after an initial assessment of the situation. There was no surprise there, Claire thought, they had more cases on their hands than available staffing to cope with them, but she knew they would continue to monitor Millie’s welfare and step in if necessary. Claire made her way through to the DI’s office to tell him the good news.
Claire also had her hands full working on the disclosure of their suspect, digging back as far as possible in an attempt to pick up anything which could be relevant or shed light on the whereabouts of Rachel Roberts. But for now, in preparation to accompany the DI on his interview, she’d put the disclosure on hold to build up a timeline of the last few weeks’ events regarding Alice and her daughter.
A hastily set up incident room in Hunter’s Lane had been buzzing all morning, identifying any possible lines of enquiry. Computers and whiteboards were brought in – it was the kind of frenzied activity Penrith station rarely saw. Paperwork, recovered from Rachel Roberts’ house, provided some vital information. They now knew which bank she used and the details of her credit cards, which had been logged into the system. If she tried to make a withdrawal at any cash machine, it would be flagged up. They’d also contacted her telephone provider, and the number was being monitored. Using triangulation from masts nationwide, if Rachel used her phone, they would again be made aware of her general whereabouts.
DS Owen Hardy was tasked with searching the CCTV from around the school and Rachel’s house in order to add to the timeline. Her car number plate had also been fed into the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system, and if she were driving on any major roads or motorways, ANPR would pick up the vehicle.
All this technology made life easier in many ways, but there were still many variables to consider. Rachel might decide to abandon her car and hire another. She could have an account with a building society and have had the presence of mind to take her passbook and access money without using a bank. Jack could do little more than put everything possible in place to find her and hopefully discover where Tom Roberts was. Sadly, the crime scene investigation manager had found no physical evidence of their missing person ever having been in Rachel’s house, but some DNA samples were yet to be processed.
* * *
By late morning, Jack Priestly was ready to visit Alice Roberts. He’d heard from the hospital that Millie was fully recovered and had been discharged, so the pair were back home in Melkinthorpe. As he left the station with Claire Swift, she handed him a piece of paper detailing the various drugs they’d discovered in Rachel’s house the previous evening. In return, he gave the keys for the pool car to his DC for her to drive while he studied the list.
Jack was familiar with a few of the names on the list. Zopiclone had been prescribed to his wife after an illness that left her unable to sleep. He remembered how drowsy it made her feel, and she quickly stopped taking them, unwilling to feel so spaced out all the time. If a small dosage could affect Sarah in such a way, what must it be doing to Millie if that was the drug Rachel had given her?
Another thought occurred to Jack and he turned to Claire. ‘Did you ring the hospitals to check on any admissions that could match Tom Roberts?’
‘Yes and no. There are no patients of that name and none matching his age and description either. Sorry, boss, another blank.’ Claire and Jack lapsed into silence.
Their first stop was at Rachel’s house and Jack used a set of keys which they’d picked up the night before to let himself in, taking only a few minutes to collect what he wanted before they were on their way again.
A somewhat frazzled-looking Brenda Chapman answered the door and led them through to the kitchen where Alice could be seen in the garden, playing with Millie, their heads close together as they studied something in the flower bed. When they saw their visitors, Alice brought her granddaughter inside. Now that Claire could see her properly, she was struck by what a pretty little girl she was, petite and waif-like, with beautiful red hair and green eyes. But she looked pale and tired, as did her grandmother. Brenda took the child’s hand and suggested that they go back outside to pick some daisies. Millie dutifully turned to do as she was told, without speaking a word.
‘How is she?’ Claire asked when the three of them were alone in the lounge.
‘Quiet and confused, but she’s used to accepting things for what they are and seems quite happy to be here with me.’
‘I’m sure she is.’ Claire smiled and then looked to her boss to begin his interview.
‘Alice,’ Jack began, ‘I know this is all very difficult for you and I’m sorry to have to intrude at a time like this, but I’d like you to tell me everything you remember about the last time you saw Tom. Claire will be making a few notes. Is that okay?’
‘Yes, I’ll try, but things are still a bit confused. Rachel’s told me so much that isn’t true I’m having problems sorting out the facts from her fiction. Before we start, can you tell me if you’ve any idea where Tom can be? Rachel did say he was in hospital, could that be true?’
‘No, I’m sorry but we’ve checked every hospital in the area and there’s no one of Tom’s description there.’
Alice nodded, resigned to what she already suspected, took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and beginning.
‘Rachel came here for a meal, this I can be certain of as it was the evening of the seventh of June, my birthday. Not that we celebrate family birthdays, you know – since Jenny and Karen died – well, anyway, we’d invited her round particularly to discuss our concerns about Millie. She knew we were going to bring the matter up and our daughter wasn’t pleased about it. You see, since we moved to Penrith, some of the things Millie’s told us have been quite concerning. I think the childminder she was left with is an uncaring woman, to say the least. We also felt Rachel deliberately avoided contact between our granddaughter and us, which is certainly not what we want. I can’t remember everything said during the meal, but the atmosphere was tense. Things didn’t entirely develop into a full-blown row, but it came close to it because we were determined to discover what exactly was going on with Millie.
‘Rachel brought wine, and although I’m not usually a big drinker, I had a couple of glasses, Dutch courage, you know? It made me feel quite ill and I remember Tom helping me to bed, telling me he’d sort things out with Rachel, and I wasn’t to worry. I was so upset by then at how the conversation was going.
‘The next thing I remember was waking up the following morning, with no sign of Tom in the house. At first, I assumed he’d taken Barney for his walk, but I rang Rachel when he didn’t come home. She came round and insisted on calling the doctor before putting me to bed with a couple of aspirins, and I must have fallen asleep. When the doctor arrived, I felt worse, and by then, I couldn’t even speak. Before long, I was in the hospital having tests and then everything seemed to be taken out of my hands, and I ended up in The Elms.’ Alice looked exhausted from revisiting what was a traumatic experience, but the detectives needed to know more.
‘Mrs Roberts, are you sure it was the evening of seventh June?’ Claire looked up from taking her notes to ask her question.
‘Yes, as I said, it was my birthday, but that was a coincidence. It certainly wasn’t a celebration.’
‘Thank you.’ Claire smiled and looked down at her notebook again.
‘You say Rachel gave you some aspirin? Can you be certain that’s what they were?’ Jack asked.
‘Well, no. I assumed they were aspirin and took them. Rachel’s a pharmacist, you see?’ Alice looked at Jack, trying to read his thoughts. ‘I’ve wondered about this since, and I think perhaps my daughter’s been giving me something in an attempt to keep me pliant. The hospital tests couldn’t find anything that caused my symptoms that day, and even at The Elms, I never received a proper diagnosis. It was only when I stopped taking the prescribed medication and Rachel’s little ‘treats’ that I started to feel better. Do you think she’s been drugging me, Jack?’
‘I think it’s something we have to consider. Rachel gave Millie medication to make her sleep, and we found an unusually large quantity of drugs at their house, so it is a strong possibility.’
‘And what about Tom, did she drug him too?’
‘I don’t think it helps to speculate about what’s happened to Tom, but we’re doing everything we can to find your daughter in the hope that she’ll be able to tell us where he is. What we need to do now is to build up a picture of Rachel, her life with Millie and her relationships, and what you’ve told me so far is pertinent. We’re also going to have to talk to Millie sometime soon. There’ll be a specialist safeguarding officer to do this, but perhaps you could prepare her for it if possible?’ Alice nodded solemnly.
‘Can you think of anywhere Rachel might go, to a friend perhaps or an old work colleague?’
‘No, I’m sorry, and I know it’s no help at all, but there’s no one that Rachel’s close to. Even at university, she never made friends, always content with her studies and her own company.’
‘If you do think of anyone, or maybe a favourite place she likes to go to, please let us know. Now, could you tell me a little more about why you were concerned for Millie?’
‘Rachel never visited us in Matlock and made it clear that we weren’t welcome to visit her here. It didn’t seem natural. On the few occasions when we insisted on coming north, it was usually easier to stay in a hotel and meet up with her and Millie for a meal somewhere. I think we only visited Rachel’s house twice, and things just didn’t feel right. It’s hard to explain, but it didn’t feel like a home. Millie didn’t appear to know how to play with the toys we brought her, and she was forever looking to Rachel as if for approval. The poor child seemed afraid to do or say anything for fear it would be wrong and she’d be in trouble. The only time she became animated was when we asked about school, but she was cagey about her friends, apparently never socialising outside of school. You might think I’m paranoid, Jack, and most of this might seem trivial but I don’t want Millie to become a loner like her mother. It’s essential that she builds friendships.’
‘I don’t think you’re paranoid at all, Alice and in an investigation nothing is trivial. Background information is the starting point and we need to know as much as possible about Rachel and your life with her.’
Alice attempted a smile and continued, ‘On the rare occasions when I’ve spoken to Millie alone, she’s told me about her childminder, a Mrs Palmer, a woman of whom she appears to be scared. This childminder seems to only ever feed her baked beans. Millie’s not allowed to make any noise or ‘mess’, which is absurd. Millie’s a good child and she should be allowed the freedom to play. I asked her if she’d told her mummy about Mrs Palmer and she said yes, but Mummy says she has to be a good girl for her; otherwise, she’d have no one to look after her! I know that children make up stories and exaggerate, but the thing is, Jack, I believe her. And I have my suspicions that Rachel might leave her in the house alone at times.’
Jack thought about the bolt on the outside of Millie’s bedroom door. ‘Have you ever been in Millie’s bedroom, Alice?’ he asked.
‘No, we never got any further than the lounge. Sadly, I’ve never felt welcome or even comfortable in my daughter’s home.’
The door opened at that point and Millie ran across the room to her grandmother.
Brenda was apologetic. ‘I’m sorry, she was getting upset and wanted to see you.’
‘That’s fine.’ Alice put a comforting arm around Millie’s shoulders as the child clung to her legs. ‘Can we finish this later, Jack?’ Alice asked. He nodded. Perhaps they’d covered enough ground for the time being.
‘I have something for you, Millie.’ Jack hunkered down in front of the little girl and pulled out her doll from his jacket pocket. Millie’s eyes widened at the sight of her beloved toy and she reached out to grasp it, a huge smile on her face.
‘Dorothy!’ She clutched the rag doll to her chest, clearly delighted to have it back. After relaying Sarah’s message to Alice, Jack smiled and took his leave before he and Claire Swift left the house.
* * *
‘What’s on your mind, Claire?’ Jack asked his DC when they were alone in the car. He could tell that something was troubling her.
‘The date, sir, it doesn’t tally. According to the hospital, Alice was admitted on the morning of the ninth of June. So if she’s correct about the meal being on the evening of the seventh and she was ill the following morning, it would have been the eighth. I’ll double-check with the hospital when we get back.’
‘I’d also like you to look into the whereabouts of Tom Roberts’ car,’ Jack said.
‘We’ve already got traffic looking for it.’
‘Good, but I think they need to search here, in Melkinthorpe. If Rachel got rid of it, it can’t be far away. She’d have had to walk back to the house from wherever it’s hidden. Get traffic to search the woodlands around here, will you?’
‘Yes, sir.’ The DS started the car, and they headed back to Hunter’s Lane.
