‘Dr Gladys Lake, pleased to meet you.’ A rotund woman came into the room and introduced herself. The top of her head did not reach Keith’s shoulder. He bent his head forward and extended his hand. She shook it vigorously and with strength. He could see that she was an energetic woman; she reminded him of a teacher at the school he had attended as a child.
‘We need to talk to you about a former patient,’ Keith said.
‘Charlotte Hamilton.’
‘How did you know?’
‘I’ve had Charles Hamilton on the phone. He’s in quite a state. It seems that you have been making aspersions about Charlotte, something to do with her brother as well as the deaths of two men in London.’
‘Unfortunately, they are more than aspersions. We have a warrant out for her arrest.’
‘And you think that Charlotte could be responsible?’
‘Is there somewhere we can talk?’ Rory asked.
‘My office, you’ll need to excuse the mess.’
Keith could see why the woman had mentioned the mess. There were patients’ files strewn across her desk, a laptop in the middle of it with a monitor to the side. Over on the far side of the office was a bookcase full of medical books.
‘It’s my bolthole away from all the cleanliness outside. It’s the only place I can get some peace to study.’
‘That’s fine,’ Keith said. ‘What can you tell us about Charlotte Hamilton?’
‘A beautiful child, no doubt a beautiful woman now.’
‘She is.’
‘Are you sure about this? When she left here, she had not had a relapse for a couple of years.’
‘We have sufficient proof for a conviction.’
‘Murder?’
‘Yes, two murders now. We are worried there may be more.’
‘Her brother?’
‘We are not pursuing that. At least at this present time. The recent events in London concern us more.’
‘Subject to patient confidentiality, I will tell you what I can. Charlotte entered here after the death of her brother; she was deeply disturbed. We evaluated her, placed her on medication, and with time and counselling, she calmed down. So much so that she attended a local school, visited her parents at the weekends.’
‘Why did she not return to live with them?’ Rory asked.
‘It was difficult.’
‘We need to know.’
‘You are aware of Charlotte’s medical condition?’ the doctor asked.
‘Not exactly. Our criminal psychologist believes that she displays the classic symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia.’
‘Smart woman. With medication, Charlotte was able to lead a relatively normal life. However, …’ Dr Lake paused.
‘There were some issues with the Hamiltons?’ Keith asked.
‘Once back at the family home, even with suitable medication, she would revert to type.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She would become angry, frustrated, start lashing out at the parents, harming herself.’
‘Razors, that sort of thing?’ Keith asked.
‘Yes.’
‘And back here?’
‘Five minutes and she was fine, although she hated it here.’
‘Are you saying she switches on and off, medication or no medication.’
‘Not at all. She needs the drugs, but the dosages were too high for her to be with the Hamiltons for too long.’
‘But they came every weekend?’
‘Here, she was all right, and if they took her out, she gave no trouble, but near that house she had problems.’
‘Do you believe it was the memory of her brother?’
‘That was my assumption.’
‘What do you know of the death of her brother?’ Rory asked. So far, he had let Keith do the majority of the talking, but Duncan Hamilton’s death was a subject that he knew more about.
‘A tragic accident.’
‘Nothing more?’
‘Are you saying his death was suspicious?’
‘Charlotte has now killed two people. It is possible that Duncan’s death was not as recorded.’
‘And do Charles and Fiona Hamilton know of your suspicion?’
‘Yes.’
‘How did they deal with it?’
‘Badly from what we can see. You realise that we’re only doing our duty. Charlotte Hamilton could kill again. We need to find her.’
‘I have to deal with trauma every day. I understand that you must do what is right.’
‘We need your help,’ Keith said.
‘What do you want to know?’
‘Charlotte has killed one lover, as well as the lover of her flatmate. Both crimes appear to be motivated by personal anger. Is there anyone else who could be a potential victim?’
‘In her state of mind? Anyone she came in contact with over the years, even me.’
‘So far we have ruled out anyone female.’
‘I don’t see why.’
‘Would she regard her parents with ambivalence?’
‘Possibly.’
‘We have a police guard at their house.’
‘That will not stop her,’ Gladys Lake said. ‘Charlotte may have mental issues, but she is still a smart woman. If, as you suspect, she has reverted back to a paranoid state, then she could find a way.’
‘Medication?’ Keith asked. ‘We are aware that she was taking some medication.’
‘Chlorpromazine most likely.’
‘You’re not sure?’
‘I’ve not seen her since she left here. If she is on prescription, there should be a record.’
‘According to our criminal psychologist, Grace Nelson, the dosage and the medicines change over time.’
‘She is right, which would mean that Charlotte is under the care of a doctor. Or should be,’ Gladys Lake said.
‘Black-market prescription drugs are not that easy to come by.’
‘Maybe, and what I prescribed five years ago may not be relevant today, especially the dosage. And besides, a lot of patients stop taking them at times due to the side effects.’
‘If she failed to take her drugs or took incorrect dosages?’
‘Probably what you see now: a belief that people are out to get you, aggression, violence.’
***
With the woman clearly identified as Charlotte Hamilton, an all-points warning was issued. This time it was more accurate than the previous one for Ingrid Bentham, not that Sara Stanforth held
