‘May I ask you where you were?’

‘Er . . . no, not really, I’m afraid it’s a private matter, but Mr Daneman can confirm I was back by midnight.’

‘What time did you leave the house?’

‘About seven thirty.’

‘Then can I ask you who would have put Charlie Cavendish’s Epilim tablets by his bed that night? You weren’t here and Matron was out.’

‘I did, before I left. It must have been about seven fifteen when I went to his room with the tablets.’

‘And you placed them by his bed as normal, with a glass of water?’

‘Yes, I did. Charlie was in his study at the time. He saw me do it, as a matter of fact. Not that it helps me now,’ Frederiks acknowledged.

‘How often would you visit the drugs cupboard to give out prescriptive and other drugs to the boys?’ Jazz asked.

‘When and if necessary,’ Frederiks answered. ‘Matron and I have a key each. We both record exactly what we have taken and the time, so there’s no confusion.’

‘And what about that night when both Matron and yourself were out?’

‘I gave my bunch of keys to Mr Daneman, which would include those to the drugs cupboard.’

‘Mr Frederiks, as you were presumably in a rush to leave the house and get out to your appointment, is there any chance at all that you could have mistaken two aspirin tablets for the Epilim?’ Jazz pulled the four pills out of her pocket and put them on the table in front of him. ‘As you can see, they’re almost identical.’

Frederiks looked shaken. ‘Inspector Hunter, I accept I made a mistake that night by leaving the house, but I can assure you I was most circumspect when it came to anything to do with the boys and their medicine, especially Charlie Cavendish. I was well aware he was allergic to aspirin. Besides, the analgesics were kept on a separate shelf to the prescriptive medicine, so there really is no chance I could have become confused.’

‘Then, just out of interest, could you tell me which tablets are Epilim and which are aspirin?’

He squinted at the tablets and pointed to the two plain pills. ‘Those are the Epilim. Those two with the numbers on them are aspirin.’ He looked up at Jazz rather smugly. ‘Okay?’

The fact you know the difference doesn’t really help you, she thought.

‘Yes. So, Mr Frederiks, you are unable to tell me exactly where you were on the night Charlie died?’

He nodded. ‘Sorry and all that.’

‘I have to point out it leaves you with no alibi, or witnesses to corroborate your story.’

The housemaster frowned. ‘Surely I’m unlikely to need one? Besides, as I said earlier, Hugh Daneman will vouch for the fact I was out, then arrived here at midnight.’

‘Is there a back entrance to Fleat House?’ Jazz asked.

‘What? Are you suggesting I went out and sneaked back in some other way to kill poor Charlie?’ Frederiks’s face was turning darker with anger.