Desmond Bagley
The Spoilers
This one is for Pat and Philip Bawcombe and, of course, Thickabe
One
I
She lay on the bed in an abandoned attitude, oblivious of the big men crowding the room and making it appear even smaller than it was. She had been abandoned by life, and the big men were there to find out why, not out of natural curiosity but because it was their work. They were policemen.
Detective-Inspector Stephens ignored the body. He had given it a cursory glance and then turned his attention to the room, noting the cheap, rickety furniture and the threadbare carpet which was too small to hide dusty boards. There was no wardrobe and the girl’s few garments were scattered, some thrown casually over a chair-back and others on the floor by the side of the bed. The girl herself was naked, an empty shell. Death is not erotic.
Stephens picked up a sweater from the chair and was surprised at its opulent softness. He looked at the maker’s tab and frowned before handing it to Sergeant Ipsley. ‘She could afford good stuff. Any identification yet?’
‘Betts is talking to the landlady.’
Stephens knew the worth of that. The inhabitants of his manor did not talk freely to policemen. ‘He won’t get much. Just a name and that’ll be false, most likely. Seen the syringe?’
‘Couldn’t miss it, sir. Do you think it’s drugs?’
‘Could be.’ Stephens turned to an unpainted whitewood chest of drawers and pulled on a knob. The drawer opened an inch and then stuck. He smote it with the heel of his hand. ‘Any sign of the police surgeon yet?’
‘I’ll go and find out, sir.’
‘Don’t worry; he’ll come in his own sweet time.’ Stephens turned his head to the bed. ‘Besides, she’s not in too much of a hurry.’ He tugged at the drawer which stuck again. ‘Damn this confounded thing!’
A uniformed constable pushed open the door and closed it behind him. ‘Her name’s Hellier, sir — June Hellier. She’s been here a week — came last Wednesday.’
Stephens straightened. ‘That’s not much help, Betts. Have you seen her before on your beat?’
Betts looked towards the bed and shook his head. ‘No, sir.’
‘Was she previously known to the landlady?’
‘No, sir; she just came in off the street and said she wanted a room. She paid in advance.’
‘She wouldn’t have got in otherwise,’ said Ipsley. ‘I know this old besom here — nothing for nothing and not much for sixpence.’
‘Did she make any friends — acquaintances?’ asked Stephens. ‘Speak to anyone?’
‘Not that I can find out, sir. From all accounts she stuck in her room most of the time.’
A short man with an incipient pot belly pushed into the room. He walked over to the bed and put down his bag. ‘Sorry I’m late, Joe; this damned traffic gets worse every day.’
‘That’s all right, Doctor.’ Stephens turned to Betts again. ‘Have another prowl around and see what you can get.’ He joined the doctor at the foot of the bed and looked down at the body of the girl. ‘The usual thing — time of death and the reason therefore.’
Doctor Pomray glanced at him. ‘Foul play suspected?’
Stephens shrugged. ‘Not that I know of — yet.’ He indicated the syringe and the glass which lay on the bamboo bedside table. ‘Could be drugs; an overdose, maybe.’
Pomray bent down and sniffed delicately at the glass. There was a faint film of moisture at the bottom and he was just about to touch it when Stephens said, ‘I’d rather you didn’t, Doctor. I’d like to have it checked for dabs first.’
‘It doesn’t really matter,’ said Pomray. ‘She was an addict, of course. Look at her thighs. I just wanted to check what her particular poison was.’
Stephens had already seen the puncture marks and had drawn his own conclusions, but he said, ‘Could have been a diabetic.’
Pomray shook his head decisively. ‘A trace of phlebothrombosis together with skin sepsis — no doctor would allow that to happen to a diabetic patient.’ He bent down and squeezed the skin. ‘Incipient jaundice, too; that shows liver damage. I’d say it’s drug addiction with the usual lack of care in the injection. But we won’t really know until after the autopsy.’
‘All right, I’ll leave you to it.’ Stephens turned to Ipsley and said casually, ‘Will you open that drawer, Sergeant?’
‘Another thing,’ said Pomray. ‘She’s very much underweight for her height. That’s another sign.’ He gestured towards an ashtray overflowing untidily with cigarettestubs. ‘And she was a heavy smoker.’
Stephens watched Ipsley take the knob delicately between thumb and forefinger and pull open the drawer smoothly. He switched his gaze from the smug expression on Ipsley’s face, and said, ‘I’m a heavy smoker too, Doctor. That doesn’t mean much.’
‘It fills out the clinical picture,’ argued Pomray.
Stephens nodded. ‘I’d like to know if she died on that bed.’
Pomray looked surprised. ‘Any reason why she shouldn’t have?’
Stephens smiled slightly. ‘None at all; I’m just being careful.’
‘I’ll see what I can find,’ said Pomray.
There was not much in the drawer. A handbag, three stockings, a pair of panties due for the wash, a bunch of keys, a lipstick, a suspender-belt and a syringe with a broken needle. Stephens uncapped the lipstick case and looked inside it; the lipstick was worn right down and there was evidence that the girl had tried to dig out the last of the wax, which was confirmed by the discovery of a spent match with a reddened end caught in a crack of the drawer. Stephens, an expert on the interpretation of such minutiae, concluded that June Hellier had been destitute.
The panties had a couple of reddish-brown stains on the front, stains which were repeated on one of the stocking tops. It looked very much like dried blood and was probably the result of inexpert injection into the thigh. The key-ring contained three keys, one of which was a car ignition key. Stephens turned to Ipsley. ‘Nip down and see if the girl had a car.’
Another key fitted a suitcase which he found in a corner. It was a de-luxe elaborately fitted case of the type which Stephens had considered buying as a present for his wife — the idea had been rejected on the grounds of excessive expense. It contained nothing.
He could not find anything for the third key to fit so he turned his attention to the handbag, which was of finegrained leather. He was about to open it when Ipsley came back. ‘No car, sir.’
‘Indeed!’ Stephens pursed his lips. He snapped open the catch of the handbag and looked inside. Papers, tissues, another lipstick worn to a nubbin, three shillings and fourpence in coins and no paper money. ‘Listen carefully, Sergeant,’ he said. ‘Good handbag, good suitcase, car key but no car, good clothes except the stockings which are cheap, gold lipstick case in drawer, Woolworth’s lipstick in bag — both worn out. What do you make of all that?’
‘Come down in the world, sir.’
Stephens nodded as he pushed at the few coins with his forefinger. He said abruptly. ‘Can you tell me if she was a virgin, Doctor?’
‘She wasn’t,’ said Pomray. ‘I’ve checked that.’
‘Maybe she was on the knock,’ offered Ipsley.
‘Possibly,’ said Stephens. ‘We can find out — if we have to.’
Pomray straightened. ‘She died on this bed all right; there’s the usual evidence. I’ve done all I can here. Is there anywhere I can wash?’
‘There’s a bathroom just along the hall,’ said Ipsley. ‘It’s not what I’d call hygienic, though.’
Stephens was sorting the few papers. ‘What did she die of, Doctor?’