DESMOND BAGLEY
The Spoilers
COPYRIGHT
Harper an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by Collins 1969
Copyright © Brockhurst Publications 1969
Cover layout design Richard Augustus © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017
Desmond Bagley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Source ISBN: 9780008211196
Ebook Edition © April 2017 ISBN: 9780008211202
Version: 2017-03-13
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
The Spoilers
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
About the Author
By the Same Author
About the Publisher
THE SPOILERSDEDICATION
This one is for Pat and Philip Bawcombeand, of course, Thickabe
ONE
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 girls 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 makers 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 wont get much. Just a name and thatll be false, most likely. Seen the syringe?
Couldnt miss it, sir. Do you think its 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?
Ill go and find out, sir.
Dont worry; hell come in his own sweet time. Stephens turned his head to the bed. Besides, shes 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 names Hellier, sir June Hellier. Shes been here a week came last Wednesday.
Stephens straightened. Thats 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 wouldnt 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 Im late, Joe; this damned traffic gets worse every day.
Thats 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, Id rather you didnt, Doctor. Id like to have it checked for dabs first.
It doesnt 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 phlebo-thrombosis 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. Id say its drug addiction with the usual lack of care in the injection. But we wont really know until after the autopsy.
All right, Ill leave you to it. Stephens turned to Ipsley and said casually, Will you open that drawer, Sergeant?
Another thing, said Pomray. Shes very much underweight for her height. Thats another sign. He gestured towards an ashtray overflowing untidily with cigarette-stubs. 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 Ipsleys face, and said, Im a heavy smoker too, Doctor. That doesnt mean much.
It fills out the clinical picture, argued Pomray.
Stephens nodded. Id like to know if she died on that bed.
Pomray looked surprised. Any reason why she shouldnt have?
Stephens smiled slightly. None at all; Im just being careful.
Ill 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 deluxe 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 fine-grained 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 four-pence 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, Woolworths 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 wasnt, said Pomray. Ive 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; theres the usual evidence. Ive done all I can here. Is there anywhere I can wash?
Theres a bathroom just along the hall, said Ipsley. Its not what Id call hygienic, though.
Stephens was sorting the few papers. What did she die of, Doctor?
Id say an overdose of a drug but what it was will have to wait for the autopsy.
Accidental or deliberate? asked Stephens.
That will have to wait for the autopsy too, said Pomray. If it was a really massive overdose then you can be pretty sure it was deliberate. An addict usually knows to a hair how much to take. If its not too much of an overdose then it could be accidental.
If its deliberate then I have a choice between suicide and murder, said Stephens musingly.
I think you can safely cut out murder, said Pomray. Addicts dont like other people sticking needles into them. He shrugged. And the suicide rate among addicts is high once they hit bottom.
A small snorting noise came from Stephens as he made the discovery of a doctors appointment card. The name on it rang a bell somewhere in the recesses of his mind. What do you know about Dr Nicholas Warren? Isnt he a drug man?
Pomray nodded. So she was one of his girls, was she? he said with interest.
What kind of a doctor is he? Is he on the level?
Pomray reacted with shock. My God! Nick Warrens reputation is as pure as the driven snow. Hes one of the top boys in the field. Hes no quack, if thats what you mean.
We get all kinds, said Stephens levelly. As you know very well. He gave the card to Ipsley. Hes not too far from here. See if you can get hold of him, Sergeant; we still havent any positive identification of the girl.
Yes, sir, said Ipsley, and made for the door.
And, Sergeant, called Stephens. Dont tell him the girls dead.
Ipsley grinned. I wont.
Now look here, said Pomray. If you try to pressure Warren youll get a hell of a surprise. Hes a tough boy.
I dont like doctors who hand out drugs, said Stephens grimly.
You know damn-all about it, snapped Pomray. And you wont fault Nick Warren on medical ethics. If you go on that tack hell tie you up in knots.
Well see. Ive handled tough ones before.
Pomray grinned suddenly. I think Ill stay and watch this. Warren knows as much if not more about drugs and drug addicts as anyone in the country. Hes a bit of a fanatic about it. I dont think youll get much change out of him. Ill be back as soon as Ive cleaned up in this sewer of a bathroom.
Stephens met Warren in the dimly lit hall outside the girls room, wanting to preserve the psychological advantage he had gained by not informing the doctor of the girls death. If he was surprised at the speed of Warrens arrival he did not show it, but studied the man with professional detachment as he advanced up the hall.
Warren was a tall man with a sensitive yet curiously immobile face. In all his utterances he spoke thoughtfully, sometimes pausing for quite a long time before he answered. This gave Stephens the impression that Warren had not heard or was ignoring the question, but Warren always answered just as a repetition was on Stephenss tongue. This deliberateness irritated Stephens, although he tried not to show it.