Adrian Magson - No Help For The Dying

‘Better that than Paderewski.’

In spite of everything, Riley slept surprisingly well, and at eight in the morning, they drove out to the Scandair, where the reception area was busy with a group of late arrivals, fighting over a tangle of luggage. Palmer spotted a woman pushing a cleaning trolley along a corridor and dodged after her, beckoning Riley to follow.

‘Is Andy around?’ he said heavily, flashing his wallet. His manner said routine cop asking routine questions and don’t be awkward.

The woman looked too tired to care, brushing away a strand of greying hair that made her look older than her years. She pointed up at the ceiling. ‘He’s on the first floor, fixing a leak.’

Riley thanked her and followed Palmer up the first flight of stairs, hoping the policeman she’d seen before wasn’t waiting round the corner. They pushed through a connecting door and walked along the corridor listening for sounds of maintenance work. As they passed an open door someone swore fluently and there was the sound of metal clattering on a tiled floor.

Andy was crouched under a sink unit with the guts of the piping exposed. A liberal layer of hotel towels was soaking up a spreading pool of water, and all the signs were that he was losing the battle as a steady drip-drip of water fell to the floor.

Riley tapped him on the shoulder and he ducked out with a start, his head narrowly missing the sink. ‘Yeah? Is that Mario-?’ When he saw who it was, he pulled a face. ‘Oh, it’s you. I thought you were the plumber. He was supposed to be here forty minutes ago.’ He stood up and waved a dismissive hand. ‘Sod it — there’s nothing more I can do. Bloody thing’s knackered.’ He eyed Palmer with a wary look, then wiped his hands on a spare towel. ‘What do you want?’

‘You had visitors the other night,’ said Riley. ‘The night of the fracas. They weren’t guests but they were allowed upstairs. When they left, they were carrying a parcel.’

Andy looked between them, eyes shifting nervously. ‘I wouldn’t know. I told you, I didn’t come on until later.’ He glanced at the gap between Palmer and the door as if judging his chances of escape. Palmer smiled and moved to block the way.

‘That’s right,’ Riley agreed. She could feel Andy’s tension and wondered what he was worried about. ‘So you did. But your colleague told you about the visitors, didn’t he? And you decided not to say anything to the police.’

Andy sighed and shrugged. ‘They were only Holy Joes, you know? What was the harm? They said they were covering the whole strip, replacing stocks, like.’

‘They?’ Palmer asked.

‘Two blokes, he said.’

‘Is that normal, replacing bibles?’

‘It happens. People nick anything these days. The night manager said they wanted to do the empty rooms while it was quiet, to avoid getting in the way.’

‘I bet,’ muttered Riley. ‘And he let them?’

‘Yeah. He said it was ok as long as they went up the back stairs.’ He looked worried, as if realising he had broken another, deeper confidence and was going to regret it. ‘You won’t say nothing, will you? He’s not supposed to let anyone in who isn’t a registered guest. But like I said, they were only replacing bibles.’

‘Do you know what these men looked like?’ Riley asked.

Andy hesitated, then said: ‘I can do better than that. I can show you the tape.’

Riley gave Palmer a surprised look. ‘Tape?’

‘Yeah. The CCTV tape — from the front of the hotel.’

‘Didn’t the police take it?’ Palmer asked.

‘No. They checked the system, but it wasn’t working, so they assumed it was bust then, too.’ He gave a sly smile. ‘So bleedin’ clever, aren’t they?’

‘Let’s see the tape,’ said Riley.

‘Sure.’ He shrugged and led them back downstairs to a small office containing a desk, two chairs, a filing cabinet and a video player. He hit some buttons and watched as the screen flickered, then walked over to the door. ‘I’m going for a fag. I narrowed it down to the one you want, to save time. You got two minutes.’

They watched the screen. The picture was poor quality but clear enough to make out details of vehicles in the car park outside. A shuttle bus passed silently to one side, heading away from the front entrance, leaving a man and a luggage trolley in the background. As he moved out of shot a white van nosed into view and stopped against a shrubbery. The van was unmarked and had dark windows. Two men got out and walked round to the rear of the van, then came back, one of them carrying a cardboard box. Both men wore long dark coats and had short-cropped hair.

‘Bibles,’ said Riley. She pointed to the man with his hands free, a glint of light showing off the lenses of his spectacles. ‘That’s Quine. The other must be Meaker.’

The two men walked out of shot. Palmer hit FAST FORWARD and they watched as other vehicles and pedestrians came and went in double time. When they saw a movement near the white van, Palmer hit PLAY again. The film slowed to show Quine’s colleague helping another man, holding him by the arm. This man was dressed in a jacket and trousers, and seemed unsteady on his feet. Then Quine came into view, looking briefly over his shoulder.

‘They must have come out of a side door,’ said Palmer. ‘Quick and neat.’

The door opened behind them and Andy’s head appeared. ‘Seen enough?’

Riley nodded. ‘Plenty.’ She knew he must have already watched the tape to stop it in the right place, and had drawn his own conclusions about what was happening to the third man. ‘So did you. And you haven’t told the police?’

He shrugged. ‘I couldn’t, could I? We’d all be in the shit.’ He appeared to reflect on what had happened. ‘He’s ok, isn’t he? I mean, they definitely left some bibles around, so they must have been on the level, right?’

Palmer switched off the video and slipped the cassette into his jacket pocket. ‘Where would a guest park a car they didn’t want left in the normal car parks? This one’s an old Rover — a bit like an old gangster car from the thirties.’

‘If they didn’t use a private place, there’s a small pound behind the Sheraton along the road. We use it, so do other hotels.’ Andy’s eyes glinted with interest. ‘Does the car belong to the bloke who disappeared?’

‘It might. Don’t worry — we’re not going to steal it. We just want to take a look inside.’

‘Give me some dosh and I’ll even tell you the number of the bay it’s parked in.’

Palmer stepped forward and stared at him. The youth backed off with a sickly grin. ‘Ok — no need to get heavy. You’ll have to drop my mate something, though. He’s the security guard on the pound.’ He picked up the phone and made a brief call, then replaced the receiver and gave them directions. ‘The guard will be waiting at the gate. He’ll give you five minutes. Much more and someone might start asking questions. Bay fourteen.’

The Rover was a dark, glossy burgundy, and although it had evidently seen better days, was still eye-catching among the other modern cars in the pound. The security guard, a young, brooding Jamaican, showed them through the gate, then stood waiting, solid and sombre in a maroon-and-grey uniform and heavy boots.

‘You’ll have to be quick,’ he warned them. He’d already pointed out the security cameras on poles. ‘People don’t normally come and look round the inside of cars unless they plan on boosting the CD player.’ He handed them the keys. ‘If anyone asks, you forgot your credit cards or something, yeh?’

Riley thanked him and walked across to the car. When she pulled open the door, it emitted a strong smell of old leather, which reminded her of her Uncle Ray’s car, an old Riley. He’d had it for years, according to her mother, and was where her name had originated. She thanked God Uncle Ray hadn’t driven a Mini. ‘I always wanted a car with real leather seats,’ she said, sliding behind the wheel and taking a deep breath. It made her old Golf seem like a shoebox in comparison.