She swung round to face him. ‘Oh, no, it was worse than that. Much worse. You see someone had given her a fix while she was unconscious.’

The bile rose in Miller’s throat, threatening to choke him. He got to his feet and walked towards the door, fists clenched and when he turned, she recoiled from the terrible anger on his face.

‘Max Vernon?’

‘I don’t know – I haven’t any proof.’

Miller crossed the room in three quick strides and grabbed her savagely by the shoulders. ‘Was it Max Vernon?’

‘Well who the hell else could it have been?’ she cried.

For a long moment he held her and when he turned away, she dropped down on to the bed. ‘She didn’t know what had happened to her. All she knew was that her body needed something.’

‘And only one person was able to supply it,’ Miller said bitterly. ‘She wasn’t only hooked on heroin and cocaine. She was hooked on Max Vernon.’

When Monica Grey continued, her voice was dry and lifeless. ‘She had a lot of trouble at home and then they asked her to leave at the college. Her whole personality changed. That’s how it affects them. I’ve seen it before.’

‘So she came to live here with you?’

‘Max thought it was a good idea. It’s a funny thing, but for a while there I thought he was really gone on her. He had her at the club all the time and if any other man even went near her …’ She shuddered. ‘He keeps a couple of heavies around called Carver and Stratton. One night at a party some bloke made a pass at Joanna and they took him out into the alley and half killed him. I heard he lost his right eye. That’s the kind they are.’

‘When did the rot set in?’

She looked up at him quickly. ‘You don’t miss much do you?’

‘In my job I can’t afford to.’

‘I don’t know what happened, but Max changed towards her just like that about two or three weeks ago.’

‘She was pregnant, did you know that?’

She shook her head quickly. ‘No – no I didn’t. Maybe that would explain it.’

‘Did he drop her completely?’

She nodded. ‘Told her to stay away from the club. She did, too, until last night.’

‘What happened then?’

‘Max was throwing a private party – just a small affair. Mainly personal friends.’

‘You were there?’

‘I’m always there,’ she said. ‘All part of the job. Something else he didn’t tell me at the interview. Anyway, it must have been about nine o’clock. Things had just started to swing when the door opened and Joanna walked in.’

‘Just like that?’