DISCLAIMER:
This is a story. None of the characters in the story exist and the events that take place are purely imaginary.
WARNING:
Do not read this story if you are in any way offended by acts of a homosexual nature.
Do not read this if you are under the legal age for accessing adult sites.
Always indulge in safe sex.
Party Games Chapter 7
Older members of Martin's team had come to recognise what they euphemistically referred to as `the look'. It was not often seen but when it was, it was best to stay low and keep quiet. Today was one such day and the Commander swept into Scotland Yard rather earlier than expected and barely acknowledged any of the officers already at their desks and went straight into his office and closed the door firmly behind him. It was not long before Martin was on the telephone and dialling the number of the Hampstead Police Station. Although unable to hear all of the conversation, the police officers just outside Martin's room were able to overhear their superior officer's end of the conversation.
The Commander had dialled the number and was already speaking to the person who had answered the telephone and his voice was icily formal,
"This is Commander Martin Roberts of Scotland Yard, I wish to speak to Chief Inspector Roger Mason."
At the other end of the line, a rather flustered Constable replied,
"I'm afraid he's not here, sir. I believe he's still at home. May I take a message and ask him to call you when he gets in?"
Martin responded as coldly as before,
"No, I want to speak to him urgently. Please have me transferred to his home number immediately. This is urgent!!"
After a brief pause, the Constable in Hampstead signified that he would take the necessary action and, moments later, the Commander was connected to the Chief Inspector,
"Good morning, Chief Inspector Mason, this is Commander Martin Roberts of Scotland yard. I'll come straight to the point. I understand that an eyewitness to the murder of Nick Trafford has come forward. I must say that I am amazed that you have not contacted me about this matter, given the high profile and importance of the case."
At the other end, the Chief Inspector offered his explanation,
"I'm sorry, sir, but we have had a large number of crank calls about this murder and we were not sure whether this wasn't another one. He said his name was Andy Laurie and he was calling from a pub. We wanted to be sure that he was a genuine caller and in any case I had intended to let you know about this first thing today. Would you like the man brought in for questioning?"
Martin refrained from responding to the comment about dong something `first thing' and instead replied as coldly as he had before,
"No, thank you, Chief inspector. Please just give me the man's name and address. We've wasted enough time already. I'll arrange for the witness to be collected and interviewed here at Scotland Yard. Please just give me the name and address."
The senior Hampstead police officer gave Martin the information and the Commander brought the conversation to an end. As soon as had he done this, Martin picked the telephone up again and put in a call to Mark Jamieson to ask the Superintendent to go round to the address of Andy Laurie and pick him up and bring him in for questioning. Martin was pleased that he had caught Mark before he had left for Scotland Yard and so his friend could go to the pub on the way in to work. The Commander briefly explained the situation and told Mark that he expected that the witness statement would not take long and that the young bar man would be back at the pub in time for opening later that morning. Mark recognised that the Commander was not in the best of moods and decided not to ask any questions but told his friend that he would leave immediately and should be at Scotland Yard within the hour. While he waited for Mark to arrive, Martin also telephoned Aly Young and Mike Rickwood to check how much progress had been made on the examination of the dead MP's case files. These two officers also picked up on their senior officer's mood and told him that progress was steady and that they would both be in the office within an hour to bring the latest news. Finally, the Commander went off to the Press and Public relations Department to chat to Superintendent Ron Alder about the press coverage of the case and any other matters that might need to be resolved during the day.
Meanwhile, in the pub in Hampstead Andy Laurie was asleep in the large bed belonging to the landlord, Phil Lloyd-Williams. The young bar man was completely naked under a thin sheet and lay beside his friend, Kenny and Phil who were also naked. The threesome had retired to bed quite late after they had cleared up following closing time and had enjoyed a short but satisfying session of sexual activity together before falling into a satisfied sleep. It was still relatively early in the morning and none of the three had begun to stir when the incessant ringing of the doorbell to the landlord's private quarters brought them suddenly back to consciousness. Phil took charge and told the other two to get back to their own room while he went downstairs to find out who was at the door. It was a somewhat sleepy Phil Lloyd-Williams, dressed in a towel dressing gown that opened the door of the pub. Mark Jamieson looked at the rather dishevelled man standing in front of him and said,
"I'm sorry to disturb you at this early hour, sir, but my name is Mark Jamieson and I am a Superintendent at Scotland Yard. Here's my warrant card. I understand that an Andrew Laurie lives and works here. We understand that he made contact with the local Police Station stating that he had information about the murder of the MP, Nick Trafford and I've been asked by my senior officer to see whether Mr Laurie would be willing to come down to Scotland Yard with me and answer a few questions. Is he available?"
For a moment, the pub landlord looked blank and then stammered a reply,
"Ye .. yes, Superintendent. I'm Phil Lloyd-Williams and I'm the landlord here. I believe young Andy's in his room, probably still asleep. If you'd like to wait here I'll go upstairs and see and tell him to get up and dressed as quickly as possible. Would you like a coffee while you're waiting?"
Mark smiled and accepted the offer but made it clear that he would only do so after Phil had been upstairs to rouse the sleeping barman. A couple of minutes went by and mark looked round the comfortable living room until Phil came back into the room and invited the Superintendent to sit down. The landlord busied himself in the kitchen for a few minutes and then returned with a cup of coffee, which he handed to Mark who accepted it gratefully. The two men sat in silence drinking the coffee and listened to the noise of rushing around coming from the upstairs living quarters and then Andy Laurie appeared in the doorway and looked at Phil and Mark. The young barman spoke nervously,
"Hello, I'm Andy Laurie, Phil told me you want to have a word with me."
Mark smiled encouragingly,
"Yes, Mr Laurie, my name is Mark Jamieson and I'm a Superintendent and I've been asked by Commander Martin Roberts to invite you to come with me to Scotland Yard and make a statement about what you saw on the night that Nick Trafford MP was murdered. I must emphasise that this is a witness and you have nothing to fear and I have been asked to reassure you that we will arrange to transport you back here as close to opening time as we can manage. I'm sure Mr Lloyd-Williams will not object to these arrangements."
Phil looked at the other two men and nodded,
"No, that's fine. Take as long as you like. Kenny and I will be able to cope until you return. By the way, oughtn't you to have something to eat or drink before you go?"
Mark said quietly,
"I had hoped that we could get on with this. I'll arrange for Mr Laurie to have something to eat and drink when we get to Scotland Yard.
Andy looked at his employer and the Superintendent and said,
"Thank you, Phil and you, Superintendent. I'll just get my coat and then I'll be ready in a moment. I was all right until you came but now I'm a bit nervous and I'll be glad to get this over with."
The young barman disappeared again but quickly returned and he and Mark went out to the Superintendent's car and together they drove to Scotland Yard. Neither man spoke much on the journey. Mark was trying to assess the young man and had reached the inevitable conclusion as to his reason for being on Hampstead heath on the night of the murder. Andy, who had spent a short time the previous night and while he got washed and dressed thinking about what he wanted to say and how he could avoid making any incriminating statements and land his friend Kenny into trouble, went over in his mind the answers that he would give in his interview. The roads were comparatively busy and the journey took a little while but the car eventually arrived at Scotland Yard and Andy was taken by Mark to an interview room, but not before they had called in at the canteen and the Superintendent had bought some food and drink for the eye-witness. Once Andy was settled, Mark disappeared off to report to the Commander.
Martin was in his office reading the latest report from Aly Young and Mark Jamieson on the files that they had removed from Nick Trafford's office. The Commander had noted that progress had been slow and that about a third of the papers needed to be examined before the job would be completed. However, Martin had agreed that both these senior colleagues, whose opinions along with those of Mark he valued highly, could observe the interview with Andy Laurie when the time came. The Commander was pleasantly surprised to see his most trusted colleague at the door of his office some time earlier than he had expected and was pleased to know that the witness was in the building. Gathering the most senior members of his team together, Martin led the way to the interview room. The Commander swept into the room and startled the young barman who had been deep in thought ever since he arrived and had hardly eaten or drunk anything that had been bought for him. Martin could see from the expression on his face that his abrupt arrival had frightened the young man and immediately apologised and tried to sound conciliatory as he spoke,
"I am sorry, Mr Laurie, I didn't mean to startle. Let me introduce myself, my name is Martin Roberts and I'm in charge of the investigation into the murder of Nick Trafford. You already know my colleague, Superintendent Mark Jamieson. We also have with us a young Constable Tony James who will be here to witness and record your written statement when we get to it. So let me start by thanking you for coming in and volunteering your help in this matter. We will want you to sign a written statement later but I would like to explain a few points to you before we begin. Also, of course, if you have any questions or do not wish to proceed at any time you are free to go and I will arrange transport for you back to your place of employment."
The young barman seemed to be reassured by the tone of the Commander's remarks and nodded,
"I'll try to help as much as I can. Although I was nearby, I want to say straight away that I had nothing to do with the man's death."
Again, Martin tried to sound reassuring,
"You are not a suspect, Mr Laurie but we are interested in what you have to say as you may have been one of the last people to see Mr Trafford alive. In order to do this I would like to say that we are not interested for the purposes of the written statement in why you were on Hampstead Heath but it would be helpful to know informally why you were there and whether anyone can verify your statement. I won't follow this up unless we have reason to start treating you as a suspect, which I have no reason to believe we will."
The line that the Commander was taking was not one that the young man had expected and he was uncertain how to respond although his inclination was to trust the Police and to tell the truth. This faith in the Police was slightly shaken by the next comment that was made. Martin leaned forward and said,
"Before we start in any detail, Mr Laurie, I'd like to ask one important question. As you know Mr Trafford was killed some days ago and yet you only came forward to your local police very recently. Why is that?"
Andy Laurie had not expected this line of questioning but was intelligent to realise that it was a reasonable line of enquiry designed to verify that he was a bona fide witness and the young man treated the query seriously,
"I'm sorry about this, Commander, but I honestly did not know anything about the murder. It's just that I'm not very interested in politics and I don't often see the newspapers or hear the news and I genuinely didn't know until the other day. On top of that, I just got the job at the pub with my friend, Kenny, and we spent a couple of days moving out of our bed-sit and into the pub. It was only when I saw the face in the paper the other day that I realised I had seen the murdered man on Hampstead Heath the night he died. As soon as I did realise that it might be important I rang the local Police Station, but I'm not an attention seeker if that's what you think."
Martin smiled and nodded,
"That's fine, Mr Laurie. I do believe that you are an important witness and that's why I'd like to establish, informally, where exactly you were on Hampstead Heath on night in question and what you were doing there. Can you first show me on this diagram where you were situated?"
Mark, who had been silently observing up to this point, slid a scale drawing of the area across the table and Andy studied it for a few moments and then pointed with his finger to the spot where he had been keeping watch while Kenny had been with his paying client. After he had done so, Martin and Mark studied the position and exchanged a look before the Commander said quietly,
"Again, informally, tell me what were you doing there and whether were you alone? Then go on and tell me what you saw and after that, we'll make it more formal and take your proper statement."
This was an area of questioning that Andy had hoped to avoid but it was clear that it would be difficult to do so, so he replied rather hesitantly,
"I suspect you know why I was up there, Commander. I was out there hustling. Until I got the job in the pub, I was out of work but I made some money by selling sexual favours."
"I see", Martin did not sound surprised, "roughly what time was this and were you alone up there?"
The young barman paused for a moment and then replied,
"This won't go in the statement, will it? You see, I don't want to get anyone else involved or into trouble."
Martin nodded and said,
"I understand, Mr Laurie, we are really only interested in what you saw and that will be all we will want in the statement. We can figure out with you a reason for you being where you were such as a need to answer a call of nature or something like that. Please, don't worry, we're not out to get anyone into trouble. So, were you alone?"
Again Andy paused and then replied,
"No, I was with my friend. We'd been up on Hampstead heath for a little while and it was getting cold and we were about to give up when my friend saw one of his regular clients and he approached him and they got together in a suitable area that was well hidden. I was keeping watch for my friend while he was engaged with his client. As they had nearly completed their business, I was on the lookout for another punter to hustle. By the way, I like your idea about why I was in those bushes, may I use it?"
Martin smiled and indicated that he had no objection to this small subterfuge in the statement, especially if it resulted in an important piece of evidence being brought out. The Commander was aware that Andy was encouraged by his approach and so he pressed the eye-witness to tell him what he knew,
"Am I right when I say that you saw someone coming along the path and you hoped he might be a potential client?"
Andy Laurie nodded,
"Yes, there are two paths and they intersect although most people take the lower one as the higher one brings you closer to the cruising area and you only go there if you are after some action. I saw this guy coming up the lower path but then cross onto the higher one, so I stepped out from the cover of the bushes so that he would be sure to see me."
Mark, who had been silent during the first part of the interview, intervened at this point,
"How well did you see the man coming towards you? You were not that close and it was getting dark."
The barman turned and looked at the Superintendent and replied confidently,
"I could see him quite well. There was some light and I could tell that he was quite a posh guy. He was wearing a suit and was well dressed. I could tell he was a black man and that he had a nice face, to be honest I really fancied him and he was comparatively young. I tried to make him look at me so that he'd catch my eye but he just walked past and didn't look in my direction at all. I presumed that he must have been going to a meeting because he was carrying a sort of document case under his arm and he was walking quite quickly."
Martin recognised the significance of Andy's last remark and intervened to ensure that what he had heard was confirmed,
"He was carrying a document case, Mr Laurie? Are you sure?"
The barman nodded definitely and answered without any hesitation,
"Oh yes, I saw it. It was dark but definitely one of those cases you carry under your arm. Shall I go on, there's not much more to tell?"
Mark, who was also aware of the importance of what had been said, replied,
"Yes, please, Mr Laurie, finish you story and then we'll get it down on paper."
Andy seemed pleased and so he concluded his narrative by giving his account of how the stranger had walked on towards the gates, near where, the young man knew, the MP had been murdered. The barman described how he had asked his friend to wait in case the stranger returned but how they had heard the police sirens a little later and had decided to go home. At the end of his account, Martin smiled and said,
"Thank you very much, Mr Laurie, what you have told us today has contained an important piece of information we did not have before. I'm referring to the document case you said you saw and I assume that you would swear to in Court if necessary. What I'd like you to do now is to give a written statement and sign it. Constable James here will remain with you to help you and then take you back to the pub. If you start as we agreed and then write out what you saw and roughly when you saw it and leave it at that, but be sure to include the description of the man you saw and the fact that he had the document case under his arm. I really am very grateful to you and please be assured we will be very discrete about your reasons for being on Hampstead Heath at that time. You and your friend have nothing to fear from us. I hope you will excuse Superintendent Jamieson, and myself, but I would like to follow up what you have told us straight away. Once again, many thanks and I hope your new job at the pub proves to be a success."
Andy looked both pleased and relieved that he had told the truth and had been believed. The barman sat at the table and started to write down his account while Constable James sat close to him ready to help if necessary.
As soon as the two more senior officers were outside the interview room, Aly and Mark, who had been in the observation box, joined them. Martin looked at the other three and exclaimed,
"Did you hear that? Nick Trafford was carrying a document case on the night he died!! You were at the scene, Mike, and you co-ordinated the search of the area. Did you see any such case?"
Mike responded to the question straight away,
"No, sir, I did not and I can assure you that if it had been there we would have found it!! It was a thorough and professional search. Nevertheless, I have to say that I was inclined to believe what the young man said. I didn't get the impression that he was lying about what he saw."
Martin tried to sound reassuring as he replied,
"Neither am I, Mike, and I'm not disputing that you and your men carried out a proper search, you should know that. However, if Nick Trafford was carrying some documents when he was seen by the witness and you didn't find it, where is it now and what was in it?"
"I suppose it could have been empty and he was picking something up. I guess we could ask the lady who found him whether she saw anything", Mark suggested.
"Yes, that's possible but wouldn't we have found the empty case?" Martin agreed, "I agree we'd better check with Mrs Talbot, but my money is on the person who killed Nick Trafford having the document case and its contents."
"Mine too", said Aly Young, speaking for the first time and then the Inspector added, "It blows a bit of a hole in the `gay bashing' theory, doesn't it?"
Martin responded to the Inspector's comment,
"Not entirely, Aly. We have to run with that option as well as the pure robbery possibility. However, I believe in my guts that Nick Trafford thought that he was meeting someone he knew and who could be trusted and that person killed him and took the document case."
Mike nodded but added a further suggestion,
"Or someone could have found out about the rendezvous and sent another person to highjack the meeting."
Mark had listened to the competing theories and said,
"What I think is that we have taken one step forward but the information has now given us too many hares to run with. I don't know about you, sir, but I'd like to try to eliminate some of these possibilities. Obviously, if we could find out whether anything was in the case, it might help us to narrow down the possibilities."
Martin agreed emphatically,
"Yes, Mark, I most certainly agree, let's try to find some angles on that problem. Why don't you put together a team to talk to Ms Robinson and the other people who shared the MP's office and see if they have any ideas. They've had a bit more time to think about things and get an idea of what, if anything, might be missing from the files. In the meantime I'd like you, Mike, to continue working on the papers we have got. You never know something might turn up to help us from that direction. Aly, would you come with me and we'll go round to Mrs Powell's flat and ask her as the first person to find the body whether she saw any documents or a case nearby. If she did we have to try to work out how it vanished after that time."
The meeting was about to break up when another PC rushed up to the Commander and said,
"Sir, the Commissioner wants to speak to you urgently."
Martin acknowledged the message and went back to his office to speak to the Commissioner, but asked Aly to wait for him before she went up to Hampstead.
"Thank you for calling back so promptly, Martin", Sir Thomas Brown spoke without a hint of gratitude in his voice, "I wanted to let you know that we may have found the weapon used in the murder of Nick Trafford. A very vigilant local Policeman was patrolling through Hampstead Heath, some distance from the scene of the crime and an object caught his eye and he went to investigate. He found a piece of metal piping with traces of blood on it. He did the right thing and called the forensic team and they recovered it. I've arranged for the pipe to be brought here to Scotland Yard so that your team can have it examined. I assumed that would be what you would want."
"Absolutely, sir", Martin sounded relieved and then asked, "When do you think the weapon will be here?"
"They're on their way with it as we speak, Martin. I wanted to warn you so that you and your team would be ready for when it arrives."
"We will be, sir. Thank you." Martin replied.
Sir Thomas paused for a moment and then asked,
"Are there any other developments you need to brief me about right now or will you speak to me at the end of the day?"
Martin told the Commissioner about the interview with the eye-witness but indicated that the man's statement raised some more issues that needed to be pursued. The Commander added that he would prefer to give a full report at the end of the day and Sir Thomas happily agreed and Martin heard the click at the other end of the line as the Commissioner put the phone down. Martin immediately contacted the forensic team and made sure that they would be ready to examine the suspected murder weapon as soon as it arrived. Then the Commander went off to join Aly and together they drove off to Hampstead.
Muriel Powell was surprised and delighted to see Martin and his attractive Inspector colleague at the door of her flat and she immediately asked them in and offered them a cup of tea. The Commander would have preferred to have got straight to the point of his visit but accepted that this was not possible. The elderly lady, accompanied by her dog, Monty, busied herself in the kitchen and emerged after some time carrying a tray with a pot of tea, three cups and a large selection of cakes and biscuits, which she set down on a table in the middle of the room. Beaming broadly at the two Police Officers, the elderly lady said,
"Well, Commander, I know you are a busy man and so this is not just a social call to check that I am alright, so how can I help?"
Martin sipped his tea and nibbled on a fancy biscuit and then replied,
"You're quite right, Mrs Powell, obviously we are concerned for your welfare but there is something I was wondering if you could help us with. We have learnt that shortly before he died, Mr Trafford was seen carrying a document case. My question to you is this: did you see any sign of the document case or any papers when you went to look at the body?"
Muriel Powell thought for a moment and then responded to the enquiry,
"No, Commander, I saw nothing like that at all. It certainly wasn't there when I found the body. If he was carrying something like that then it had gone by the time I found him."
"And there's no chance that Monty might have taken them before you got there?" Aly Young intervened to ask the old lady.
"No, Inspector, he was in my sight all the time and he's not that sort of dog. If he'd found anything he would either have brought it to me or left it where it was."
Martin nodded before he then asked another question,
"Did you see any movement beyond the trees where the body was? Did you sense another person in the area?"
"I've thought about that, Commander, but I can honestly say that I did not and Monty did not bark at the dark, only at the body. I'm sorry I'm not being much help, am I?"
Martin smiled slightly but responded reassuringly,
"Not at all, you've helped clarify a number of things, thank you, Mrs Powell."
"I think you're being too kind to me, Commander but thank you anyway. Would you like more tea, or another bit of something to eat?"
The Commander shook his head,
"No, thank you, Mrs Powell, Inspector Young and I really do need to get back to Scotland Yard very shortly. I'm glad you're feeling OK and I will be sure to let you know how the case is progressing."
"Well, thank you again for coming, Commander and you, Inspector. I'll put Monty in the kitchen while show you out, it's nearly time for his walk but I don't want him running off before I'm ready."
Martin and Aly got up and waited until the elderly flat owner returned and then they said their `farewells' and went back to where they had parked the car and drove back to Scotland Yard. On the way, Aly looked at the Commander sitting quietly in the passenger seat and asked,
"Did that really clarify matters much further, sir?"
Martin did not answer for a moment and then replied,
"Up to a point I think it did. I think we all believe that Nick Trafford was carrying a document case most probably with papers inside. They were not at the scene of the murder moments after he was killed. I don't think Mrs Powell has them so that means someone else took the case and the documents. The question we have to resolve is what the documents were and who might want to kill to get hold of them?"
"What if he was there to collect something from the person he met?" Aly asked.
"In that case, why did the murderer take the empty case?" Martin countered.
"To make it look like a robbery, I suppose." Aly answered before realising that her theory was not very plausible.
The Commander took up her thought and put it into words,
"Not very likely, I suggest. First, the murderer did not know that Mr Trafford had been seen with the case. If he had and the case was missing then it points the investigation towards murder but surely the ideal motive for the death was either `gay bashing' or a sexual liaison gone wrong?"
The couple in the car lapsed into a brief silence as the car sped towards Scotland Yard and, a few moments later, Martin was back in his office and saw that there was a message from the forensic team to say that they had some interesting information on the metal pipe that had arrived from Hampstead. The Commander dialled the number and found himself speaking to the formidable head of the forensic team, David Harrison, who immediately gave Martin the information discovered so far,
"Good news, Commander, I can confirm that this piece of piping was definitely used in the attack on Nick Trafford. We found small traces of blood that match that of the murdered man. But that's not all. I can also tell you that we have found a partial finger print on the weapon as well. We've ruled out it belonging to the victim so now we are trying to match it to our database of fingerprints. I hope to have a result for you either late today or first thing tomorrow."
Martin was delighted by the news, especially the possibility of a fingerprint match and said so,
"Excellent work, David, this is the breakthrough that we need to get on. Try your best to get the information back to us as quickly as possible, but I'd rather you made certain than we got it wrong."
"I couldn't agree more, Commander. Speak to you soon."
Martin was delighted and decided to share the good news with the rest of his team, which quickly gathered in the Commander's office. When the four senior officers were all gathered together, Martin closed the door and told them what had happened. The other three members of the inner circle were as pleased as Martin had been but the Commander sounded a word of caution,
"First of all, let's not get our hopes up. We may not find a match or it may be an innocent party who handled the piping some other time. I don't want us to let up on the other aspects of the investigation. I will not be available this evening, we have a parents' evening at Harry and Simon's school. If anything develops that is urgent, Mark will deal with it unless it is so important when you can contact me on my private mobile. OK, Mark?"
"Of course, sir. It'll have to be earth shattering for me to contact you."
"Good", Martin responded, before repeating his instruction, "not a word of this should leak out until we are sure. I know I can leave early certain that everything will be all your more than capable hands."
Before he left the building, Martin spoke with Ron Alder in the Press and Public Relations Office and briefed him on the current state of play in the murder case and picked up on any other matters of potential press interest. As with the investigation team, the Commander expressed full confidence that under Ron Alder's leadership, everything would run smoothly and no inkling of what had been found would leak out. It was thus with an air of confidence that Martin went off to join Tom to attend the parents evening.
At the school Tom and Martin learnt nothing that they did not know already about their two boys. The teachers' reports confirmed that whilst Simon was the more academic of the two, Harry was strong in mathematics and excellent at sport. As they left the school, the two lovers walked towards their car and Tom asked,
"Drink or straight home?"
Martin smiled lovingly at his partner and replied,
"Straight home is very tempting but, for once, let's make the most of being out and have a drink."
Tom nodded his agreement and drove to a local pub where the two men sat comfortably together drinking a beer. Martin seemed to be in no great hurry back home although Tom had high hopes that when they did return they would be able to make love before they went to sleep. As they drink their beers, the younger lover looked at Martin and said,
"Did the day go well?"
Martin understood the reason for the question and gave Tom a full account of the day, ending with the news about the murder weapon. A broad smile crossed the younger partner's face when he heard the last comment and he asked,
"Does that mean you may be able to find the murderer quickly?"
Martin did not answer immediately but then replied,
"We could be in a position to make an early arrest and charge someone if we can identify the partial fingerprint and that would be a feather in all our caps and please the Home Secretary no end! However, that is a big `if' and it also begs questions of motive and whether the guy acted alone. The best I can say at this stage is that we should be able to interview the person once we've identified him or her and then proceed from there. I have to confess that I'm not exactly confident. It all seemed a bit too pat. First there is this Constable who stumbles on the murder weapon, albeit some distance from the scene of the crime. Not only that but secondly and fortuitously it still has specks of the victim's blood on it and a partial set of fingerprints as well. Am I cynical, or it that just too much good fortune for one day?"
Tom laughed and said,
"Maybe you just deserved a lucky break!"
Martin laughed too and said, unconvincingly,
"Maybe I do. Do you fancy another?"
Tom had nodded and Martin was standing up at the bar ordering a second round when his personal phone began to ring. A feeling of excitement mixed with annoyance passed through Martin as he reached into his pocket to find the phone. Martin recognised the number immediately as being Mark's and so he answered it straight away,
"Hello, Mark! What's happened?"
Mark sounded angry as he replied,
"I hope I'm not interrupting, where are you by the way? Can you talk?"
"I'm in a pub having a drink with Tom," Martin responded, "However, I can go outside if it's urgent and private. I'll explain to Tom and then I'll call you straight back."
Martin ended the call and walked over towards his lover who had realised that the phone conversation had probably put paid to his hopes for a love making session when they got home. Martin explained briefly that the call had been from mark and that he had sounded very annoyed and the younger man nodded his understanding and watched as Martin went outside to return the call. Once reconnected, Martin again asked the question,
"You sound annoyed, Mark, what's happened?"
Mark was angry and did little to hide his feelings, "You'll never guess what but the papers have got hold of the story about the murder weapon. I don't know how and neither does Ron and I'm certain it didn't come from Mike or Aly, but they've got it anyway. Ron wants to know what he should do about it. He's put out a holding statement saying that we are conducting forensic tests and he thinks that he may be able to keep the reporters at bay for a while with that but I am at a loss to where the leak came from."
Martin understood his friend's anger and felt a similar emotion himself and said,
"I don't believe it came from any of our team either, Mark. In my view, there are only two possible sources, the Commissioner or the Home Secretary. I know the Commissioner knew because he told me about it earlier this morning and my money is on him saying something to someone. The Home Secretary is a possibility but he has promised not to interfere and I'm inclined to accept that in this case he hasn't. We can't be sure that we will get anything positive from the weapon and I doubt if the Home Secretary would say anything before he was sure that it would not leave him with the proverbial egg on his face. Do you need me to come in?"
Mark sounded relieved as he replied,
"If you wouldn't mind. I think I can manage the investigation end but Ron needs help in case the press manage to find out more and we could do with you to handle them if they do."
Martin looked at his watch and said,
"OK, I'll tell Tom and I should be with you in under an hour."
Martin explained to his partner what had happened and Tom realised at once that Martin needed to get back to Scotland Yard and offered to take his lover there. The younger man borrowed Martin's phone and called his sister, Ginny, who agreed that Simon and Harry could stay overnight with her and that Tom could collect them in the morning. With everything arranged, Martin and Tom were soon speeding towards Central London in less than then minutes. Martin knew that it would be a long night and the following day would be equally difficult. When they stopped outside Scotland Yard, Martin leaned across and gave his lover a tender kiss on the lips and then said,
"Thanks for being so supportive, Tom, I love you and I will make it up to you soon!"
Tom looked at his partner and replied,
"No need for thanks, Marty, I do it because I love you as well!!"
Martin pulled away from Tom and got out of the car. The older man turned and waved as Tom drove away. Once the car was out of sight Martin walked briskly inside the building where Ron Alder and Mark Jamieson met him and together the three senior officers disappeared into the Commander's office.
Ron Alder was the first to speak and sounded very apologetic,
"I can't think how the news got out, sir. I'm certain it was nobody from the Press Office! At the moment the holding statement I issued seems to be keeping them off the scent. There's a copy on your desk but basically it says that we have found a potential murder weapon and that it is being tested and we expect to have the results of the forensic examination in the morning and will issue further information as and when we have it and deem it unlikely to prejudice further enquiries."
Martin acknowledged his deputy's report and said soothingly,
"As I told Mark, I suspect the leak came from higher up and I think you have done well to contain the story. I assume it will be in the later editions and on radio and television news bulletins. What is good is that they do not seem to know about the eye-witness, which again points to someone higher up."
Mark spoke for the first time,
"You didn't tell the Commissioner about Andy Laurie? He's going to be livid when he finds out!"
Martin smiled and then replied,
"Possibly, but remember Mr Laurie was late in coming forward, we've had a number of `eye-witness' already and all have proved to be attention seekers. It was therefore wise to be cautious until we had checked the young barman's story. Incidentally, I haven't told the Commissioner about the search of Nick Trafford's files yet, either. I suspect he'll know about that because the Home Secretary will have found out it and told him."
Mark smiled at his old friend and said,
"I hope your explanation sounds as convincing to Sir Thomas as it does to me!"
"It's my problem, Mark", the Commander said calmly, "but we were promised no interference of a political or other nature in this investigation and I will take full responsibility for the conduct of the enquiry. Now, what time do the late editions arrive in the Press Office, Ron?"
Ron Alder looked at his watch and said,
"In about thirty to forty minutes. I can ask for them to be faxed over as soon as they are available if you wish."
Martin nodded and Ron went off to make the necessary arrangements. Mark stayed behind in the Commander's office and said,
"Why don't we grab a coffee while we're waiting and I can tell you about Ruth's scan."
Martin smiled broadly and replied with enthusiasm,
"That sounds like a great idea, but let's collect the coffee from the canteen and come back here. I want to be on hand when Ron comes back with the papers."
It was not long before the two senior officers were back in Martin's office and the Superintendent had imparted the news about his wife's scan. Mark reported that Mother and baby were developing normally and were both well. The couple had been asked if they wanted to know the likely sex of the baby but both he and Ruth had agreed it was more exciting not to know and wait until the child was born to find out. Martin nodded enthusiastically as Mark spoke but made little other comment. As the minutes ticked by it was clear that the Commander's attention was turning to the imminent arrival of the newspapers. He did not have to wait much longer as Ron returned clutching faxed copies of the front pages and lead stories on the murder investigation. The Deputy Chief Press Officer summarised the bundle,
"Not too bad overall, sir, only one has gone further than the brief statement, although most seem to have concluded that it is the murder weapon and are anticipating a statement to that effect later this morning."
Martin nodded and asked,
"And the exception?"
Ron looked down and then replied,
"A piece by our old friend, Alan Birch. I think you should read it."
The Superintendent handed his superior the copy of the article the headline of which Martin read out loud,
"`MURDER WEAPON SENSATION'
"Police have tonight found the weapon used in the killing of Nick Trafford, the Gay MP found battered to death on Hampstead Heath some days ago. Sources close to the investigation are saying tonight that there are bloodstains on the weapon that match the victim's blood group and that other forensic evidence from the weapon, believed to be a piece of metal piping could lead to an early arrest.
"Last night Scotland Yard would not officially confirm or deny these reports but it seems clear that if they prove to be true then the murder of Nick Trafford may indeed have been the result of an unfortunate encounter with a `gay-basher' in an area of Hampstead Heath which is well known for gay cruising."
Mark intervened at this point and said,
"Sarcastic bugger!! I wonder who the `source close to the investigation is?"
Martin did not respond to his friend's last question but read the rest of the article, which summarised the work that had been done so far in the investigation, pointing out that it was the reporter and not the Police that had discovered the MP's former lover before discussing the political significance of the crime. Martin paused for a moment and then said,
"Hang on, there's more in an editorial!"
The Commander turned the pages and found a short piece on the editorial column devoted to the investigation, which again he read out loud,
" `TIME FOR DYNAMIC ACTION'
"The news that the weapon used in the murder of Nick Trafford has been found hopefully will lead to the early discovery of the perpetrator of this highly political crime. It is to be hoped that the investigation team, led by the highly respected Commander Martin Roberts, will now devote all its time and effort to arresting the `gay basher' responsible. It is a surprise to this newspaper that Commander Roberts has been so reluctant to pursue this avenue of investigation, particularly given his own personal life style."
There was a brief silence after Martin had read the paragraph and then Mark angrily spoke up,
"That is a despicable thing to say. It's a carefully worded attack on you personally and the way that you have handled the enquiry. I'd like to wring that editor's neck!"
Ron Alder also added his condemnation of the whole tenor of what had been written and added,
"I've a good mind to lodge a formal protest."
Martin was clearly stung by the comments in the newspaper but remained the calmest of the three and said,
"They are entitled to their opinion and maybe we have soft pedalled on the `gay bashing' approach. However, I'm still not convinced that they are right about this. I find some of the evidence too convenient. Also, they don't know about the document case, which, to my mind, puts a completely different complexion on the crime."
"What document case is that?" A voice intervened from behind them.
Martin, Ron and Mark, who had been standing with their backs to the door, spun round to see the Commissioner standing in the doorway. With a half smile on his lips, Sir Thomas went on,
"Martin, I think we had better have a little chat, don't you?"
Martin nodded and, watched by the other two officers, followed the Commissioner out of his office. Mark and Ron watched in silence as the Martin and Sir Thomas went upstairs to the Commissioner's imposing office.
If you have any comments, good or bad, please contact me on cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk