Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 12:44:45 +0100 (BST)
From: Steve Rose <cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Martin Roberts and the Greymount Murders 12

DISCLAIMER:
This is a story. None of the characters in the story
exist and the events that take place are purely
imaginary. This is a detective story with sexual
overtones and is a sequel to `Martin Roberts
Investigates'. I hope that you like this as a piece of
writing.

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.

Copyright Steven Rose 2003. Not to be reproduced
without the author's permission.

MARTIN ROBERTS INVESTIGATES THE GREYMOUNT COLLEGE
MURDERS

Chapter 12
The patrol car arrived at the main College entrance to
collect Martin and take the Superintendent to the
local Police station where he would have the chance to
interview his prisoner. Before he did that, however,
Martin wanted to settle a number of outstanding
matters. First, the Superintendent called to check
that the hypodermic syringe had been sent to the
laboratory for forensic examination and to ask when
the results of the examination could be expected.
Second, Martin called Mike Rickwood to ask him to come
to his temporary office in the Police Station. When
the Sergeant arrived in his room, Martin came straight
to the point,

"Why did you feel so sure that Anna might be
interested in endangering the life of young Peter
Fowler, when we were racing towards Marston House,
Mike?"

"Well, sir, I remembered that just as he ran past me
to go back to his dorm he had commented that during
the reconstruction something had been wrong but he
could not put his finger on it. I also remembered that
the person who was nearest to me and who also must
have overheard him was Anna Young. When you said that
she was in Marston House it suddenly struck me that it
was the same dorm that Peter Fowler lived in. I guess
I just blurted it out."

"Good job you did, Mike. Well done. If you hadn't said
anything we might have been too late!"

"Do you know how Peter is, sir?"

"Not yet. I think he's OK. I've arranged for his
parents to be brought down to be at his bedside and
I'm going to phone the hospital right now. You're
welcome to stay while I do that if you want."

"Please, sir."

Martin smiled at the young Sergeant and turned back to
the desk and dialled the number of the local hospital.
It was evident that the news from the ward was good
and Martin's smile was even broader when he finished
the conversation and replaced the receiver.

"The official verdict is that Peter is suffering from
severe shock but is generally in good health and will
be able to go back to the College tomorrow. They will
keep him in overnight just as a precaution. So he has
a lot to thank you for. I don't know yet what was in
that hypodermic but I can tell you that it was
certainly not going to do him any good."

"There's something puzzling me, sir. How do you think
Anna Young thought she could get away with it?"
"I don't know yet. Maybe the contents of the
hypodermic was a sedative so that Anna could get him
to the infirmary and then finish him off there. I'm
speculating but it's a string possibility, I'd wager.
By the way, how is our prisoner settling in? I thought
I'd give her a few more minutes to consider the
hopelessness of her position, at least in relation to
Peter Fowler. Whether she'll confess to the other
killings, I don't yet know."

"She looks pretty broken to me, sir. I think she may
well give us all the details."

"Has she got a brief?"

"No, sir, but Chief Inspector Jamieson says that he
asked her whether she wanted him to call for a duty
solicitor to be present. Apparently she turned the
offer down on the grounds that she already has a legal
representative and she asked to be allowed to
telephone him to get him to come and represent her.
According to Miss Young he has only recently taken up
a position in a local firm and he lives not far away
so he should be here directly. Would you like me to
let you know when he arrives?"

"Good old Mark you can always rely on him to get the
procedures in order! Yes, please do let me know when
the brief arrives. We'll let them have a bit of a
conference before we start the interview. Let the
pressure build up."

As things turned out, there was quite a wait as Anna
Young's solicitor was delayed by a tyre puncture on
his way to the Police Station. Finally, a Mr Ian
Finlayson arrived and introduced himself to the
investigating officers. Mark seemed slightly surprised
at the youthful appearance of Anna's solicitor as he
thought he knew most of the local lawyers but Ian
Finlayson was certainly one that he had never met
before. However, the young solicitor explained that he
had only recently joined his current firm and that
this was his first visit to the local Police Station.
However, Anna Young's legal advisor assured the
investigators that he had already acquired
considerable experience because his previous
employment had been as a duty solicitor where he had
dealt with all sorts of criminal cases. Before the
interview could be started, Ian Finlayson asked for a
few moments to confer with his client. After what
seemed like an eternity, the youthful solicitor
appeared to say that he was satisfied that the
interview could begin although he did point out that
it was now getting quite late in the evening. Martin
was unprepared to delay the interview any further,
pointing out that it was late for everyone and that he
and the other investigating officers were anxious to
get the case and the interview completed as soon as
possible. After checking again that his client
understood the charges and had been properly cautioned
by the Police, Anna Young's solicitor indicated that
he was finally content for the questioning to begin.

Martin had spent some of the time that he had been
kept waiting preparing his approach and discussing the
roles the other officers might play in the
proceedings. Martin led Mike Rickwood and Mark
Jamieson into the interview room and they sat down on
one side of the table, directly facing Anna Young and
her legal representative. The interview began with
each person present identifying themselves for the
tape, all spoke clearly except Anna Young whose voice
was very quiet and reedy. Martin was tempted to ask
her to repeat her name louder for the tape but was
satisfied that her voice had been picked up. Martin
had decided that he would start with the first murder
and indicated as much to his prisoner,

"I will want to question you about tonight's events in
a little while but, because I believe that what
happened today is linked to the earlier murders, I
want to ask you about the deaths of Lawrence Miller
and Paul Ferris first."

Without waiting for a reaction to this proposal,
Martin opened his questioning,

"Miss Young, did you kill Lawrence Miller?"

Anna Young looked as though she was not going to reply
but then with a sigh she said began to speak. Her
voice was almost inaudible as she addressed the
assembled investigating team,

"Yes, Superintendent, I'm afraid I did, but I did not
mean to kill him. I thought he was someone else."

"Someone else?" Martin said encouragingly but
insistently.

"Yes, I'd like to have the chance to explain. Let me
start at the beginning when I first met Andy Stephens.
I was in my first term at Greymount College when I met
him and I was immediately attracted to him. He was
handsome, funny and, to me, very, very sexy. It was
not long before we were going out together and Andy
was keen that we should sleep together. It was quite
difficult because I was often left in charge of the
infirmary and Andy had to look after College House,
even though the Principal was nominally in charge.
Fortunately the infirmary was not that far from the
dormitory and on quiet nights one or other of us would
slip out and meet together in one of our rooms. It was
not long after I started going out with Andy that I
heard rumours that he was often out and about in the
town chasing other girls. I confronted him about this
rumour and he swore to me that it was not true, but I
told him if I found out he was lying to me we were
finished. Shortly after this confrontation, Andy asked
me to marry him but I decided that I was still too
young and that, although I loved him, I was not yet
ready to settle down. Andy said that he understood but
would keep asking me until I agreed.

"I started to get a suspicion that something was wrong
when several weeks went by and the subject of getting
married was never raised. I began to wonder if Andy
had found someone else. He sometimes disappeared for
parts of the day when I thought we both ought to have
been free and when I know he knew I would be
available. I asked him about this and again he denied
that there was anything going on. I only had
suspicions at this stage, no proof, but I kept my eyes
and ears open and hoped I might find out something to
confirm or deny my considerable doubts. Then we began
to quarrel quite a lot and he would offer vague and
unconvincing excuses as to why we could not do certain
things or meet as planned. I should have broken with
him then, I see that now but I thought -- I knew -- I
was in love and Andy was the man that I wanted. All
this messing around with my emotions and with me began
to make me increasingly angry. At first I was angry
with myself for being in love with such a man as Andy,
then with Andy for messing me up so much and finally
with whoever it was, and I was convinced now that
there was someone, who had come between the two of us.
I was determined to find out who that person was and
warn them off. Unfortunately I had no idea who the
person was or how I could start to find out their
identity.

"As luck would have it, a short time ago Andy was
visiting me and we had made love in my room near the
infirmary. It was a quiet afternoon and it had been
wonderful as usual. Andy fell asleep after we had
finished and I lay awake beside him for quiet a while
before I decided to get up and make a drink for us
both. As I walked back into the bedroom, I saw a small
scrap of paper on the floor and I picked it up. I read
the message that was written in block capitals, I can
still remember its contents even though I threw it
away."

Martin leaned forward and gently asked,

"And what did the note say, Miss Young?"

"I can tell you exactly, Superintendent. The note said
`Meet me at the tower, immediately after breakfast on
Sunday. Don't be late.'"

Mark, who had been listening silently to the young
prisoner's explanation, asked sharply,

"Was the note signed?"

"No, there was no signature. I think there was a
squiggle at the end but nothing I could recognise.
However I saw this assignation as my opportunity. I
would find out who Andy's mystery lover was and would
deal with her. I started to make plans. I would try to
find an excuse to keep Andy busy so that instead of
him being able to get to the tower at the appointed
time I would go instead. I also decided that I would
take something with me to threaten the mystery woman.
I remembered that if I went via the path through the
woods I could stop at the cricket store and pick up
one of the old stumps they use in the nets. I also
decided to disguise myself so that even if I was seen
nobody would recognise me. I knew where I could lay my
hands on some old stage clothes from the recent
College theatre productions and I could use some of
them to change my appearance. There are tramps and
other homeless people that sometimes use the woods as
an overnight stopping place, especially in summer. I
could make myself up to look like one of them by
putting these ragged clothes over my normal clothing.
On the morning it all happened everything seemed to be
working out fine. Andy was on breakfast duty in the
dormitory and I knew he would be hard-pressed to get
to the tower quickly. I thought that I should get
there early, so I went back to my room put on the
items of old clothing. I knew that when I was in the
tower I would have my chance to confront the mystery
woman. If she was already there I would surprise her
and if Andy arrived earlier than expected I would be
able to expose his treachery."

Martin looked up and said,

"But it didn't quite go to plan, did it Miss Young?"

"No, Superintendent. The first part of the plan worked
very well, I picked up the old stump and got to the
tower in good time and hid upstairs behind the door to
the upper room. I did not know where the meeting was
due to take place but thought that I could use this
vantage point to spy on whoever came in. I waited for
several minutes and as I did so my anger at Andy and
the other woman began to mount. By the time I heard
the sound of someone opening the door downstairs I was
mad with jealously and anger. I honestly don't know
what came over me but I just saw red. As the footsteps
got closer and closer and the door opened and someone
came into the room I lashed out with the cricket stump
and caught them a fierce blow. Whoever I hit and at
that time I did not know that it was Lawrence Miller
fell like a stone and as the body hit the floor the
wooden planks gave way and it fell with a crash to the
basement floor. I knew I ought to try to help them but
I also knew that in all likelihood the person was dead
and beyond my, or indeed anyone else's, help. I
panicked and ran down the stairs, I did not even look
to see who it was. I got to the tower door and was
going to walk back to the College through the woods
when I heard someone approaching. It was Paul Ferris,
I knew him well and he knew me, so I dodged into the
undergrowth and hid but he must have seen me even if
he did not recognise me."

"So he had to die as well?" Mike Rickwood interrupted
the flow from the young nurse with a sharp and angry
question.

"Not at all. I was not certain that he had seen me or
indeed recognised me, but obviously I had to find out.
I stripped off the old clothes and used them to
disguise the cricket stump I had in my possession. If
I was seen I was going to say that I found them in the
woods and was taking them away to dispose of them. I
chose a path that would allow me to replace the
cricket stump and return to the infirmary as quickly
as possible. I could not see Paul Ferris when I got to
the edge of the path and assumed he had gone on to the
pavilion. My route took me past the score box and as I
drew level with it I overheard Paul Ferris talking. I
was unsure whether he was alone and talking to himself
or with someone else and I did not have time to find
out. What I did hear was enough. He was saying that it
was dangerous in the woods by the tower and that he
had seen a stranger there. I did not have time to wait
to see whether Paul was alone or not. I had to get
back so that I was not missed. I cleaned off the
cricket stump and replaced it and then made it back to
the infirmary having got rid of the clothing I wore in
a large skip that was due for collection the following
day. Nobody saw me. I thought I was safe. Then the
news began to spread that Lawrence Miller was missing
and my heart began to sink. I knew for certain that
Andy would not be meeting a man, he wasn't gay but my
gut feeling was that the body in the basement of the
tower was that of Lawrence, who was also new to the
College and a very pleasant man. When he didn't turn
up that day I casually mentioned to Andy that the one
place nobody would think to look would be the tower as
it was out of bounds and only allegedly used by secret
smokers trying to avoid detection. Andy had told me
this one day a few months earlier and when I said it
he thanked me for reminding him and said that he would
lead a search to that place himself. The rest,
Superintendent, you know. Except this, I had no
intention of killing Lawrence Miller. He was just in
the wrong place at the wrong time. I had no idea why
he was there although I do now. When you began your
investigation I learned about his relationship with
Paul Ferris and after that I assumed that when I heard
him speaking Paul was leaving a message on Lawrence's
answering machine warning him against going to the
tower for a meeting that day. It was only much later
that I found out that he was with another boy."

At this point Ian Finlayson, the prisoner's solicitor,
coughed loudly and looked pointedly at his watch
before saying,

"My client has been here at the end of a long day for
a considerable time. Do you think we could have a
break now and some refreshments?"

Martin looked serious for a moment and then said as he
reached to switch off the tape recording the
interview,

"OK. Let's break for an hour for refreshments.
Interview suspended at 2215."

Martin went back to his temporary office and was
joined there a few minutes later by Mike and Mark,
both of whom looked thoroughly exhausted. Martin noted
the tiredness of the two other officers and began to
feel rather weary himself. Mark was the first to break
the silence,

"It looks like she's going to confess to it all, but I
don't know about you but I wouldn't say no to a bit of
a rest and coming back to finish it off in the
morning. I'm sure she won't change her mind about
telling all after a few hours rest. What do you think,
sir?"

"You're probably right about he willingness to
confess, Mark and I am feeling tired too but I'd
rather get this settled tonight if we can. However, if
they make a move to ask for a delay until the morning,
I won't resist it too much. While we're waiting I
think I'll call the hospital and check on the latest
news on Peter Fowler and also see if his parents have
arrived safely."

Mike and Mark acknowledged the willingness of the
Superintendent to delay the interview and understood
his motives in not wanting to crack first. The two
officers slowly walked away and left Martin alone to
make his calls. They soon found refuge in another
empty office nearby and within seconds were finding it
difficult to fight the urge to sleep. Meanwhile,
Martin had made two telephone calls. The first had
been to the hospital where the news on Peter continued
to be good and the young teenager had been improved
even more by the arrival of his parents several
minutes earlier. The second call had been to the
laboratory to see how far they had got with the
analysis of the contents of the hypodermic syringe
that Anna Young had tried to use on Peter. Here the
news was also helpful in that the nature of the drug
in contained had been identified as a powerful
sedative that had several side effects including
temporary memory loss. The drug would not have been
fatal but would have caused Peter to collapse and
would have required him to be treated in the
infirmary. Martin was promised a more detailed and
definitive report by the morning. The Superintendent
thanked the scientific team for their hard work and
rang off. It was almost time to resume the
interrogation so Martin went is search of the other
two officers and found them dozing. The Superintendent
gently woke the other two and they walked rather
slowly back to the interview room. As the
interrogators approached the entrance to the interview
room, they were met by Ian Finlayson, who took Martin
to one side and said,

"May I have a word, Superintendent?"

"Of course, Mr Finlayson. What is it?"

"My client has, I think you will agree, been most
helpful in answering your questions this evening but
she wants you to know that is feeling very, very
tired. She has asked me to request from you an
adjournment until morning, when she will be happy to
answer your remaining questions. She's waiting inside
the interview room now hoping for a positive answer
from you."

Martin looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded
his assent but said quietly that he would still want
to speak to the prisoner before the news was broken.
Anna Young's solicitor thanked Martin and went back
inside and the three Police officers followed on
immediately behind him. When they had all settled at
the table, Martin looked straight at Anna Young and
said softly,

"Miss Young, Mr Finlayson has suggested that we might
adjourn this interview until the morning on the
grounds that you will be better able to continue to
answer our questions fully and frankly as you have
done up to now after a good night's rest. Under the
circumstances I have decided to agree to this request
and to hold over the rest of the questioning until the
morning. Before we finish for today, however, I
thought that I also ought to tell you that I have been
in touch with the hospital and they say that Peter
Fowler is recovering well and should be discharged in
the morning."

Anna Young looked back at the Superintendent and her
previously impassive face showed signs of relief,

"Thank you, Superintendent, you have been most
understanding. I'd also like to add that I really am
pleased that Peter is OK, I did not really want to
harm him."

"Very well then. Interview terminated at 2320. We
shall resume in the morning at 10. I hope that is
convenient for you Mr Finlayson?"

The young solicitor indicated that it was and Martin
concluded the proceedings,

"Thank you everyone."

Anna Young was taken back to her detention cell, Ian
Finlayson had not even broached the subject of bail as
he was fully aware that it would not be granted. After
a brief word with his client, the young solicitor had
departed. Once everything was settled, Martin led the
way back to his temporary office where he and the
other two investigators gathered up his belongings and
then the three weary policemen also prepared to make
their way home. Tired though he was, Mike Rickwood
offered to run the Superintendent home and Martin
gratefully accepted the Sergeant's offer. Mark said
`goodnight' and drove off towards his family home
shortly followed by Martin and Mike. The journey did
not take long and soon Martin was opening the door to
the home he shared with his partner, Tom. Martin's
lover had prepared himself for a lonesome night and
was greatly surprised when his partner appeared in
their bedroom. Tom asked Martin eagerly for news and
was pleased to hear that an arrest had been made and
astonished when he learnt the circumstances in which
the murderer had been caught.

"That really was a lucky breakthrough, wasn't it,
Marty?"

"Yes, Tom, it was. I was beginning to think that
either there were two murderers or that maybe I was
looking in the wrong place. In a sense I was, but, as
you say, we got the break we needed."

"You've charged her with murder and attempted murder I
suppose?"

"Yes, although the attempted charge may be reduced.
Anna Young claims she did not mean to harm Peter
Fowler and that the death of Lawrence Miller was a
mistake, she killed the wrong person. In reality the
only pre-meditated killing was that of poor Paul
Ferris. I agreed she could start answering questions
on that in the morning as we were all very tired."

"You are a really good person, Marty, that's why I
love you so much. A lot of others would have forced
her and themselves to carry on until they had got
every last detail in the confession. You deserve a
reward! Are you too tired for a reward?"

Martin smiled back happily at his lover, a gesture
that Tom took to mean that the older man was not too
tired. Tom reached over and began to run his hands
over Martin's bare chest and slowly down towards the
groin. Despite his tiredness Martin could feel his
prick begin to respond to his partner's advances. The
dick responded even more when Tom began to tease and
lick his lover's nipples as his hand worked round and
then up and down the hardening shaft. Martin lay back
and watched as Tom's mouth travelled closer and closer
towards the exposed head of his rock hard cock. Within
moments the younger lover had begun to pull the older
man's erection into his mouth. The silky softness of
the dick head disappeared between Tom's moist lips and
into his mouth and Martin could feel his lover's
tongue begin to tease the sensitive areas of the
underside of his shaft. Martin was groaning with
pleasure at the treatment he was receiving and also
noticed that tom had removed his shorts and was
pulling on his own rampant cock as he used every trick
he knew to give Martin's prick the oral attention he
thought it deserved. The older lover indicated that
Tom should moved round so that he could return the
favour by using his mouth on his partner's uncut cock.
Tom shuffled round and knelt over his partner and fed
his dick into Martin's waiting mouth. Soon they had
developed a steady coordinated rhythm with Tom's head
working up and down Martin's prick and simultaneously
his own cock disappearing in and out of Martin's
mouth. The sound of slurping and wet lips on slick
flesh filled the room as each man began to approach
the point of no return. Tom could feel the pulse in
Martin's shaft begin to quicken and the piss slit
start to widen in anticipation of the arrival of his
lover's ball juice. Moments later, the younger man
felt the warm sticky spunk ooze from his lover's dick,
then onto his tongue and down his throat. As he
savoured the taste of his partner's cum, Tom began to
blast his own jizz into Martin's waiting mouth. The
older man greedily took all that came his way and then
allowed the softening cock to slowly slip out of his
mouth, making sure that as he did so every last drop
of ball cream was hoovered up. Tom was also slowly
removing his mouth from his lover's softening prick
and eventually allowed it to drop out completely. The
two lovers lay for a while tired but happy until they
had recovered enough to speak. Martin spoke first,

"Thank you for my reward!! I must solve more cases if
this is what I get every time I do!! I love you, Tom!"


"Yes you should, Marty, and I love you too!! But I
don't know about you but I think we need some sleep
after that or neither of us will be fit in the
morning!"

Tom leaned over and kissed his partner on the lips and
then, with a contented sigh, lay back against the
pillow. Martin cuddled up behind his lover and, rather
more quickly than he expected, fell into a deep and
relaxing sleep. The two lovers had not been asleep for
all that long when the shrill noise of the telephone
brought them suddenly back to wakefulness. Martin
instinctively reached for the receiver and picked it
up,

"Roberts."

At the other end of the line Martin could hear a
rather excited voice responding,

"Sorry, sir, but it's the Custody Sergeant in charge
of looking after Anna Young, sir. There's been an
incident. I thought I ought to tell you and Chief
Inspector Jamieson about it straight away."

"An incident, Sergeant, what sort of incident?"

"We found her, sir, in her cell, unconscious. We've
been checking on her regularly and every time she was
OK until just now. Initially we thought she had fallen
asleep at the desk but when we went in to check she
was unconscious. We've called the doctor and an
ambulance and we've spoken to the Chief Inspector who
said that he would come round and pick you up
immediately."

"Right, I'll be there straight away."

As Martin quickly slipped into some clothes, Tom
looked enquiringly at his lover, who explained what
had happened,

"It looks as though somehow Anna Young has managed to
harm herself while in custody. Mark's on his way over
to pick me up."

"Do we know her condition?"

"No, but it sounds serious with a doctor and an
ambulance on its way."

Just at that moment the phone rang again. This time it
was Mark to say that he was about five minutes away
and Martin said that he would be ready and waiting
outside by the time the Chief Inspector arrived. Bang
on time, Mark's car appeared outside the entrance to
Martin's apartment and the Superintendent got in,

"I could really have done without this, you know
Mark."

"Yes, sir, it's a real bugger, isn't it?"

"Yes, we should have pressed on with the interrogation
of Anna Young while we had the chance then this would
not have mattered quite so much. I think I'm getting
soft in my old age. By the way is there any news on
her condition?"

"You're not getting soft, sir, you made the right
decision in the circumstances. It's what makes you
such a good copper. As far as Anna's condition is
concerned the last report I heard it was that she is
critical. Shall we go straight to the hospital?"

"Yes, please, Mark. Do we know what happened?"

"Not exactly, sir, but it seems like it was some kind
of overdose. The Custody Sergeant is an experienced
officer and he did everything by the book and checked
on Anna regularly. I believe him when he says one
minute she was fine and the next she had collapsed."

"How the hell did she do it?"

"We're looking into that now. She was clean when she
got to the Police Station. I know because I was there
when she was charged and put in the cells. She was
thoroughly searched by a Woman PC. I must say that at
the time and even during the interrogation I did not
have Anna down as a serious suicide risk."

"It would explain her willingness to confess to the
`accidental' killing of Lawrence Miller though
wouldn't it? I don't think you have to look too far to
find a willing accomplice who would give her what she
needed to attempt to take her own life. There's only
one person who has been close enough and alone with
her apart from you, Mike and me and that's that ruddy
solicitor, Ian Finlayson! I'll want to see him as soon
as possible after we've finished at the hospital!!"

It was somewhat ironic that Martin and Mark should
have to go to the very same hospital where Peter
Fowler had been taken and was now recovering. The news
on Anna Young was far less positive: she was
unconscious and her condition was extremely grave. If
the young nurse survived the night she might pull
through but the prognosis for her condition if she did
regain consciousness was a bleak one: she would almost
certainly be brain damaged. It was not clear exactly
what drug she had taken but it had been powerful and
quick acting and the doctors assured Martin that it
would have been difficult to prevent the incident from
occurring. As they spoke in the corridor, a familiar
sound came from the life support machinery that
indicated when a patient's condition had deteriorated
interrupted the conversation. Doctors and nurses flew
from all directions and gathered around Anna Young's
bed in a desperate effort to keep her alive. Mark and
Martin looked helplessly on as the medical team worked
feverishly but in vain. It was soon clear that the
medical staff had lost the battle and that Anna Young
had succeeded in ending her young life. A few moments
later, the two senior police officers received the
official confirmation of the prisoner's death.

With Anna's death it seemed to Martin that it was
highly unlikely now that they would ever unravel every
aspect of the case. As soon as all the necessary
consequences of the prisoner's suicide had been dealt
with, the Superintendent and Mark left the hospital to
return to the Police Station. Once there it would be
necessary for them to undertake a full investigation
into how Anna Young had managed to cheat them in the
way she had. As Mark drove them the short distance
from the hospital, a thought flew through Martin's
mind. With Anna's death there would be no need for a
trial and the affair between Andy Stephens and Lizzie
Scott-Brown would in all probability remain secret.
One part of Martin was pleased that Lizzie, who was a
woman he had come to like enormously, would be spared
the exposure and consequences of her actions. On the
other hand, Martin blamed Andy for at least indirectly
contributing to the young nurse's suicide and he saw
no reason why the Assistant House Master should not be
made to pay in some way for his indiscretions.

On arrival at the Police Station, Martin decided that
he ought to take a back seat as the management of the
local force was down to Mark and his other senior
colleagues. The Chief Inspector agreed with Martin and
the Superintendent went back to the temporary office
that he had been given to use. Within moments, Mark,
somewhat breathless, had returned carrying a sealed
enveloped,

"They found this in Anna Young's cell, it's addressed
to you, sir. Also, I've asked for a patrol car to go
round to Ian Finlayson's house and bring him back here
for questioning. I'll let you know as soon as we know
any more."

Martin acknowledged Mark's points and reached out and
took the envelope from the Chief Inspector. The
Superintendent was tempted to invite Mark to stay but
he knew that this would not really be practical as he
had to get on with his part in the investigation of
the circumstances leading to the prisoner's successful
suicide attempt. As soon as he could he knew that Mark
would be back to find out what the letter contained.
As soon as his friend had left, Martin opened the
envelope and pulled out a large number of sheets of
paper with small but neat writing on one side of each.
Martin read the message slowly and carefully,

"Dear Superintendent Roberts

"By the time you read all this I will no longer be in
your custody and will be beyond your questions. I can
see no other way out of the mess I am in. Please do
not blame anyone, least of all poor Ian Finlayson.
He's a friend of my older brother and I asked him to
come to represent me because I knew that he would do
exactly what I asked him to do. I requested that he
bring this paper and some pens from the infirmary at
the College except one of the `pens' was not what it
seemed. He gave them to me in all innocence before the
start of the interview when we were along. I concealed
them so that I could take them back to my cell either
when we had a meal break or after the interrogation
was adjourned. The result will be an easy and, I hope,
quick departure from this life. However, I promised
you earlier when you agreed to the delay until the
morning that at that time I would give you full
answers to all your questions. Although I shall not be
there in person, I hope the following pages will give
sufficient detail to satisfy your investigation and
achieve the desired result. I, and I alone, killed
Lawrence Miller and Paul Ferris. I also tried to do
harm to Peter Fowler but not to kill him. I wanted to
buy myself time to run away and disappear. I've
already told you about Lawrence so I shall only write
about the other two here as time is short.

"I was unsure how much Paul Ferris had seen in the
woods the day that Lawrence Miller was killed, but I
was desperate to find out. I also needed to know if he
had told anyone else in the College about what he had
seen. When you did not come to arrest me I began to
relax as it was clear that he had not identified me as
the person he had seen. However, I was concerned that
he might piece the thing together over time and so I
was determined to stop him talking. At first I was not
sure how I was going to do it but then I realised that
it would be easy to catch him unawares and make sure
he never would be able to tell anyone what he had
seen. I knew about the back entrance to the pavilion
because Andy is the rugby coach and he had told me
about it and even showed me once when we were out
together. I also knew that if he scored a lot of runs,
Paul liked to have a relaxing bath. One afternoon I
checked it all out. It was so easy. The door led
straight to the washroom area as I remembered it did
and I could see a way to get to Paul almost unnoticed.
I could also cover my tracks by putting on the
showers, which would prevent any sounds escaping to
those sitting outside. The boys were always leaving
the showers on so few of them would notice. All I had
to do was to wait for the right opportunity.

"The game against the principal's team proved to be my
chance for two reasons. First Paul played a long
innings and I knew that he would want to soak himself
in the bath and second I had a perfect excuse to be
near the pavilion because I had to accompany Johnny
Price there. My appearance would not arouse any
suspicion. Things went even better than I planned as a
large crowd of Johnny's friends clustered around him
when he arrived and I was able to slip away unnoticed.
I got into the pavilion by the back door and waited in
the lobby area, the showers were going and I could
hear voices so I remained as quiet as I could until it
was all clear. I knew I would know when Paul was out
as the students would make a fuss, especially as he
had done so well. Right on cue, Paul was out and after
a few moments he came through to the washroom and
started to run a bath. The rest of the innings did not
last long and soon it was time for the players to have
tea and the pavilion would be almost deserted. I did
not even have to switch on the showers so when I saw
Paul lying back in the bath it was easy to creep up
and surprise him. I pushed his head under the water
and then ran round the bath and held his legs in such
a way that he could not break the surface. He
struggled for a bit but soon he went limp and still.
As soon as I was sure he would not regain
consciousness, I made my escape back behind the
pavilion and over to my room in the sick bay and I
even made it in time to change my damp clothes and put
them in the wash. I had programmed my video to record
the programmes that afternoon and so if anyone asked I
would be able to tell them what I saw. Everyone knew I
disliked cricket and would only appear if I had to or
maybe, if I remembered, to join the teams for tea.
Thus, when the commotion following the finding of
Paul's body broke out, I was in the right place and
could appear as if I was running from the sick bay.

"I really thought that I had committed the perfect
crime because all the indications were that your
investigation had no firm leads. That was, until the
reconstruction and then as it was finishing I
overheard Peter Fowler telling Bobby Marsh that there
was something wrong. It was then that I realised who
had been in the score box with Paul that day of the
first murder. Who would you expect to be in the score
box? The answer was easy the scorer, of course! He was
also in the score box on the day of the game so I had
to find out what he could have seen from that angle.
When I checked it out after the field had cleared I
realised that even if he had been paying attention to
the game, he could still see the back entrance to the
pavilion. I knew that it would only be a matter of
time before he remembered what he'd seen. My problem
was this, how much time? I decided I had to act
quickly if I was to escape. Again I had the perfect
excuse to visit Marston House because Johnny Price
lives on the same floor as Peter. I also knew that
Johnny would not be there as there is a television
programme he always watches. He even asked to watch it
when he was in the sick bay. If I was challenged by
anyone in the dormitory, I would say I was going to
check on Johnny as I had not been seen him for a few
days and wanted to be sure he was recovering well. As
luck would have it I only saw Raymond Collinson who
thought that Johnny was in his room so I was able to
get to the corridor easily. Peter Fowler's room door
was open so I pretended I was looking for Johnny and
once inside I put my plan to drug Peter into effect.
As you will discover when you have the syringe
analysed, it contains only a strong sedative. This
would be enough to enable me to remove the boy to the
infirmary and then make my get away. But that was the
point when you and your colleagues arrived and you
know the rest.

"I want to repeat the death of Lawrence Miller was an
accident, or at least he was the unintended victim.
Paul Ferris had to be removed because he knew too
much. However I never intended to kill Peter Fowler
just keep him quiet for long enough for me to get
away. Also please believe me when I say nobody else
was involved. I just really wanted to get Andy back
for me. I loved him so much.

"I realise now that my cause is hopeless and that the
way I have chosen is the best solution for everyone. I
hope you will appreciate that I have kept my side of
the bargain and told you everything. Thank you,
Superintendent for giving me the chance to end the
case my own way. Goodbye."

Martin put the sheaf of papers down slowly and made
sure they were back in order. He would soon share this
information with his colleagues. Indeed, moments later
Mark appeared to inform Martin that he could find no
fault with the custody arrangements and Martin nodded
and handed the Chief Inspector the hand written pages,

"I know, Mark. Read this, it explains almost
everything."

Mark sat and read Anna Young's confession in silence
and when he had finished reading it he looked at
Martin and said,

"I guess you're right, sir. It confesses to everything
and gives us all the answers we might have expected.
I've still got Ian Finlayson coming in to see me but
if what she writes here is confirmed I think that just
about wraps it up. Do you want to stay until I've seen
him or shall I arrange for a car to take you home?"

Martin glanced at his watch and sighed,

"I must be getting old but I really do fancy going
home and coming back to tie up the remaining loose
ends in the morning. I will be back here by ten. Can
you leave a message for Mike Rickwood asking him to
pick me up in time for me to be here by then?"

Mark nodded and within a few minutes Martin was being
driven back to his apartment. Not wanting to wake Tom
or the younger boys, Martin slipped down onto the
living room sofa and despite its comparative
discomfort drifted quickly off to sleep. Martin was
awakened by the appearance of Harry and Simon at their
usual early hour and forced to explain why he was
sleeping on the sofa and not in bed. Tom came to his
partner's rescue just as the children were beginning
to look slightly puzzled by what Martin was saying
when he announced that breakfast was ready and they
should all come to the kitchen. Martin did not want to
say much in front of the children but managed to
convey to his partner the final outcome of the
previous night's interruption. Later, in private as he
changed into fresh clothes, Martin gave Tom the full
details of all that had occurred and explained that he
would have to go back by ten to finalise a number of
issues.

Right on cue, Mike Rickwood appeared at the door to
take Martin back to the local police Station and then
on to Greymount College. Martin filled the Sergeant in
with the details of all that had happened the previous
night and Mike expressed his sadness at the death of
Anna Young but also his relief that they now had a
full confession and could close the case. Mark was
waiting for the Superintendent and Mike at the Police
station and together they walked up to the temporary
office. Mark completed the story of the night before
by telling Martin that he had spoken to Ian Finlayson
and that he had given an account that confirmed the
one in Anna's letter. The Chief Inspector said that he
was of the opinion that the young solicitor had been
shocked to learn that he had been the unwitting
provider of the dead girl's means of committing
suicide. Mark had warned Ian that he should heed the
lesson and in future always report any delivery,
however innocuous it might seem, to the custody
Sergeant. Martin said that he was in agreement with
Mark that no further action should be taken against
the solicitor but privately wondered whether Ian
Finlayson had been as innocent as both he and Anna
claimed. Nevertheless he did not press the point.
Finally, Mark showed the Superintendent a press
release, which he proposed should be issued
immediately. The release read,

"In the early hours of this morning a 25 year-old
woman who had been arrested on suspicion of two
murders and one attempted murder died in hospital
following an overdose. The coroner had been informed.
At this time the Police are not looking for anyone
else in connection with either the death of the woman
or in connection with the crimes with which she had
been charged.

"We wish to offer our sympathy to all the bereaved
families in these cases."

With this brief statement the formal investigation
into the Greymount College murders came to an end.

 EPILOGUE

As soon as he could Martin went back to Greymount
College to see some of the key players in the drama.
He first called on the Principal who seemed greatly
relieved that the whole case had now been resolved and
that the College could resume its more normal pattern
of life. Alex Scott-Brown also seemed to have taken
the view that the identity of the killer, albeit a
staff member, had not had the damaging effect that the
exposure of a teacher might have caused. Alex told
Martin with a degree of confidence that he believed
that the Trustees would agree with him that the
College could survive and grow in strength. The
Principal told Martin that he had been given
permission to find a permanent replacement for
Lawrence Miller as it appeared as though enrolments
for the following academic year were still strong. At
the end of their discussion Alex Scott-Brown walked to
the door of his large study where he and Martin shook
hands. The Principal stood at the door just long
enough to watch the Superintendent leave the building.


As a result of an earlier telephone conversation with
her, Martin had also agreed to meet Lizzie Scott-Brown
separately and in private. The Superintendent was able
to tell Lizzie that the secret of her affair would be
kept, as Anna Young had never discovered the true
identity of her boyfriend's lover. However, Martin
warned the Principal's attractive young wife that he
intended to make sure that Andy Stephens left the
College as soon as possible. Martin emphasised that in
taking this action he intended to put the ball firmly
into Lizzie's court as to whether she should go with
him or stay with her husband and children. Unprompted,
the Superintendent offered his firm belief that Lizzie
should stay with her husband. The Principal's wife
responded by saying that she still loved Andy but also
recognised that he was probably not the right choice
for her. Before she finally made up her mind Lizzie
indicated that she would think about what she wanted
to do very carefully but in all probability would stay
with her husband.

After he had left the Principal's house, Martin made
his way over towards the main College buildings. Andy
Stephens was walking back to his rooms when Martin
caught up with him. The Superintendent made it very
clear that he wished to have a serious conversation
with the Assistant House Master in private. One he was
inside Andy's room, Martin informed him that he viewed
him as partially responsible for the events of the
previous weeks. As the Assistant House Master began to
protest his innocence, Martin cut him short. The
Superintendent indicated that he had in the course of
his investigation he had discovered enough information
to destroy the teacher's promising career. Martin
suggested very strongly that Andy began to look
elsewhere for jobs and made the valid point that it
would be better for Andy to make this move rather than
run the risk of Alex Scott-Brown finding out about the
teacher's love affair with Lizzie. If Alex Scott-Brown
ever discovered the truth it would almost certainly
result in Andy's immediate dismissal and he would be
luck to get a reference. It did not take long for the
ambitious teacher to see the point of Martin's
argument and agree to what had been proposed. To make
absolutely certain that Andy did what he had promised
to do, Martin waited while the teacher's letter of
resignation was written and also ensured that it was
put into the internal mailing system. Martin was
convinced that Andy would get another job very quickly
and that once he was established in his new post he
would also soon be back to his amorous ways.

Among the students the news that Peter Fowler was
being allowed out of hospital and was showing no ill
effects after his ordeal had been greeted with general
relief. Most relieved of all was, of course, his new
friend and lover, Bobby Marsh. Bobby was running off
to tell other students the good news when he almost
bowled over Mike Rickwood. The teenager looked at the
Police Sergeant and said,

"Peter's going to be all right. I can't wait to see
him and give him a really big hug and then we'll have
to find some way to celebrate!"

Mike had a pretty good idea of what Bobby meant but
decided that it would be best to ignore it. Instead he
said quietly,

"He may still be quite weak, so don't overdo the
celebrations and in any case you've got a cricket game
tomorrow and I don't think David Graham would be happy
if you were not at your best. And neither would I
after all the effort I've put into improve your
bowling!"

"Will you come back and watch us play from time to
time?"

"Whenever I can, I will, Bobby. But remember don't
overdo the celebrations!"

"Of course I won't overdo it, but I'm still young and
I can recover my strength very quickly!"

Mike laughed at the bravado of youth and was still
laughing when he rejoined his superior officer as he
prepared to leave Greymount College. Martin asked his
Sergeant what was so funny but Mike just said it was a
comment made by a student and left it at that,
although he did ask if he could have time off to watch
the following day's cricket match, a request that the
Superintendent willingly agreed to. The two Police
Officers got into their car and drove out of the gates
of Greymount College for the last time. Mike knew that
he would be back soon to see the game of cricket but
Martin was relieved that the case had been completed
and hoped that he would be leaving the College for the
very last time.

THE END