Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 12:10:06 +0000 (GMT)
From: "[iso-8859-1] Steve Rose" <cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Martin Roberts Investigates - 6

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. 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.


MARTIN ROBERTS INVESTIGATES

Chapter 6

Quite unusually, Tom was the first to get up the
following morning. He had a meeting with his clients
and their solicitor out of town and wanted to leave
before the traffic got heavy. Martin had slept only
fitfully that night and had finally dropped off to
sleep in the early hours of the morning. Tom went to
the kitchen, made the coffee and then took it back to
the bedroom. As Martin regained consciousness, Tom
made use of the shower and emerged from there covered
in a skimpy towel a few moments later to see Martin
looking at him admiringly. Tom grinned at his lover
but said in a rather sad tone,

"I know what you're thinking but there's no chance of
that right now. I'm due in Oxford at nine this
morning, so I'll need to get off soon to avoid the
traffic."

Martin smiled sleepily back at Tom,

"Well, we'll have to save it up for later, won't we? I
shouldn't be away for a bit as all the work I have to
do on the case can be done here in London - unless our
killer strikes again."

"OK, Marty, see you tonight. Special dinner and then
an even more delicious 'afters'!!"

As he said this, Tom dropped the towel tot he floor
and Martin got a full view of his lover's body before
Tom pulled on his best clothes and prepared to leave.
Martin was already sitting on the side of the bed as
Tom came to kiss him goodbye. As he did so, Tom
fondled Martin's slightly hard prick in a tender and
loving way and Martin French kissed him deeply. Tom
tore himself away and headed for the front door with a
cheery wave. Martin slowly walked into the shower and
prepared for the day. Overnight, Martin had thought of
some new initiatives in the investigation. He had not
been satisfied with the press conference of the
previous week and even less so by the lacklustre
response to it. No new leads and little new
information had been forthcoming. Martin knew that he
needed more information and leads and, in his opinion,
the best way to get that would be by better use of the
media. Long experience suggested to him that there was
always someone out there who knew something or
suspected something; if you could trigger them into
contact a small piece of evidence could trigger a
major breakthrough. Thus Martin was determined to
persuade his superiors of the need for him to make an
appeal on one - or more - of the television programmes
dedicated to highlighting criminal cases. Martin also
intended if he was permitted to do so to make a
specific appeal through the gay press.

Before leaving for Scotland Yard, Martin had made
several telephone calls. The first was to his
Inspector, Mark Jamieson, first to check if there was
any news about his baby - there was none and then to
tell him of his proposed initiatives in relation to
the media. The remaining phone calls were summon
various members of the investigation team in Leeds,
Manchester and Birmingham to a conference in London.
This would be held after lunch that day and they would
review all the evidence and leads that had been
followed, look again at the forensic and medical
evidence and plan a strategy for the future based
around the new media initiatives. In addition, Martin
made one last call in which he made it clear that he
wanted Ed Wilson, the travelling sales executive who
could verify Peter Collins' account of his activities
on the night of Paul Laycock's murder, traced and
spoken to as soon as possible.

Prior to the afternoon conference Martin had sought
and received permission from his superiors to make the
television appeal that he had asked for. The necessary
arrangements were put in hand and a recording slot was
allocated for a programme to be shown in a few days
time. On returning to his office Martin called in Mark
and together they went through the evidence so far and
decided what they should use in the television
programme. Both officers knew that it would be
difficult to re-construct all the crimes but a brief
account of each was considered a good option,
especially if it was accompanied by existing news
footage. After this had been agreed, the two police
officers agreed that there had to be a full
re-examination of all the forensic and pathological
evidence gathered so far. All four bodies were still
available and so Martin proposed to ask one
pathologist should be asked to review the autopsy of
all four victims. Although Mark thought that this was
a good idea, he was uncertain what else would be found
or what fresh insight might emerge. For the rest of
those present it was simply going to be a case of
reviewing what they knew already and then seeking any
further ideas for leads or lines of further
investigation. The meeting went well and the lines of
the media initiative were broadly welcomed. Martin
indicated that he hoped that there would be one
central call line for the receipt of information and
this, too, was welcomed. The meeting ended with all
those present in agreement that they would re-double
their efforts to see whether they could find out how
many of the suspects were in their area when the
murders took place. Martin was pleased with how things
went and he was even more pleased when he learnt that
Ed Wilson had been located and would be available for
a full interview later in the week. In the meantime,
the police in the area where he had been located had
spoken to him and he had confirmed that Peter Collins'
story was correct.

By late afternoon Martin had already instructed a Home
Office pathologist and he was on his way to Leeds to
start the process of re-examining the first of the
four bodies. Martin hoped that within a few days
further leads might emerge from this comparative
study. He reported the latest developments to his
superiors before returning home to his apartment to
think about the day's events. He was certain that one
of the people they already suspected of the crime was
the guilty party but identifying who it was and then
providing the evidence to get a conviction was a
different matter. Martin looked in on Mark before he
left and informed the inspector that it was his
intention to spend the following day at home. Mark
nodded his agreement he thought the Super could do
with a rest, he had not really had much time off
recently. He hoped that this day off would not be
interrupted by any further developments.

Tom as promised was home early and in a good mood. He
and Martin enjoyed a leisurely dinner together before
retiring to bed and spending a pleasant time in sexual
activity. Tom liked to have a lengthy period of
foreplay before the final headlong rush to orgasm and,
as neither of them had a heavy schedule for the next
day, they took their time. The pleasure and the pain
of impending release built up slowly for both men
until Tom released a shower of spunk that hit Martin
square on the nose and face and this triggered the
older man's own release. Martin's cum was ejaculated
deep inside Tom's love channel. Both men lay back
contentedly and rested in each other's arms. It was a
moment that they both always cherished, having
satisfied each other's desires they could now express
their devotion by their intimacy as a couple. Sleep
slowly overcame the pair and they drifted off into
unconsciousness without much effort.

The following morning the more normal pattern of the
day was resumed in that it was Martin who was up
first. It was not early and he had not been awoken by
urgent messages but he was keen to spend his day off
indulging in one of his other favourite pastimes, his
coin collection. Martin intended to visit a local
outlet selling coins and medals as he had seen a
particular piece he wanted to acquire. This had the
added advantage in that he would be very close to home
should he be needed urgently. Martin dressed casually
and was surprised to see that Tom was much more
formally dressed.

"Thought you had a lazy day, too, Tom?" Martin said
enquiringly.

"Not an early start, but I do have to go back to
Oxford to round off yesterday's business and I'm due
there for lunch. Shouldn't tell you this but this case
against your lot overstepping the mark in Newcastle is
getting stronger by the minute. I reckon we'll win and
win big, once we get all our evidence organised."

"Well I'm never one to defend the indefensible, as you
know. So if they are guilty then I hope you nail them.
But if they are innocent then I don't like the idea of
them being hounded by you and the liberal press, just
to get publicity and to hell with their lives."

Tom was about to respond to this remark but he was
interrupted by the telephone ringing. Tom answered it,

"Yes .. Oh hello Mark, not more trouble I hope? .. no
.. good .. yes, here's right here." Tom turned to
Martin and continued, "It's Mark for you."

"Hello, Mark", Martin spoke softly into the phone, but
his voice still carried the tone that implied that
this was his day off and he was not happy at being
disturbed so early into it,  "What's the problem?"

Tom had telephoned for two reasons. The first was
personal: Ruth was still at home and there was no sign
yet of the baby. The doctor was happy but if there was
no sign by the beginning of the following week they
might consider inducing it. Mark and Ruth were not
keen on this idea and had hoped for a 'natural' birth.
The second reason for the call was professional. The
Home Office pathologist had telephoned to say that he
hoped to have completed his examinations by late the
following day and was suggesting a meeting to discuss
his findings on the day after that, Friday. Martin
agreed readily to this suggestion although he was not
hopeful that any of these re-examinations would
produce anything new. Mark rounded off the
conversation by saying that he hoped that Martin would
have a relaxing day and that he would not be disturbed
again. Martin thanked his loyal and reliable Inspector
and put the phone down. Tom had retreated to the study
where he had surrounded himself with papers and law
books and Martin decided that he would be better off
at the numismatists. Martin kissed Tom lightly on the
cheek, went to get his coat and left. He was out for
several hours and by the time he had got back to the
apartment, Tom had left for his lunchtime meeting in
Oxford. Alone, Martin put some Mozart on the stereo,
found his latest coin catalogue and marked up the
place where his latest acquisition was displayed,
putting a large tick against the illustration.

Martin had a relaxing day, turning over in his mind
various thoughts about the case, listening to music
and planning his next foray into the world of coins.
He also spent some time thinking of what messages he
wanted to get across in his recorded interview for the
television programme and his longer press release to
the gay press. A number were obvious. The first thing
Martin had to do was to warn people - especially gay
people - of the danger they were in because the
killings appeared to be so random and spread over a
largish geographical area. The second was to appeal
for information, which people might have thought
trivial or unimportant or which had come to mind
following the jogging of their memory. Underlying
these two massages was the hope that something would
turn up that would lead them to the murderer, or help
them to link one of the suspects to a crime scene more
firmly than the circumstantial evidence that already
existed. Finally, Martin began to wonder whether there
were any other cases out there. Had the killer struck
before? Were there unsolved murders that had been
half-heartedly investigated and then quietly dropped
because the trail went cold and the victim had been
gay. None had come to light but there was a chance
that some retired copper somewhere might come forward
with some evidence.

As the day wore on, Martin became completely at ease
with himself. This mellow mood continued until Tom
telephoned to say that the meeting in Oxford had not
been completed and that he had been invited to dine at
one of the Colleges and stay over, so he would not
return until the following day. Martin could hardly
complain as the case he was on had taken him away from
Tom quite a bit but he was nevertheless disappointed
that the one day he had off could not be completed
with Tom as well. Although he was a good cook, Martin
decided to eat out and travelled into the west end
where he went to a favourite restaurant, close to
Scotland Yard but far enough away so as not to attract
large numbers of his colleagues. The meal was
excellent and it was washed down with half a bottle of
excellent red wine. Martin liked to drink in
moderation and never drank much when out of the house.
He was home by just after ten-thirty and went to bed
shortly after to read. Again he fell easily into sleep
and, although disconcerted by Tom's absence, slept
well and awoke at the usual time. Quite unusually for
him, Tom phoned before Martin left the house to go
back to Scotland Yard. Tom had little to say but rang
to say that he would definitely be home that evening
and that he had missed Martin but had a good meal.
Martin told Tom that he had missed him and had also
eaten well and was looking forward to seeing him
later.

Martin arrived at Scotland Yard a few minutes before
Mark Jamieson did. Mark again confirmed that there
were no baby developments and the pair decided that
they would go together to interview Ed Wilson who had
finally returned to London. Mark had arranged for Ed
to go to a police station close to where he lived.
Martin and Mark drove north towards Wembley and
reached their destination several minutes before their
interviewee was due to arrive. On the way they
discussed what they would seek to get from the
interview and had time to set up the room to their
liking before Ed arrived. As soon as he did appear he
was shown straight into the interview room. Ed Wilson
was not what either of the two policemen had expected.
He was tall, well built in a rugby-player, blond
haired and young looking, probably under thirty. He
had about him an air of a man who knew what he was
about. He was self-confident, but with a winning smile
and attractive face and intense blue eyes. Mark and
Martin greeted him and explained what they wanted to
talk to Ed about.

Ed nodded enthusiastically and proceeded to give an
account of the events of the night of Paul Laycock's
death. Ed confirmed that he and Peter Collins had had
a row. He admitted that he had been in a bad mood, due
to the loss of an important client to a rival firm and
that Peter had borne the brunt of his annoyed
frustration. Ed also confirmed that he had accused
Peter Collins of only being interested in him for sex
and not as a person, and that he had regretted the
slur the moment he had said it. Peter had left the
room and gone off somewhere and had not returned until
much later, after midnight, Ed thought. As for his own
movements, Ed said that he had waited to see if Peter
would come back but when he did not he had gone to the
bar, bought a drink and taken it back to his room. He
had watched the television for some time, nothing
memorable and had eventually gone to bed, but not to
sleep at around eleven-thirty. Ed concluded his
account by saying that he had stayed awake until Peter
had finally returned, apologised to his older friend
and that they had made it up by having sex. The
following morning they had both left the hotel, Peter
had gone to his exhibition while Ed had gone to make
more calls. As far as he was concerned, Ed asserted
that he only learned of the death of Paul Laycock
sometime later on the day of the poor man's death when
he heard it reported on the news.

Martin and Mark accepted Ed's version of events. They
had no evidence to the contrary but there were a few
mainly clarifying questions to ask. When these had
been asked and answered, Martin requested Ed to stay
in touch and then said he was free to go. Ed thanked
the policemen for being so kind as to allow him to be
interviewed near his home. He assured them that his
sales meetings would keep him in London until after
the weekend and that, if he could be of any further
help, they should just call his office and he would
see them straight away.

After he left, Mark looked across at his superior and
said,

"Just a little too pat, do you think, sir?"

"Well, Mark, I certainly think he and Peter Collins
got together to ensure their stories coincided but he
left himself very exposed. He has no confirmed alibi,
just a short visit to the bar, no one apart from the
barman to confirm that and then back - alone - to his
room."
Mark nodded his agreement,

"Yes in trying to help out his friend, he may have put
himself in the frame. Unless of course it's a double
bluff."

"I agree. I think we should add Mr Ed Wilson to our
list of suspects and have him kept under observation.
I am going to keep an open mind on all our main
suspects for the time being."

With that, Martin and Mark passed on their
requirements to the local station commander, who was
far from pleased about it, and drove back to Scotland
Yard.

Across London, almost in the same direction as the two
policemen were heading as they drove back to their
headquarters, Steve Mason was sitting in his office.
The thirty-something head of his own public relations
company, Steve was waiting to talk to his partner
Harry King who was four years his junior. Harry was
not only a business partner but also was Steve's lover
and the couple shared a flat near Battersea Park.
Harry and Steve had been in business together for
almost seven years and had been together in a personal
way for even longer. As Steve waited for his partner,
who was never on time for anything - the one personal
habit Steve disliked in anybody was lateness - the
business man reflected on how the two had got together
and how this being their anniversary weekend he had
planned something special for both of them.

Steve had known Harry for several years before they
became personally involved because he had gone to
school with Harry older brother, Al. Although the
family had an African name, everyone called the two
brothers by their middle name, which was King, and
this name stuck. At the time he was best friends with
the older brother Al, Steve had not got to know the
younger boy all that well. Indeed they had not really
kept in touch after Al and Steve had gone to
university. Indeed, it was not until Harry was
finishing his own university degree that he and Steve
had met by chance.

At the time he got re-acquainted with Harry, Steve had
been working for a public relations and advertising
company. He had been, as a young but up-and-coming
figure in his chosen career, invited to address a
group of students about working in advertising. Harry
had been in the audience and had immediately
recognised the face of the speaker as being one
belonging to his older brother's best friend from
school. As the talk came to an end, Harry had made his
way down to the front of the hall and had caught
Steve's eye. Steve had looked for a second before
recognition dawned,

"It's Harry, isn't it?"

Harry had smiled broadly, his white teeth sharply
contrasting with his dark skin, and nodded.

"How are you doing, Harry? Wait 'til I've finished
here and let's go and have a drink or something. Catch
up. Haven't heard or seen anything of Al in ages."

Harry waited patiently as Steve dealt with several
questions and the people who just wanted to get his
card. Finally he was finished and he walked quickly
over to where Harry was waiting.

"A drink or a meal? I bet you could use a good meal?
On me, of course."

Harry accepted the offer gracefully and moments later
he was being driven in a taxi to a very up-market
restaurant in the city centre, one that was certainly
outside the financial range of almost all the students
that Harry knew. Over the meal Harry told Steve that
his older brother had, after getting his law degree,
returned to West Africa from where their parents had
originally come many years before. The older boy was
actively involved in the state politics and was
becoming well known as a radical leader of the young
professionals over there. Steve smiled and said,

"Always knew he was a bit of a rebel - even at school.
He managed to get away with blue murder with that
winning smile of his. You've got that smile too, you
know. Are you going to follow in his footsteps?"

Harry shook his head and smiled,

"No way. I want to stay here and I'm more interested
in following in your footsteps than his."

Steve again smiled and ordered some coffee. Harry
declined. Steve leaned forward and said,

"Do you want to go to a pub for another drink, or -
maybe - back to my hotel for one there?"

"Pub", responded Harry instantly and missed the look
of disappointment that crossed Steve's face.

The chosen pub was very crowded and noisy and they had
to queue to get in. Steve went in first but when he
turned to ask Harry what he wanted to drink, the
student was nowhere to be seen. Steve went back to the
entrance where the doorman was barring Harry's entry.
Steve intervened,

"Is there a problem. The young man is with me?"

"No problem, sir, but he looked like a troublemaker
and he's wearing inappropriate clothes."

Steve felt outraged at these remarks that clearly
covered over the fact that the doorman was barring
Steve on the grounds of his colour, as there were
plenty of people far less respectably dressed already
in the pub. Steve looked the doorman up and down and
then with a disdainful note in his voice said,

"There certainly isn't a problem now. I think we will
take our custom elsewhere. Come on Harry, let's go
back to my hotel for this drink."

Harry had followed Steve back to his hotel and they
had decided, to Steve's immense but hidden delight, to
take them back to the older man's room. As they sat
together in the room Steve moved closer to Harry until
his hand brushed against the outside of the younger
man's jeans. Steve was pushing his luck and he knew it
but he had always fancied Harry even when he was much
younger and unattainable. Al had always been a ladies
man and Steve had pretended to be one too but given
half the chance he would have had sex with Al anytime,
had it ever been offered. Harry was much younger than
he and Al, four years younger but Steve had found both
his smile and his face even more appealing than Al's.
Now, quite fortuitously, he was alone with Harry and
he had a chance - a slim one maybe but a chance - to
fulfil his long held ambition.

Harry felt Steve's hand brush against his jeans but
dismissed the thought that his brother's old school
friend was interested in him. Harry had longed to
spend time with Steve - one of the few white kids in
the school who bothered to hang out with people like
him and his brother. Steve also wondered what Steve's
cock was like and had spent many hours fantasising
about it as he lay in bed nursing his own rock hard
cock and bring himself relief with his hand. At
university Harry had gained some small experience of
male cocks both in the showers and on a few occasions
more intimately in short and slightly sordid
encounters in out of the way toilets. Now, here he was
with Steve in his hotel room and the older man had
just brushed his hand against his leg. Harry took no
immediate action thinking that it might have been
accidental.

When Steve's hand brushed against his leg, slightly
more firmly, for a second time, Harry knew it was no
accident. Inexperienced though he was, Harry knew that
he had to convey to Steve that he was amenable to
these advances. With a slight sigh, Harry leaned back
slightly and opened his legs a bit wider. Steve noted
this immediately and moved his hand so that it ran
along the inside of Harry's legs and up towards his
crotch. Harry's dick was beginning to swell and the
bulge in his jeans became more pronounced. Steve
needed no further invitation and soon had his hand
firmly caressing the growing bulge as Harry lay
passively beside him. Steve unloosened the top button
and then eased the zip of Harry's jeans down to give
himself access to what lay beneath and the younger
student lay still and watched him closely. Steve
encouraged Harry to lift himself off the chair
slightly and this gave him the opportunity to pull the
jeans down to the student's knees. The underwear that
was now exposed was tented by Harry's engorged love
pole.

At this point, Steve paused and stood up revealing
that his own trousers were equally strained by his own
rock hard erection. As Steve began to undress, Harry
acted. He leaned forward and began to cup the older
man's hard-on in his hand. Soon Harry would see in
real life the penis over which he had spent so many
hours fantasising. Steve continued to undress and
finally removed his underwear giving Harry his first
glance of his rampant dick. Harry was not
disappointed, although the colour of the skin was
different, the shape and even the size was not that
dissimilar to his own. In fact it was very much as he
had imagined it would be during all those masturbatory
fantasies years before. Steve's dick was soft white
and the glans at the head were an even paler pink, a
sharp contrast to Harry's own dick, which was dark
black with equally black glans. Harry also noted that
Steve's dick was rather thicker than his own but
slightly shorter.

Once naked, Steve returned his attention to Harry and
released the young student's straining prick from its
confining underwear. As soon as it sprung free, Steve
was more than impressed by the attractiveness of the
rampant black tool that rose to meet him. He was not
inexperienced and had seen Al naked so knew roughly
what to expect in his brother but even so this was his
first time alone and naked with a black person. Steve
knew instinctively what to do. He stood alongside the
naked student and took Harry's throbbing dick into his
mouth from the side.  From this angle, Harry could
have easy access to the older man's dick. Harry felt
Steve's mouth lower onto his rampant dick, swallow the
glans between his lips and tease the head and shaft
with his rough tongue. At the same time the young
student reach out and took hold of the older man's
rampant tool and very quickly began to work the shaft
of Steve's prick with his hand, rubbing it with
increasing speed and intensity. Harry's wanking
actions on Steve's cock reflected the student's own
rising excitement. The effect of the oral action on
his penis was such that Harry could not control
himself for long. He felt his balls swell, his shaft
harden and within a few moments he was spewing forth
his ball juice into Steve's eagerly swallowing throat.
Almost simultaneously Steve's own cock was showing the
telltale signs of orgasm. Steve released the young
student's dick from his mouth and stood closer and, as
Harry wanked the shaft, the older man's piss slit
opened wide and his creamy spunk shot out. Steve's cum
shot into the air and landed on Harry's hand, arm and
body.

Short though the time had been from the moment they
had started Harry was exhilarated by what had happened
and so was Steve. The intensity of the moment had
heightened and shortened the period of pleasure, but
neither man complained. After they had recovered a
rather slower second round was undertaken. During this
time Harry took Steve in his mouth and, for the first
time, sucked another man's dick and swallowed his ball
juice. After this Steve showed Harry how he liked to
be fucked. He lined the younger man's rock hard prick
up with the entrance to his love tunnel and both men
watched as the long black head and shaft entered Steve
and Harry lost his virginity as he fucked the older
man's arse. Despite it being his first time, Harry was
a natural and he soon got into a regular rhythm and
took a respectable amount of time to unload his ball
juice deep inside Steve's twitching, clenching hole.

>From that first time onwards Harry and Steve had been
together and soon after he graduated and got a job in
the same firm as his lover, Harry moved in with Steve.
After several years in which Harry demonstrated a
considerable degree of skill in public relations, he
and Steve had left to form their own company, which
had survived for the past seven years. The seventh
anniversary was about to fall and Steve had planned a
special celebration weekend. He had arranged a small
dinner party at a favourite restaurant for that very
night, followed by a trip to one of Harry's favourite
gay clubs. The following morning they would fly to
Paris and spend a long weekend enjoying the sights and
taking in a different scene. Steve was raring to well
Harry about these planes but, as usual Harry was
nowhere to be found. He had apparently 'just popped
out somewhere'. It was over an hour before he
reappeared and Steve had begun to get somewhat
annoyed. However, the sight of his lover's
ever-smiling and warm face had an instant effect on
Steve and all his anger drained away. Harry's already
broad and infectious smile grew even wider when he
learned what Steve had planned. As neither of the two
partners had much else to do, they decided to close
early, go home, have a good long shower together and
prepare for the start of their celebration weekend.

Harry and Steve were already on their way to their
favourite restaurant and had just sat down to eat at
just about the same time as Martin arrived at the BBC
studios to record his contribution to the crime
programme due for broadcast that evening. Martin was
able to review the proposed content and was generally
satisfied with it and then made his appeal for
witnesses and issued his warning to the gay community
to be on their guard. He had already given a longer
and more specific warning in his interview with
representatives of the gay press. Without Graeme
Adams, Martin specifically said that all the victims
had been at or near venues where a particular disco
had been operating. In the relatively small world of
the gay entertainment, the name of the DJ would not be
difficult to find and the right conclusion drawn by
those who wished to make it. Martin smiled at the
thought that Graeme Adams might have the smug look
wiped off his face if he no longer got the exposure
that he had had in the past. If he was innocent then
he would at least be able to recover much of what
would be a temporary loss of influence; if he was
guilty the move might be a shot across his bows and
slow him down a bit, maybe even force him into a
mistake. Just at the end of the interview Martin
paused and then said,

"I am not convinced that this is the first time that
this killer has struck. I'd like to appeal to
colleagues - serving and retired - to let me know
whether they have any unsolved cases that bear any
similarity to the circumstances of these horrific
killings. I am particularly interested in any unsolved
killings involving the mutilation of the victim's
genitals."

Martin realised that this was a desperate ploy but he
deemed it worth the gamble as he might be able to
glean some extra evidence that would narrow the
search, even eliminate one or more of the suspects.
The interviewer had looked slightly surprised by
Martin's last remarks but the superintendent was
pleased to learn that they would be broadcast. The
television presenter shook hands with Martin who
thanked him for the opportunity to appeal to such a
wide audience and then left for home. Once home, he
and Tom had a quiet evening meal and then watched the
television for what Tom, half-jokingly referred to
Martin's 'big moment' and his 'fifteen minutes of
fame'. Martin responded that if he was to be famous
for that amount of time, after this particular
interview he would still have over ten minutes left.

Elsewhere in London Graeme Adams himself was preparing
for another performance in a major gay club. This was
one of his favourite venues, as it involved little
travel and even less preparation. It was also good
because he would almost certainly be able to have a
number of friends back for a party at the end of the
evening. The club was renowned for its clientele and
Graeme knew there would be plenty of people with who
he could mingle and network. Those whom he really
wanted to impress would be invited to continue their
revelry back at his luxurious apartment. Before he
left Graeme ensure that there were plenty of drinks,
food and movies as well as appropriate supplies of
condoms around to ensure that the select few would
have a good time and a night to remember. This
approach had brought Graeme to the top of his
profession and he hoped it would keep him there for a
long time to come. The only dark stain on his plan was
the ever-present plain-clothes police presence that
followed him everywhere he went. On a few occasions he
had given them the slip and, he hoped, tonight would
be another one of them.

After a leisurely meal, Steve and Harry left the
restaurant in a taxi and headed towards the gay club.
Harry and Steve arrived at the club just after eleven
that night. This much was confirmed by the subsequent
police investigation. However from this point onwards
the details were only pieced together long after the
events. At this time all that was known that six hours
after they entered the club, the mutilated bodies of
Steve Mason and Harry King (Busia) were found side by
side in open ground near a lay-by. The pair had died
as they lived, together.

News of the double killing came through to Scotland
Yard early on the Saturday morning. The urgent ringing
of the telephone woke both Tom and Martin. Martin took
the call with a sinking feeling in his stomach, an
emotion that was confirmed by the news he received.
Tom realised that the news was bad by taking one look
at the anguished look on Martin's face. Martin put the
telephone back and looked across at Tom,

"He's killed two people today. Do you think my
broadcast provoked him?"

Tom looked equally concerned, as much for his lover as
for the news, and replied,

"I wouldn't have thought that at all, not for minute."

Martin, however, was not really convinced. However,
there was work to do. He rang Mark and told him the
news. Mark said he would be round directly and they
would travel to the crime scene together. On the way,
Martin asked Mark the same question that he had asked
Tom and received from the Inspector a very similar
response to Tom's. Mark thought it highly unlikely
that the killer had seen the programme, let alone
reacted to its content. In these circumstances he
thought it unlikely that anything Martin had said on
the television would have made any difference to the
killer's actions. Martin was still not entirely in
agreement with Mark's logic but let the matter drop.
Mark reported that there was still no news on the baby
he and his wife were expecting but was sure it could
not be long now before Jamieson junior - son or
daughter - appeared. Martin made suitably encouraging
noises: he regarded Mark with considerable affection,
a kind of younger brother. Mark admired and liked his
superior and had been pleased to invite him and Tom to
his wedding. They had known each other almost from the
day Mark became a constable and had been assigned as
Martin's driver. When the opportunity came for Mark to
move across to detective work he had been more than
delighted to be 'head-hunted' by Martin and became an
early member of his team. Since joining Martin, Mark
had risen steadily in rank and was destined to go
further. Martin would be sad to see him leave but he
would never allow his personal feelings stand in the
way of deserved promotion for a fine police officer.
Although this point was left unspoken, both men knew
that it was the case.

Mark and Martin arrived at the all too familiar and
desolate scene of the latest murders and went straight
to the tented area where the bodies had been
discovered. The doctor had already given some
preliminary finding: the pair had died, like the
others, from some form of smothering, probably with a
plastic bag and had been mutilated after death. In
addition, the pair had died at roughly the same time
but had not been killed where they had been found. In
all probability they had been murdered and then driven
to the spot where they were finally dumped. The police
that were scouring the area found no evidence to speak
of in the area around the bodies and Martin and Mark
made the assumption that the killer had used the
lay-by as a convenient place from which to move the
bodies. The killer knew the areas he operated in well
and always chose areas that were well hidden from the
road and afforded cover for himself and his murderous
activity.

Satisfying himself that there was little more to be
done at the scene, Martin asked Mark to drive them
both back to the Yard. As always the need to identify
the bodies was a priority but he was also anxious to
get the main suspects in for another interview. To
Martin's surprise the identification of the victims
took the local police force very little time and the
names of Steve Mason and Harry King (Busia) were
quickly reported to him. It appeared that both men had
been actively involved in some work in their local
police area and the faces were well known in the
community. A press photograph was obtained and, armed
with this, Mark and Martin together went off to see
the suspects.

All four of the suspects had been tailed and so their
whereabouts should have been known. On further enquiry
Martin discovered that as far as the previous night
was concerned none of the four could be positively
accounted for. All four had at some stage gone to a
very busy gay club and their 'tails' had somehow
managed to lose them in the crowd. The four
plain-clothes officers responsible for the debacle had
a very uncomfortable interview first with Mark and
then with Martin who let rip at them as he relieved
much of his frustration. His anger subsided almost as
quickly as it began and he later apologised to the
constables for his bad language although not, he was
quick to add, at their failure to carry out their
orders effectively. Officers that had also been placed
outside the homes of the four suspects reported that
none of them had come home very early that night.
Graeme Adams had got back to his apartment sometime
around two-thirty, followed shortly after by two other
men who went into his apartment block. Joe Smith drove
home alone a little after three. Peter Collins
similarly arrived home by car at just about two and Ed
Wilson parked his car in the road outside his home at
just before two. On the basis of this information none
of the four could be ruled out but interviews with
them produced nothing new. All admitted to being at
the club and none of them had seen either of the
victims among the large crowd that was there. Graeme
Adams told officers that he had been involved with the
disco until quite late and then had met a couple of
friends and they had gone back to his apartment for
drinks. Although Joe Smith had spoken to a number of
people in the club, he had not met anyone he
particularly fancied that night and had gone straight
home. Peter Collins had hoped to meet Ed Wilson at the
club and they had made a tentative arrangement to do
so but neither found the other and they each had left
the club to go home separately, missing each other
probably by a few minutes. Martin was depressed at the
deaths and the lack of his ability to crack any of the
suspects. None had a concrete alibi but neither had
any of them a particular weakness in their account.
Martin's mind turned back to the main concern he had
which was the motive. Undoubtedly there was anger and
ferocity in the murders and the choice of victim
appeared so random, but there must be a connection
between them. Once he knew whatever the victims had in
common, Martin was certain, this would lead him to the
killer.

Two phone calls interrupted Martin's train of thought.


"Roberts", he said clearly.

An elderly voice came through the receiver,

"Hello superintendent Roberts. My name is David
Williams and I used to be an Inspector in Cardiff
until I retired a couple of years ago. I saw your
broadcast last night and I think I might have some
things to tell you. I had a case very similar, not
exactly so, mind, but similar enough - and it went
unsolved. A young man - oh what was his name, hold on
- yes, Darren Evans, just eighteen, killed -
suffocated - and his body dumped on waste ground.
Someone had tried to remove his genitals and more or
less succeeded but they made a terrible job of it, not
a clean cut at all, very messy. Still clothed as well.
So not exactly the same, but you might think it worth
a look at the evidence. I've got some stuff too. I
worked the case but I was nearly at my retirement so
when I went I don't think they assigned anyone new to
the case."

"Inspector Williams", Martin had waited long enough
before he interjected, "what you have to say may well
be useful. I'd like to come down as soon as possible.
It won't be today though as we've had another two
victims today but I will get down to you as soon as I
can."

"I'll look forward to seeing you soon. I'll leave my
number for you. I know how busy you are, oh, and
please call me Davy."

"All right, Davy. I'm Martin. I'll be with you as soon
as I can get away."

Martin needed to get the whole issue cleared with his
superiors and access to the records at Cardiff agreed
before he set off. Although this would not take long
to get, and he had a fairly free hand in pursuing his
investigation, Martin liked to do things properly.

Almost as soon as he had had replaced the receiver,
the phone rang again. Martin answered the call in his
usual way,

"Roberts"

"Hello Martin, it's Ruth. Is Mark there?"

"Hello Ruth, is it the baby? I'll get him right
away!!"

Martin was even more cheered by this news than he had
been by his conversation with Davy Williams. He placed
the phone on the desk and shouted for Mark. The
Inspector ran into the room and knew from the wide
smile on Martin's face that the call was from Ruth and
the baby was on the way. Martin discretely left the
room until he saw Mark replace the receiver.

Mark smiled at Martin,

"It's on its way, sir!!"

Martin smiled warmly back,

"Well, what are you standing here for. Get off to be
with Ruth and don't come back until she's settled back
at home. We can spare you for a day or two. I'll use
Matthews instead until you return. Of course I'll let
you know if anything else develops - or if I need you
urgently."

Mark thanked Martin and went off quickly to join his
wife at their local hospital maternity ward.

As soon as Mark had gone, Martin reached for the
telephone and summoned Inspector Bob Matthews to join
him. Matthews was another rather less bright inspector
who was about the same age as Martin and certainly not
quite in the same class either personally or in terms
of his career prospects as Mark. The change would mean
that Martin would have to postpone his visit to
Cardiff, which he had planned to make the following
day. Matthews was methodical and would do a sound job.
As soon as Matthews had arrived, Martin briefed him -
he was already involved with the case but had been
assigned a different area of responsibility and was
already working hard on collating background
information on the four suspects.

"I'm sure you can handle the additional responsibility
in until Mark returns, Bob." Martin said after he had
told him of the latest developments.  "I'm about to
clear a visit to Cardiff with upstairs so you'll have
to hold the fort for a day, probably not tomorrow or
maybe the day after."

"Certainly, sir, I'll do my best. One thing is
bothering me, sir, may I ask about it?"

Martin nodded and Bob Matthews continued,

"This double murder has got me thinking: could one man
do it and if so, how? Are we now looking for one
murderer or two?"

Martin looked thoughtful and paused for a moment
before replying,

"I was wondering about that myself but I am still of
the view that this is a lone killer. The two killer
theory explains some aspects but not others. Well, as
it happens, I think you can explain the double death
if we can show that one victim died before the other.
The medics will only say our two victims died within a
particular time range but it is not inconceivable that
one died a short time before the other. We can't rule
out there being two killers but my gut feeling is that
this is not the case. We're looking for a lone killer,
who is angry about something and that something,
whatever it is, links all the victims. Find the motive
and we'll be a lot closer to catching our murderer
than we are now!!"

Bob Matthews accepted this explanation and did not
press the point. Martin told him that he would like to
see him again the following morning and go over what
he had dug up on the suspects so far. Bob nodded and
realised that this was Martin's way of drawing the
conversation to end.

After Bob had left, Martin rang Tom to tell him about
Mark's imminent fatherhood and then, having got the
necessary authorisation to go to Cardiff, went home.
He hoped that he would be able to hear news of the
baby's arrival before he left for Wales. As he made
his way home, Martin wondered whether the new baby was
a good omen and that the information from Wales would
be just the link that had so far been missing.

TO BE CONTINUED...

If you liked this part of the story let me know
cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk