Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2008 14:53:39 +0000 (GMT)
From: Steve Rose <cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Martin's First case - Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER:

This is my first story for quite a while. Here is the seventh chapter. I
hope you feel it is worth the wait. Please not that 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.  Chapter 7

Throughout the day James Bryant had been getting increasingly agitated. For
the first time since the fateful night when he had been recruited into
Peter's organisation, the assassin felt that he was not in control of
events. Right from the first discussions about the operation James had
opposed the idea of staying in London longer than the few days that were
necessary for him to complete his assignment but his objections had been
overruled. Peter had told James that the cover story was that he was
visiting a very sick brother who was seriously ill in a local London
hospital and that would explain the odd hours that he would keep. The
controller had added that it would look very odd if the assassin did not
stay for a while so, very reluctantly, James had agreed to the arrangement,
but now he felt his caution had been vindicated.

The agitation James had already begun to feel was increased by two factors.
Firstly, he had seen the young Constable pick something up from the bushes
where he had been standing the previous day and then, later, he had seen
the same Police Officer staring straight at his window in the bed and
breakfast hotel where he was staying. Although he had seen Martin shake his
head and walk away, the assassin was convinced that his whereabouts would
soon be discovered. This sent the assassin's mind racing and he decided
that urgent action was required if he was to remain free.

Normally, if there was to be any deviation from the agreed plan, James was
expected to clear it with Peter before acting, so he decided to try one
more time to persuade his controller to let him leave early. An early
escape from the scene had been the highly successful method that had been
used in all his previous missions and James saw no reason why it could not
have worked on this occasion. If challenged he could tell the bed and
breakfast people that his relative had now recovered and would be returning
home soon. However, as James was unable to make direct contact, the
assassin was forced to leave a message asking Peter to contact him as soon
as he was able do so. In the meantime, the assassin decided that he would
take action on his own initiative.

Without thinking exactly what he intended to do next, James had concluded
that the Policeman he had seen was certain to work from the local Police
Station and so he went and stood outside in order to wait for the Officer
in question to go off duty. The next stage, James decided, would be to
follow the young officer to see where he lived. The first parts of the plan
worked out very well and, to the assassin's great relief, Martin neither
realised that he was being followed, nor recognised James' face when he saw
him standing outside the Police Station. Nevertheless, this still did not
satisfy the assassin, who decided that he would continue with his intended
course of action and follow the Police Constable all the way to his home.

The tail worked well and James was able to find out where Martin went,
although he remained unconvinced that a young man would own such a property
in that part of London. The assassin's plan, however, was still unformed
and his hopes of tailing Martin further were disrupted by the sight of two
other people following the young Officer and, furthermore, by Martin's
apparent intention of spending the rest of the evening out with the friends
he had met as he left the apartment block. James was not to know that the
young man had only gone round the corner to buy some fish and chips. The
assassin had a sudden cause for worry when Martin had started to cross the
road directly towards him, but the young man had then been distracted by
the calls from his friends to join them. James was also concerned over the
identity and purpose of the other two people that had been following Martin
and were in hiding on the opposite side of the road. The assassin had been
relieved when he realised that the two men had reached a similar conclusion
to his own about Martin's intentions and had drifted off home. This made it
clear that they were interested in Martin not him so, by the time the young
PC returned to his apartment block, James had gone back home, because the
assassin believed that there was something else he could do that night.

Arriving back at his bed and breakfast hotel, there was a message waiting
for James lying on the reception desk, on which was written a telephone
number that would enable him to make contact with Peter. Before he followed
up the message, the assassin decided that it would be best to check through
all his possessions to see whether he could work out what, if anything, he
might have lost at the scene of the crime. There was nothing immediately
obvious among his belongings and his hopes rose that perhaps all that had
been found had been a coin or some other untraceable object. On the other
hand, the Policeman had treated the find with considerable care, something
he would not have done had it seemed to be worthless. Thus it was that,
when he came to examine the park keeper's uniform he had been told to wear,
James discovered that one of the shiny buttons on the sleeve was
missing. In discussing the plans for the mission, the assassin had strongly
objected to having to wear the uniform, arguing that he should be able to
seek out his victim in his own manner. As usual, James had been overruled
and now it looked as though the stupid uniform could lead to his exposure
and arrest. The thought that Peter and his colleagues always knew better
than he did how he should complete his mission had always been a source of
anger in the assassin and this time he was even more furious than
usual. Now that he knew what the Police had found James decided that he
would telephone Peter immediately and again press his case for an immediate
escape.

Angry and upset though he was, the assassin followed the usual procedure
and found a public telephone box from which to make the call. James
reported to his controller that the Police had found a button from his park
keeper's uniform near the site of the murder and he was worried that they
might soon be able to identify him as the murderer. Again, the assassin
requested permission to leave that night and disappear as he usually did
for a few days after he had completed a successful mission. Once again,
Peter denied the request and tried to reassure his prot‚g‚ that there
was nothing to worry about. The controller added that he was confident that
the Police would not be able to trace anything back to James and did not
believe that they have the remotest clue where the assassin was
hiding. Peter urged James to remain calm, not to do anything rash and to
let matters settle down before leaving, as planned, at the end of the
week. Although the assassin reluctantly agreed to stay, his levels of
anxiety were unabated and he was determined to do as much as possible to
destroy or hide any evidence that might link him to the murder.

One thing James had deliberately not told his controller about was the
action he had taken in following Martin, nor was he willing to tell him
that he planned to get rid of the incriminating uniform as soon as he
could. Had Peter known this, he would have immediately ordered the assassin
to do no such thing, but, by the time he found out, the damage had been
done. Unaware that he might be making a grave mistake, James used the cover
of darkness to put his plan into operation.

As his cover for staying in London, the assassin had been given a false
name and the reason for his visit was the illness of his brother. The
people that owned the bed and breakfast hotel sometimes asked for news
about his brother and so James was able to give partially optimistic, but
non-committal responses, which enabled him to come and go at odd times
during his stay. On his return from telephoning Peter, the assassin told
the owner that, unfortunately, his brother's condition had taken a turn for
the worse and that he was likely to be out at the hospital for some
time. The news brought a sympathetic response and the owner asked if the
guest wished him to arrange a taxi, but the assassin replied that this
would not be necessary, as he would be meeting another family member and
they would travel together. The proprietor reminded James that if he was
going to be out late then he had better take the keys with him. The
assassin acknowledged this point, collected his keys and went up to his
room. Having found a small carrier bag into which he stuffed the park
keeper's uniform and then zipped it shut, James went downstairs and left
the bed and breakfast hotel.

The assassin knew that it would not be sensible to dump the uniform in the
park, even though the Police activity had been scaled down. James was aware
that the whole area had been thoroughly searched and if the uniform was
found quickly, as it very well might be, it would tell the Police two
things. The first thing it would tell them was that the clue the young
Police Officer had found was significant and the second was that the killer
was still somewhere in the vicinity or had been until quite recently. As
luck would have it, James had spent some of the time after the murder
wandering the streets that ran away behind his bed and breakfast hotel and
some distance from the main road and the park beyond. On his travels the
assassin had noticed that there was a small building site with several
large rubbish skips parked at the side of the road.  James calculated that
he should be able to walk to the location in less than twenty minutes,
spend a few moments making sure that the sealed bag was buried deep amongst
the rubble and other discarded building materials and then go to a pub for
a drink or two before returning to his room.

Although the plan appeared to be quite simple, things did not go quite to
plan.  It took James longer than he expected to locate the building site,
which he had last seen in daylight. Locating the place in the jumble of
streets, all of which looked so similar in the dark, proved more difficult
than expected. However, after some time, the assassin found what he was
looking for and made his way to what he hoped would be the more sheltered
side of the group of skips.  James found a suitable receptacle and delved
down into its contents so find a suitable space to hide the bag containing
the incriminating uniform. Looking all around to make sure that there was
nobody about, the assassin quickly dropped the bag into the skip, covered
it over with a suitable amount of rubble so that it was more or less
completely obscured to the naked eye and then moved away from the area as
quickly as he could go.

Careful though James had been, he had failed to notice that, just after he
dropped the bag into the skip and was making his getaway, a man walking a
dog had started to round the corner and, noticing what was happening, had
stepped back into the shadows so that he could observe more closely without
being seen. Bert Johnson had recently taken it upon himself to keep an eye
on the area around which he lived. Like many of his neighbours, he was
annoyed that people from outside the area often came into the local back
streets and dumped their rubbish in the building site skips and on the
roadside. Although he only caught sight of James as he was moving away from
the skip, Bert was fortunate because the perpetrator walked under a street
lamp and so he was able to get a reasonably good look at James' face. The
old man made a note of what had happened and memorised a description of the
man, because he was determined that the following morning he would report
what he had seen that night not only to the building firm that was working
on the site but also to the Police.

Oblivious to the fact that he had been spotted, James made his way to a
local pub and ordered a pint of bitter at the bar before sitting down in a
corner where he could drink his beer in silence. The pub was one of those
that had a recently introduced a jukebox and the assassin was able to sit
lost in his own thoughts while those around him sang along to the pop songs
that filled the air.  As he brooded about what he should do next, James
considered that he had very few real choices. One possibility was to ignore
what his controller had told him and simply make a run for it. James
doubted that anyone would make the connection between him and the murder if
he did so, but disobedience of Peter would almost certainly lead to his
being exposed as a sexual criminal. The second option would be to do as he
was told and stay put, leaving as planned at the end of the week. This was
the option that James' controller obviously favoured, but the danger was
that Peter might be mistaken as to how far the Police had got with their
investigation. Although the young Policeman had not apparently recognised
the assassin either outside the Police Station or outside his apartment
block, this might have been a temporary blip. If the Police could identify
the park keeper uniform as the source of the button that Martin had found
and somehow link him to it, then James would be in serious trouble.
Furthermore, the young Officer seemed to have some hunch about where the
murderer might be staying, hence the two occasions when Martin had stopped
and looked directly at the assassin's bedroom window. As he downed his
third pint of the evening, the already anxious assassin kept coming back to
the thought that all his problems stemmed from the fact that the young PC
knew something, but that, if Peter was right, he had not yet shared what he
suspected with his fellow Police Officers. With alcohol-induced clarity,
James began to form the opinion that the real solution to his problem was
to eliminate the one person who seemed to know the secret of his identity
and whereabouts or was getting close to it. Having reached this conclusion,
the assassin turned his mind to the best way to achieve his intended
objective.  James little suspected that the decisions he had just reached
would constitute the second grave error that he would make in a single day.

A small group of teenagers had gathered around the jukebox and James was
distracted from his thoughts by their presence. There were four young men
in their late teens, dressed in tight jeans and clutching pints of beer and
crowded round each other arguing over who should decide what to play
next. To one side stood a younger teenager, James guessed he was sixteen at
most, and this youngster was only on the periphery of the group of older
lads. The assassin's attention was immediately drawn to this young man, who
was drinking a soft drink and had one hand firmly wedged in the pocket of
his skin-tight jeans as he looked admiringly at the bulging jeans of the
group gathered at the jukebox.  The older man recognised the hunger and
longing in the younger teen's eyes; it was the same look that he was giving
the lad right at that moment. For an instant James and the young teenager
met each other's eyes and a flash of recognition of their shared interest
passed between them before they each looked quickly away. For some seconds,
the older man continued to stare at the teenager's jeans and was
overwhelmed with the desire to be the one with the hand in his pockets
feeling the undoubtedly rampant cock that lay hidden beneath it.

As he gazed at the youth, James could feel a stirring in his groin and,
before it got too obvious, he decided to move away from where he was
sitting. As he walked from the table towards the centre of the room, James
passed the younger teenager and again their eyes met and both seemed to
understand what the other wanted and needed. The older man strode towards
the bar, but appeared to change his mind and walked on towards the far end
of the room where the toilets were situated. Although he did not look
round, James knew that the young teenager had been secretly watching him
and the older man felt a thrill of excitement as he entered the door to the
bathroom. The door squeaked loudly as he entered and James was pleased to
note that there were two stalls as well as a long trough with no partitions
so he went to stand at the trough towards the far end and took out his
half-hard cock and released a gush of urine. The older man had not been
there above a minute when the door squeaked and the young teenager walked
tentatively into the toilet and looked straight at James, who turned to
give the youngster a better look at his long, uncut dick. The teenager made
eye contact with the older man, nodded and then walked more boldly towards
the urinal and took up a position as close as he could to where James was
standing. Letting go of his own fast hardening prick, James leaned over and
ran his hands over the bulging jeans of the horny youth, who sighed with
pleasure as he felt his cock being gently squeezed. A moment later and the
teenager's jeans had been unzipped and his rock hard, uncut cock was
exposed. James gripped the shaft firmly in his warm hands and the teenager
immediately reciprocated and eagerly started wanking the older man's larger
cock before whispering,

"You got a place to go, mister?"

James shook his head and nodded in the direction of the toilet stalls, but
this time the youngster shook his head and whispered,

"Too risky. We'll just have to have a wank here. Pity though, you have a
very nice cock!!"

The older man grinned at his younger partner and replied,

"Thanks. Yours isn't so bad either!!"

The horny youth stood back from the urinal to make more room and he and
James began to wank each other with increasing intensity. Each time he
performed a down stroke, James ensure that the youngster's foreskin came
right the way off the head and then was pushed back up as far as it would
go.  On several occasions the older man teased the youth's sensitive glans
and smeared them with pre cum. Finally, he leaned forward and took the
glistening cock head between his lips and heard his partner sigh loudly as
he did so. The teenager leaned back and let go of James cock as he felt his
own dick begin to react to the sucking it was receiving and whispered,

"Suck me hard, I'm going to cum!!"

The older man needed no further encouragement and sucked his young partner
with all the skill he had, James was gratified as the teenager moaned
louder and louder with pleasure until finally the older man received his
reward. The young teenager thrust his cock deep into James' mouth and
unleashed a volley of hot cream that filled the older man's mouth which he
eagerly swallowed as quickly as he could. The youngster was thrilled to
feel his dick throb and pulsate in his older partner's mouth and he
attempted to ensure that James received every last drop. After several more
seconds, however, the teenager's balls ran dry and the torrent of spunk
finally came to an end. James had eaten all that he had been given and had
been gently wanking his cock as he did so.  However, the older man's hopes
that his youthful partner would finish him off were dashed when the squeaky
door gave the horny pair warning that a stranger was on his way into the
toilet. The teenager immediately zipped up and went to the sinks to wash
his hands and James disappeared just in time into a toilet stall where he
closed the door and reached his climax, showering his ball cream into the
bowl. By the time he had flushed the toilet and opened the door, James
could see that the toilet was deserted and, when he went into the bar,
there was no sign of his recent sexual partner.

The interlude in the toilet had temporarily distracted the assassin from
his concerns and plans, but, now he was back in the real world, James
decided against another drink and made his uncertain way back to his bed
and breakfast hotel. There was nobody about to see the guest when he
arrived back and went straight up to his room. If James had hoped to get
some rest, he was to be disappointed. Issues kept going round and round in
his head as he remembered all sorts of things from his past and mixed them
into his present predicament.  Lying on his bed in the dark James was
assaulted on all sides with sensations and feelings that he found difficult
to understand or control. Slowly, he reached some firm conclusions. The
first was that he no longer cared about Peter and his organisation, nor did
he care about their so-called 'superior planning processes'. James was
about to take charge of his own destiny for once and he knew that he would
do a better job than any others could or would do. The second conclusion
James reached was that since he had disposed of the incriminating evidence,
there was only one other barrier to his complete escape and this was the
rather handsome Policeman he had seen the day before and followed earlier
that evening. Now that James knew where Martin probably lived, he would
return there in a few hours time and stake the place out. He was more than
a match for the two other people that seemed to be interested in the
Constable and he would see them off pretty quickly. At that moment,
however, another thought struck the assassin, rather than scare the other
two men off, it might be possible to incorporate them into his plans and
ensure that they took the blame for anything that happened. James decided
that he would incapacitate the Policeman but leave a trail of evidence
leading back to the hapless pair that had also been tailing
Martin. Believing that he had solved his problems, James finally drifted
off into a fitful sleep.

In Martin's flat, even though he did have a brief recall of being kissed
farewell several hours earlier Nick woke late and was disappointed that his
lover had left for work. Looking at the clock on the bedside table the
young man realised that it was quite late and he ought to get up and
dressed. When he walked into the kitchen, Nick found that Martin had left
all the things he needed for his breakfast laid out on the table so that
all his young lover had to do was to make some toast and coffee and he
would be all set for the day. Beside the breakfast things there was also a
brief note from Martin suggesting a few places that Nick might be
interested in visiting during the day and promising that, all being well,
the PC would be home not very late that evening. Nick greatly appreciated
the effort that Martin had made on his behalf and tried to think what he
could do in return. Although both he and Martin knew very well what they
would most enjoy, Nick decided that, after he had got dressed and had
eaten, he would go off to Charing Cross Road and seek out something really
interesting in one of the many bookshops that were to be found there.

By the time he was ready to leave, Nick was filled with an overwhelming
desire to speak to Martin and so he found the piece of paper on which the
older man had written his details and called the number. To the young
student's surprise, the telephone was answered immediately and he heard the
familiar voice on the other end of the line,

"Martin Roberts."

Nick responded immediately, but was slightly taken aback by his lover's
dull tone,

"Hi, Martin, it's me!! I was about to go out but I wanted to ring you to
thank you for letting me stay here and, of course, for last night. I also
thought I could tell you what I was planning to do with the rest of the day
before you come home and we go out to dinner."

This time, when he replied, the Constable's voice had more warmth,

"Hi Nick, glad to hear you are up!! Think nothing of being allowed to stay
in my flat, I can assure you that the pleasure was all mine. I'm sorry if I
sounded less than pleased to be answering the phone just now, but it has
been a very frustrating morning. I've been trying unsuccessfully to track
down the identity of the murder victim and all I've got to go on is that he
is European, probably Dutch, came to the area only a few months ago, but
may have been in the country for rather longer. So far, all my enquiries
with the Immigration people have been unsuccessful and it is getting very
frustrating. So, how about you?  What have you decided to do?"

Nick tried to think of something encouraging to say to his lover, but could
not do so,

"Sorry you are having a rotten day! I promise I'll make it up to you when
you get home tonight."

Martin sighed and interrupted the student to respond briefly, but
enthusiastically,

"Thank you, I'll look forward to that a lot!!"

Nick then continued,

"As far as I'm concerned I thought I'd go up to the bookshops on Charing
Cross Road, there's a few items I thought I might look for while I'm here
in London."

As he replied, Martin sounded a word of caution,

"Great idea, some of those shops have really a lot of good stuff, but it is
not always on obvious display. If you can't see what you're looking for, it
sometimes pays to ask. But also be warned, don't spend too much money in
the shops, I know how easy it is to get carried away. Oh, sorry I'm going
to have to end the call, as I my boss wishes to speak to me. If there are
any problems, I'll leave a message on the answering machine, so please
check it when you come back in. See you later and take care!"

Nick ended his side of the conversation,

"Of course I will and I'm sorry to have interrupted you at work it was just
that I wanted to hear and speak to you. See you later and remember I love
you!"

Martin felt a tingle of pleasure as he heard Nick's last words but was
unable to respond directly,

"And I do you! See you late. Bye."

Nick put the phone down, picked up the small map of Central London that he
had acquired and walked to the door to make his way to Charing Cross Road.
After he had visited several of the shops, the student was reminded how
easy it would be to spend a lot of money, but, heeding his lover's warning,
he restrained himself and only bought three books for himself and a fourth
for Martin, which would act as a token of appreciation for the older
man. Grabbing a sandwich, Nick walked back to the apartment as quickly as
he could, because he could see that the weather was deteriorating and he
had no outdoor coat.  Once inside the flat, Nick ate his lunch and then
wrote a quick note to accompany the book that he had bought for Martin. It
was a small volume, written by Martin's old Professor from Oxford, Richard
Smethurst, on the subject of Immigration into the USA during the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries. As it was now raining, Nick decided to stay in for
a while and read one of the new books he had just bought and wait until
Martin returned from work.

Across London, James Bryant had awoken later than he had hoped and was not
feeling at his best as he had a dull headache that reminded him that the
night before he had possibly drunk too much. He was too late for breakfast,
but did not worry unduly about that. Looking out of the window, the
assassin could see that the scale of Police activity in the park had been
greatly reduced and this brought him some relief. It was clear that
whatever the young PC had discovered was still not regarded as significant
and nor had they linked the discovery to the murderer, but James remained
convinced that it would not be too long before it was. Remembering his plan
from the previous evening, the murderer was annoyed that he had not been
able to put the first part into effect because of his lay-in. He had
intended to be up early enough to be at the Police Station in time for
Martin's arrival, but had missed that deadline by several hours. There was
no way to check whether the Policeman was at work that day, but the second
part of the plan could still be activated. James decided that he would
again stake out the apartment block where he had seen Martin the day
before. If the young man did not appear, then the assassin would have to
hope that there were no developments during the day and follow him again
the next day, until he found out where the young Constable really lived.

James left his bed and breakfast hotel wearing an old raincoat and walked
to the nearest Underground Station and made his way to Soho. When he
arrived, the assassin was slightly disappointed that there was no sign of
the other two men that had apparently been following Martin. On the other
hand, it was very early in the day and they might yet turn up later. The
one fly in the ointment would be if these two got to the PC before James
did, but the assassin reckoned that they would not do so, as the area
around his home was probably the place where Martin was most vulnerable. If
the other two unknown men did turn up, James intended to incorporate their
presence into his plans, although these were not yet fully formed. In the
meantime, the assassin found a small caf‚ with a good view of the area,
sat down in the window with a cup of coffee and waited.

After he had put the phone down on the call from Nick, Martin had made his
way into DCI Prior's office. The Senior Officer looked up and said,

"Well, Martin, are you making any progress on identifying the victim?"

The young Constable shook his head and replied,

"Not really, Guv, I've contacted Immigration and they have no records of
anyone answering the dead man's description entering the country from
Holland in the last twelve months. I've asked them to check back a bit
further but I'm not too hopeful."

The DCI looked concerned and said,

"I rather suspected this would be the case and I don't think that Sergeant
Smithers will spare you beyond the end of the week. If there is no
breakthrough before then, I'm afraid we'll have to scale down the
investigation until we have more useful leads."

Martin was disheartened by what he had heard, but understood the reasoning
behind it. He had just begun to dial the number of the Immigration service
again, when WPC Holly Wilson entered the CID Squad Room carrying a small
bag. The WPC explained that she thought that the uniform might be just what
the CID had been looking for. Martin's smile widened even more when he
heard Holly say that she had a witness who might be able to provide a
description of the man he saw dumping the bag. The young PC was excited by
this news, but Martin also realised that if it panned out then his chances
of an early night would disappear very rapidly indeed.

In a quiet moment Holly had explained how the discovery had come about. It
transpired that at the beginning of the day, when the Relief had received
its allocated tasks for the day, she and her partner had been allocated to
the Beat that took in the area around the bed and breakfast hotel where
James Bryant was staying. Among the pieces of intelligence they were given
was the news that the Police had received yet another report from Bert
Johnson about fly tipping. Sergeant Smithers had sighed loudly and, little
knowing how prophetic he was being, said,

"I know it is a bit of a pain, but when you have the time, go in and talk
to him.  He's a bit of an 'old woman' but keep him sweet, one day he might
prove useful."

Holly had acknowledged the point but was determined to pay the old man a
visit as soon as she could do so. However, this had taken longer than she
expected because the WPC and her partner were called away to another
incident and so, it was nearly lunchtime before they got round to calling
on Mr Johnson. The old man had, as usual, been delighted to see the two
Officers on his doorstep and told them what he had seen the night
before. Holly said that she would take a look straight away and so she, her
fellow Officer and Bert walked the short distance to the skips. PC Andy
Clarke climbed up to look inside but could not see anything unusual and
called down to the other two to report this observation. When Bert insisted
that he had seen the man dumping something the night before, Holly said
that she would take a look. The hawkeyed WPC just caught sight of a piece
of material well hidden among the builders rubbish and shouted down that
she could see what looked like a bag.  Andy climbed up again and jumped
into the skip and carefully moved the rubble and wood until the bag was
fully exposed and carefully lifted it out.

Once they had the bag on the ground, Holly unzipped it and all three were
surprised to see a dark uniform with shiny buttons stuffed inside it. Holly
knew from her casual conversations with Martin that the CID had been
looking for a man who might have been wearing a Park keeper's uniform in
connection with the murder that they were investigating. Holly turned to
Bert and said,

"Tell me, Mr Johnson, did you get a good look at the man who you saw
dumping something into the skip last night?"

The old man nodded and replied brightly,

"Certainly, I did. He was walking not far from me and I saw him clearly as
he stepped out into the light from a streetlamp."

The WPC tried to suppress her excitement and asked,

"Did you get a good look at the face, then?"

Bert Johnson nodded and was even more surprised when he was asked if he
would mind going to the Police Station to look at some photographs and help
an artist draw a picture of the face of the man.

Bert had only vaguely heard of the murder in the park but was pleased to be
able to help in any way he could in solving whatever crime the Police were
investigating. Once back at the Station, Holly had sent the bag to the
forensic team for further analysis. There was little doubt that the button
Martin found would match the uniform, but the chances of getting any useful
prints off the bag it had been hidden in were considered minimal. It was
not long before both these presumptions were confirmed. In the meantime,
Bert spent some time looking at photos but recognised none of them, so he
was asked to describe the man so that a drawing of his likeness could be
made. The old man was more than pleased with the likeness the artist drew
of the face of the person he had seen the previous night. WPC Wilson was
also delighted and had immediately taken the report on bag's contents and
the picture up to the CID squad room.  DCI Prior looked at the detailed
picture and announced that he wanted everyone to get to work straight away
and make contact with everyone they knew to see if they recognised the
person's face. The Senior Office also arranged that all the media would be
notified so that the picture would be printed in all the newspapers by the
morning.

Martin was now certain that he would not be coming home very early, as the
DCI had asked him to go back to the Doig's house to see if either of the
boys that lived there recognised the face. In addition, it was suggested
that the young PC might like to talk to his friends among the tramps that
lived in the park to see if any of them had seen the man.

As he had promised earlier, Martin had just enough time to phone his home
number with the intention of leaving a message for his young lover
explaining that he was now not likely to be home for some little while. He
dialled the number and was pleasantly surprised when he heard Nick's voice
answering his call. Martin spoke quietly,

"Hi, Nick, it's Martin. I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you. We've
had a major breakthrough in the case I'm working on and so it's all hands
to the pump so to speak. I've got quite a few things to do before I can get
away, so I'm not sure that I will get home in time for dinner with you
tonight."

As he replied, Nick tried not to sound too disappointed,

"I'm glad you've got a breakthrough, but sorry that I won't see you until
later.  Don't worry about dinner, I'll sort something out for myself and
then sit and watch the telly until you get back."

Martin could hear the disappointment in Nick's tone and again apologised
but both men accepted that there was nothing that could be done about
it. Martin did, however, come up with a suggestion of where Nick might go
to get something to eat,

"There's an excellent Chinese takeaway not more than ten minutes walk from
the flat. Go out of my building, turn right and then left and it's about
five minutes walk on the same side of the road."

Nick acknowledged the information,

"Good idea. I'll go there in a little while. Should I get two portions?"

Martin sighed as he replied,

"Best not. I've no real idea when I'll be home, all I know is that it will
be late."

Nick responded, as cheerfully as he could,

"OK. I'll wait up for you and remember I love you!!"

Martin finished the conversation,

"And the same from me to you! See you later!!"

The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it looked both cold and wet
outside. This was a nuisance, as Nick had not brought any kind of raincoat
with him. Fortunately, he saw the old rain jacket and cap that Martin had
worn the night before and, realising that they were of similar build,
decided that, when he did go out to get the takeaway, he would wear those
clothes. As he was walking slowly back to the apartment earlier in the day,
Nick had noticed what looked like a shortcut that would cut off the corner
of the road and make his journey to the Chinese that much quicker. Although
this would involve walking down a narrow alleyway, flanked by dark recesses
on either side, places where, at night, muggers and robbers could easily
hide, it would still be broad daylight when he went out and so the route
seemed to pose no specific dangers.

Sometime later, from the caf‚ where he had been sitting all afternoon,
the assassin saw a figure dressed in the same clothes that Martin had been
wearing the night before, leave the apartment building. As James had not
seen Martin return from work, he came to the conclusion that the young PC
must have been off-duty that day and was going out somewhere for the
evening. As he was determined that on this occasion his plans would not be
thwarted, the assassin paid for his coffees and left the caf‚. This time
there were no impediments, so he could follow the young man with ease and
safety. James watched with growing pleasure as the figure he was going to
follow turned into the alleyway where the other two men had hidden the
night before and quickened his step.  Although the young man was several
yards ahead, he was walking quite slowly and it was relatively easy for the
assassin to close the gap between them.  Moving swiftly and silently, James
caught up the figure in front and, having ensured that the alleyway was
deserted, got close enough to deliver a sudden and effective blow. Nick had
not heard the approaching man and was lost in his own thoughts. Even as
James raised his arm to deliver the fateful blow, the young student was
unaware of the assassin's presence.

One moment Nick was daydreaming about the fun he and Martin would have
later that day and over the weekend, the next there was nothing, just
blackness. Without emotion, James Bryant watched as the lifeless body
slumped to the ground. Stepping over the lifeless corpse, the assassin
retreated from the scene as fast as he could and walked out into the main
road.

Although he knew he should have done so, James did not leave the scene
completely because he wanted to see if the other two men turned up, which,
to his delight, they did some thirty minutes later. They did not, however,
go to where they had hidden the day before but stood in the doorway of a
nearby shop. James walked up to the two strangers and, pretending to be
lost, asked directions. As one of the men was fumbling around with his
street map, the assassin used another skill he had acquired over the years
to pick his pocket.  Thanking the two men for their assistance, James
walked off in the direction they had indicated, but once out of sight, he
changed direction. James knew that he could enter the alleyway where the
body was lying from the other end.  The stranger's wallet contained a
credit card and some other personal items and, when it was safe for him to
do so, James removed these and carefully scattered them near the body that
lay, still undetected, on the ground. Once he was satisfied that he had
achieved all that he set out to do, James, believing that he had covered
all the bases, left the area and made his way back south of the river.

After he had spoken to Nick, Martin had left the Police Station and headed
across the park to the Council estate where the Doigs lived. Mrs Doig was
distinctly unenthusiastic when she saw the young PC standing on her
doorstep.  A third visit from the Police in such a short space of time was
not going to do the reputation of her family any good at all. Nevertheless,
she had no option other than to show Martin in to see her two sons. As
before, Ian and Colin were perched on the sofa watching television and
hardly acknowledged the Officer's presence. Martin produced a photograph of
the Park keeper's uniform and showed it to the two boys. In response to his
question, both of the youngsters confirmed that it looked very much like
the uniform each of them had seen being worn by someone in the park a few
days earlier. However, they were not so certain when it came to recognising
the face of the man in the drawing, which Martin had showed them next. At
best Colin said it looked quite similar to the person but the man he had
seen had been some distance away and the teenager could not be sure and
Ian's response followed a similar line to that of his older brother. Martin
realised that this was likely to be the best he could hope for and accepted
that he would not get a positive identification from the two young
witnesses and so he took his leave.

After he returned to the park it took the young PC some little time to
locate 'Prince Albert' and his friends, but eventually Martin tracked them
down. The Constable found the old man and started by telling them of the
latest developments. After Martin had finished, the old vagrant seemed
surprised and pleased, but then said in a harsh tone,

"Well, it sounds as though the murderer was not one of us then, doesn't
it?"

Martin nodded and pressed ahead with showing the drawing to the older man,
who said that, although he personally had not seen the person in the
drawing, he would ask around to see if anyone recognised the face. With a
promise that he would return in a short while, 'Prince Albert' took the
photograph and the drawing from Martin, turned on his heels and walked
away, making it very clear that he did not expect the young Constable to
follow him. After what seemed like an age, but in reality was only a few
minutes, the old tramp returned.  Martin saw that 'Prince Albert' was
accompanied by a female companion, who shuffled along beside him. The
elderly lady did not look up but, after some prompting from 'Prince
Albert', did begin to speak. In a flat monotone the woman said,

"I recognise both the uniform and the face of the man in the drawing. I saw
him in the park last weekend, I think that it was on Saturday. I did not
see him again until after the murder when I saw him leaving the park
shortly after the body of the victim had been taken away. I haven't seen
him since."

After she had made her statement, the female tramp turned straight around
and walked back in the direction from which she had come, watched by Martin
and 'Prince Albert', who said,

"That's the most she's said in all the years I've known her, but she wanted
to help. I doubt if she'd be willing to go to Court but I hope it helps."

Martin reassured the old vagrant that the information was very useful and
asked him to convey the Constable's thanks to the unnamed witness. 'Prince
Albert' replied that he most certainly would and then he, too, decided that
it was time to leave. Before disappearing back into the wooded area where
he and his colleagues chose to live, the old vagrant paused a moment to
shake Martin's hand.

Elated by what he had been told, the young PC decided to make his way back
to the Police Station to report what he had discovered.  When Martin
arrived back in the CID Squad Room, only the DCI was still there, but he
seemed genuinely pleased with the news that the young Constable had brought
back,

"Well, it looks as though we are working on the right track now. We've got
a link between the face and the uniform confirmed and I confidently expect
that once the face appears in the national press tomorrow morning, we'll
soon pick him up."

Martin replied enthusiastically to this positive comment,

"I hope so, too, Guv!"

DCI Prior looked at his watch and said,

"It's getting very late, I suggest that you make your way home now and be
back here bright and early. You've worked very hard on this case, harder
than I expected and I'd hate you to miss the conclusion of this
investigation."

The young PC smiled and replied,

"Thanks, Guv,"

As he left the Squad room, Martin smiled with pleasure at the prospect of a
really serious case being resolved at least partially as a result of his
efforts.  The young Constable's good mood continued as he made his way
home.  Although he was tired from his day's activities, the thought of
seeing Nick again and enjoying a repeat of the previous night's sexual
activity brought renewed vigour to his body. Thus enlivened, Martin
travelled home on the London Underground full of anticipation and could
hardly wait to get out of the train at his destination and walk the short
distance from there to his apartment block. However, as he turned the
corner to get into his road, the young man's mood changed abruptly. The
scene that greeted him sent a shudder of foreboding through Martin's
body. The young man could see a lot of Police activity, centring on the
alleyway that ran as a short cut from the main road towards his
building. There was also an ambulance and a Police cordon roping off the
immediate area.

Martin walked as quickly as he could towards the entrance to his apartment
block, but was stopped before he could reach it by a very young Police
Officer, who looked hardly old enough to be in the Force. Looking at
Martin, the young Constable gave an explanation,

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't come in here. A man has been found dead in
the alleyway just over there and only people who have anything to do with
the investigation can go beyond this point."

Martin acknowledged the PC's comment with a nod of understanding, but then
replied,

"I understand fully, I'm in the Force as well, my Station is just south of
the River, but I live in this block of flats."

Martin gave the young Officer his name and the number of the flat where he
lived and this information seemed to cause some concern as the Constable
asked him to repeat what he had just said. By way of confirmation, Martin
showed his Warrant Card. Once satisfied, the PC asked Martin to wait then
walked away to find a more senior officer. A few moments later, Detective
Inspector Gary Scott came over and Martin was forced to repeat the details
he had already given. When he had finished, the Senior Officer replied,

"I'm sorry to have to put you through this, but we were under the
impression that you were the victim. We found an envelope with your name on
it in the pocket of the dead man. You haven't given any of your clothes
away recently, have you?"

The Inspector's words had sent a shiver of horror through Martin as the
realisation that the victim was almost certainly Nick Adams. Fighting hard
to maintain his composure, the young man replied,

"No, but I have someone called Nick Adams staying with me at the moment. It
is possible that he went out having borrowed one of my coats. Can you tell
me where he was found and how he was killed?"

Gary Scott paused for a moment before responding,

"Before I tell you that, I think it would be best if you came with us and
checked that your friend is not in your flat. We don't want to make a
second error in identification. If Mr Adams is not there, then we will have
to talk about a formal identification. How did you know Mr Adams?"

This time it was Martin's turn to hesitate as he tried to decide how much
he should say about his relationship with Nick. In the end, he decided that
there was no point in lying,

"I met Nick at a party a short while ago and we hit it off. He's a student
at Oxford and told me that he was coming to London for a few days and I
offered to put him up while he was here."

The Inspector eyed Martin closely and then said,

"And exactly how close was your relationship with Mr Adams?"

This time Martin answered without a pause,

"We were lovers."

The Inspector showed no emotion and made no comment, but led Martin through
the cordon and escorted him up to his flat. Both men already knew that they
would find the place empty, but went through the motions. As expected, the
flat was in darkness and the only thing that Martin noticed was the little
pile of books on the table, including the one that Nick had bought as a
present for his host. Once it was clear that there was nobody at home the
Inspector said quietly,

"I'm sorry, it looks as though the victim could well be your friend. He was
found in the alleyway just up the road. He'd been struck by a single blow,
a kind of karate chop or something of that sort, and died instantly."

Martin took the information in and sat in silence for a few minutes, after
which the Inspector spoke again,

"I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but where were you earlier this
evening?"

Martin smiled weakly and, still sounding shocked, replied,

"I was on Duty. As you know I'm in the Police Force too and currently, I'm
seconded to CID and I am involved with the investigation of a murder in one
of our local parks, which is on my regular Beat. If the dead man is Nick,
as seems likely, I believe that it may have been a case of mistaken
identity. I found a clue the other day and it is possible that the murderer
was after me. From what you have said it would seem that the method used to
kill Nick is the same as the one used to kill our victim."

Gary Scott nodded, but the tone of his reply sounded less than convinced,

"I suppose it might be possible, but we found some other clues around the
body which point to someone that might be our chief suspect. Does the name
Paul Turner mean anything to you? Is that the man you are looking for do
you think?  We found a credit card and other items belonging to someone
with this name all around the body."

Martin looked blankly back but then said,

"Yes, I know Paul, but I don't think he's our man, in fact I'd say
definitely not.  He is facing a Disciplinary Board and he blames me for
getting him into trouble and I have been warned that he might try to get to
me and beat me up, but as for murder, I doubt it. In any case, I have to
tell you that he is not very tall and, as far as I know, has no martial
arts training. In my view it would have been very difficult for him to kill
anyone with a single blow as in our case and the one that you are
investigating. Perhaps you might like to talk to my DCI, Bob Prior, at my
home Station about it all, I sincerely believe that you and he are both
looking for the same man!"

At this point, a WPC entered the flat and Inspector Scott indicated that he
wanted her to look after Martin, as he would have to leave. Turning to the
traumatised young man, the Investigating Officer,

"You may be right. I will have to talk to your DCI in any case because of
the murder here. If you are correct and the two crimes are connected, it
may be bad news for you because of your connection to tonight's victim, I
doubt if you will be allowed to continue with your participation in the
other investigation.  Whatever is decided, thanks for your help. I'm afraid
I have to go now but WPC Mary Southall will be here for as long as you need
her. If there is anyone else you would like us to contact to if they could
stay with you overnight perhaps you could let her know and she will try to
arrange it for you."

Martin thought to himself that the person that he most wanted to have with
him overnight was Nick but that was not possible. The alternative that the
young man considered and then rejected was Freddy Eversley. In the end,
therefore, Martin shook his head, indicating that there was nobody that he
could think of that would fit the bill at such short notice. The Senior
Officer accepted the response and then, as he left the room, Gary Scott
turned and added,

"By the way, in case we need to get in touch with them, do you know who was
Nick Adams' next of kin?"

Martin shook his head to indicate that he could not help with this last
question and then watched silently as Inspector Scott left him alone with
the WPC, who offered to make a cup of tea. While the drink was being made,
Martin idly leafed through the book that had been written by his old
Professor and that Nick had obviously bought for him. As he did so, he
stopped on a Chapter covering German immigration into Pennsylvania and a
sudden though struck him, something that might prove to be very significant
in helping to identify the victim of the murder in the park. As Martin was
considering how pleased DCI Prior would be at this insight, the young
Constable was struck by the fact that he might be prevented from passing
this information on if, as was now certain, he was to be taken off the
case.

After he had drunk the cup of tea that Mary Southall had made for him,
Martin said that he would prefer to stay in the apartment overnight on his
own and suggested that Mary could leave whenever she wanted to do so. After
a short delay, Inspector Scott also sent a message to say that Officers
would be on duty outside and inside the apartment block in case the killer
tried again, although this was unlikely, as the murderer would not yet know
that the wrong person had been murdered. Under the circumstance it the
message concluded that she could WPC could leave and she took her leave.

Sitting alone in his flat Martin sat quietly wondering when he would hear
the news that he was dreading that the Police were now certain that the
dead man was indeed Nick Adams. It was not until he had finally gone to
bed, however, that Martin gave way to the overwhelming feelings of
grief. Each time he tried to get to sleep, images of Nick's face and
beautiful body danced before the distraught lover's eyes and he struggled
to control his emotions. The thought that he would never see, touch, smell
or make love to the dead man was just overwhelming and Martin wept
uncontrollably. Eventually tears gave way to anger: anger at a life so
uselessly cut short; anger too that he might not be allowed to bring the
culprit to justice. Sometime in the small hours, Martin finally succumbed
to a short and fairly restless sleep. Martin awoke with a start; someone
was ringing the doorbell of his flat. It took the young man a few seconds
to register and then remember all that had happened in the last twenty-four
hours.

If you have any comments on this story please send your comments to me at
cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk