Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 12:24:05 +0000 (GMT)
From: Steve Rose <cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Martin Roberts/ / Party Games - 4

Please excuse the delay in posting this chapter but
this was due to undforeseen circumstances.
DISCLAIMER:

This is a story. None of the characters in the story
exist and the events that take place are purely
imaginary.

WARNING:

Do not read this story if you are in any way offended
by acts of a homosexual nature.

Do not read this if you are under the legal age for
accessing adult sites.

Always indulge in safe sex.

Chapter 4

While Kenny and Andy's day had started well and got
better, the Commander's had started badly and did not
improve much at all. Martin had hardly got off to
sleep before the telephone ringing awaked him.
Although his partner, Tom, stirred next to him, Martin
got up quickly, knowing that the call was unlikely to
be for anyone but him. He was right and he heard the
voice of Superintendent Ron Alder,

"I'm sorry, sir, but somehow the press have got hold
of Nick Trafford's name and we are being pestered from
a statement. I'm trying to hold the line that we have
not yet completed the formalities but they won't
swallow that for much longer."

Martin knew that his deputy was right and, as he
pulled on his clothes, he glanced at the time and then
responded,

"You're perfectly correct, Ron. Tell them, I will make
a formal statement at Scotland Yard in thirty minutes.
That should still catch the last edition of the papers
and be early enough for breakfast radio and
television.  I'm on my way."

Martin leaned down and kissed his lover and then went
to the front door and quietly let himself out and,
unusually for him, took the car and drove himself to
Central London. By the time the Commander arrived a
large number of members of the media had already
gathered and some shouted questions at him as he drove
into the parking area. Martin remained silent and went
straight to the Press Unit and was met there by Ron
Alder who looked somewhat upset by the course of
events. Noticing this, the Commander said quietly,

"Nobody's to blame, it was bound to happen. I'd have
liked more time but I doubt if we'll ever find out
whether it was a careless remark by someone at the
scene or simply good investigative stuff from the
journalists. I won't say much now but give them enough
to write their story. Let's go and face the wolves!!"

Martin entered the room to a battery of lights and the
flash of cameras and then he read a short statement,

"Although we are still officially awaiting formal
identification, I am now prepared to confirm that we
believe the body found last night on Hampstead heath
was that of Mr Nick Trafford, MP. We found a wallet
and a House of Commons pass bearing his name among the
effects on the body. I wish to extend our sympathy to
the family of Mr Trafford who have been kept informed
of developments and to his friends and parliamentary
colleagues. At present I do not have anything further
to add. However, I would like again to appeal to
anyone who was in the area between seven and nine
o'clock last night, regardless of why they were there,
to come forward and please get in touch either
directly with us or with your local police. It is
possible that someone may not realise it but they
could be in possession of what to them seems a trivial
piece of information but which could prove to be vital
information that could help us catch the killer. Thank
you."

Immediately there was a clamour from the journalists
but gradually a semblance of order broke out and
Martin responded to the questions,

"Commander, do you know how Mr Trafford died?"

"We are obviously awaiting the findings of the post
mortem but all indications are that he suffered a
severe blow to the head."

Commander, do you know why the gay MP was up on
Hampstead Heath? Was he cruising for sex?"

Martin frowned at the person who shouted this question
and recognised a journalist from one of the more
sensationalist tabloids and his mind imagined the
lurid headlines that his answer was likely to produce
however carefully he phrased his answer. After a pause
the senior policeman responded,

"At present we have no idea why Mr Trafford was where
he was. We do know that he was expecting to speak at a
meeting elsewhere in North London a little later in
the evening. If there is anyone out there who is aware
of a prior meeting we would be grateful if they would
get in touch. As for your second question, obviously
we are not in a position to rule out any possibility
at this stage but I find the idea that Mr Trafford was
using the Heath to engage in sexual activities not a
very likely explanation of his presence."

The journalist persisted,

"But you can't rule it out?"

Martin sounded irritated as he replied,

"No, I just said I'm not ruling anything out and, of
course, the post mortem will indicate whether the
victim had been involved in recent sexual activity. I
am prepared to speculate at this time but I will say
that the evidence at the crime scene did not point in
the direction that you are asking about."

Another journalist entered the fray,

"Are you saying there was no evidence to support the
theory that he was cruising?"

Martin regretted even allowing questions and wanted to
cut matters short,

"What I am saying is that Mr Trafford was fully
clothed when he was found and that we discovered no
obvious evidence of sexual activity. We are as aware
as you are of the purpose that some people have for
going to the Heath but nothing points in that
direction as far as this victim is concerned at the
present time. Again, these matters cannot be
conclusively determined until the results of the post
mortem examination. I will give as much information as
I can once that has been completed. Thank you,
gentlemen."

Martin folded his paper and left the room ignoring
further shouted question and returned rather in rather
low spirits to the Press Unit. The Commander could
already see the sensational headlines in the tabloids
and this depressed him. Martin's pessimism was not
misplaced. The last editions of the papers were
delivered to the Press Unit and the tabloid headlines
were as the Commander had predicted.

One headline read, quite moderately,

'BLACK, GAY LEFT WING MP FOUND MURDERED ON HAMPSTEAD
HEATH'

However another read,

'WAS MURDERED GAY BLACK MP "CRUSING"?'

The tabloid headline was followed by a sub heading
that ran,

'TOP MET COMMANDER "CANNOT RULE OUT POSSIBILITY"'

Martin inwardly groaned and the prurience of the
coverage and the lack of balance. The carefully
crafted appeals for people to come forward and give
information had been ignored and Martin knew that many
potential witnesses would be scared off by the
possibility of unwanted publicity and in his heart of
hearts the Commander could not blame them.

Martin had intended to attend the Nick Trafford's post
mortem, which had been scheduled for early that
morning and he wanted Mark Jamieson to come along with
him. This would leave Mike Rickwood free to remain in
command of the search for evidence from the scene of
crime. However, the second unpleasant surprise of the
day saw the Commander forced to make a radical change
of plan. A summons came from the Commissioner
requesting Martin to attend at meeting at which the
Home Secretary would also be present and which was
scheduled to start half an hour before the post
mortem. The Commander had no option other than to ask
Mark to go to the hospital and for the Superintendent
to take another senior officer with him to attend as
well. Meanwhile, Martin would have to be in the
meeting with the Home Secretary and the Commissioner
and he wondered what could be so urgent that his
presence was needed at such an early hour. As soon as
he arrived at the meeting, the Commander got the
answer to his question. Sitting alongside Sir Thomas
Brown and James Broadbent was another man whom Martin
recognised. He was Donald Gough who was a member of
Special Branch and a man who had crossed swords with
the Commander on a number of occasions and between who
there was a fair degree of animosity. Having offered
the Commander a coffee, which he gratefully accepted,
he Commissioner began the meeting,

"I don't think there is any need for introductions and
we all know why we are here, so I want to get on as
quickly as possible. The Home Secretary asked Donald
Gough to come today because Special Branch have some
information which may be of use in the investigation
of Nick Trafford's murder. Perhaps you would care to
share it with us, Donald?"

The Special Branch officer looked at the other three
and then opened a small document case and withdrew a
file before he spoke,

"As you may be aware, we have a role in the vetting
and investigation of people who are being considered
for promotion to the Government and Nick Trafford was
certainly a `rising star' as far as some members of
the present administration are concerned. Obviously
they want to know about any skeletons that might
embarrass the Party or the government. As things
stand, Mr Trafford had a very colourful and
controversial past but all out in the open, so the
fact that he was gay, left wing and into various
campaigning causes was well known. Whatever we might
think about them, he appeared to be squeaky clean in
the narrow sense of the investigation except for one
thing. At very irregular intervals over the past few
months, he has disappeared for a day or maybe two and
we have not been able to find out where he goes or
what he does. We tried to follow him but he always
seemed to give us the slip. It is possible he was
killed because of what he was doing on these
mysterious days away.  In the file I have here are
details of the days and times of these occurrences and
it has been agreed that in the circumstances you
should be given access to the information."

Donald Gough slid the file down the table towards
Martin who gave a grim smile of thanks but before he
could respond, James Broadbent was speaking,

"As Home Secretary I have authorised this disclosure
Martin as evidence of my wish for you to be unfettered
in your investigation of the murder. I have also
cleared it with the Palace of Westminster authorities
that they will offer you and senior members of your
team, specifically Superintendent Jamieson and Chief
Inspector Rickwood, their full cooperation and
assistance in getting into the Palace and MPs officers
should that be necessary. Perhaps I ought to tell you
that I saw Nick Trafford last night immediately after
he had spoken in the House. I invited him to join me
for dinner but he said he was going to speak at some
party meeting. So he was alive and well in Westminster
about eight o'clock. It's not clear to me why he was
in Hampstead, I thought he said his meeting was
somewhere further north. I guess you thought of that
as well didn't you, Commander? I'm sure you did. Don't
want to interfere in your conduct of the case but
there is one other factor that I am concerned about
and that is that the name leaked out so quickly,
especially as I seemed to be reassured last night that
it would be kept under wraps so to speak for as long
as possible. Do you know yet how this happened?"

The Commissioner's initial smile faded and he glared
across the room for a second before once again,
beaming at the other three as he responded,

"Thank you, Home Secretary, your support and
assistance are much appreciated as I am sure the
Commander would agree. We, on our part, will make
every effort to unravel the mystery and expose the
murderer as quickly as we can. Maybe that will put an
end to the kind of headlines in today's morning
papers, we can but hope!! In the meantime I feel sure
that we will do our best to stop any leaks at our end
and investigate the leak that has already taken place.
Don't you agree, Martin?"

It was clearly Martin's turn to speak and so he made
his guarded response,

"First of all, Donald, thank you for the file and
also, thank you Home Secretary, for the arrangements
you have put in place. I am grateful. Secondly, I
agree with you, sir. In my view, the press have been
less than helpful and I am concerned that they will
scare off potential witnesses but I suppose they have
an agenda of their own. I will, of course, try to find
out if anyone from our team is responsible for the
early release of the victim's name but I doubt if we
will ever know for certain. I will ask Ron Alder to
investigate and report back but it may not have been
deliberate and it may not even have come from our side
at all and merely been the result of a lucky guess or
good investigative journalism. As far as the
investigation is concerned, I can promise you that my
team and I will do our best to resolve this matter
quickly even though at present we have not much
evidence to go on. The autopsy is taking place about
now and that should hopefully put an end to some of
the more lurid press speculation. I have Mark Jamieson
attending that and I expect we will have some
preliminary results quite soon. I will obviously be
talking to Mr Trafford's office staff today and also
to the other MP, David Newman and his staff as they
shared the office with him. In light of the
information from Donald and the file he has given us I
will follow up on the information in the dossier and
if possible I will be make a renewed appeal for
witnesses based on the dates and places mentioned in
there. Finally, Chief Inspector Mike Rickwood has a
team out on Hampstead Heath combing the area for
possible clues, any and other evidence such as the
murder weapon and searching out witnesses. Naturally,
I will report any developments to you, sir, as soon as
I can. I assume that you will want to brief the home
secretary personally but naturally I will be happy to
attend should you wish"

Sir Thomas Brown again smiled at the group but it was
clear that the meeting was coming to an end and Martin
and Donald Gough got up to leave. James Broadbent,
however, remained seated and said,

"There are one or two other matters I need to discuss
with the Commissioner and as I'm here I thought it
best to do them now but I can say this, Martin, I have
told Sir Thomas that any additional resources you need
should be put at your disposal. I'm sure I speak for
everyone in the government when I say we would like
this matter resolved as soon as possible and, I know I
don't have to add, as tactfully as possible too!"

Martin nodded and as he left smiled and said,

"Of course."

Outside the room, Martin and Donald walked down the
corridor, a wary silence bordering on hostility
clouding them as they went. Martin eventually broke
the strained silence and said,

"Is there anything else that your lot has got on Mr
Trafford that I can or ought to know about?"

The Special Branch officer stopped and turned to look
the Commander in the eye and responded, coldly,

"Nothing that is not already public knowledge, only
what is in the file. What I said in the meeting was
all we have. It is unfortunate that we were not able
to solve the riddle of his disappearing act. I hope
that you have better luck, I honestly do. I don't know
if I'll be involved again in this case. I doubt it
somehow. Anyway, good luck and, even though I cannot
say that we are sorry to see the back of Trafford who
seemed to us to be a dangerous man and not the sort to
be in government, I hope you catch whoever did it."

"Thanks for that. I have a feeling I'm going to need
all the luck I can get especially as I'll be under a
lot of press and political pressure."

Without another word, Donald Gough left Scotland Yard
and Martin returned to his office, calling first to
see whether Ron Alder had any news. There was nothing
more to report a summary of media coverage to date was
being prepared and the Commander would receive it
shortly. Martin acknowledged the efforts being made
but motioned the Superintendent into his office and
closed the door and said,

"I'm sorry to have to lumber you with this as well but
the Commissioner wants a report on whether we were
responsible for the early release of Nick Trafford's
name to the press. I told him I doubted that we would
ever know but I think we need to be able to provide
him with some evidence to support that. I guess you
better ask the men who were on duty at the murder
scene last night and do a bit of digging. The leak
could have come from anywhere or, as I said to
Commissioner, it could have resulted from good
journalism or a lucky guess. Do your best but I'll be
happy if the result turns out to be inconclusive. On
the other hand, if we do have someone on the team who
is leaking information, then I want to know so that we
can deal with it effectively and stop it right now!"

Ron Alder acknowledged his senior officer's request
with a sigh but knew that Martin had no alternative
and that if his last statement was correct and there
was someone leaking information that might compromise
the investigation, then it was vital they were
discovered and dealt with.

While Martin had been with the Commissioner,
Superintendent Mark Jamieson had invited Inspector
Alison Young, Aly to her friends, to go with him to
attend Nick Trafford's post mortem examination. Aly
was a recent addition to the squad. Six months ago she
had met the Superintendent at a training course prior
to which she had taken the common view among the
majority of Metropolitan Police officers that the
Special and Sensitive cases squad was a mysterious
group of weirdoes, led by an openly gay Commander. It
was true that Martin Roberts was also regarded with
some degree of admiration for his culture, intellect
and caring attitude and as an officer that got results
but, even so, the squad was not seen as a suitable
career move for an ambitious officer. The meeting with
Mark had changed Aly's attitude and she had decided to
apply for a posting as soon as an appropriate opening
became available. To her own surprise and perhaps some
of her colleagues, she gained acceptance into the
squad as one of its new Inspectors. Aly joined the
squad at about the same time that it was announced
that Mark Jamieson would be taking over the day-to-day
running of it. Inspector Young was a woman of medium
build, with a good complexion and a small
well-proportioned face. What Martin noticed and Mark
as well was that behind the innocent smile there was a
sharp brain and a pair of shrewd and knowing eyes.
Although not pretty Aly had an attractive quality that
appealed to many different kinds of men She dressed
smartly and looked quite formidable when she chose to
be but was also sensitive and had a caring streak that
Mark had identified at their first meeting, a
characteristic that had led him to press Martin to
appoint her. The Commander, aware that he would soon
lose his immediate control of the squad, was happy to
agree with his friend's recommendation.

When she was approached to go to the hospital with the
Superintendent, Aly's heart had practically missed a
beat and she could have bit Mark's hand off. This was
her first really big assignment and, in less than no
time after joining the squad, here she was,
accompanying the Superintendent to the autopsy of the
victim of the most highly publicised murder case in
the country.

The pathologist, Stephanie Fox, was in many ways the
opposite of what you would expect. She was a small
woman, rather over weight for her age. She had a stern
face that screwed up as she concentrated on the work
in hand. She did not suffer fools gladly and was
widely regarded as a bit of a dragon and very few
technicians, photographers or even junior doctors ever
seemed pleased to be assigned to work with her. On the
other hand, Stephanie was a real expert and little if
anything escaped her enquiring mind. If you wanted an
autopsy done to perfection then you could not do
better than have it performed by this pathologist. Dr
Fox had already begun the examination by the time the
two Police officers arrived and Mark and Aly stood at
one edge of the room nearest the examination table as
the doctor continued with her work. Stephanie spoke
authoritatively to her assistants and into the
microphone that was used to record her observations.
She had nodded a brief greeting to Mark on his arrival
and had also taken in and made a small acknowledgement
of the new face that accompanied him. Mark took the
opportunity to formally introduce Alison Young and
Stephanie paused, smiled and nodded again before
returning to the work in hand. As she did so, the
pathologist said,

"No real need to update you on the time of death, it
was around nine last night. Your men were on the scene
I would say only a few minutes after he died and the
person that found him was there even quicker. The
cause of death is also obvious, a head wound. I can
also tell you that the victim died as a result of
being struck with a single blow from a small, heavy
object. The weapon was made out of metal -- there are
no traces of wood -- it was rounded and he was hit from
behind and above. I would also say that Mr Nick
Trafford's killer was right handed and that he knew
exactly what he was doing. The victim was probably
killed a short distance from where he was found and
then dragged under the tree. It's possible the killer
hoped that the body would not be discovered until the
morning."

Mark spoke for the first time,

"Do you mean when you say that the killer knew what
they were doing that it was a professional hit?"

"I can't say that, Superintendent, as you well know.
I'd say that's a matter for you and your colleagues to
find out as a result of your investigations, but what
I can say is that the killer knew exactly where to hit
to cause instant or near instant death."

Martin smiled and changed the subject,

"Anything else you can tell me? Were there any signs
of drugs or too much to drink? What about food, can
you say when he last ate? What about sex?"

A slight note of exasperation entered the
pathologist's voice as she responded,

"Oh Superintendent, you always ask far too many
questions! I've sent bloods off for testing and we
should get the results back by later today. I found no
puncture marks to the skin so if he did take drugs it
would have been orally. I will also let you know about
that and the food but you know what politicians are
like, they're like your lot, eat on the hoof as and
when they can. As for sex, no obvious or immediate
signs for example on his clothing whether there are
any other signs will have to await a fuller
examination of the body but that also will be in my
report. Given the angle the media are taking I expect
that is your main current interest as well. So if you
don't mind I'll get on with the rest of my
examination. You're welcome to stay, of course, either
of both of you, but if you have more pressing matters
I won't be offended if you go. Give the Commander my
warmest best wishes and tell him that I'll do my best
to get as full a report as possible to him by the end
of the day."

Mark smiled as he received the answer given in the
doctor's most formidable style and indicated that he
and Aly would indeed be leaving by saying,

"Thanks for that, Dr Fox, I certainly will pass on
both messages and we will indeed look forward to
reading the report. I will take you up on the offer to
leave but if you need us urgently you can always give
me a call."

The pathologist did not rise to the bait but instead
resumed her examination, directing her assistant as
the Y-incision was made. Mark motioned to Aly and the
two police officers made a silent withdrawal from the
autopsy room. The Inspector who had watched the
exchange somewhat open mouthed spoke for the first
time,

"Is she always like that, sir?"

Mark grinned and said,

"That was mild, Aly! You should see her when she's
really annoyed!! But she'll do a great job and it will
be thorough and informative. I think we ought to let
Mike Rickwood know that we are not looking for a
bloodstained piece of wood any more. I think his group
should be split between searching the immediate area
and doing house-to-house calls looking for witnesses.
Would you get onto him and say I suggested that,
please? I'm going to see what happened at the
Commander's meeting this morning."

"Yes, sir", the Inspector responded and immediately
fished out her phone and called Mike,

"Hello, sir, it's Aly. The Superintendent has asked me
to let you know that the pathologist says that Mr
Trafford was killed by a blow from by a metal object,
so there is no need to waste time looking for a wooden
club. The doctor also says that he may have been
dragged a few yards from where he was killed and then
left under the tree in the hope of being undiscovered
until the morning. Mr Jamieson suggests that you have
another search around and pinpoint the spot where the
victim dies, and then after you've given that a
thorough examination, scale down the search for clues
and do more house-to-house calls."
Mike responded cautiously,

"OK, Aly if that's what Mark and Martin want. I've
already got quite a few local guys doing the house
calls and there may still be something around here to
find but I'll send a few more off to join them and
after we've completed the final finger search I'll
come back to the Yard. Hope to see you later this
afternoon."

Aly said quietly down the phone,

"OK, sir, thanks and I'm glad you didn't blame the
messenger!"

Mike had spent most of the morning supervising the
combing of the area near where the body had been
found. He had already discovered and examined the most
likely area where the murder had taken place and his
men had examined every inch of ground within a wide
radius of the spot but had turned up little of value
and nothing that pointed to the identity of the
killer. The enquiries around the neighbourhood had
also produced little of interest. A lot of people
living in the neighbourhood had either been out or, if
they had been in the area, had remained inside their
homes and had seen and heard nothing out of the
ordinary. Mike had expected little from these
house-to-house enquiries and was not surprised that
the results had been so unforthcoming. He was
desperate to return to Scotland Yard and join the
others in what he hoped would be the more exciting and
fruitful avenues of investigation. However, he knew he
had to stay until every house had been contacted or
the decision was taken to abandon this approach for
the time being.

At Scotland Yard, Martin Roberts had returned to his
office and had decide that he would start to find out
more about Mr Trafford's political interests and was
planning to visit the dead MP's parliamentary office
where his political researcher was expecting a call.
Sitting on his desk was a large envelope addressed to
the Commander and he opened it to find the promised
passes for the Palace of Westminster. Three individual
passes were in the envelope along with three separate
letters from the Palace authorities indicating the
rights and privileges afforded to the holder of the
pass as well as a copy of the letter from the Home
Secretary requesting the arrangement for the senior
police investigators. Martin took his pass and
carefully stored the remaining two in his safe where
they would await the return of the other two
recipients. The Commander expected that Mark Jamieson
would return first as, of old, Martin knew that the
pathologist liked to work on her own. As if on cue,
the phone on the desk began to ring and the Commander
answered it,

"Martin Roberts."

At the other end of the line, Mark responded to the
familiar voice in a cheery manner,

"We've been dismissed from the presence of Stephanie
Fox and Alison and I are on our way back to the Yard.
We are looking for a metal object not a wooden club.
I've told Mike Rickwood and he's going to concentrate
on a final search and then do more house-to-house.
Shall I come in to see you when I get there? Have you
anything for Alison to do?"

"Yes to both, Mark", the Commander responded, "Ask
Alison to go up and join Mike on Hampstead Heath and
help him work that angle. I want them back later
because I want to have a meeting to thrash out how we
proceed. You and I will visit the late MP's office and
chat to his staff."

Twenty minutes later, Martin and Mark were approaching
the parliamentary office of the late Nick Trafford and
they paused outside the door. Mark knocked and a
muffled voice shouted for them to enter. The office
was small and both senior officers were surprised to
see two desks cramped inside the limited space. At one
desk sat a small, dark haired woman and opposite her
at the other desk sat two men. From the briefing notes
he had read beforehand and the information he had
received the night before from the officers that had
contacted the dead man's researcher the Commander
assumed correctly that the woman was Diana Robinson.
Smiling grimly, Martin stretched out a hand and said,

"Diana Robinson? Please accept my condolences on the
death of Mr Trafford. You may be interested to know
that he was my constituency MP and I am sure that many
of my fellow electors will share this moment of grief
and distress."

Ms Robinson took the Commander's hand and Martin felt
a rather limp grasp as she struggled with her own
emotions. However, the researcher recovered quickly
and said,

"Thank you, Commander. As you can see, Nick shared an
office with a colleague. May I introduce David Newman,
MP and his researcher, Colin Smart."

The two men stood and shook hands and Martin was
slightly surprised by the MP's appearance. He was
young looking, hardly more than thirty and taller than
the Commander had expected, with light, almost blonde
hair and piercing blue eyes. After a few moments
hesitation, David Newman said,

"I understand that you'll want to speak to Diana
alone. We'll make ourselves scarce for a while but I
will need to be back here shortly as I have some
things that need to be attended to urgently."

Martin smiled and responded,

"Thank you, Mr Newman, I am grateful and I'll try not
to keep you from your work longer than I have to, but
I would like to talk to you as well if I may. However
that can wait until after I have spoken to Miss
Robinson here. Could you and Mr Smart spare us a few
minutes before we leave?"

The MP looked back at the senior investigating officer
and said seriously,

"Of course Colin and I will be available. Anything we
can do to help solve this terrible crime we will
gladly do."

After the MP and his researcher had left, Martin and
Mark sat where they had been sitting and the
Superintendent asked gently,

"When did you last see Mr Trafford?"

Diana Robinson spoke softly in reply,

"About four-thirty yesterday afternoon. He was about
to go into the House to speak in the debate. He told
me not to wait around for him, as he was out that
evening, so I did some more correspondence spoke to
the party office in the constituency and left about
five-fifteen. I got home about an hour later and the
first I knew anything was wrong was when someone from
your investigation contacted me late last evening."

Mark nodded and then said,

"Do you know what Mr Trafford was doing last night?"

Again Diana smiled slightly and then replied,

"As you probably know, Superintendent, one of his
engagements was a debate with your Commander about the
merits of the Government's new bill on Policing and
Criminal Justice. Before that he was scheduled to
speak at a meeting of Labour activists in North
London. I believe he left the House shortly after he
had finished speaking, I don't know where he went
after that, there's nothing in the diary apart from
the meeting I told you about."

Mark appeared to accept the explanation offered at
this time. Although he could see that Martin was not
entirely satisfied, the Superintendent changed the
subject,

"Obviously Mr Trafford was interested in the current
legislation about the police and criminal justice but
can you tell me whether he had any other major
projects that you were investigating on his behalf or
that he, himself was investigating?"

Diana looked straight back and said without emotion,

"There were always constituency matters to be looked
into and visits and tours of Parliament to be
organised both of which duties I shared those between
myself and the constituency office. Nick is, sorry
was, deeply interested in immigration and civil rights
issues and he had a number of general matters he was
investigating recently, but most of our effort was on
the legislation you mentioned, that took up quite a
lot of time."

Marin intervened for the first time,

"So, Ms Robinson, you have no idea where Mr Trafford
went on any of the following days this year, March 3
and 4, April 23 and 24, May 10, June 14 and 15 and,
most recently October 20 and 21?"

If Diana Robinson had felt any surprise at the
Commander's question, she did not register it and he
voice was as steady as before when she replied,

"I can't be sure but I think those were the same dates
that the other policeman, the man from Special Branch,
asked about a few weeks ago. I told him then and I
will tell you the same thing, there is nothing in the
diary for that particular day and Nick never mentioned
to me any engagements that he had on those days. I
knew most of his programme of visits but he may have
made other arrangements that I did not know about."

Martin picked up on the last point and asked,

"Do you mean personal or political activities?"

The political assistant again seemed unperturbed by
the question,

"I am his political assistant, not his social
secretary. I was referring to political activities. As
an MP something can come up that needs some work done
on it and only the elected member can deal with the
matter. Sometimes he would tell me about things like
that but, if I was working on another matter he might
not."

The Commander looked less than satisfied by Diana's
response and said,

"Are you saying you knew nothing of Mr Trafford's
activities when he was absent on these days? I would
remind you that we are looking into your employer's
death. You might have wanted to say what you have just
said to Special Branch, I can understand that, but now
that sadly Mr Trafford is dead, you can be more
forthcoming. I would also assure you that, unless the
matter is directly relevant to our enquiries, the
information you give us will go no further than myself
and Superintendent Jamieson."

Until this moment, Diana Robinson had looked stonily
back at her interrogators but, for the first time,
there was strain and emotion showing in her face and
her voice began to crack as she replied,

"Commander, I have told you all I know. If I knew more
I would willingly share it with you, but I don't. I'd
like to believe your assurance that anything I did
tell you would remain confidential but judging by
today's headlines I'm not so sure."

Martin nodded and in part accepted the rebuke but he
needed to ask one last question,

"Can you shed any light at all as to why Mr Trafford
was on Hampstead Heath last night, given that it was
not on the direct route to his meeting?"

The political assistant had regained her composure and
sadly shook her head,

"No, Commander, I can't think of any reason at all. I
only wish I could!"

It was clear that, for the time being, there was
nothing more that the two senior police officers could
learn from Diana Robinson and Martin indicated that
this was the case,

"Thank you, Ms Robinson, I'm sorry if the questioning
has been distressing. Please if you remember anything,
however trivial it might seem to you but which you
think might be of use, get in touch with me. Here's my
card."

Diana Robinson took the offered card and Martin said,
sympathetically,

"I really am sorry about Mr Trafford's death. He was a
good MP and, as I said earlier, he will be missed.
Would you mind if we used this office to talk to David
Newman?"

The dead MP's political researcher nodded her head and
rose slowly, Martin stretched out his hand and Diana
shook it with rather a weak grip. Then she was gone
and, after a few minutes, David Newman stepped back
into the office and said,

"Thank you for seeing me now, Commander, I am grateful
as I have another important meeting in a short while,
which I can't really miss. I expect that you would
like me to tell you what I know about Nick. Well, I
suppose it will seem strange for me to say this, but
he and I were the greatest of friends, despite the
fact that we disagreed on almost everything. Nick was
on the radical left wing of the party, gay and a
sympathiser with the Palestinian cause, whereas I'm a
middle of the road `New Labour', married with a family
and a supporter of Israel. People found it strange
that I would want to talk to him, let alone share an
office with him. But, of course, we were elected on
the same day and I hadn't met him but knew of him and,
when we did bump into each other, there was a sort of
chemistry between us that made us click, even though,
in our different ways, we were potential future
rivals. I found that Nick was the most engaging,
annoying man I had ever met but he was brilliant
company, a great debater and an excellent and reliable
colleague, I shall miss him greatly."

The Commander acknowledged the honesty of the response
from the man who had shared an office with the dead
MP, but Martin wanted to get some more specific
answers,

"Would I be right in saying that Nick Trafford was a
man that attracted as many enemies as he did friends?"

David Newman did not answer immediately, but then
replied,

"He was a prominent MP and all politicians have
enemies, some known and some unknown. However, I would
say that Nick had more friends than enemies, certainly
more than I have!"

Martin accepted the point and then turned to another
issue,

"Did you and Mr Trafford work on any matters
together?"

The MP looked back at the Commander and said,

"Very occasionally, but we were always talking about
the issues of the day and problems that we were
working on. There was one thing that we agreed upon
and that was the new legislation about the Police and
I know he was looking forward to the debate with you
on the night that he died."

The senior Police Officer smiled for a moment and then
responded,

"I was looking forward to it as well. However, did Mr
Trafford tell you anything about his meeting prior to
the debate or where he was going before that?"

David Newman shook his head and said,

"I knew he had a meeting in North London with Party
members and he was planning to speak in the House
before he went. I assumed he would have gone somewhere
for dinner and from there on to his meeting."

Martin acknowledged the point and then said,

"He never told you of anything that he was working on
that might endanger his life, or even anything that
might have taken Mr Trafford to Hampstead Heath?"

Again the youthful MP paused before replying,

"No not at all. He wasn't the sort of person who went
off for casual sex if that is what you're implying. I
don't think he was doing anything dangerous, but, as I
said, before, I didn't tell him everything and neither
did he."

The Commander wrote the name down and then said,

"Thank you for that, Mr Newman. A final question
before I finish. Are there any other Members of
Parliament that Mr Trafford was close to that we might
talk with to find out what else he might have been
working on?"

David Newman smiled and said,

There were a couple of members that he was involved
with Miles Youngman and Nigel Burrows, you might want
to talk with them. However, I know that they aren't
about today, as they both are off on some official
parliamentary visit somewhere, but, when they return,
they might be able to throw some light on Nick's other
interests. Another thing is that he sometimes, perhaps
surprisingly, also talked to his `pair', Marcus
Driscoll, about things that he wouldn't talk to me
about. You might want to talk to him about these sorts
of things. Although old Marcus is a Tory, he can be
quite friendly and I know he liked Nick very much. I
also happen to know that he's in the House at the
moment, so you should be able to catch him today."

Martin smiled at the young MP and drew the interview
to a close.

"That has been most helpful, Mr Newman and thank you
for your time. I certainly will follow up all the last
leads that you have given me as soon as I can. Can you
tell me how I can contact Mr Driscoll?"

David Newman stood up and walked to the door of the
room and opened it, saying,

"Well, either Colin or Diana should have the number,
if you'd like to ask them, they'll get it for you. I'm
sorry I can't do it myself but I have to go to my
urgent meeting."

Martin thanked the MP for his assistance and followed
him out of the room and watched as David Newman
disappeared out of the building and back into the
Palace of Westminster. Half an hour later, having
arranged over the telephone an appointment to see the
MP, the Commander, who had been joined by his friend
Superintendent Mark Jamieson, found himself in the
parliamentary office of Marcus Driscoll. After the
Conservative MP had invited them to sit in two very
comfortable armchairs, Martin said

"Thank you for seeing me so promptly, Mr Driscoll."

The Conservative MP was older than his `pair' by at
least two decades and looked as though he had lived a
good life devoted to parliamentary affairs and
excellent food and wine. A former junior minister, he
now was reconciling himself to the fact that after a
period in opposition he was unlikely to return to
front line politics ever again. On the other hand, he
had acquired several lucrative company directorships
and was comfortably off. Taking the other chair in the
room for himself, Marcus Driscoll replied to the
Commander's opening remark in a slightly exaggerated,
but cultured voice,

"Always happy to help the Police and even more so when
it's a fellow like Nick Trafford. I liked him
enormously even though I found his political views
absolutely abhorrent on most points. He was good
company and I accepted him as a `pair' rather than the
chap he shares an office with. I didn't like that
other fellow, David Newman, at all, far too pushy, if
you know what I mean. His sort often are, you know."

Martin looked across at Mark and frowned. The
Commander noted his friend's face started to flush
with anger, but tried to signal that he did not want
his friend to rise to the bait. Unaware of this,
Marcus Driscoll must have caught the end of Martin's
frown and mistook it for a look of puzzlement on the
commander's face and so the MP added by way of
explanation,

"Although he doesn't look it, David Newman is Jewish
and very ambitious and happy to push people out of the
way to get on. That's not just my opinion, Nick said
as much to me not long ago."

Martin looked impassive as he asked,

"I see, but you're not suggesting that Mr Newman had
anything to do with Mr Trafford's death are you?
Wouldn't it be true to say that both men were equally
ambitious and keen to get on?"

Anxious to extricate himself from the situation,
Marcus Driscoll backtracked,

"I was talking metaphorically and I'm sure Nick was
too. The fact that I do not much care for David Newman
should not be regarded as an accusation of wrongdoing.
I was merely reporting a conversation with the
deceased man."

Martin moved away to another more pressing matter,
asking the same question that he had put to David
Newman,

"Did Mr Trafford ever tell you of anything secret that
he was working on that might endanger his life?"

Marcus Driscoll looked shocked at the question and
waited for a few moments before answering,

"Certainly not, Commander. I doubt if he would have
told me if he had been. We always talked in very
general terms, exchanged gossip and the odd criticism
of colleagues but we never really got into anything so
detailed."

Martin looked across at Mark and then stood up and
handed the MP his card,

"Well, thank you, Mr Driscoll. It's been interesting
and if you think of anything that Mr Trafford said to
you that might throw some light on our investigation
I'd be grateful if you could get in touch."

Martin Driscoll looked at the card and walked to the
door with the two senior Police Officers,

"I'm sorry I haven't been much help so far, Commander,
but rest assured that, if I think of anything that
could be helpful, I'll let you know."

As soon as they were outside, Martin smiled grimly at
his friend and said,

"Thanks for not losing your cool in there. I know you
were very close."

Mark looked equally determined as he replied,

"Yes, I was very close. That kind of snide
anti-Semitic remark makes my blood boil. Ruth has had
that sort of thing all here life from people like
Marcus Driscoll and it' very hurtful."

Martin sympathised with the Superintendent's point of
view,

"I was surprised we didn't get some gay bashing remark
as well, but then he like Nick Trafford! Anyway, let's
go back to the Yard and see if anything else has
turned up. I'm hoping so, because so far we haven't
made much progress."

As they walked towards their offices, Mark glanced at
the evening paper billboard that seemed to sum up the
position rather succinctly,

GAY MP MURDER: POLICE BAFFLED.

In the opinion of the Superintendent, nothing more
needed to be said.