Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 14:08:39 +0000 (GMT)
From: Steve Rose <cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Martin Roberts/Party Games - 6

DISCLAIMER:

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

WARNING:

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

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

Always indulge in safe sex.

Party Games

Chapter 6
After his conference with the Commissioner, Martin had
returned to his office and prepared for the rest of
the day. The first action the Commander took was to
telephone the Houses of Parliament and arrange to meet
with Miles Youngman and Nigel Burrows, the two MPs
that had been mentioned by David Newman in his
interview the previous day. Appointments to meet the
two Labour members were made for later that afternoon
in their parliamentary offices. As he waited for the
return of the other members of his team, Martin read a
small file of newspaper cuttings, which had been left
for him by Ron Alder. The Superintendent had prepared
as complete a dossier as he could of the investigative
journalism of Alan Birch. It soon became clear to the
Commander that what had been said earlier was true and
that it would be difficult to discern from the
articles any clear single source for the reporter's
information. When he had finished reading all that was
in the folder, a sudden thought crossed Martin's mind.
One of the best informed people he knew was Freddy
Eversley, who seemed to have connections all over the
place and kept himself up-to-date with most
contemporary events. Martin was uncertain whether
Freddy had direct connections with the intelligence
services, but it would no have surprised the commander
if his old friend knew people who were. With this in
mind, Martin decided to act on his brainwave straight
away and reached forward to dial a number. The phone
was answered immediately and a voice boomed down the
line,

"Freddy Eversley here, how can I help you?"

Martin replied rather more quietly,

"Hello, Freddy, it's Martin. How are you? Do you have
a moment or two to talk? Is it a convenient moment?"

The jovial voice at the other end of the phone
replied,

"Of course it is, my dear! What can I do for you
today? I am, as ever, at your disposal. I was only
saying to Brad the other day that we haven't seen
anything of you, Tom and the boys for simply an age!
It would be wonderful if you could come down for a
weekend and stay at the Hall, it's just the right time
of year to see it at its best. Oh, and if you could
bring that gorgeous Mike Rickwood with you, that would
be even better. But I don't suppose for one minute
you've called to invite yourself to stay, have you?"

Martin sighed and then said,

"No, Freddy, I haven't tempting though the offer is.
I'm afraid that I'm rather busy at the moment with the
Nick Trafford murder investigation. I thought I'd have
a chat with you see if you knew anything."

Freddy's voice did not change at all, although his
comment seemed less upbeat than usual,
"In what way do you think I can help? I know I'm on
record as saying I thought that Nick Trafford was a
dangerous man, but I hope you don't think that I had
anything to do with killing him. I only met him a few
times and I did appreciate his objectives but not
always his methods. I think that he sometimes did more
damage than good, but I suppose an old Tory like me
might well do so. I was shocked when I heard he'd been
killed, like most other people. Sorry, I'm waffling,
what did you say you wanted to ask me?"

Martin half-smiled as he replied to his old friend,

"Don't worry, Freddy, I don't have you on my list of
suspects and, in part, you've already answered my
question, by telling me a little about what you
thought of Mr Trafford. The other thing I wanted to
ask about, however, was whether you have ever heard
of, or met, a journalist called Alan Birch or a man
named Darren Wright?"

Freddy sounded really serious for the first time as he
replied,

"Isn't Birch the man with that awful hatchet job on
Trafford in the paper today? I thought it was
despicable, especially as the victim can't answer
back. I'm all for having a go at political enemies but
not like that! Personally, I've never met anyone
called Alan Birch, but if I did meet him I'd give him
the benefit of my strongly held views, I can tell you!
Nor have I met anyone called Darren Wright, who seems
a bit of a sleaze ball to me. Sorry I can't help, but,
if you'd like, I'll ask around and see if anyone else
knows anything. If I get something on either of them,
I'll get back to you. And don't forget, we'd love to
see you on a visit here soon!"

Before Martin could utter another word the phone at
the other end of the line went dead. The Commander had
hoped for more, but his disappointment was
short-lived, because, moments later, Mark Jamieson
appeared at his door, he smiled at his friend and
said,

"Aly Young and I have just brought Alan Birch in for
questioning. I've put him in an interview room, given
him a cup of tea and told him that you will be down in
a minute. I thought I'd have a word first though, sir,
because it was almost as though he was expecting us.
He showed no surprise when we turned up at the
newspaper offices looking for him and, what's more, he
was only too ready to tell us where we could find
Darren Wright. Mike Rickwood has gone off to bring him
in, so that he will be ready for interview once we've
finished with Mr Birch."

"Thanks, Mark, good work", Martin said appreciatively,
"I wonder if you'd mind if I conduct this interview
with Aly and you observe from behind the one-way
mirror. I'd like a second opinion from someone not
directly involved in the face-to-face confrontation."

Although he was disappointed not be included in the
interview, Mark saw the logic in his friend's proposal
and readily agreed. The Commander got up and walked
down the corridor with his colleague down the stairs
to the interview room. Martin entered the room after
Mark had disappeared into the adjacent observation
gallery. The Commander smiled across at Aly Young, who
was sitting at the table opposite the newspaperman.
Two empty cups stood on the table, at the end of which
was a tape recorder loaded with two tapes. The
Commander took a moment to try to make an assessment
of the man sitting quietly on the other side of the
table. Alan Birch was a small, slightly overweight man
with thinning dark hair. The reporter had a small
face, which wore an intelligent look. The Commander's
judgement of the journalist was that he was not only
intelligent but devious as well and that it would be
difficult to extract information from him that Alan
Birch did not want to give. Once it was clear that
everyone had been introduced, Martin asked for this to
be done again and checked that the journalist had no
objection to the interview being taped. Martin was at
pains to point out that Mr Birch was present
voluntarily, was not under arrest but could seek legal
advice at any time and could leave whenever he wished.
Martin, as usual began politely,

"Thank you for coming in, Mr Birch. I expect you can
guess that we are interested in the article you have
in today's edition of your newspaper concerning the
personal life of the late Nick Trafford. May I ask how
you came to write this story? Did you find Mr Wright
yourself or did someone tell you about him?"

A slight smile crossed Alan Birch's face as he
prepared to reply to the question,

"If you are asking whether my report is the result of
good investigative journalism, then my answer is that
it was. I did some digging, made some calls and,
bingo, up came Mr Wright."

Martin seized on part of the answer,

"You made some calls? Are you saying that you had a
source and if so who was it?"

Again the journalist smiled and replied,

"Over the years, Commander, I have built up a range of
people who talk to me off the record, including
colleagues of yours from the Metropolitan Police and
other Police Forces around the country. Of course, I
never reveal their identity, no good journalist ever
does, but I can tell you that this time my sources
were not much help at all. In the end, I relied on
journalistic methods of following up leads."

Martin had expected he would not get far with this
line of enquiry and moved on,

"Let me congratulate you on your powers of detection,
Mr Birch. You are wasted in journalism! I'm sure
several of my colleagues would love to have you
working with them as a detective! But let us move on.
You discovered the identity of Mr Wright and decided
to interview him. In light of all the publicity around
this murder, why didn't you tell us what you had
found?"

Again Alan Birch smiled slightly as he replied,

"Two reasons really. The first was quite selfish in
that if it turned out to be a genuine story I wanted
to keep my exclusive scoop to myself and I wasn't sure
that it would remain that way if I told anyone else,
including the police about it. The second reason was
that I wanted to check it all out first. It wouldn't
be the first time I've been the victim of a hoax. I
didn't want to waste your time on a wild goose chase."

"Very public spirited of you, Mr Birch", Aly Young's
voice interrupted the reporter's homily, "So why
didn't you alert us after you realised you had a story
and that you had uncovered a potentially important
lead for the inquiry?"

Alan Birch turned to look straight at the young
Inspector and said,

"Again, I was protecting my story. I discussed
everything with my editor and we agreed that you'd
soon be round once the story was published. That way
we wouldn't delay the investigation by more than a few
hours and we got our exclusive! A quick win all round,
I'd say."

"I'm not sure we would entirely agree with you, Mr
Birch", Martin said, breaking up this confrontation as
he saw that it was going nowhere, "but perhaps I could
move us onto another point. When you found and spoke
to Mr Wright, what impression did you get of him and
his state of mind? Did he say why he wanted to go
public at this point?"

A cynical look passed over Alan Birch as he prepared
to respond,

"I suppose, Commander, one consideration was the
money. I cannot say how much but I will just say that
I made him an offer he did not feel able to refuse! He
also wanted to tell his story and point up a lead that
had not been suggested in the coverage up to that
point."

Martin took up the point,

"Did he not realise that by saying what he did, he
might incriminate himself or implicate himself in some
way?"

The journalist shook his head,

"No, not at all, I don't think it occurred to him in
that way and I certainly did not get the impression
that he was guilty of any crime. Bitter, yes, but a
murderer I somehow doubt it, but you will no doubt ask
him yourself."

"Indeed we will, Mr Birch. Thank you for your time,"
Martin said quietly and then added, "That will be all
for now. I will arrange for the tape to be forwarded
to you or, if you wish you can wait and take it with
you."

"I'll wait, thank you, Commander." Alan Birch replied.


"As you wish, Mr Birch but you will excuse us if we
don't wait with you," Martin remained polite but made
it clear that he was leaving and his colleague
followed him out of the room. Once they had arrived at
his office, where they were joined by Mark, the
Commander looked at the other two with an inquisitive
expression. Mark, as the most senior officer present,
took the hint,

"What an unpleasant man, I didn't like him at all! He
sounded arrogant and he seemed to be laughing at us,
taunting us, as though he knew something more, but
wasn't going to tell us." the Superintendent
exclaimed.

Martin privately agreed, but rather pointedly did not
say anything about his friend's outburst. Instead, the
Commander asked,

"Did you believe what he's told us so far?"

Mark thought for a moment before replying,

"On the whole, I'm afraid I did. I'd like to say the
opposite, but his explanations seemed plausible. He
obviously did try to milk his sources, but he implied
they weren't much help. Unless Mr Wright contradicts
what Alan Birch told us, I can't see any way other
than to accept his account."

Aly Young intervened at this point and said pointedly,

"I'm not so convinced, sir. The Superintendent only
said and so did Mr Birch that the sources were `not
much help', which implies they were of some
assistance. I think that in the interview our reporter
friend tried to cover up his slip by saying that it
was good journalism that led him to Darren Wright, but
I took it to mean that someone gave him a good steer
in that direction and he took it from there."

Martin smiled and nodded,

"Yes, I agree with you, Aly and also with you, Mark,
in that I thought he was holding back, but we're not
likely to get him to admit it or to say who gave him
the help."

The discussion was interrupted by the return of Mike
Rickwood and the quartet turned their attention to the
interview they would have with Darren Wright. Martin
expected this to be a far more straightforward
interview and assigned Mark and Mike to the task,
while he and Aly would observe them from the room next
door. Once again the officers walked towards the
interview room and split up just before they got there
and Mark and Mike went into a room identical to the
one in which Martin and Aly had interviewed Alan
Birch. This time sitting at the table was Darren
Wright, who looked as his picture in the newspaper had
suggested. He was taller than might have been
expected, but had a thin body, thick brown hair with a
pale face and long, angular nose. Martin thought to
himself that this was a strange partner for the lively
and ebullient Nick Trafford to have chosen but did not
pursue it further. After the formalities had been
completed, the Commander listened attentively as Mark
began the interview,

"I'm sure that you are aware, Mr Wright, that we want
to talk to you about the story in today's newspaper
concerning your relationship with the late Nick
Trafford. Can you tell us when you and the late MP met
and how long your relationship lasted?"

Darren Wright hardly raised his head and those present
and those listening next door had to strain to hear
what he said,

"I first met Nick in a club in Central London and we
started seeing each other immediately after that. I
moved in a few weeks after our first meeting and
remained as his partner until the day after he was
elected to parliament."

Mark looked impassive as he asked the next question,

"Was the decision to end the affair mutual?"

The MP's former lover looked up briefly and spoke more
distinctly,

"No, it was his choice. I had no option but to agree."

Mark noted the answer and then asked another question,

"Did many people know about your relationship with Mr
Trafford?"

Darren Wright looked up and said,

"It wasn't a secret if that's what you are asking, I
suppose people in the Labour party knew and mutual
friends. If you pushed me I could provide a list of
the people I think knew about us, but not right away.
What upset me most was that he seemed to want to end
our relationship as soon as he got into Parliament. I
think he thought that, if the public had knowledge
about him and me, it would not be helpful to a
successful political career. That's why he dumped me
as soon as he was elected. He came home from the
constituency and told me that now he was an MP, I'd
have to go, just like that. As far as I know he didn't
find anyone else on a permanent basis, but he did like
sex and I'm sure he would not have remained celibate
for very long. That's what I thought he was on
Hampstead Heath for. He even went to places like that
when he was with me, so without anyone, how else would
he satisfy his desires."

Mike Rickwood leaned forward and asked,

"Are you implying that because he treated you badly
you had a grudge against Nick Trafford? Is that why
you talked to Mr Birch?"

The jilted lover looked across at the Police Officer
and replied,

"I wouldn't say I had a grudge. I did think he treated
me badly by using me and then dropping me when it
suited him. I spoke to Mr Birch because he offered me
money, which I badly need, as I have no permanent job.
I also felt that it was right that a possible angle on
the murder should be made public. Nick Trafford was
not as saintly as many people have made out."

"Why didn't you come to the Police with your
information?" Mark asked sharply.

The man on the other side of the table did not reply
immediately and then said,

"As I have told you, I am not well, I haven't a job. I
thought .. I hoped .. I might be able to get some
money by selling my story."

The Superintendent wanted to pursue this further,

"So did you approach a newspaper or anyone else to ask
advice?"

Darren Wright shook his head and said,

"No .. No, I really didn't know how to go about it.
When Mr Birch telephoned and offered to talk to me and
give me money for my story, I jumped at the chance."

A look of distaste crossed Mark's face as he listened
to the last answer, but it sounded as though the
respondent was being honest. However, Mike, who seemed
also to be annoyed at the man's attitude interrupted
again and asked pointedly,

"Where were you on the night Nick Trafford was
murdered, Mr Wright?"

The question startled the man sitting at the table and
he jolted upright and snapped back angrily,

"I wasn't on Hampstead Heath murdering anyone, if
that's what you're implying. I was at home. I don't go
out much, especially at night and certainly not much
since I got ill!"

The effort of making this vehement denial seemed to
drain all the strength from Darren Wright and he
slumped forward onto the table in front of him. Mark
and Mike walked quickly round to ensure that the man
was not seriously ill and, after a brief look, Mark
indicated to Mike that medical attention should be
given to Darren Wright and said, for the benefit of
the tape,

"Because of the illness of Mr Wright, medical
attention has been requested and will be provided. The
interview is terminated."

As before, the quartet of senior officers went back to
martin's room but this time it was Martin who spoke
first,

"I don't think he did the killing and I don't think he
knows who did. I'm inclined to believe that he gave
the interview for the money. He's a rather weak and
pathetic character and I don't see him as part of a
plot. That doesn't mean to say that he wasn't set up
by someone, who gave his name to Alan Birch."

Aly Young, who had also observed the interview, added
her opinion,

"Yes, I agree, sir. He seemed too naïve to be able to
plot that way and too weak physically as well as in
terms of character to have devised a murder plot. On
the other hand, he might just have let slip to someone
about his relationship with Nick Trafford and his
bitterness towards the MP and that person could have
filed away that information for use at a later date."

Mark nodded and said,

"If that's the case, then the only person we know with
information about the source is Alan Birch and, as we
said earlier, he's unlikely to tell us."

Mike had little more to add to the conversation but
put forward a suggestion,

"Why don't I drive Mr Wright back home after he's been
seen by the medical people and is fit enough to
travel. I might get him talking and he could let slip
the name of someone important who knew about his
relationship and could have fed it to Alan Birch."

Marin approved of the idea,

"It's worth a try, Mark, but be careful and make sure,
if possible, you can get him to agree to giving us a
list of names in writing."

Mark disappeared but the other two officers stayed
behind in Martin's office. It had been such a hectic
few hours that the three senior officers had not even
had time to catch up on the news that the bill on
Policing had passed a major hurdle in the House of
Commons by an overwhelming majority. Ron Alder brought
in copies of the major broadsheet newspapers, which
had covered the debate and the vote, and whose reports
were read with growing despondency by the assembled
group. Martin put down the last of the papers and
stood up and said,

"Not much we can do about this political problem for
the time being, we've got a murder to solve. We can
still go on challenging the bits of the legislation we
don't like through the House of Lords if necessary but
for now let's concentrate on showing that this reform
is unnecessary by finding out who killed Nick
Trafford!"

With that the Commander got up from his chair and
indicated that he wanted the others to follow him as
he made his way towards the Houses of Parliament and
the first of the two interviews he was scheduled to
have with the Labour MPs. As they walked through the
building in search of the office of Nigel Burrows, the
small party of Police Officers met the Home Secretary,
hurrying in the opposite direction. James Broadbent
beamed at Martin and said,

"I read that scurrilous piece in the paper today and I
understand that you have spoken to the reporter and
the other person involved. I hope that it has moved
your investigation forward."

The Commander made a non-committal response and
indicated that he was already late for his appointment
before he added,

"I'm sure that Mark and Inspector Young can brief you
on what has happened if you want them to, but I must
get on and see Mr Burrows. Mike, will you come with
me? I don't suppose we're going in the right direction
for his office, are we, Home Secretary?"

James Broadbent gave the Commander directions and also
indicated that he would take up Martin's offer of
being briefed by the Superintendent. Mark had not
looked best pleased at being lumbered with having to
deal with the Home Secretary, but took it in good part
and, while he, Aly and James Broadbent found a quiet
corner to sit down, the Commander and Mike hurried
off.

Martin knew little about Nigel Burrows except that he
had entered Parliament somewhat earlier than Nick
Trafford, had served briefly as a Minister but had
left office and now sat as a senior backbencher on one
of the major parliamentary committees. Mr Burrows
office was pleasant and the chairs comfortable and
Martin and Mike were made to feel at home by the MP,
who seemed only too willing to offer what assistance
he could,

"This is a terrible business, Commander. Regardless of
politics and, in this case I have to say that I'm
sorry but shared some of Nick Trafford's views,
especially on policing, it's awful when one of our
fellow MPs is killed. I liked Nick a great deal. He
was very entertaining and a good and skilful debater.
He spoke well in the House, too. I believe he was in
line for promotion in the next re-shuffle. He'd have
had to tone it down a bit, but he would have made an
excellent member of the government. But you didn't ask
to see me so that I could tell you how great I thought
Nick Trafford was, did you Commander? So how can I
help?"

Martin smiled warmly at the Labour MP and said,

"First of all, we are interested in what people
thought of Mr Trafford and everyone we've spoken to so
far has said much the same thing. However, we are also
interested in what issues and causes your late
colleague was involved with. David Newman suggested
that you were someone Nick Trafford talked to and
worked with either now or in the past.  Can you tell
me whether that is so and if it is what you were
working on at the time of his death?"

Nigel Burrows looked thoughtful for a moment and then
replied,

"Actually, the main thing we worked on was this
policing bill. I know you don't like it, Commander,
but he and I did research some of the miscarriage of
justice cases together. He did far more than I, but it
was interesting and he said that it would help the
government's case. I tended to agree with him on that
point. At other times we talked about various aspects
of reform in relation to immigration law and also
about gay rights. Nick was keen to enlist white,
straight MPs to both these causes, because he did not
want to be seen merely as the black gay MP championing
blacks and gays. I agreed to support him on both these
causes."

Mike Rickwood, who had been listening and not saying
anything finally broke his silence,

"About these miscarriage of justice investigations, Mr
Burrows, can you tell us whether there were any
sensitive cases that either you both investigated or
maybe just Mr Trafford? Also, did you meet with any
strong resistance or obstruction at all?"

The Labour MP did not answer immediately but then said
in answer to the questions,

"In a sense, all of the cases were sensitive. People
being locked up for crimes they did not commit can
cause a lot of anger and distress, but I only did a
few cases, Nick did the bulk of the work. I never
experienced any real resistance either from the Police
or from within the political establishment, but I know
Nick had the odd run-in with the powers that be."

"Do you know which cases they were?" Martin intervened
sharply.

Nigel Burrows seemed anxious to get off the subject,

"No I don't, Commander, but he did keep a list so I
expect it will be in the files and his researcher
should be able to provide that for you. I have to say
that I thought that all of the problems were quickly
resolved, but if there were one or two that caused a
lot of bother, I didn't really know about them."

"So, as far as you are concerned all the problems had
been resolved by the time he died. Is it possible that
he was he still working on some cases?" This time it
was Mike that asked the obvious question. Nigel
Burrows tried to back off,

"I really wouldn't know about that, the person to ask
is Nick's researcher. He didn't tell me everything but
he was the sort of person who, once he took up a
cause, saw it through to a finish."

Martin was anxious to follow up this latest lead and
brought the interview to a swift conclusion,

"Thank you, Mr Burrows, what you have told us has been
really useful."

As soon as he was out of the MP's office, Martin
turned to Mike and said,

"Please go and find Mark and ask him to come and join
me for the interview with Miles Youngman. Once you've
done that, I'd like you and Aly to find Diana Robinson
and get from her the list of miscarriage of justice
cases Nick Trafford worked on and also the files on
the cases themselves. Also find out from Ms Robinson
whether there is any way to find out which of the
cases have been closed and which are still active.
After that, take them all back to Scotland Yard and
work your way through the list. You'd better ask Aly
to help you do that. I want to know of any cases that
are still active or of any recently closed ones."

Mike would have liked to stay for the second
interview, but was also excited that this new lead
might be important, so he went off to find the other
two senior colleagues. Aly Young and Mark Jamieson
were not far away from where Mike had last seen them
and the Chief Inspector explained briefly what had
happened. After Mark had left to join Martin, Aly and
Mike went off to Nick Trafford's parliamentary office
in search of Diana Robinson. The Commander was waiting
for his friend and together they navigated their way
to another part of the sprawling Palace of Westminster
to find Miles Youngman. Rather like the previous MP
that Martin had interviewed, the politician was a
veteran member, having served for more than twenty
years. He had never been a minister and, by the time
the Labour Party gained office he was regarded as too
old to serve in government. Nevertheless, he was held
the influential role of Chair of the Parliamentary
Labour Party and, as such, warranted an impressive
office. As soon as Martin and Mark had settled down
and the introductions were over, Miles spoke,

"May I offer you something to drink? I suppose that as
you're on duty alcohol is out of the question."

Martin nodded but then said,

"A cup of tea would be just fine, Mr Youngman, thank
you."

Mark signified that he, too, would be happy with the
same and then he asked the first question,

"I expect you know why we're here. David Newman told
us that you were a person Nick Trafford talked to and
even worked with. Can you tell us something about
him?"

The elderly MP smiled and then said,

"He was young and energetic, a real go-getter. He was
not afraid to tread on a few toes, but immensely
likeable. The whole of the Parliamentary Party is
devastated by his murder. He was so talented, he'll be
hard to replace. He talked to me a lot about life in
parliament and all the little tricks of the trade as
it were. I helped him with introductions to people who
could help him with some of his campaigns. I didn't
always approve of what he was doing but us old ones
have to teach the next generation how to play the
game. So, in short, my answer to your question is that
I gave general help, but I didn't really get involved
with his day-to-day work."

Martin smiled and took a sip of the steaming hot tea
and then asked,

"Can you think of anything that Mr Trafford did that
might have caused trouble either for himself or
someone else?"

Miles Youngman gave some thought to this question
before replying,

"It's difficult to know. By the nature of the game,
politicians gain enemies sometimes unknowingly. In
honesty, I'd have to say he could have caused trouble
by his delving into the miscarriages of justice cases.
It might have been thought that he was sometimes
over-zealous on that score."

"Any particular people, Mr Youngman?" Mark intervened.

The MP shook his head,

"I never heard anything direct, just the odd whisper
going the rounds, but most of it seemed quite trivial.
You'd be surprised how many secret supporters you have
in the Police Force, even among Labour MPs!! No, no
particular name springs to mind. Do you seriously
think there might be a link between his investigations
and his death? I thought it was a gay-bashing
incident."

Martin again smiled and said,

"We have to investigate every lead. We have no firm
evidence as yet to rule out any possible motive for
the murder. That's why I'd be grateful if you could
let me know if you think of anyone who might have
expressed concerns about Mr Trafford's work."

The Commander thanked the veteran parliamentarian and
then made it clear that, as soon as they had finished
their cups of tea, he wanted Mark and he to leave. As
he explained once he was outside and attempting to
find his way back to the quickest exit from the
Palace, Martin had two reasons for not wishing to
linger for a long time in Miles Youngman's comfortable
office,

"First of all, Mark, I'm keen to find out how Aly and
Mike have got on getting hold of the files on
miscarriages of justice that Nick Trafford kept in his
office. Secondly, I didn't want Mr Youngman to back
track or just come up with any old name to fob us off.
I sensed that he was lying. I believe that he does
know the names of quite a few people who have spoken
to him about their concerns about Nick Trafford.
However, I got the distinct impression that he doesn't
want to say so or, at least, not just yet, he
doesn't."

Mark agreed with his friend's assessment and they pair
walked swiftly back towards Scotland Yard, fully
expecting to find the other two senior investigators
at their desks and working hard on the files from Nick
Trafford's office. This, however, was not the case and
Martin was told that neither Aly nor Mike had yet
returned to Scotland Yard so Mark undertook to locate
them and find out what the problem was. A few minutes
later, the Superintendent returned to tell Martin the
latest news,

"They've been delayed for two reasons, sir. The first
is that it took them some time to find Diana Robinson
and she is the only person currently with a key to the
filing cabinet. She has finally been located but that
has led to a second problem. The number of files is so
great that we are going to have to get some transport
over there to bring them back here or do the scrutiny
over there. I said I thought you'd prefer it done over
here, so I've arranged for a van to collect Aly, Mike
and the files and bring them back here. Do you want
them to ask Ms Robinson to come as well?"

"Not at this time, thanks, Mark. I assume that Mike
has the information about which files are still active
and which of them have been closed. I may need to talk
to Ms Robinson at a later time, but not just yet."

The Superintendent nodded and left the office and was
immediately replaced by Ron Alder who had come to
report on a number of matters concerned with Press and
Public Relations. Martin listened to the report in
silence and at the end gave his approval to a press
release regretting the passing of the Police bill by
the House of Commons and a number of other minor
matters that required his confirmation. At the end of
this, Ron looked at his superior enquiringly and said,

"How did it all go today?"

Martin tried to be upbeat,

"Mr Birch confirmed some of my colleagues' worst
opinions of journalists, while Mr Wright probably did
not exactly make a great impression as a
representative of the gay community! However, we still
have to follow up the idea that Nick Trafford was the
victim of either gay bashing or some sexual encounter
that went wrong. As for the two MPs, they provided
another possible line of investigation that might
prove fruitful and I've got a van collecting a whole
pile of stuff from Mr Trafford's office as we speak. I
was hoping that I can get away early tonight as I
haven't seen Tom and the children for longer than a
few minutes since the murder, but Mark told me he and
Ruth have an engagement this evening that he can't
avoid. It looks as though I'll have to stay on. I
believe he's already left and won't be back in
circulation until sometime later tonight."

"Well, sir, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't
get off early tonight. I'm happy to stay and look
after Press and Public Relations and, from what you
say, Mike Rickwood and Aly Young will be around
reviewing the documents they are retrieving from Nick
Trafford's office. I can keep an eye on things for you
and they're sensible enough to let me know and we can
contact either you or Mark if anything important
happens."

Rather reluctantly, the Commander agreed to this
arrangement,

"OK, but call me at home if anything urgent or
important happens. In any case I won't leave until
I've seen Mike and know that the records have been
safely delivered to this office."

While he waited for this to happen, Martin telephoned
Tom at home and spoke to Simon who whooped with
delight when he heard the news that their parent would
be back before he and Harry went to bed. At the moment
he put the phone down, Aly Young appeared carrying a
large container in which some of the files from the
dead MP's office had been transported. The Inspector
was followed seconds later by Mike Rickwood carrying
another even larger box. The two boxes were placed
together in the corner of the Chief Inspector's
workspace, but Martin motioned them to bring them into
his own rather larger office. Looking at Aly, the
commander said,

"Is that all there is?"

The Inspector looked rueful as she replied,

"No, sir, Mike's just gone back to get the last one!"

Martin smiled and nodded and said that he would talk
to both of them when Mike returned, which was some
moments later. Once the final box had been added to
the others, the Commander, having checked that there
was an annotated list of cases, told the other two
officers what he wanted them to do,

"First, please check the list and make sure that it
correlates with what is here. Note any discrepancies,
we'll deal with them in the morning. Then briefly
check all the cases that are closed. No need to go
into too much detail, but flick through to see if
anything strikes a chord. The ones I really want you
to concentrate on are those that have only recently
been finished with and any that are still active. If
you find anything important, tell Superintendent Alder
and call me at home. If necessary, I'll come back and
deal with it immediately. Otherwise, don't work too
late, don't allow these files out of your sight, lock
the door when you've finished and I'll see you in the
morning and, hopefully, not until then!"

"Good night, sir", Aly and Mike chorused and the
senior of the two officers added, "We'll only call you
if we find something absolutely vital that can't wait
until morning."

With a nod of thanks and a broad smile, Martin
prepared to leave for home, but, as usual, the
Commander did his round of seeing the officers working
the night shift before he went, a gesture that was
much appreciated by those in his team. Less than
fifteen minutes later, however, Martin was on the
train and making his journey home. Harry and Simon had
been waiting excitedly for their parent's arrival and
when they heard his key in the door and saw it open,
they came running towards Martin down the hall. Giving
him just enough time to remove his coat, the two young
boys dragged the older man down to the living room
where Tom was waiting with a glass of red wine, which
he handed to his lover. Martin smiled and embraced his
partner and then sat down while the two boys
disappeared to the kitchen, A few moments later, Simon
appeared back in the living room in order to announce
that dinner was ready. With, no doubt, some assistance
from Tom, Harry and his brother had had cooked
spaghetti bolognese for themselves and their parents.
Martin and Tom both expressed their delight at the
quality of the meal the boys had prepared and Harry
and Simon beamed with pleasure. After the meal was
over, there was time for the younger members of the
family to watch some television while the older couple
washed up the dirty dishes. Soon, however, it was time
for the boys to go to bed and they insisted that
Martin supervise their preparations and chat to them
before they went to sleep. The older of the parents
was more than happy to do this even though it meant he
would probably be very wet by the end of process as
the boys invariably splashed a lot of water around
when they were in the bath or shower. Tom re-filled
the glasses in the living room and could hear peals of
laughter coming from the bathroom so he walked along
the corridor and, with an amused grin on his face,
watched from a safe distance as his lover attempted to
retain some semblance of order. Eventually, bath time
was over and the boys were finally in bed and Tom and
Martin were able to relax and finish their wine in
comparative peace. The older partner told Tom about
his day and his suspicions concerning the newspaper
article and the possibility that there was a
connection between the MP's death and the files he was
working on. The younger lover attempted to be
encouraging but also was keen to take advantage of the
chance of an early night,

"Everything will probably look better in the morning,
Marty, so why don't we go to bed and enjoy ourselves
for a change. I can't remember when you last able
sucked my cock or I had your beautiful dick impaling
me!"

To emphasis his point, Tom ran his hands sensuously up
the inside of Martin's leg and gently squeezed his
groin causing the older partner's prick to swell and
harden. The younger man briefly abandoned his quest
for just long enough to allow Martin to get up and
follow him down the hall to their bedroom. Once there
the couple quickly undressed and within minutes,
Martin was expertly using his lips and tongue to tease
back his partner's foreskin and tease Tom's sensitive
glans and piss slit. Tom groaned with pleasure as he
felt his lover's rough tongue work on the rampant cock
and whispered encouraging words in Martin's ear,

"Suck that cock, Marty!! Suck it all into your warm
throat!! I love the feel of you working your lips over
the length of my hard dick!! Suck it deep into your
throat!! I want to fire my spunk onto your tongue and
into your mouth!! Suck it, Marty, suck it hard!!"

The older lover needed no more encouragement and he
sucked rhythmically up and down his partner's rock
hard shaft and used his hands to play with Tom's balls
and finger fuck the younger man's hole. In response to
the oral and manual stimulus, the younger partner
began to face fuck Martin with a steady but increasing
speed. As might have been expected, it was not long
before Martin felt his lover's dick swell even larger
in his mouth and the older man licked and teased Tom's
piss slit as the younger man moaned with pleasure,

"Oh, yes .. Marty ..don't .. stop .. I'm .. cumming!!"

Martin's mouth was suddenly filled with a rush of cum
spurting from his partner's cock head and the older
man swallowed the creamy spunk as quickly as he could
so that he did not waste a drop. Finally, Tom's orgasm
reached its conclusion and Martin spent a few moments
cleaning up the last remnants of jizz from his lover's
increasingly sensitive cock. Tom gradually withdrew
his cock from between Martin's lips and the younger
partner showed his appreciation of his partner's
efforts by smiling broadly. Without much delay the
younger man lay back on the bed and opened his legs to
indicate that he was ready for his lover to slide his
erect prick inside his tight but welcoming love
channel. Martin moved into position and guided the
head of his cock towards the winking hole and slowly
entered Tom, who again groaned with pleasure as his
older partner's felt the velvety, cut glans enter him,

"Oh yes, Marty, slide your cock right inside me!! I
want to feel you deep inside me!! Impaling me on your
beautiful prick and teasing my prostate as you fuck in
and out!!"

Martin had pushed right inside his partner and his
balls were slapping against Tom's arse cheeks as he
pistoned in and out of the welcoming hole and he
responded to his lover's encouragement in a rasping
voice,

"Take it, Tom!! Take my hard cock in your love
tunnel!! I'm impaling you on my prick!! Making your
cock hard again as I fuck you!! I'm going to fuck a
second load of cum out of you!!"

In response, Tom began to move back to meet his
partner's inward thrusts and it was clear that Martin
would not be able to hold back much longer. The older
lover increased the speed of his fucking motion,

"I'm almost there .. Tom!! I'm .. cum .. ming!!!"

Martin's stopped working his prick in and out and held
it still as he felt the tell-tale sign of his spunk
working its way from his balls to his piss slit. With
a groan of pleasure, the older partner felt his cum
spray out and coat the inside of Tom's welcoming hole.
As Martin climaxed deep inside him, the younger lover
felt his own orgasm begin to overtake him. Tom yelled
out and squeezed his lover's dick with his powerful
arse muscles and then his jizz flew out. The first
powerful shot hit Martin on the face before the rest
landed on Tom's chest and stomach. Exhausted and
exhilarated Martin allowed his cock to gently slip out
of Tom's hole and then the older lover flopped back,
panting, onto the bed beside his younger partner. Tom
smiled dreamily at Tom and whispered,

"Thank you, Marty. I love you!!"

Martin, still trying to recover his self control,
smiled back and said,

"Thank you, too, Tom. I love you so very, very much."

Moments later, the two men had drifted off into a
restful sleep and remained undisturbed until their
usual time for getting up. As was the norm, the two
men were awoken by the loud noise that usually
accompanied Harry and Simon's welcoming of the
morning. The two young children would get up, get
showered and get dressed but rarely quietly and it was
common for either Tom, most often, or Martin, when he
could, to have to go in and tell them to behave and
keep the noise down. This occasion was no exception
although for once it was Martin who attempted to
exercise control over the morning ablutions. Having
tried to reduce the decibels with only limited
success, Martin went to the kitchen to prepare
breakfast. As he brewed the coffee and sorted out the
cereals, the older parent went to collect the
newspaper and looked at the fax machine, which
suddenly began to whirr into life. Martin picked up
the morning paper and was pleased to note that the
headlines had moved on from his murder investigation.
He remained in a good mood until the fax machine
stopped spitting out the message, which, when he had
read it, made the Commander very angry indeed. Harry
and Simon noticed that one of their parents was
annoyed and stayed quiet as Martin went in to his
bedroom and said to Tom,
"I'm sorry, Tom, I had hoped to stay and help with
breakfast, but something ahs come up and I need to get
to Scotland Yard straight away. Can I leave you to
finish off and get the boys to school?"

Tom decided not to enquire as to the nature of the
message that had caused his lover such annoyance but
quietly said,

"Of course, Martin. You get off. Don't worry about
anything. Ring me and let me know what's happened when
you've got time and things are a bit more settled."

Martin smiled a brief `thank you' at his partner and
said a warm but brief `goodbye' to the two boys and
then grabbed his coat and left the house for the
journey to his office.

Any comments please send to cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk