DISCLAIMER: This is a story. None of the characters in the story exist and the events that take place are purely imaginary. This is a detective story with sexual overtones and is a sequel to `Martin Roberts Investigates'. I hope that you like this as a piece of writing.
WARNING: Do not read this story if you are in any way offended by acts of a homosexual nature.
Do not read this if you are under the legal age for accessing adult sites.
Always indulge in safe sex.
Copyright Steven Rose 2003. Not to be reproduced without the author's permission.
MARTIN ROBERTS INVESTIGATES THE GREYMOUNT COLLEGE MURDERS
Chapter 8
Slightly to the other two policemen's surprise, Martin did not begin the meeting by referring to the main discussion he was expecting to have concerning the evidence report from the tower. Instead, the Superintendent began by reviewing the progress of interviews with staff and students,
"Yesterday, we saw every member of the teaching and non-teaching staff except for Anna Young, the Assistant Matron and David Graham, the cricket coach. I'd like Mark to interview Anna and Mike to talk to David as soon as possible today, please. I have also asked Mark's local Station Commander for extra people to help interview the remainder of the students. Mark, will you brief them when they arrive? I think we just need a brief account of where they were at the time of the murder and whether they saw anything suspicious. Thanks. I hope to have this job completed by the end of today. Please make sure that one or other of you looks at all the statements and let's me know whether there is anything of interest."
Martin then decided that it was time to review the evidence that Mike had reported from the report on the tower. The Superintendent outlined the various lines of enquiry that the news that there was no evidence of smoking in the tower indicated. After he had run through the options Martin said that he could not think of any more lines of enquiry and regretted that this important piece of evidence had not made the case any clearer. Then the Superintendent looked at Mark and Mike and asked if they had any comments. Mark, as the next most senior policeman present went first,
"I haven't any other suggestions, sir and I think I agree that the possibilities you have outlined are probably the most likely. I agree that it has not narrowed the field very much. Given the circumstances and if we believe the deaths were linked and the connection was their sexual relationship, it seems to me that either the source was one of the murdered guys themselves and we can't ask them for obvious reasons. That line still seems the most plausible and we can approach one of the other students we know knew about what went on in the tower, by which I mean Bobby Marsh. As to some other reason for wanting to keep people away from the tower, well we have no evidence that it was used for any other purpose. There's no evidence of drugs or alcohol, so what other motive might there be? I think the last possibility at this stage is the weakest but we should still investigate it."
Mike had been nodding while the Chief Inspector had been speaking and when Mark finished speaking, the Sergeant offered his views,
"I agree largely with the Chief inspector, sir. However, I would not dismiss the last possibility as totally unlikely. I know we haven't found a motive yet for anyone else wanting to keep people away from the tower, but it doesn't mean that there isn't one. The odds seem to favour the gay group wanting to keep there rendezvous to themselves but others might have been interested in doing the same thing but for other reasons. One thing that was not mentioned was the possibility that other people used it for sexual purposes. After all, this College is full of horny teenage boys and they might have used it for meeting local girls, it's not just gay people who indulge in sex, so I'm told!"
The Superintendent and Mark laughed at the implied criticism and Martin then said,
"OK, good point, Mike. I can remember who told me about the tower but, just in case there are any other possible sources, I wondered if either of you can remember where you first picked up the story about smoking in the tower?"
Mark responded,
"I believe that it's probable that Paul told Lawrence Miller about the tower and that they used it as a meeting place. Paul told me that the tower had been used as a gay venue a few years before when he was first at the College. In fact, as I recall he even mentioned it when he was talking to us. That adds credence to the gay theory I guess. Also, I think that both the House Master, Raymond Collinson and the Assistant House Master of College House, Andy Stephens, said something about it as well when they were talking to us."
After Mike had indicated that he had no further suggestions, Martin nodded appreciatively,
"Yes, I'm sure Mark's right, I knew I'd heard those last two people he mentioned talk about smokers but I couldn't remember whether anyone else had done so. But I think what Mark has said settles it. I assume we are all agreed that we need to pursue every possible lines of inquiry on this matter. I also think we need to find out the source of the suggestion that the tower was a hideaway for smokers and whether or not the people who told us were the originators or were passing on something they had learned from someone else. I suggest that we go about our routine and agenda for today as originally planned. First of all, therefore, I'd like you two to get those statements from Anna Young and David Graham. Then, I want us to turn our attention to nailing down the source of this smoking question by going to talk to the original surviving sources and other likely people who might know about it to see if we can get to the bottom of where the story came from. I suggest the following approach. I propose to talk to the Principal. He hasn't mentioned the possibility of students smoking in the tower but he must know that there is smoking and other things like drinking going on inside the College grounds somewhere. We need to know how much he is actually aware of and I think it best if I talk to him. Mark, after you've spoken to Anna, I'd like you to have a word with Raymond Collinson and ask him where he heard the story of smoking in the tower. Mike, I would have liked to ask you to talk to Andy Stephens after seeing David Graham but I understand he is away from the College today at some training session, so instead, talk to Bobby Marsh and, perhaps, Peter Fowler, see if they can shed any light on the matter. Please stress to all the people you talk to about this the confidential nature of the enquiry. Until we have fathomed out where the story came from, if we ever do, I don't want people getting together to concoct a plausible story."
Mark and Mike nodded their understanding and agreement and Martin indicated that they should start their day's work. The Superintendent reached for the telephone and dialled the Principal's number. Alex Scott-Brown's wife, Lizzie, answered the phone and she informed Martin that her husband was in a meeting with a prospective parent at that precise moment. However Lizzie added that she though that Alex would be free quite soon and she would ask him to let the Superintendent know the moment he was available. Martin thanked Lizzie courteously and said he looked forward to hearing from her in due course.
After he had left the meeting with Martin, Mark Jamieson had found Anna Young relatively easily as she was back on duty in the sick bay even though it was empty of patients at the time. The Assistant Matron's account of her movements on the day of Paul's murder seemed to straightforward. The pretty young nurse had been in the sick bay with Johnny Price for the early part of the afternoon and then had brought the student out to watch the cricket. Anna had hoped that her boyfriend, Andy Stephens, who disliked cricket intensely, would have accompanied her back to the sick bay but he had been busy talking to the Principal and she did not want to interrupt him. She had returned to her post in the sick bay and watched some television until she heard the commotion and went to see what had happened. Mark thanked Anna for her time and then left to try to locate Raymond Collinson.
Mike Rickwood's morning was nowhere near as successful as Mark's as his efforts to locate David Graham had met with little success. He had first gone to the nets but there was no sign of the cricket coach there and a similar result was found when he went to the pavilion. There was no sign of David in any if his usual haunts. Mike saw other members of the College staff and enquired as to whether they knew the cricket coach's whereabouts but nobody had seen him. Although none of the people he spoke to seemed unduly worried by the cricket coach's absence, nevertheless Mike felt that he ought to let the Superintendent know about it as soon as possible.
By the time that the Sergeant had got back to the incident room, Martin had already left to go to talk to the Principal so the room was locked and empty. Mike left a note for his superior and then went off to see if he could find Bobby Marsh. Meanwhile, Martin had walked across to the Principal's house and was seated in his comfortable study. Alex Scott-Brown had offered the Superintendent a cup of coffee that his wife had prepared and then the two men got down to the serious business. The College Principal looked anxiously at Martin and said,
"What can I do for you today, Superintendent? Not more bad news I hope!"
The Superintendent responded quietly,
"No, Mr Scott-Brown, not bad news I'm pleased to say but there is a matter that I would like to raise with you in confidence, if I may?"
"Please, Superintendent, go right ahead. Anything you tell me will go no further than this room."
"Well, Mr Scott-Brown, you may recall that one reason given for why Mr Miller was in the tower when he was killed. One suggestion was that he was looking for smokers, although we now know that was not the case. Firstly we suspect he was hoping to meet Paul Ferris, but you know that. The second reason for discounting the `looking for smokers' explanation is that our investigations show that there are no traces of smoking detritus in the tower. So my question is this, were you aware of the rumour that smokers used the tower?"
"I cannot say that I had never heard such a suggestion, of course, Superintendent. I like to think that I keep up with what is going on in the College. I am aware that smoking takes place and, I regret to say, drinking by a few students but we were never able to find exactly where these misdemeanours took place."
"Can you remember who told you that the tower was used by smokers, Mr Scott-Brown?"
"I can't be certain, Superintendent."
"Was it a member of staff or a student, can you recall?"
"Again, I'm sorry, Superintendent, I can't, but I will give you a name if it occurs to me."
"Did you ever hear of any suggestion that the tower was being used for any other purpose?"
"No. We had placed the tower out of bounds because it was unsafe and I expected all students and staff to observe that decision. Staff obviously would investigate if they heard of anyone flouting this decision. I would have been shocked to learn that any member of our community had deliberately flouted that rule, but obviously some of them have."
Alex Scott-Brown pointedly looked at his watch as he made his last remark and Martin took the hint,
"Well thank you, Mr Scott-Brown. Do please think about what we've talked about but don't talk about it to anyone else and if the name comes back to you, please let me know. I leave you in peace as I have other things to do and I'm sure you have as well." Alex Scott-Brown stood up as Martin left his study and walked with the Superintendent to his front door and watched as the policeman walked back towards his incident room. When he arrived at his temporary headquarters, Martin found the note from Mike and also discovered that there was a large pile of new statements from students that had been collected by local Police Officers. Before he set off to try to find Mike, the Superintendent glanced at the pile of statements and sampled a few of them, but saw nothing very interesting. As he was doing this, Martin saw Mark walking towards the entrance to the building where he was situated so he decided to wait for the Chief Inspector.
Mark walked in and immediately told his friend the Superintendent about the interview with Anna Young and also about his conversation with Raymond Collinson. Martin reacted to the account of Anna Young's movements at the time of the murder of Paul Ferris was not quite what Mark had expected. Unlike the Chief Inspector who had seen nothing suspicious in her activities. However, the Superintendent pointed out that she did not have much of an explanation for what she had done after she left Johnny Price at the cricket field, as `watching television alone' was hardly a convincing alibi. Mark was not sure that Martin was serious but had to agree that what he suggested was something that should not be discounted. Slightly ruffled, the Chief Inspector next turned to his account of the interview with Raymond Collinson.
Mark had found the House Master at break time and had asked him if they could have a quiet and confidential word,
"Mr Collinson, we're interested in finding out the source of the rumour that the tower was used by smokers, because we have found evidence that it is not likely that it was."
Raymond Collinson had a surprised look on his face as he responded to the Chief Inspector's question,
"I should hope it wasn't! The tower was out of bounds and dangerous, only the foolish or the desperate would have gone in there."
"Did you ever hear anyone mention this matter? I assume you must have done because you mentioned it in an interview with me when we were investigating Lawrence Miller's death. Can you remember who told you about it?"
"I think it was Paul Ferris who mentioned it to me. He was reporting to me one evening and said that there had been a few young men who had been involved in a smoking circle and that he believed they might be using the tower as place to meet. He also told me he had mentioned it to Mr Miller. Now that we know more about the relationship between those two, it might have been a rumour that they started to keep people away." "But wouldn't it increase the chances of staff members poking their noses in there to check if there were any smokers. Wouldn't it increase their risk of being caught?"
"Not necessarily, Chief Inspector, if either of them was seen by the tower they could easily claim that they had thought they had seen someone near the tower and wanted to see whether it was a smoker."
"Strangely enough, you're not the only person to suggest that. I believe that Andy Stephens gave that as a reason for suggesting that searchers should try looking in the tower when Lawrence Miller was found. Did he ever mention he had heard the rumour to you before that?"
"Now you come to mention it, he did. However, I assumed that he had got the idea from Mr Miller. After all they were both Assistant House Masters and so might well be looking for similar acts of rebellion and so they probably compared notes. Of course, I'm speculating and, if you really want to know where he got it from, you'll have to ask him."
"Yes, I'm sure we will. That's been very useful. One final question, before I let you go. Can you tell me of any other reason why any student or member of staff might have wanted to put such a rumour about?"
"None at all, Chief Inspector. I like to think that nobody would use the tower for any purpose, although I know that is not always the case as events have proved. I suppose someone might have used this rumour as a means to hide some other bad behaviour. The obvious ones are drinking, drugs and sex, I suppose and I expect they do go on but I never heard any rumours about any of those taking place at or near the tower!"
"Thank you, Mr Collinson. Please let me know if you think of anything else but in the meantime, please do not discuss this matter with anyone else."
Martin had listened intently to Mark's account of the interview with the House Master and asked one simple question,
"Did you get the impression that Raymond Collinson was telling the truth?"
Mark thought for a moment and responded,
"Yes, sir, I did."
Martin nodded and said,
"I thought the same about Alex Scott-Brown. So far we haven't got very far but we do need to talk to Andy Stephens, who seems to be a potential source of the information. I wonder if Mike is having any more joy from his interview with Bobby Marsh. Talking of Mike, he's left a note to say that David Graham has not shown up again today. I'm minded to send a car over to his house and either bring him in here for questioning or go out there ourselves. What do you think?"
Mark responded immediately by saying,
"I'll ask one of our patrol cars to call round at his house and ask him to come in as soon as possible."
"OK, Mike, let's do that and in the meantime let's go and see what Mike's up to."
It did not take the two senior officers all that long to find Mike Rickwood. The handsome Sergeant was standing by the cricket nets talking to Bobby Marsh and Peter Fowler was standing close by. To casual observers, Mike looked as though he was offering more advice to the young fast bowler but in reality they were talking about the tower.
"OK, Bobby, who first told you that the tower was used by smokers? Did either you or Paul start the rumour to keep prying eyes away from the place you used for sex?"
Bobby responded immediately,
"I haven't used the tower for sex since it was closed although Paul did suggest and hint that that was where he and Lawrie .. I mean Mr Miller .. sometimes met. He also asked me if I wanted to go there. It was a place that was used when he and I first got involved in sex when I was in my first term at the College. However, the new Principal stamped down on it hard. The two most senior boys left the College for University and the tower was closed and we had to make do with hurried meetings out in the open or in quiet places around other buildings. When we first got involved I think the people who organised the orgies did use smoking as a cover and a way of discouraging too many prying eyes. Also the old Principal was far more tolerant and did not get involved too much. I hadn't heard the smoking rumour for quite a long time. I think it resurfaced sometime this year, after September anyway. Like a lot of things in a College like this rumours start and spread like wildfire and it's difficult to pin them down. If I had to guess I'd say the original source was Paul, especially as he was keen to use it as a place to meet Mr Miller. In any case .. I .."
Bobby hesitated but Mike smiled encouragingly and the teenager continued,
"I found a much better and safer place to go for sex and I was about to take Paul to see it when..."
Again, Bobby's voice trailed away so Mike placed a comforting arm around the student and said,
"It's OK, Bobby, don't upset yourself. What you've told me is very useful and I'm sure the other investigators will agree with me."
Mike looked at Peter who was standing a few feet away and looking equally upset but the younger teen seemed anxious to say something and the Sergeant smiled encouragingly at him,
"I know I'm only a junior here, but I heard the rumour about smoking on this year, too. Last year the tower was just a building that was never used, was out of bounds and dangerous. The rumour went round our dorm, which again might suggest that it came from Paul."
"Yes it does seem plausible, but Bobby you're in College House and was the rumour going round there too?"
Bobby had recovered his composure and nodded and then said,
"Oh yes, I heard it from several people in my dorm too. It doesn't mean it started with us but it was circulating around this year. It could have come from anywhere because we all have lessons together. I can't remember anyone telling it to me directly as a piece of information and certainly Paul never said it directly to me. Even so, it must have come from somewhere and I know Paul wanted to re-use the tower for a meeting of guys interested in having sexual fun. I was keen to restart the group as well but having found this new location I would have preferred that one. I didn't really give much thought to how I would stop people snooping. Paul was always much clever at those things than I was."
Mark and Martin had overheard the last few remarks as they walked towards the small group that were talking together. The two senior officers smiled encouragingly at the teenagers and stood listening in silence until they had finished speaking to Mike. After it was obvious that the two youngsters had nothing more to say, Martin listened while Mike thanked the two boys for their help. Then Martin stepped in and reminded Bobby and Peter that he did not want them to talk about the subject to anyone else, stressing that he meant by that neither staff nor students. When the teenagers had left, Martin also said that he would like the three of them to return to the incident room and consider whether they had learnt anything of value. The Superintendent also wanted the three of them to review the growing number of statements from the students who had been present when Paul Ferris had been murdered. As a result of the additional manpower that had been made available to the investigation, the collection of statements was almost complete.
At the same time that the three policemen were sitting in the incident room reading through the reports, a police car was making its way towards the house where David Graham, the Greymount College cricket coach. The patrol car had been delayed in making this call because of a more urgent request to attend a road traffic accident but now they had finally made it and were about to ring the doorbell. The two Police Constables waited for a few moments but there was no response to their ringing of the bell. Unsure what to do next, the two PCs decided that they would have a look around the back of the house just to check that all was well. There was no sign of life in the garden and no response to their knock on the back door. However, the curtains in the downstairs rooms were open and so the policemen could peer into the house. After looking in several windows there was no sign of life in any part of the house that could be easily seen but equally there were no signs of foul play. Having checked the garage and found that it was empty, the two Constables decided that there was nothing else they could do and decided to return to their car and report what they had found to their headquarters.
The phone rang in the incident room and Mark answered it at once,
"Chief Inspector Jamieson."
"Hello, Mark, Superintendent Wilson here. We've had a report from the house you asked us to go to in order to find that Mr Graham. Well, according to the two Constables that went there, the place appears to be deserted with no sign of anyone in the house or garden and no car in the garage. However, there is no evidence of foul play. Do you want them to try to force an entry?"
"Hold on, sir, I'll check with Superintendent Roberts."
Mark told Martin what had been reported in and the Superintendent in charge of the investigation indicated that he did not want anything done immediately and then said,
"I don't think that it's necessary to break into the house at this stage. As his car is nowhere to be seen he might be on his way in to College or just gone out for a few minutes. Ask them to wait there for as long as possible while we wait to see if he turns up. If he's not back in an hour then I think I would like to have a look inside his house."
"I expect you heard all that, sir," said Mark to his own Superintendent at the other end of the phone.
"Yes, Mark. I'll hold the two men at David Graham's house for as long as possible. Let me know what if he turns up at the College and I'll stand them down."
Yes, sir, thank you."
Mark put the telephone down and resumed his place but again the reading of the statements was interrupted. This time someone knocking on the door caused the interruption and Mike stood up and walked to the door and found Bobby Marsh standing there.
"May I come in, please?"
"Of course, Bobby. What's the matter?"
"Well I wanted to ask if you knew where Mr Graham is? I know that the cricket team is devastated by Paul's death but we thought that the best tribute to him would be to go on playing. We are supposed to have net practice this afternoon and Mr Graham never misses it but he hasn't appeared today. Is he OK?"
Martin had overheard the conversation and intervened at this point,
"Thanks for reporting your concern us that, Bobby. We've been keen to find Mr Graham ourselves but we haven't been able to locate him. As far as we can tell he's not at home but we're still checking and we half hoped that he might turn up here. We'll step up our search and we'll let you know as soon as possible and, if by any chance he turns up here, ask him to come to see us at once, will you?"
"Yes, sir. I will."
Martin looked at mike and said,
"I think it would be a good idea if you went over to the nets and looked after the team. They know and trust you and your ability will enable you to offer effective advice. Don't worry, we won't let you lose touch with developments but I think you will contribute best by looking after the team at this point."
Mike looked both pleased and disappointed but did not hesitate to agree to his Superintendent's request. As the Sergeant left the room he heard Martin saying to Mark,
"Get onto the guys at Mr Graham's house, tell them if he doesn't return in the next fifteen minutes they are to force an entry and check through the house. How long would it take us to get there?"
"Too long I'm afraid, sir, but do you want to start out before they get into the house or prefer to wait?"
"Let's leave now and get there as quickly as possible."
Martin and Mark went to the Chief Inspector's car and, once they were on the main road, Mark set the siren blaring as they sped off in the direction of David Graham's house.
At David Graham's house the two PCs sat waiting in their car and then after a quarter of an hour they decided it was time to make a forced entry and did so, having checked with Mark Jamieson first. The two PCs forced their way into the back door and found nothing disturbed on the ground floor and no sign of life upstairs either. What they did find, however, was evidence that someone had decided to leave the house in a hurry. They reported this back to their headquarters and on to Mark and this spurred the two senior officers who were driving towards the house as fast as they could to get to the house as quickly as possible. As they drove towards the village where David Graham lived, Mark looked at Martin and said,
"You don't think anything had happened to David Graham, do you, sir?"
"I don't know for sure, Mark. I can't think of any reason why he should be, at least not based on what we know at the moment. Either he has run away or has been scared off for some reason. What we need to find out is which of these alternatives have caused him to leave."
"You don't seriously believe that he could be the killer, do you?"
"I doubt it, Mark, but it's possible. I doubt it because I can't believe he would kill his best player."
"Unless he did it out of jealousy."
"I doubt that too. There's no evidence he is gay and why would he be jealous of a young and very talented cricketer? But I concede his disappearance is a great concern and we need to find out where he is as a matter of urgency."
Mark radioed back to his headquarters and asked them to trace the index number of David Graham's car and then asked for it to be circulated to every Police Force in the country. Martin listened as he did so and when he had finished the conversation with the operations room, Mark turned to his older friend and said,
"Well, if he's in his car that should enable us to find him fairly quickly."
"I agree, Mark, but we also ought to notify all ports and airports just in case he tries to leave the country. I don't know much about David Graham or his family or anything else about him. We need to start digging to see if there is anything in his past that might have turned him into a murderer."
"I don't know much about him either, sir, but I believe that Mike Rickwood does. Do you want to turn round and go back to the College or go on to the house?"
"Let's go on to the house and contact Mike from there and perhaps we could meet together later this evening. I'll telephone Tom and see if he would mind getting some food and wine in and we'll have a discussion about this David Graham character then."
The car arrived at David Graham's house, which was being secured by the local Police and they allowed Martin and Mark to look around. A brief survey of the house confirmed that the occupant had left unexpectedly, as clothes were scattered around the bedroom and various discarded suitcases lay open around the room as well. What was very clear was that if it was David Graham who had left and there was no evidence that it was anyone else, then he had been in a great rush to get away. The only question that remained was why he had done so.
Martin intuitively felt that the answer to this question was not likely to be found in the house but, despite this, Mark asked for a complete and thorough search to be undertaken by the PCs that were present. He also ordered them to report anything they found that might have a bearing on the case or David Graham's disappearance, however trivial it might appear, to him immediately. This was done in the hope that some clues either to the cricket coach's whereabouts or to what information he might have that placed him in danger. It was equally possible that evidence might be unearthed that would point to the cricket coach as the killer. Finally, Mark made it clear to the two Constables that if David Graham returned to the house he was to be detained at the local Police Station until such time as he could be interviewed by Martin and himself.
At Greymount College, Sergeant Mike Rickwood was conducting a rather sombre cricket practice, none of the team seemed very enthusiastic but they cheered up a little bit as the net and fielding practice went on. Mike said that, although he was not in charge, he presumed that the captaincy would now be taken over by Bobby Marsh and the vice-captaincy by Tim Oakley. The rest of the team agreed and welcomed the newest two members of the squad from whom the team would eventually be selected. Mike added that the final decision would be left until the day of the next match when, hopefully, the College's cricket coach would be available to make the final choice. After about an hour, Mike decided to call an end to the practice and, as he did so, his telephone rang and he answered it. The message was a summons from Mark and Martin to meet them at the Superintendent's house as soon as possible.
Mark explained to the cricketers that he needed to go and asked them to put their equipment away and return safely together to their dormitories. Bobby looked slightly disappointed when he realised that Mike would be leaving straight away. Noting this, Mike gave the teenager his phone number and said that if he needed anything the young student could telephone him at any time. Bobby thanked the older man and walked slowly back with the others to the pavilion. Mike turned away and strode off to his car and prepared to drive back towards London and the meeting at the Superintendent's home.
As it turned out, Mike was the first to arrive at the house and he was greeted by Tom and offered a drink. The young children were both in bed, if not asleep and Harry and Simon had ventured out to see if Martin had arrived home yet. Seeing that he had not, the youngsters retreated, but did not have long to wait before Mark and Martin arrived. This time the boys came out of the bedroom and excitedly greeted the two adults but were ushered back to their bedroom by Martin with a promise that he would read a short bedtime story to them. While Martin was away with the children, Tom completed the preparations of his light snack and poured more wine for himself, the other two guests and carried a glass through to his lover.
Ten minutes later, Martin rejoined the group and they sat down to eat. As they were finishing their meal, the Superintendent drew the four of them back to the main reason for the meeting and said,
"Well, I've called us together because I want to have a discussion about David Graham who seems to have disappeared. His house is being searched and if anything important is found, Mark's left instructions for us to be informed immediately. What I need to know is this, what do we know about this fellow and do any of you have any clues as to where he might go if he wanted to disappear?"
Tom smiled and was the first to reply,
"Well, Marty, for once I can be of help to you! David Graham was a good County an England cricketer, although he only played on one Test Match about ten or more years ago. I don't fully remember the details but he was injured quite badly and never played again."
At this point Mike Rickwood intervened,
"Yes that's right, it was about fourteen years ago, I was in my early teens and I was a great fan of his and I supported his county, Middlesex. I took time off school and went to see him play in his only Test at Lords. He made a lot of runs and saved England that day against a good South African attack and I think his innings even set up the England victory. Then, after the Test was over, he was driving home and he stopped to help some people who had had an accident. As he was rescuing one of the occupants, who was trapped in the vehicle, the car exploded and he was badly burnt. He lost part of his right arm and, although he recovered, he was never able to play again. After that, I never heard much news of him again although people did say that he became a drunk and a drug addict. I don't know if it was true. Even if it was he seemed to have fully rehabilitated himself and I was surprised and delighted when I met him at Greymount College and he told me he was the cricket coach."
Martin thanked the two contributors for telling him something of David Graham's history but then asked if anyone knew anything about his private and family life. This time Mark answered,
"Well I'm hoping the search of his house might reveal something about that, but at the moment all I think we can say is that he lived alone, and there does not appear to be a partner of any sort. As for family, I've got men digging around to try to find out about parents or siblings."
"Good", said Martin, "Let's hope we turn something up soon. I think we need to find this David Graham as soon as we can. He either knows something that has put his life in danger or he has run away because he fears we are onto him. Whatever, he is now a prime target of this investigation, unless, of course, one of you has a different explanation?"
The others remained silent, which Martin deemed to mean agreement with his line of reasoning. However, Mike suddenly felt confident enough to intervene and say,
"I'm not sure that David Graham could have killed Paul Ferris. He was having tea in the tea tent when the other members of the fielding side and I came off after we finished the College team's innings. I can't see how he could be there and murdering Paul at the same time. It suggests to me that he was running away because he was frightened of someone or saw something"
"OK, Mike, it's certainly a point in his favour. If he'd been quick he might have been able to murder Paul and still make it to the tea tent, but he'd have been very wet and I don't suppose he could have done it in the time. However, even if I accept your point as true and we confirm it with other witnesses, we still need to speak to him."
Mike indicated that he accepted that what the Superintendent had said was true. Once it was clear that none of the others had anything more to say, Martin decided to bring the meeting to a close. However this process was interrupted when Mark's telephone rang. The Chief Inspector answered it immediately and it was obvious from what the others could glean from Mark's end of the conversation that the search of David Graham's house had revealed something of interest. When he had completed his call, Mark wasted no time in telling the others exactly what it was, Mark said, excitedly,
"One of the Constables has found a number of items referring to someone called Margaret Gordon. Her name seems to appear quite often in his personal belongings. I think I should follow this up immediately, don't you, sir?"
"Yes, Mark, do that and take Mike with you if he would like to go. I think we need to find out who this person is and whether she knows where David Graham has gone to."
Mike nodded vigorously at the suggestion that he should go along with the Chief Inspector and moments later, after Mark had telephoned his wife, Ruth, to say that he would be very late home that evening, the two officers left to follow up the lead. Tom looked at Martin and said,
"Well, I don't think there's much more we can do tonight, do you Marty? So why don't we go to bed and get some sleep? We can let the enthusiastic young things go off and do all the hard work, I'm sure they'll call us when they have something useful to tell you."
Martin looked across at his partner and nodded and the two lovers went quickly and quietly to bed. They did not linger too long over the nightly embrace but went almost straight to sleep, especially as neither of them could be certain as to how much sleep they would get that night.
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