DISCLAIMER:
This is my first story for quite a while. Here is the seventh chapter. I hope you feel it is worth the wait. Please not that none of the characters in the story exist and the events that take place are purely imaginary. This is a detective story with sexual overtones. I hope that you like this as a piece of writing.
WARNING:
Do not read this story if you are in any way offended by acts of a homosexual nature.
Do not read this if you are under the legal age for accessing adult sites.
Always indulge in safe sex. Chapter 7
Throughout the day James Bryant had been getting increasingly agitated. For the first time since the fateful night when he had been recruited into Peter's organisation, the assassin felt that he was not in control of events. Right from the first discussions about the operation James had opposed the idea of staying in London longer than the few days that were necessary for him to complete his assignment but his objections had been overruled. Peter had told James that the cover story was that he was visiting a very sick brother who was seriously ill in a local London hospital and that would explain the odd hours that he would keep. The controller had added that it would look very odd if the assassin did not stay for a while so, very reluctantly, James had agreed to the arrangement, but now he felt his caution had been vindicated.
The agitation James had already begun to feel was increased by two factors. Firstly, he had seen the young Constable pick something up from the bushes where he had been standing the previous day and then, later, he had seen the same Police Officer staring straight at his window in the bed and breakfast hotel where he was staying. Although he had seen Martin shake his head and walk away, the assassin was convinced that his whereabouts would soon be discovered. This sent the assassin's mind racing and he decided that urgent action was required if he was to remain free.
Normally, if there was to be any deviation from the agreed plan, James was expected to clear it with Peter before acting, so he decided to try one more time to persuade his controller to let him leave early. An early escape from the scene had been the highly successful method that had been used in all his previous missions and James saw no reason why it could not have worked on this occasion. If challenged he could tell the bed and breakfast people that his relative had now recovered and would be returning home soon. However, as James was unable to make direct contact, the assassin was forced to leave a message asking Peter to contact him as soon as he was able do so. In the meantime, the assassin decided that he would take action on his own initiative.
Without thinking exactly what he intended to do next, James had concluded that the Policeman he had seen was certain to work from the local Police Station and so he went and stood outside in order to wait for the Officer in question to go off duty. The next stage, James decided, would be to follow the young officer to see where he lived. The first parts of the plan worked out very well and, to the assassin's great relief, Martin neither realised that he was being followed, nor recognised James' face when he saw him standing outside the Police Station. Nevertheless, this still did not satisfy the assassin, who decided that he would continue with his intended course of action and follow the Police Constable all the way to his home.
The tail worked well and James was able to find out where Martin went, although he remained unconvinced that a young man would own such a property in that part of London. The assassin's plan, however, was still unformed and his hopes of tailing Martin further were disrupted by the sight of two other people following the young Officer and, furthermore, by Martin's apparent intention of spending the rest of the evening out with the friends he had met as he left the apartment block. James was not to know that the young man had only gone round the corner to buy some fish and chips. The assassin had a sudden cause for worry when Martin had started to cross the road directly towards him, but the young man had then been distracted by the calls from his friends to join them. James was also concerned over the identity and purpose of the other two people that had been following Martin and were in hiding on the opposite side of the road. The assassin had been relieved when he realised that the two men had reached a similar conclusion to his own about Martin's intentions and had drifted off home. This made it clear that they were interested in Martin not him so, by the time the young PC returned to his apartment block, James had gone back home, because the assassin believed that there was something else he could do that night.
Arriving back at his bed and breakfast hotel, there was a message waiting for James lying on the reception desk, on which was written a telephone number that would enable him to make contact with Peter. Before he followed up the message, the assassin decided that it would be best to check through all his possessions to see whether he could work out what, if anything, he might have lost at the scene of the crime. There was nothing immediately obvious among his belongings and his hopes rose that perhaps all that had been found had been a coin or some other untraceable object. On the other hand, the Policeman had treated the find with considerable care, something he would not have done had it seemed to be worthless. Thus it was that, when he came to examine the park keeper's uniform he had been told to wear, James discovered that one of the shiny buttons on the sleeve was missing. In discussing the plans for the mission, the assassin had strongly objected to having to wear the uniform, arguing that he should be able to seek out his victim in his own manner. As usual, James had been overruled and now it looked as though the stupid uniform could lead to his exposure and arrest. The thought that Peter and his colleagues always knew better than he did how he should complete his mission had always been a source of anger in the assassin and this time he was even more furious than usual. Now that he knew what the Police had found James decided that he would telephone Peter immediately and again press his case for an immediate escape.
Angry and upset though he was, the assassin followed the usual procedure and found a public telephone box from which to make the call. James reported to his controller that the Police had found a button from his park keeper's uniform near the site of the murder and he was worried that they might soon be able to identify him as the murderer. Again, the assassin requested permission to leave that night and disappear as he usually did for a few days after he had completed a successful mission. Once again, Peter denied the request and tried to reassure his prot‚g‚ that there was nothing to worry about. The controller added that he was confident that the Police would not be able to trace anything back to James and did not believe that they have the remotest clue where the assassin was hiding. Peter urged James to remain calm, not to do anything rash and to let matters settle down before leaving, as planned, at the end of the week. Although the assassin reluctantly agreed to stay, his levels of anxiety were unabated and he was determined to do as much as possible to destroy or hide any evidence that might link him to the murder.
One thing James had deliberately not told his controller about was the action he had taken in following Martin, nor was he willing to tell him that he planned to get rid of the incriminating uniform as soon as he could. Had Peter known this, he would have immediately ordered the assassin to do no such thing, but, by the time he found out, the damage had been done. Unaware that he might be making a grave mistake, James used the cover of darkness to put his plan into operation.
As his cover for staying in London, the assassin had been given a false name and the reason for his visit was the illness of his brother. The people that owned the bed and breakfast hotel sometimes asked for news about his brother and so James was able to give partially optimistic, but non-committal responses, which enabled him to come and go at odd times during his stay. On his return from telephoning Peter, the assassin told the owner that, unfortunately, his brother's condition had taken a turn for the worse and that he was likely to be out at the hospital for some time. The news brought a sympathetic response and the owner asked if the guest wished him to arrange a taxi, but the assassin replied that this would not be necessary, as he would be meeting another family member and they would travel together. The proprietor reminded James that if he was going to be out late then he had better take the keys with him. The assassin acknowledged this point, collected his keys and went up to his room. Having found a small carrier bag into which he stuffed the park keeper's uniform and then zipped it shut, James went downstairs and left the bed and breakfast hotel.
The assassin knew that it would not be sensible to dump the uniform in the park, even though the Police activity had been scaled down. James was aware that the whole area had been thoroughly searched and if the uniform was found quickly, as it very well might be, it would tell the Police two things. The first thing it would tell them was that the clue the young Police Officer had found was significant and the second was that the killer was still somewhere in the vicinity or had been until quite recently. As luck would have it, James had spent some of the time after the murder wandering the streets that ran away behind his bed and breakfast hotel and some distance from the main road and the park beyond. On his travels the assassin had noticed that there was a small building site with several large rubbish skips parked at the side of the road. James calculated that he should be able to walk to the location in less than twenty minutes, spend a few moments making sure that the sealed bag was buried deep amongst the rubble and other discarded building materials and then go to a pub for a drink or two before returning to his room.
Although the plan appeared to be quite simple, things did not go quite to plan. It took James longer than he expected to locate the building site, which he had last seen in daylight. Locating the place in the jumble of streets, all of which looked so similar in the dark, proved more difficult than expected. However, after some time, the assassin found what he was looking for and made his way to what he hoped would be the more sheltered side of the group of skips. James found a suitable receptacle and delved down into its contents so find a suitable space to hide the bag containing the incriminating uniform. Looking all around to make sure that there was nobody about, the assassin quickly dropped the bag into the skip, covered it over with a suitable amount of rubble so that it was more or less completely obscured to the naked eye and then moved away from the area as quickly as he could go.
Careful though James had been, he had failed to notice that, just after he dropped the bag into the skip and was making his getaway, a man walking a dog had started to round the corner and, noticing what was happening, had stepped back into the shadows so that he could observe more closely without being seen. Bert Johnson had recently taken it upon himself to keep an eye on the area around which he lived. Like many of his neighbours, he was annoyed that people from outside the area often came into the local back streets and dumped their rubbish in the building site skips and on the roadside. Although he only caught sight of James as he was moving away from the skip, Bert was fortunate because the perpetrator walked under a street lamp and so he was able to get a reasonably good look at James' face. The old man made a note of what had happened and memorised a description of the man, because he was determined that the following morning he would report what he had seen that night not only to the building firm that was working on the site but also to the Police.
Oblivious to the fact that he had been spotted, James made his way to a local pub and ordered a pint of bitter at the bar before sitting down in a corner where he could drink his beer in silence. The pub was one of those that had a recently introduced a jukebox and the assassin was able to sit lost in his own thoughts while those around him sang along to the pop songs that filled the air. As he brooded about what he should do next, James considered that he had very few real choices. One possibility was to ignore what his controller had told him and simply make a run for it. James doubted that anyone would make the connection between him and the murder if he did so, but disobedience of Peter would almost certainly lead to his being exposed as a sexual criminal. The second option would be to do as he was told and stay put, leaving as planned at the end of the week. This was the option that James' controller obviously favoured, but the danger was that Peter might be mistaken as to how far the Police had got with their investigation. Although the young Policeman had not apparently recognised the assassin either outside the Police Station or outside his apartment block, this might have been a temporary blip. If the Police could identify the park keeper uniform as the source of the button that Martin had found and somehow link him to it, then James would be in serious trouble. Furthermore, the young Officer seemed to have some hunch about where the murderer might be staying, hence the two occasions when Martin had stopped and looked directly at the assassin's bedroom window. As he downed his third pint of the evening, the already anxious assassin kept coming back to the thought that all his problems stemmed from the fact that the young PC knew something, but that, if Peter was right, he had not yet shared what he suspected with his fellow Police Officers. With alcohol-induced clarity, James began to form the opinion that the real solution to his problem was to eliminate the one person who seemed to know the secret of his identity and whereabouts or was getting close to it. Having reached this conclusion, the assassin turned his mind to the best way to achieve his intended objective. James little suspected that the decisions he had just reached would constitute the second grave error that he would make in a single day.
A small group of teenagers had gathered around the jukebox and James was distracted from his thoughts by their presence. There were four young men in their late teens, dressed in tight jeans and clutching pints of beer and crowded round each other arguing over who should decide what to play next. To one side stood a younger teenager, James guessed he was sixteen at most, and this youngster was only on the periphery of the group of older lads. The assassin's attention was immediately drawn to this young man, who was drinking a soft drink and had one hand firmly wedged in the pocket of his skin-tight jeans as he looked admiringly at the bulging jeans of the group gathered at the jukebox. The older man recognised the hunger and longing in the younger teen's eyes; it was the same look that he was giving the lad right at that moment. For an instant James and the young teenager met each other's eyes and a flash of recognition of their shared interest passed between them before they each looked quickly away. For some seconds, the older man continued to stare at the teenager's jeans and was overwhelmed with the desire to be the one with the hand in his pockets feeling the undoubtedly rampant cock that lay hidden beneath it.
As he gazed at the youth, James could feel a stirring in his groin and, before it got too obvious, he decided to move away from where he was sitting. As he walked from the table towards the centre of the room, James passed the younger teenager and again their eyes met and both seemed to understand what the other wanted and needed. The older man strode towards the bar, but appeared to change his mind and walked on towards the far end of the room where the toilets were situated. Although he did not look round, James knew that the young teenager had been secretly watching him and the older man felt a thrill of excitement as he entered the door to the bathroom. The door squeaked loudly as he entered and James was pleased to note that there were two stalls as well as a long trough with no partitions so he went to stand at the trough towards the far end and took out his half-hard cock and released a gush of urine. The older man had not been there above a minute when the door squeaked and the young teenager walked tentatively into the toilet and looked straight at James, who turned to give the youngster a better look at his long, uncut dick. The teenager made eye contact with the older man, nodded and then walked more boldly towards the urinal and took up a position as close as he could to where James was standing. Letting go of his own fast hardening prick, James leaned over and ran his hands over the bulging jeans of the horny youth, who sighed with pleasure as he felt his cock being gently squeezed. A moment later and the teenager's jeans had been unzipped and his rock hard, uncut cock was exposed. James gripped the shaft firmly in his warm hands and the teenager immediately reciprocated and eagerly started wanking the older man's larger cock before whispering,
"You got a place to go, mister?"
James shook his head and nodded in the direction of the toilet stalls, but this time the youngster shook his head and whispered,
"Too risky. We'll just have to have a wank here. Pity though, you have a very nice cock!!"
The older man grinned at his younger partner and replied,
"Thanks. Yours isn't so bad either!!"
The horny youth stood back from the urinal to make more room and he and James began to wank each other with increasing intensity. Each time he performed a down stroke, James ensure that the youngster's foreskin came right the way off the head and then was pushed back up as far as it would go. On several occasions the older man teased the youth's sensitive glans and smeared them with pre cum. Finally, he leaned forward and took the glistening cock head between his lips and heard his partner sigh loudly as he did so. The teenager leaned back and let go of James cock as he felt his own dick begin to react to the sucking it was receiving and whispered,
"Suck me hard, I'm going to cum!!"
The older man needed no further encouragement and sucked his young partner with all the skill he had, James was gratified as the teenager moaned louder and louder with pleasure until finally the older man received his reward. The young teenager thrust his cock deep into James' mouth and unleashed a volley of hot cream that filled the older man's mouth which he eagerly swallowed as quickly as he could. The youngster was thrilled to feel his dick throb and pulsate in his older partner's mouth and he attempted to ensure that James received every last drop. After several more seconds, however, the teenager's balls ran dry and the torrent of spunk finally came to an end. James had eaten all that he had been given and had been gently wanking his cock as he did so. However, the older man's hopes that his youthful partner would finish him off were dashed when the squeaky door gave the horny pair warning that a stranger was on his way into the toilet. The teenager immediately zipped up and went to the sinks to wash his hands and James disappeared just in time into a toilet stall where he closed the door and reached his climax, showering his ball cream into the bowl. By the time he had flushed the toilet and opened the door, James could see that the toilet was deserted and, when he went into the bar, there was no sign of his recent sexual partner.
The interlude in the toilet had temporarily distracted the assassin from his concerns and plans, but, now he was back in the real world, James decided against another drink and made his uncertain way back to his bed and breakfast hotel. There was nobody about to see the guest when he arrived back and went straight up to his room. If James had hoped to get some rest, he was to be disappointed. Issues kept going round and round in his head as he remembered all sorts of things from his past and mixed them into his present predicament. Lying on his bed in the dark James was assaulted on all sides with sensations and feelings that he found difficult to understand or control. Slowly, he reached some firm conclusions. The first was that he no longer cared about Peter and his organisation, nor did he care about their so-called 'superior planning processes'. James was about to take charge of his own destiny for once and he knew that he would do a better job than any others could or would do. The second conclusion James reached was that since he had disposed of the incriminating evidence, there was only one other barrier to his complete escape and this was the rather handsome Policeman he had seen the day before and followed earlier that evening. Now that James knew where Martin probably lived, he would return there in a few hours time and stake the place out. He was more than a match for the two other people that seemed to be interested in the Constable and he would see them off pretty quickly. At that moment, however, another thought struck the assassin, rather than scare the other two men off, it might be possible to incorporate them into his plans and ensure that they took the blame for anything that happened. James decided that he would incapacitate the Policeman but leave a trail of evidence leading back to the hapless pair that had also been tailing Martin. Believing that he had solved his problems, James finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.
In Martin's flat, even though he did have a brief recall of being kissed farewell several hours earlier Nick woke late and was disappointed that his lover had left for work. Looking at the clock on the bedside table the young man realised that it was quite late and he ought to get up and dressed. When he walked into the kitchen, Nick found that Martin had left all the things he needed for his breakfast laid out on the table so that all his young lover had to do was to make some toast and coffee and he would be all set for the day. Beside the breakfast things there was also a brief note from Martin suggesting a few places that Nick might be interested in visiting during the day and promising that, all being well, the PC would be home not very late that evening. Nick greatly appreciated the effort that Martin had made on his behalf and tried to think what he could do in return. Although both he and Martin knew very well what they would most enjoy, Nick decided that, after he had got dressed and had eaten, he would go off to Charing Cross Road and seek out something really interesting in one of the many bookshops that were to be found there.
By the time he was ready to leave, Nick was filled with an overwhelming desire to speak to Martin and so he found the piece of paper on which the older man had written his details and called the number. To the young student's surprise, the telephone was answered immediately and he heard the familiar voice on the other end of the line,
"Martin Roberts."
Nick responded immediately, but was slightly taken aback by his lover's dull tone,
"Hi, Martin, it's me!! I was about to go out but I wanted to ring you to thank you for letting me stay here and, of course, for last night. I also thought I could tell you what I was planning to do with the rest of the day before you come home and we go out to dinner."
This time, when he replied, the Constable's voice had more warmth,
"Hi Nick, glad to hear you are up!! Think nothing of being allowed to stay in my flat, I can assure you that the pleasure was all mine. I'm sorry if I sounded less than pleased to be answering the phone just now, but it has been a very frustrating morning. I've been trying unsuccessfully to track down the identity of the murder victim and all I've got to go on is that he is European, probably Dutch, came to the area only a few months ago, but may have been in the country for rather longer. So far, all my enquiries with the Immigration people have been unsuccessful and it is getting very frustrating. So, how about you? What have you decided to do?"
Nick tried to think of something encouraging to say to his lover, but could not do so,
"Sorry you are having a rotten day! I promise I'll make it up to you when you get home tonight."
Martin sighed and interrupted the student to respond briefly, but enthusiastically,
"Thank you, I'll look forward to that a lot!!"
Nick then continued,
"As far as I'm concerned I thought I'd go up to the bookshops on Charing Cross Road, there's a few items I thought I might look for while I'm here in London."
As he replied, Martin sounded a word of caution,
"Great idea, some of those shops have really a lot of good stuff, but it is not always on obvious display. If you can't see what you're looking for, it sometimes pays to ask. But also be warned, don't spend too much money in the shops, I know how easy it is to get carried away. Oh, sorry I'm going to have to end the call, as I my boss wishes to speak to me. If there are any problems, I'll leave a message on the answering machine, so please check it when you come back in. See you later and take care!"
Nick ended his side of the conversation,
"Of course I will and I'm sorry to have interrupted you at work it was just that I wanted to hear and speak to you. See you later and remember I love you!"
Martin felt a tingle of pleasure as he heard Nick's last words but was unable to respond directly,
"And I do you! See you late. Bye."
Nick put the phone down, picked up the small map of Central London that he had acquired and walked to the door to make his way to Charing Cross Road. After he had visited several of the shops, the student was reminded how easy it would be to spend a lot of money, but, heeding his lover's warning, he restrained himself and only bought three books for himself and a fourth for Martin, which would act as a token of appreciation for the older man. Grabbing a sandwich, Nick walked back to the apartment as quickly as he could, because he could see that the weather was deteriorating and he had no outdoor coat. Once inside the flat, Nick ate his lunch and then wrote a quick note to accompany the book that he had bought for Martin. It was a small volume, written by Martin's old Professor from Oxford, Richard Smethurst, on the subject of Immigration into the USA during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As it was now raining, Nick decided to stay in for a while and read one of the new books he had just bought and wait until Martin returned from work.
Across London, James Bryant had awoken later than he had hoped and was not feeling at his best as he had a dull headache that reminded him that the night before he had possibly drunk too much. He was too late for breakfast, but did not worry unduly about that. Looking out of the window, the assassin could see that the scale of Police activity in the park had been greatly reduced and this brought him some relief. It was clear that whatever the young PC had discovered was still not regarded as significant and nor had they linked the discovery to the murderer, but James remained convinced that it would not be too long before it was. Remembering his plan from the previous evening, the murderer was annoyed that he had not been able to put the first part into effect because of his lay-in. He had intended to be up early enough to be at the Police Station in time for Martin's arrival, but had missed that deadline by several hours. There was no way to check whether the Policeman was at work that day, but the second part of the plan could still be activated. James decided that he would again stake out the apartment block where he had seen Martin the day before. If the young man did not appear, then the assassin would have to hope that there were no developments during the day and follow him again the next day, until he found out where the young Constable really lived.
James left his bed and breakfast hotel wearing an old raincoat and walked to the nearest Underground Station and made his way to Soho. When he arrived, the assassin was slightly disappointed that there was no sign of the other two men that had apparently been following Martin. On the other hand, it was very early in the day and they might yet turn up later. The one fly in the ointment would be if these two got to the PC before James did, but the assassin reckoned that they would not do so, as the area around his home was probably the place where Martin was most vulnerable. If the other two unknown men did turn up, James intended to incorporate their presence into his plans, although these were not yet fully formed. In the meantime, the assassin found a small caf‚ with a good view of the area, sat down in the window with a cup of coffee and waited.
After he had put the phone down on the call from Nick, Martin had made his way into DCI Prior's office. The Senior Officer looked up and said,
"Well, Martin, are you making any progress on identifying the victim?"
The young Constable shook his head and replied,
"Not really, Guv, I've contacted Immigration and they have no records of anyone answering the dead man's description entering the country from Holland in the last twelve months. I've asked them to check back a bit further but I'm not too hopeful."
The DCI looked concerned and said,
"I rather suspected this would be the case and I don't think that Sergeant Smithers will spare you beyond the end of the week. If there is no breakthrough before then, I'm afraid we'll have to scale down the investigation until we have more useful leads."
Martin was disheartened by what he had heard, but understood the reasoning behind it. He had just begun to dial the number of the Immigration service again, when WPC Holly Wilson entered the CID Squad Room carrying a small bag. The WPC explained that she thought that the uniform might be just what the CID had been looking for. Martin's smile widened even more when he heard Holly say that she had a witness who might be able to provide a description of the man he saw dumping the bag. The young PC was excited by this news, but Martin also realised that if it panned out then his chances of an early night would disappear very rapidly indeed.
In a quiet moment Holly had explained how the discovery had come about. It transpired that at the beginning of the day, when the Relief had received its allocated tasks for the day, she and her partner had been allocated to the Beat that took in the area around the bed and breakfast hotel where James Bryant was staying. Among the pieces of intelligence they were given was the news that the Police had received yet another report from Bert Johnson about fly tipping. Sergeant Smithers had sighed loudly and, little knowing how prophetic he was being, said,
"I know it is a bit of a pain, but when you have the time, go in and talk to him. He's a bit of an 'old woman' but keep him sweet, one day he might prove useful."
Holly had acknowledged the point but was determined to pay the old man a visit as soon as she could do so. However, this had taken longer than she expected because the WPC and her partner were called away to another incident and so, it was nearly lunchtime before they got round to calling on Mr Johnson. The old man had, as usual, been delighted to see the two Officers on his doorstep and told them what he had seen the night before. Holly said that she would take a look straight away and so she, her fellow Officer and Bert walked the short distance to the skips. PC Andy Clarke climbed up to look inside but could not see anything unusual and called down to the other two to report this observation. When Bert insisted that he had seen the man dumping something the night before, Holly said that she would take a look. The hawkeyed WPC just caught sight of a piece of material well hidden among the builders rubbish and shouted down that she could see what looked like a bag. Andy climbed up again and jumped into the skip and carefully moved the rubble and wood until the bag was fully exposed and carefully lifted it out.
Once they had the bag on the ground, Holly unzipped it and all three were surprised to see a dark uniform with shiny buttons stuffed inside it. Holly knew from her casual conversations with Martin that the CID had been looking for a man who might have been wearing a Park keeper's uniform in connection with the murder that they were investigating. Holly turned to Bert and said,
"Tell me, Mr Johnson, did you get a good look at the man who you saw dumping something into the skip last night?"
The old man nodded and replied brightly,
"Certainly, I did. He was walking not far from me and I saw him clearly as he stepped out into the light from a streetlamp."
The WPC tried to suppress her excitement and asked,
"Did you get a good look at the face, then?"
Bert Johnson nodded and was even more surprised when he was asked if he would mind going to the Police Station to look at some photographs and help an artist draw a picture of the face of the man.
Bert had only vaguely heard of the murder in the park but was pleased to be able to help in any way he could in solving whatever crime the Police were investigating. Once back at the Station, Holly had sent the bag to the forensic team for further analysis. There was little doubt that the button Martin found would match the uniform, but the chances of getting any useful prints off the bag it had been hidden in were considered minimal. It was not long before both these presumptions were confirmed. In the meantime, Bert spent some time looking at photos but recognised none of them, so he was asked to describe the man so that a drawing of his likeness could be made. The old man was more than pleased with the likeness the artist drew of the face of the person he had seen the previous night. WPC Wilson was also delighted and had immediately taken the report on bag's contents and the picture up to the CID squad room. DCI Prior looked at the detailed picture and announced that he wanted everyone to get to work straight away and make contact with everyone they knew to see if they recognised the person's face. The Senior Office also arranged that all the media would be notified so that the picture would be printed in all the newspapers by the morning.
Martin was now certain that he would not be coming home very early, as the DCI had asked him to go back to the Doig's house to see if either of the boys that lived there recognised the face. In addition, it was suggested that the young PC might like to talk to his friends among the tramps that lived in the park to see if any of them had seen the man.
As he had promised earlier, Martin had just enough time to phone his home number with the intention of leaving a message for his young lover explaining that he was now not likely to be home for some little while. He dialled the number and was pleasantly surprised when he heard Nick's voice answering his call. Martin spoke quietly,
"Hi, Nick, it's Martin. I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you. We've had a major breakthrough in the case I'm working on and so it's all hands to the pump so to speak. I've got quite a few things to do before I can get away, so I'm not sure that I will get home in time for dinner with you tonight."
As he replied, Nick tried not to sound too disappointed,
"I'm glad you've got a breakthrough, but sorry that I won't see you until later. Don't worry about dinner, I'll sort something out for myself and then sit and watch the telly until you get back."
Martin could hear the disappointment in Nick's tone and again apologised but both men accepted that there was nothing that could be done about it. Martin did, however, come up with a suggestion of where Nick might go to get something to eat,
"There's an excellent Chinese takeaway not more than ten minutes walk from the flat. Go out of my building, turn right and then left and it's about five minutes walk on the same side of the road."
Nick acknowledged the information,
"Good idea. I'll go there in a little while. Should I get two portions?"
Martin sighed as he replied,
"Best not. I've no real idea when I'll be home, all I know is that it will be late."
Nick responded, as cheerfully as he could,
"OK. I'll wait up for you and remember I love you!!"
Martin finished the conversation,
"And the same from me to you! See you later!!"
The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it looked both cold and wet outside. This was a nuisance, as Nick had not brought any kind of raincoat with him. Fortunately, he saw the old rain jacket and cap that Martin had worn the night before and, realising that they were of similar build, decided that, when he did go out to get the takeaway, he would wear those clothes. As he was walking slowly back to the apartment earlier in the day, Nick had noticed what looked like a shortcut that would cut off the corner of the road and make his journey to the Chinese that much quicker. Although this would involve walking down a narrow alleyway, flanked by dark recesses on either side, places where, at night, muggers and robbers could easily hide, it would still be broad daylight when he went out and so the route seemed to pose no specific dangers.
Sometime later, from the caf‚ where he had been sitting all afternoon, the assassin saw a figure dressed in the same clothes that Martin had been wearing the night before, leave the apartment building. As James had not seen Martin return from work, he came to the conclusion that the young PC must have been off-duty that day and was going out somewhere for the evening. As he was determined that on this occasion his plans would not be thwarted, the assassin paid for his coffees and left the caf‚. This time there were no impediments, so he could follow the young man with ease and safety. James watched with growing pleasure as the figure he was going to follow turned into the alleyway where the other two men had hidden the night before and quickened his step. Although the young man was several yards ahead, he was walking quite slowly and it was relatively easy for the assassin to close the gap between them. Moving swiftly and silently, James caught up the figure in front and, having ensured that the alleyway was deserted, got close enough to deliver a sudden and effective blow. Nick had not heard the approaching man and was lost in his own thoughts. Even as James raised his arm to deliver the fateful blow, the young student was unaware of the assassin's presence.
One moment Nick was daydreaming about the fun he and Martin would have later that day and over the weekend, the next there was nothing, just blackness. Without emotion, James Bryant watched as the lifeless body slumped to the ground. Stepping over the lifeless corpse, the assassin retreated from the scene as fast as he could and walked out into the main road.
Although he knew he should have done so, James did not leave the scene completely because he wanted to see if the other two men turned up, which, to his delight, they did some thirty minutes later. They did not, however, go to where they had hidden the day before but stood in the doorway of a nearby shop. James walked up to the two strangers and, pretending to be lost, asked directions. As one of the men was fumbling around with his street map, the assassin used another skill he had acquired over the years to pick his pocket. Thanking the two men for their assistance, James walked off in the direction they had indicated, but once out of sight, he changed direction. James knew that he could enter the alleyway where the body was lying from the other end. The stranger's wallet contained a credit card and some other personal items and, when it was safe for him to do so, James removed these and carefully scattered them near the body that lay, still undetected, on the ground. Once he was satisfied that he had achieved all that he set out to do, James, believing that he had covered all the bases, left the area and made his way back south of the river.
After he had spoken to Nick, Martin had left the Police Station and headed across the park to the Council estate where the Doigs lived. Mrs Doig was distinctly unenthusiastic when she saw the young PC standing on her doorstep. A third visit from the Police in such a short space of time was not going to do the reputation of her family any good at all. Nevertheless, she had no option other than to show Martin in to see her two sons. As before, Ian and Colin were perched on the sofa watching television and hardly acknowledged the Officer's presence. Martin produced a photograph of the Park keeper's uniform and showed it to the two boys. In response to his question, both of the youngsters confirmed that it looked very much like the uniform each of them had seen being worn by someone in the park a few days earlier. However, they were not so certain when it came to recognising the face of the man in the drawing, which Martin had showed them next. At best Colin said it looked quite similar to the person but the man he had seen had been some distance away and the teenager could not be sure and Ian's response followed a similar line to that of his older brother. Martin realised that this was likely to be the best he could hope for and accepted that he would not get a positive identification from the two young witnesses and so he took his leave.
After he returned to the park it took the young PC some little time to locate 'Prince Albert' and his friends, but eventually Martin tracked them down. The Constable found the old man and started by telling them of the latest developments. After Martin had finished, the old vagrant seemed surprised and pleased, but then said in a harsh tone,
"Well, it sounds as though the murderer was not one of us then, doesn't it?"
Martin nodded and pressed ahead with showing the drawing to the older man, who said that, although he personally had not seen the person in the drawing, he would ask around to see if anyone recognised the face. With a promise that he would return in a short while, 'Prince Albert' took the photograph and the drawing from Martin, turned on his heels and walked away, making it very clear that he did not expect the young Constable to follow him. After what seemed like an age, but in reality was only a few minutes, the old tramp returned. Martin saw that 'Prince Albert' was accompanied by a female companion, who shuffled along beside him. The elderly lady did not look up but, after some prompting from 'Prince Albert', did begin to speak. In a flat monotone the woman said,
"I recognise both the uniform and the face of the man in the drawing. I saw him in the park last weekend, I think that it was on Saturday. I did not see him again until after the murder when I saw him leaving the park shortly after the body of the victim had been taken away. I haven't seen him since."
After she had made her statement, the female tramp turned straight around and walked back in the direction from which she had come, watched by Martin and 'Prince Albert', who said,
"That's the most she's said in all the years I've known her, but she wanted to help. I doubt if she'd be willing to go to Court but I hope it helps."
Martin reassured the old vagrant that the information was very useful and asked him to convey the Constable's thanks to the unnamed witness. 'Prince Albert' replied that he most certainly would and then he, too, decided that it was time to leave. Before disappearing back into the wooded area where he and his colleagues chose to live, the old vagrant paused a moment to shake Martin's hand.
Elated by what he had been told, the young PC decided to make his way back to the Police Station to report what he had discovered. When Martin arrived back in the CID Squad Room, only the DCI was still there, but he seemed genuinely pleased with the news that the young Constable had brought back,
"Well, it looks as though we are working on the right track now. We've got a link between the face and the uniform confirmed and I confidently expect that once the face appears in the national press tomorrow morning, we'll soon pick him up."
Martin replied enthusiastically to this positive comment,
"I hope so, too, Guv!"
DCI Prior looked at his watch and said,
"It's getting very late, I suggest that you make your way home now and be back here bright and early. You've worked very hard on this case, harder than I expected and I'd hate you to miss the conclusion of this investigation."
The young PC smiled and replied,
"Thanks, Guv,"
As he left the Squad room, Martin smiled with pleasure at the prospect of a really serious case being resolved at least partially as a result of his efforts. The young Constable's good mood continued as he made his way home. Although he was tired from his day's activities, the thought of seeing Nick again and enjoying a repeat of the previous night's sexual activity brought renewed vigour to his body. Thus enlivened, Martin travelled home on the London Underground full of anticipation and could hardly wait to get out of the train at his destination and walk the short distance from there to his apartment block. However, as he turned the corner to get into his road, the young man's mood changed abruptly. The scene that greeted him sent a shudder of foreboding through Martin's body. The young man could see a lot of Police activity, centring on the alleyway that ran as a short cut from the main road towards his building. There was also an ambulance and a Police cordon roping off the immediate area.
Martin walked as quickly as he could towards the entrance to his apartment block, but was stopped before he could reach it by a very young Police Officer, who looked hardly old enough to be in the Force. Looking at Martin, the young Constable gave an explanation,
"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't come in here. A man has been found dead in the alleyway just over there and only people who have anything to do with the investigation can go beyond this point."
Martin acknowledged the PC's comment with a nod of understanding, but then replied,
"I understand fully, I'm in the Force as well, my Station is just south of the River, but I live in this block of flats."
Martin gave the young Officer his name and the number of the flat where he lived and this information seemed to cause some concern as the Constable asked him to repeat what he had just said. By way of confirmation, Martin showed his Warrant Card. Once satisfied, the PC asked Martin to wait then walked away to find a more senior officer. A few moments later, Detective Inspector Gary Scott came over and Martin was forced to repeat the details he had already given. When he had finished, the Senior Officer replied,
"I'm sorry to have to put you through this, but we were under the impression that you were the victim. We found an envelope with your name on it in the pocket of the dead man. You haven't given any of your clothes away recently, have you?"
The Inspector's words had sent a shiver of horror through Martin as the realisation that the victim was almost certainly Nick Adams. Fighting hard to maintain his composure, the young man replied,
"No, but I have someone called Nick Adams staying with me at the moment. It is possible that he went out having borrowed one of my coats. Can you tell me where he was found and how he was killed?"
Gary Scott paused for a moment before responding,
"Before I tell you that, I think it would be best if you came with us and checked that your friend is not in your flat. We don't want to make a second error in identification. If Mr Adams is not there, then we will have to talk about a formal identification. How did you know Mr Adams?"
This time it was Martin's turn to hesitate as he tried to decide how much he should say about his relationship with Nick. In the end, he decided that there was no point in lying,
"I met Nick at a party a short while ago and we hit it off. He's a student at Oxford and told me that he was coming to London for a few days and I offered to put him up while he was here."
The Inspector eyed Martin closely and then said,
"And exactly how close was your relationship with Mr Adams?"
This time Martin answered without a pause,
"We were lovers."
The Inspector showed no emotion and made no comment, but led Martin through the cordon and escorted him up to his flat. Both men already knew that they would find the place empty, but went through the motions. As expected, the flat was in darkness and the only thing that Martin noticed was the little pile of books on the table, including the one that Nick had bought as a present for his host. Once it was clear that there was nobody at home the Inspector said quietly,
"I'm sorry, it looks as though the victim could well be your friend. He was found in the alleyway just up the road. He'd been struck by a single blow, a kind of karate chop or something of that sort, and died instantly."
Martin took the information in and sat in silence for a few minutes, after which the Inspector spoke again,
"I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but where were you earlier this evening?"
Martin smiled weakly and, still sounding shocked, replied,
"I was on Duty. As you know I'm in the Police Force too and currently, I'm seconded to CID and I am involved with the investigation of a murder in one of our local parks, which is on my regular Beat. If the dead man is Nick, as seems likely, I believe that it may have been a case of mistaken identity. I found a clue the other day and it is possible that the murderer was after me. From what you have said it would seem that the method used to kill Nick is the same as the one used to kill our victim."
Gary Scott nodded, but the tone of his reply sounded less than convinced,
"I suppose it might be possible, but we found some other clues around the body which point to someone that might be our chief suspect. Does the name Paul Turner mean anything to you? Is that the man you are looking for do you think? We found a credit card and other items belonging to someone with this name all around the body."
Martin looked blankly back but then said,
"Yes, I know Paul, but I don't think he's our man, in fact I'd say definitely not. He is facing a Disciplinary Board and he blames me for getting him into trouble and I have been warned that he might try to get to me and beat me up, but as for murder, I doubt it. In any case, I have to tell you that he is not very tall and, as far as I know, has no martial arts training. In my view it would have been very difficult for him to kill anyone with a single blow as in our case and the one that you are investigating. Perhaps you might like to talk to my DCI, Bob Prior, at my home Station about it all, I sincerely believe that you and he are both looking for the same man!"
At this point, a WPC entered the flat and Inspector Scott indicated that he wanted her to look after Martin, as he would have to leave. Turning to the traumatised young man, the Investigating Officer,
"You may be right. I will have to talk to your DCI in any case because of the murder here. If you are correct and the two crimes are connected, it may be bad news for you because of your connection to tonight's victim, I doubt if you will be allowed to continue with your participation in the other investigation. Whatever is decided, thanks for your help. I'm afraid I have to go now but WPC Mary Southall will be here for as long as you need her. If there is anyone else you would like us to contact to if they could stay with you overnight perhaps you could let her know and she will try to arrange it for you."
Martin thought to himself that the person that he most wanted to have with him overnight was Nick but that was not possible. The alternative that the young man considered and then rejected was Freddy Eversley. In the end, therefore, Martin shook his head, indicating that there was nobody that he could think of that would fit the bill at such short notice. The Senior Officer accepted the response and then, as he left the room, Gary Scott turned and added,
"By the way, in case we need to get in touch with them, do you know who was Nick Adams' next of kin?"
Martin shook his head to indicate that he could not help with this last question and then watched silently as Inspector Scott left him alone with the WPC, who offered to make a cup of tea. While the drink was being made, Martin idly leafed through the book that had been written by his old Professor and that Nick had obviously bought for him. As he did so, he stopped on a Chapter covering German immigration into Pennsylvania and a sudden though struck him, something that might prove to be very significant in helping to identify the victim of the murder in the park. As Martin was considering how pleased DCI Prior would be at this insight, the young Constable was struck by the fact that he might be prevented from passing this information on if, as was now certain, he was to be taken off the case.
After he had drunk the cup of tea that Mary Southall had made for him, Martin said that he would prefer to stay in the apartment overnight on his own and suggested that Mary could leave whenever she wanted to do so. After a short delay, Inspector Scott also sent a message to say that Officers would be on duty outside and inside the apartment block in case the killer tried again, although this was unlikely, as the murderer would not yet know that the wrong person had been murdered. Under the circumstance it the message concluded that she could WPC could leave and she took her leave.
Sitting alone in his flat Martin sat quietly wondering when he would hear the news that he was dreading that the Police were now certain that the dead man was indeed Nick Adams. It was not until he had finally gone to bed, however, that Martin gave way to the overwhelming feelings of grief. Each time he tried to get to sleep, images of Nick's face and beautiful body danced before the distraught lover's eyes and he struggled to control his emotions. The thought that he would never see, touch, smell or make love to the dead man was just overwhelming and Martin wept uncontrollably. Eventually tears gave way to anger: anger at a life so uselessly cut short; anger too that he might not be allowed to bring the culprit to justice. Sometime in the small hours, Martin finally succumbed to a short and fairly restless sleep. Martin awoke with a start; someone was ringing the doorbell of his flat. It took the young man a few seconds to register and then remember all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
If you have any comments on this story please send your comments to me at cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk