Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 15:18:23 +0000 (GMT)
From: Steve Rose <cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Martin Roberts Investigates  8

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. 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.


MARTIN ROBERTS INVESTIGATES
Chapter 8

As soon as Martin got into his office, he asked Bob
Matthews to come in for a discussion. Bob, as usual,
had been the first one of the team to arrive and had
prepared a note on the activities of the team during
Martin's absence. Surveillance of the four suspects
had continued but there was nothing of any great value
to report from the previous day but Bob had prepared a
summary for Martin all the same. As soon as he had
handed this over to his superior officer, the
Inspector asked Martin about his visit to Cardiff.

"It went well Bob, thanks. I have a couple of jobs for
you. Davy Williams gave me a box of stuff to go along
with the files from the Cardiff force. Look through
all of it will you, see if you can find anything of
interest or that might give us a lead. Do the files
first, the box seems to be largely personal belongings
of the dead kid, mainly notes on his work and a few
newspaper clippings."

Martin handed the material over to Bob who looked
genuinely pleased to have something to get his teeth
into.

"I'll start right away, sir. Maybe the Cardiff lot
missed something, you never know. Or maybe it'll only
make sense in the context of what we now know."
Bob turned to leave, but Martin stopped him,

"Before you go, Bob. There's another job. And I want
you to give this priority. Can you find out how many
of the victims were circumcised? I know they had their
genitals removed but there should be other records
about them - medical records. Find out and let me
know. If you have to contact family relatives,
although only as a last resort."

Bob looked slightly surprised at the request and
Martin thought he deserved an explanation.

"We've been searching for something to link the
victims but not yet found it. What if they were all
circumcised? That would link them. We've surmised that
there was something that triggered an angry response
in the killer. Maybe something as simple as this could
be the answer. There are people out there who are
offended by circumcision and others who are jealous of
it. A casual remark made partially in jest last night
by Tom after Mark told mew that their boy was to be
circumcised - his wife is Jewish as you probably know
- set me thinking. On the tube it struck me again and
it's an avenue worth exploring. I know it still
doesn't tell us who the murderer is but if we go on
digging we might find a linkage."

Bob nodded his head gravely acknowledging the delicacy
of his task and left the room. Within moments Bob was
on the telephone and gathering together the
information Martin had requested.

Across London, Graeme Adams opened the curtains of his
apartment and looked down to see which officer was
tailing him that day. Graeme rather fancied one of the
younger officers, a tall blond man of about his own
age. It was indeed the young officer that Graeme
fancied and he was tempted to give the young man a
cheery wave. However, Graeme had other plans for the
day as he regarded the surveillance operation on him
as something of a game and he took great pleasure in
outwitting the police. There would be time for that
later because asleep in his bed was the naked form of
another attractive young man in his early twenties
whom Graeme had met at a bar the night before. It had
not taken Graeme long to persuade the young man to
join him for the night. The young man was stirring as
the light streamed into the room and he regained
consciousness.

"What time is it? It must still be early. Come back to
bed Graeme I want to have you one more time."

Graeme smiled at the younger man's insatiable appetite
and returned to the bed where he was bundled onto his
back and for the third or fourth time impaled on the
long thin cock of his latest lover. The young man's
cock was hard and made its way unerringly towards the
waiting hole. He had already covered its length with a
lubricated condom and pressed forward to invade
Graeme's love channel. Graeme moaned as the long thin
tool entered him and easily slid up the well-greased
tunnel. The young man began to move in and out with a
slow rhythm, gradually picking up speed. Graeme
responded by pushing back hard to meet the inward
thrusts. Although he preferred being a top, Graeme was
versatile and loved to be fucked from time to time.
Graeme had already shot four loads that night and the
way things were going a fifth was not beyond the
bounds of probability.

"Oh yes!! Fuck me hard and deep, baby!!", Graeme
crooned as the rampant cock drove into him
relentlessly.

The young man also spoke between harsh intakes of
breath,

"Feel my man tool ripping inside you!! Fucking you and
driving you mad!!!"

Graeme groaned in apparent pleasure as the young man
powered his way to yet another orgasm. As the dick
throbbed inside his love channel Graeme worked his
hand up and down his own rampant shaft and the pair
reached their point of no return almost
simultaneously. Graeme's cum had shot only a short
distance out of his piss slit and trickled down onto
his stomach and moments later his younger partner
slumped forward on top of him, worn out by all his
sexual activities. The young man rolled off Graeme and
the pair lay panting side by side in the bed before
slowly drifting off into a post-coital sleep. The pair
slept for about an hour before Graeme once again was
awake and his companion was also stirring. Graeme
grinned at the young man and said,

"You are one insatiable fucker!! And I love it. I hope
you'll stay over until tomorrow but first I have a job
for you."

Over coffee and toast, Graeme explained his plan to
the young man in great detail. Once he was sure that
what was needed was clear and well understood, Graeme
suggested that they prepare to carry out the plan at
noon. The young man and Graeme showered together and
although temptation came to the minds of both of them,
Graeme ensured that their minds remained focussed on
the plan he had just outlined. However, Graeme
promised that there would be plenty of time to
celebrate in bed once it had been successfully
executed. Eventually, the pair emerged from the
shower, dried themselves and got dressed slowly and
then all was in place to put the plan into action.

Just before noon, Graeme watched as the young man - he
still did not know his name, nor for that matter did
he care all that much - left his flat and made his way
down to the underground parking area. A few minutes
later Graeme's car emerged from the ramp leading down
to the garage and drove off down the road. Standing
back from the window but still able to see clearly,
Graeme watched as the police car parked down the
street from his apartment block pulled out and
followed the car driven by his young accomplice. 'So
far, so good', thought Graeme who waited several more
minutes before following the same route of his young
lover. In the garage, Graeme got into a fairly
undistinguished family saloon car and drove away in
it. John, the young man driving Graeme's car, did
exactly as he had been instructed and took a long
detour until he got to the location where he had been
told to leave the car, a multi-storey car park close
to a shopping centre complex. Luck was with him as his
police 'tail' was several cars behind him as he
climbed the ramp into the car park. This gave John
more time than had been expected to get to the top
storey, park the car and go back down to the shopping
area, as Graeme had instructed him to do.

The next part of the operation would make or break it.
Graeme had gone a shorter way to the shopping centre
and entered the car park about ten minutes later. He
drove the second car round the top storey of the car
park and checked that his tail was not there. Once he
was certain he parked the saloon next to his other
car, got into it and drove back to his apartment. He
would have loved to see the lovely face of his
favourite copper when the young officer realised that
the car he was supposed to be following had vanished!
Graeme made it back to his underground car park and,
as expected, he waited several minutes before a second
police car came down the road and officers went into
the car park and returned to radio in the fact that
Graeme was back at home. The young officer had, of
course 'lost' the suspect, as he was not in the
shopping centre. The poor officer had looked
everywhere but to no avail, He returned to his car and
was further upset by the absence of Graeme's car. The
young officer did see a young man in a saloon next to
the vacant parking space and went over to him.

"Excuse me, but you didn't see a big car parked here
when you parked here?"

John, who really wanted to smile and give the game
away remained straight faced as instructed by Graeme
and replied,

"No mate. There was nothing here when I arrived in
this car."

At this point the officer radioed in the news that he
had lost Graeme as John listened rather smugly. John
also noticed that the officer was quite attractive but
he knew better than to press the point. In any case he
had more things to do. John drove his car out of the
car park and took it to a quiet street where it could
be safely left and picked up after dark. Then, having
changed into different clothes the young man returned
to the apartment block where Graeme lived. He rang the
buzzer and a triumphant Graeme was on hand to welcome
him back into his flat and not long after into his bed
for a celebratory session that lasted late into the
night.

The other three suspects were nothing like as
troublesome as Graeme. Although vaguely aware that
they were being tailed none of them treated it as a
game and at least two of them were slightly unnerved
by it. Joe Smith had got up early, taken his mother
her breakfast and then driven to his lorry. He had a
two day round trip to north of Birmingham and wanted
an early start. An unmarked police car followed him to
the Lorry Park and then others followed him to his
destination. Although uncertain which car was the
police, Joe knew that they were there and this greatly
curtailed his chances of a pick-up and sex on the way.
This was disappointing because he usually managed to
find a willing hitchhiker on this route. He comforted
himself with the thought that what he conserved on
this trip he would more than expend the following week
when he was off to the West Country for a series of
short haul jobs based on Bath. Joe liked Bath and the
pickings there were always good and there was to be
another disco there featuring that DJ he liked, Graeme
Adams. Despite this outward bravado, Joe was greatly
troubled by the surveillance operation.

So too was Peter Collins. Peter had chosen to spend
much of the previous few days working from home. He
had deliberately not given his wife any indication
that he had been interviewed by the police in
connection with a murder investigation, but she had
found out that something was wrong. The first
indication that he was under surveillance had come
soon after he had seen Martin Roberts and the
closeness of this attention had unnerved Peter
Collins. His wife, who often left the house before
Peter was up and about, had reported to Peter that on
leaving for work she had noticed an unfamiliar car
parked close to their gate. It had been there when she
returned. Stephanie, Peter's wife, had suggested that
they call the police, as she was afraid that the car
might belong to potential burglars. Peter suggested
that maybe it was the police, who were probably
keeping watch in case the burglars that had been
operating in their area targeted the houses in their
vicinity. However, when the burglars had been caught
and the strange car was still there, this explanation
fell apart. The following day, Stephanie's car was due
to go in for servicing and she drove Peter's car to
work and was rather scared to find that the car had
followed her all the way to her office. She called
Peter and again asked for the police to be informed,
this time frightened that as a rich woman she might be
the target of a kidnap attempt. Later Stephanie phoned
Peter at home to ask why his car had been followed as
the car driver would not have known he was not
driving, but she could nor really believe that Peter
was a likely kidnap target. Peter told his wife that
he had called the police and that they had said that
the car was one of their unmarked vehicles but that on
the day in question it had been used for training
purposes. The police apologised for the distress
caused to Stephanie and promised it would not happen
again. Stephanie was only slightly pacified by this
explanation but accepted it and the police became
rather more careful in the way in which they handled
the surveillance of Peter Collins. Peter, however,
knew that he would be followed everywhere and was,
like Joe, concerned that his activities would be
curtailed when he was next away. This trip was due to
take place in a few days when he was set to attend a
training conference just outside Bath.

The only one of the four that appeared to be either
unaware of, or unaffected by, the surveillance he was
under was Ed Wilson. He had carried on his normal
routine. He had spent a couple of days on paperwork in
his head office and had been on a sales trip around
part of his area. One night had been spent in a motel.
There Ed had managed to pick up one of the waiters in
the nearby restaurant and the pair had engaged in a
sexual romp for several hours after the restaurant had
closed. (The police officer that reported this
declined to add further embellishments to his report.)
The young waiter had emerged from the motel in the
early hours and driven away on his motorcycle and Ed
had left before breakfast the next day. Ed had then
spent a further day at head office in preparation for
attending the same training conference as Peter
Collins.

Martin read the surveillance reports and his
displeasure at the merry dance his officers were being
led by Graeme Adams was tempered slightly by a further
report from Bob Matthews. Bob had spent a large part
of the day following up medical records and other
information about the victims. He was now in a
position to report that every one of the victims had,
indeed, been circumcised, although he was not entirely
certain how this information would advance the
enquiry. Martin nodded at Bob and thanked him for his
speedy efforts. Almost to himself but also partially
to Bob, Martin said,

"Well at least we know for certain now what it is that
links the victims. All we have to do now is to find
out how this links them to the killer."

"Should we get them in and ask them, sir?" Bob
interjected.

"Not just yet, Bob. I don't think. We need to keep
digging. There must be something about one of them
that will give us a linkage. I don't think asking
someone 'why are you angered by the sight of a
circumcised dick?' is likely to bring us much of a
result, do you?"

"No Sir. I was sort of thinking aloud. Another
possibility might be to use a decoy, you know, someone
who's circumcised to see if any of them react. Not me,
I don't qualify but I'm sure there must be a few who
do and who might be willing to risk it."

"Well, you may be right and I am sure there would be
willing volunteers who do qualify as you put it but
there are dangers even if we could find a suitable
volunteer. He could not be protected as fully as I'd
like and we might get ourselves embroiled in a charge
of entrapment. I won't rule it out completely but
again I think I'd rather hold back on this one for the
moment. Thanks all the same."

Rather crestfallen, Bob responded,

"Well, perhaps I'd be better employed sifting through
Darren Evans' belongings. I'll work over the weekend
on it and see if I can find out anything at all and
report back to you then. Will Mark be back soon?"

Martin nodded and then responded, not unkindly,

"Good idea, Bob. It's already late, why don't you take
it home with you? Thanks for all you've done so
efficiently you deserve a break.  Yes, I believe Mark
will be here on Tuesday. I'll know more tonight, Tom
and I are going to see him and the baby."

A look of almost relief passed over Bob Matthews' face
as the news of the imminence of Mark's return sunk in.
Bob had enjoyed his time as chief assistant to Mark
but he had found it a strain and he much preferred the
duller more routine jobs. Bob would enjoy his weekend
sifting through the box of belongings that was all
that remained of Darren Evans' brief life.

Martin and Tom had been invited round to see young
David Jamieson and his proud parents for later that
evening. They had accepted with pleasure and Martin
was keen not to break the date. He too wanted to get
off early and, having ensured that everyone knew how
to contact him had made his way home only a few
minutes after Bob Matthews had left. Martin hoped that
the weekend would be a quiet one, especially as he
wanted to think over the next move in the hunt for the
killer. He also hoped to have some time to talk things
over with Tom, not just the about the case but also
whether he had been serious about the question of
children. On investigations, Martin found Tom a great
help both because he was a good listener but also
because he often had thoughtful insights that helped
crack open the hardest issues. On the question of he
and Tom adopting children, Martin was less certain. He
was not against the idea but could think of a million
practical difficulties that might arise. As yet Martin
was not ready to retire from the police force and he
was not convinced that Tom would be prepared to give
up work either, despite his lover's assertion that he
could work from home and be a consultant.

All this would wait until after their visit to see
Mark and his family. Tom was already home when Martin
got there and they prepared to leave for Mark's cosy
family house in the suburbs, north of their own
apartment. Fortunately the Friday evening traffic was
going in the other direction and they were soon at
Mark's house. Over drinks before supper, the four
adults chatted amiably about the new baby, then
asleep. The peaceful conversation was shattered by a
loud series of cries from the adjacent room and the
effective lungpower of David Jamieson was once again
in evidence. Martin glanced at Tom and exchanged a
look that implied that Martin doubted that Tom would
be able to cope with such noisy interventions. Tom
shrugged and moments later began to purr over the
sight of mother and baby as they re-appeared in the
room. The baby was less noisy now and seemed to be
pacified by his mother's presence, no doubt implying
that food and nourishment would soon be forthcoming.
Ruth carried the child into the kitchen and all was
quiet again.

Martin took the opportunity to fill Mark and Tom in on
the developments in the case. Both agreed with Martin
that Bob's suggestions were premature and that more
work needed to be done before the list of suspects
could be narrowed down. Mark also pointed out that at
least one of the prime suspects, Graeme Adams, owed
much of his good fortune and present position to a man
of obvious Jewish origin. However, Mark's assertion
that this could be regarded as evidence of no
prejudice against circumcision was countered by Tom
rather pointedly saying that Graeme's benefactor had
died suddenly and that Graeme might feel deep
resentment at this loss. At this point the
conversation ceased as Ruth returned to the room and
announced that now that the baby was fed, they too
could now eat. Over the meal Ruth gave a brief account
of the ceremony to be conducted on the following
Monday and the role Martin was to play. Martin nodded
and said he would do his best in unfamiliar
surroundings and that he was looking forward with
greater enthusiasm to the party afterwards.

As they drove home, Martin and Tom exchanged few words
but sat in a comfortable silence. Once home they
retired to bed and made love gently and quietly and
then fell asleep with their bodies intertwined. The
rest of the weekend passed in comparative peace until
they had to return to work. As they got dressed and
prepared to go to work, both Martin and Tom agreed
that they had thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing weekend
and that they regretted such weekends did not occur
more often. As both Tom and Martin had already booked
a half day off to be able to attend David's
circumcision, they agreed to meet back at the flat and
that Tom would drive them both to the ceremony and on
to the party afterwards. Before he left Scotland Yard
for his afternoon off, Martin had received two
interesting reports. The first was the surveillance
reports that indicated that three of the four
suspects, Joe Smith, Peter Collins and Ed Wilson were
on the move that morning and each of them seemed to be
heading westwards. Further checking showed that the
fourth suspect, Graeme Adams, was also due in Bath
later in the day. Martin alerted the Bath police and
left a contact number and also asked his surveillance
teams to report in once they knew where the other
three were staying. The second report was from Bob
Matthews to say that he had been taken ill with a
stomach bug at the weekend and had made little
progress with sorting Darren Evans' belongings.
Although Bob felt better (which to Martin's certain
knowledge meant that the Inspector felt absolutely
dreadful) he had decided to stay at home and come back
in on the Tuesday but would call Martin if anything of
significance turned up. Martin told Bob that he would
not be at work after lunch but Bob could leave a
message on his home number if anything urgent cropped
up.

To their surprise the traffic was heavier than
expected and Martin and Tom only just made it to the
ceremony in time. Once the ceremony had been
performed, the guests returned to Mark and Ruth's
house where food and drink was freely available.
Martin and Tom made good use of both especially as it
avoided the regular need for one or other of them to
cook. Before they left, Mark told Martin that provided
there were no unforeseen events, he would be back at
work early the following morning. Mark was unsure
whether it was the case but he thought he saw a
glimmer of relief flash over Martin's face. Then
Martin and Tom thanked Ruth and said general goodbyes
to the other guests before driving home. When they got
in, Martin said that as Tom had been driving and had
not drunk as much as he had, he would get his lover a
well-deserved large glass of gin and tonic. Martin
went into the kitchen and prepared another drink for
himself and Tom, and then carried the two glasses into
their living room. After a short while the couple
decided that they would prefer to finish their drinks
in bed and so retired to their bedroom. The lovers lay
together sipping their drinks and interspersed this
activity with playful foreplay in anticipation of
further love making. Once the drinks were consumed,
Martin and Tom made love before quietly drifting off
to sleep.

It was not until the next morning that Martin noticed
the answer machine was flashing something he had
failed to notice the night before. He was about to run
back the tape and listen to the message when the phone
rang. Martin got a strange feeling as he answered the
call, instinctively knowing that the news was not
going to be good. At the other end of the line a West
Country accent could be heard as Martin gave his name.

"Good morning, sir, Tomkins, Inspector from Bath City
Police Station. Sorry to call at this early hour but
we've found a body. Looks like your killer has struck
again."

Martin groaned at the news. He was devastated that
after a lull there had been another murder and that he
would have to plunge Mark back into the thick of
things far earlier than was reasonable. Martin told
the officer in Bath that he would be there as soon as
possible and that the local CID should secure the
scene and preserve it until his more specialist team
could arrive. Then Martin dialled Mark's number and
broke the bad news to his favourite Inspector. To his
relief, Mark was round to pick up Martin in under
twenty minutes and a few moments later they were
heading out towards the motorway and the run to Bath.
At that time in the morning they could make good time
and be there almost before the day for most people had
started. On the way Martin apologised to Mark for
dragging him out so early and asked him to pass on his
regrets to Ruth. Mark reassured the Superintendent
that his wife and child both understood and that he
was quite glad to have something to get his teeth into
as he would stop fretting about missing what his young
son was doing. Mark, as usual, drove the car and drove
fast and as expected they arrived in a very good time
indeed. They went straight to the central police
station in Bath and picked up all the details before
being driven to the murder scene.

The scene was all too familiar and was similar in
location to the other ones, in open country but
obscured from the main road by a lay-by and some
trees. Martin and Mark walked over to where an area
had been cordoned off and tented and were shown to
where the body was still lying. It was obviously
another victim of the serial killer. The victim was a
short man, slightly over weight with grey balding
hair. The body was naked and the genitals had been
completely removed. Martin noticed something strange:
the victim was quite elderly, probably over sixty the
Superintendent guessed, and considerably older than
any of the previous victims. The doctor told Martin
that he had been asphyxiated and then taken to the
spot where he was dumped. Martin nodded. He turned to
Mark and said,

"What do you make of the age?"

"Yes, sir, I noticed that. There was that guy in
Birmingham, but he was almost twenty years younger
than this guy I'd guess."

"Me too, Mark. How old do you think he was, doc?"

"Can't be precise, but I'd say late fifties to early
sixties."

"Thanks, doc. What about time of death?" Martin asked,
knowing that the answer would be just as imprecise as
the previous response.

"Difficult to say. I'll be more precise after we have
him properly examined but I'd say between 8 p.m. and 1
a.m. but I should be able to narrow that down in my
report."

"Very helpful", muttered Martin, "I think we can move
the body now if the scenes of crime guys have
finished. Come on, Mark. Let's get back to the station
and see if our surveillance team have any news for us
and whether there's been any progress of identifying
the body."

The two police officers returned to the station and
were given an office out of which to operate. Waiting
at the police station when Mark and Martin arrived was
a rather nervous young constable. He was tall and
blond haired and, Martin thought, quite attractive.
This young officer, Michael Rickwood, was the
representative of the surveillance officers and had
spent much of his time attempting to follow Graeme
Adams. He had been in hot water the previous day for
losing contact with his target and was rather fearful
of this encounter with the Superintendent. Mark looked
at the constable and told him to hang on for a few
minutes. He and Martin then disappeared inside their
office and shut the door. On the table there was a
message which asked martin to ring Bob Matthews which
Martin read but decided to leave until a bit later, as
he wanted to press on with the investigation of the
latest murder. Later, he would admit to himself, it
was an error of judgement that at the time seemed
justified.

"OK Mark see if you can hurry the locals with an
identity for the victim. I'll see this Constable
Rickwood and get his report. Send him in, will you?"

Mark left the room and a moment later there was a
light tap on the door and Michael Rickwood stepped
nervously into the room.

Martin greeted him in a friendly manner,

"Come on in, it's Michael, isn't it?"

"Mike, sir, yes."

"OK Mike. I see you're the one that Graeme Adams has
been giving a rather torrid time too. He's a bit of a
bastard isn't he? I hope you've brought better news
today."

"I think I have, sir but it's not all good. The other
officers sort of elected me to report to you."

Martin nodded and the young Constable began his
report. The positive side was that all four suspects
had been successfully followed to their destinations.
Joe Smith had arrived first, had undertaken a few jobs
and after he had finished for the day and secured his
vehicle he then had booked into a cheap motel. He had
not left the motel until about ten in the evening when
he went to a well-known gay disco bar and spent
several hours there before returning to the motel just
before one in the morning. At the disco Joe had been
observed for most of the time but there was a short
period of no more than twenty or thirty minutes when
he could not be located but the constable believed he
had gone to the toilets or outside with a younger man.
Joe had returned to his cheap hotel and had stayed
there all night. He had left early in the morning
collected his lorry and was currently continuing with
the work that he had started the previous day. He was
still under observation.

Peter Collins had arrived at his conference hotel in
bath in the middle of the morning and had checked in
and taken part in the proceedings. He had been joined
at lunch time by Ed Wilson and the pair had spent some
time together in Peter's room before they went on to
the afternoon sessions of the conference. The pair had
joined other delegates at dinner but had left early.
Peter had returned to his room and then gone to the
car park where he drove off into Bath and then on to
the gay bar. He had been seen in the disco where he
was joined some time around eleven by Ed Wilson.
Wilson had driven off in the other direction from Bath
and had been lost for a short while in the narrow
lanes. He had then driven back to Bath and parked near
the disco where he joined Peter. The pair left the bar
separately but within a few minutes of each other and
returned to their hotel. Later in the night Peter and
Ed had met in Ed's room and stayed there until the
morning. The pair had breakfasted together and, having
checked out, had gone off to the remaining session of
the conference. A police observer had been at the
conference all the time and they would be followed
back after they had left for home, probably after
lunch.

Graeme Adams had been the last to arrive in bath,
having driven at high speed from London. He had booked
into a hotel and had then gone to the gay bar where he
set up his disco. He returned to the hotel, ate dinner
- alone - and then returned to the bar. Apart from a
break of about fifty minutes around half-ten, Graeme
had been in the bar all night. He had disappeared
during his break but his car was in the car park all
the time and he had been seen disappearing towards
some bushes with a young man. After he had completed
his evening stint, Graeme had driven back to his hotel
and remained there until the morning. He had been seen
leaving for home shortly after nine and was being
tailed by an unmarked car.

Martin nodded at this news and asked a few questions
but it was clear that there were some gaps in the
surveillance and any one of the suspects had the
opportunity, albeit at different times, to have met
and killed the latest victim. Nevertheless, although
it had not been perfect Martin indicated that he was
happy that the police officers had done their best. It
was obvious to Martin that because every minute of
each of the suspects could not be accounted for, any
one of them might have committed the murder. His
inclination would have been to haul them all in for an
interview but the news that most of them had already
left Bath or were away from the city on business meant
that this pleasure would have to be postponed. Despite
his disappointment, the Superintendent thanked the
young Constable Rickwood for his report and the
officer blushed slightly as he made his retreat,
relieved not to have been given a harder time.

Mark was waiting outside as Michael Rickwood came out
and Martin motioned for the Inspector to come in and
nodded at the retreating figure of the young officer.

"Quite a good lad that. Intelligent and thoughtful
and, above all, honest. Gave me a 'warts and all'
account of the surveillance and no covering up. When
we have time I think we'll get him into the team and
give one or two other officers a refresher course on
the art of surveillance!"

If Mark had not liked Martin quite so much he might
have put into words the thought that the young officer
was rather good looking and that this lay at the heart
of the Superintendent's suggestion concerning him.
Martin paused for a moment and then went on,

"So, what have you found out Mark?"

"Well, sir, we think we have the identity of the
victim but there's something strange about him. We
think his name is Timothy Owen. He lived a reclusive
life out in the country but was reported missing by
the postman who could not get an answer when he tried
to deliver a parcel this morning. There were lights on
in the house and the door was ajar but no sign of
Owen. He told the local bobby who got onto the boys
here. Photos from the house confirm that he is the
victim."

Martin nodded, acknowledging that they had at least
got a name but then Mark continued,

"The strange thing is this. He's been in the area
about nine years but nobody knows where he came from,
or anything about his past. He seems to have few
friends, occasionally drinks in the local pub, almost
invariably alone and then one drink and off. Village
gossip says that he worked abroad and came back but
nobody seems to know much at all."

Martin listened to this information, thought to
himself that there might be other explanations for the
absence of any history, and then said,

"Sounds like a job for Bob Matthews. He loves a good
ferret about digging into dark corners and turning up
all sorts. I'll call him now and then I can find out
what he wanted to tell me earlier."

"I agree, sir. Bob's good at that sort of thing and,
by the way, he's rung again. Sound like it could be
important."

Martin nodded and dialled the number. Bob Matthews
answered at once and recognised Martin's voice. Before
Martin could say anything, Bob exclaimed,

"At last, sir. I've been trying to get you since last
night. I think I've found something in Darren's
papers. I can't explain over the phone, you'll need to
see it for yourself as soon as you get back to
London!! I think it could be an important clue, maybe
even the breakthrough we've been looking for!!"

"Sorry, Bob. I did get your message in Bath but we
were tied up with this latest killing. Mark and I will
settle things down here and we'll be back in London as
soon as possible. We'll come straight to the Yard and
meet you there."

Mark who had been listening on the speaker phone,
looked at Martin and expressed in words what his
superior officer was thinking,

"I wonder what Bob has found that is so important."

"Well, Mark", Martin responded, "the sooner we get
back to London the sooner we'll find out."

Less than an hour later, having asked the local police
to dig up anything they could find on the latest
victim both before and after his arrival in the Bath
area, Mark was driving Martin back to London. They
were approaching the end of the motorway where the
road narrows to two lanes prior to the elevated
section when the traffic in front of them ground to a
halt. It was the tail end of the rush hour and a
vehicle had broken down and the tailback was very
long. There was nothing to do but wait until it
cleared so Martin used the in car radio to contact Bob
Matthews and say that they were going to be late. Bob
was still there but explained that he was already
going to be late for a family engagement and Martin
told him to get off and leave the information for him
on his desk. Bob said that he had already written a
short covering report and that it would be waiting for
him and Mark when they eventually arrived.

TO BE CONTINUED...

If you liked this part of the story let me know
cutrose40@yahoo.co.uk