Free The Woman by David Bishop Page A

take a holiday for a week or so. I’ll check in when I return.”
    “Not so fast, mister, I want you back in Sea Crest.”
    “I can return if you’d like. I use photography for my cover. The area has a beautiful beach, backstopped with miles of mountain country. The camera lets me take whatever pictures I need.”
    “You should know,” Webster said, “I’ve sent Blue to Sea Crest. He will be there within the hour. If we’re lucky, he may just wrap up the Darby matter tonight.”
    “Sir, you put me in charge of this mission, why send another man?”
    “The time delay while you came here to report was too great. If Darby knows something, we can’t leave her flopping about until you get back.”
    “I tell you again. Darby knows nothing.”
    “What we are involved in, well, it is too important to America, to the world, to be left to chance. Against that, Darby is insignificant, if only as insurance against Leclair having talked out of school. No. Darby must be questioned and eliminated. And, if she passed on anything she heard from Leclair, you have my approval to follow that trail to whomever it leads. I don’t want to hear any further opposition on this. I’ve decided.”
    “Of course, we should be certain,” Testler said. “One thing I’ll need, have Blue give me the time and place he plans to take control of Darby. I need to be somewhere else at that time. Just like with the alley, if you want me to linger in Sea Crest to read what happens I need to be sure I don’t become the stranger who came into town and whose whereabouts can’t be accounted for when these events took place. Give me Blue’s number. I’ll call him after I leave you so we can coordinate his actions.”
    “No need. It is likely Blue will have finished with Darby before you can return to Sea Crest. Trust me, he’s better than the two bozos you used. And, assuming he completes his assignment while you’re in transit, your being somewhere else becomes ironclad. In any event, I still want you there for that extra time, listening for rumors about why Leclair and Darby were killed.”
    Webster stood. “Enough talk.” He led Testler to the door. “Get on your way. Fly out tonight. You’ve got a job to finish.”
    After shutting his hotel room door, Webster called Blue. “I’m on a hotel phone. It’s not private. Have you arrived?”
    “Yes. I’ve located the property in which you are interested.”
    “Good. You know what to do. Proceed immediately.”
    * * *
    As Testler had expected, Webster had not bought his argument that Darby should be left alone. He had also anticipated that Webster might send Blue or his other operative named Charlie. That had been why Testler had alerted Linda. Why he had left her money, a gun and a cell phone.
    On the other hand, maybe it would be best if Blue finished Darby. Testler had saved Linda Darby once, and he left her the gun to give her a fighting chance against Blue. He didn’t want Linda to die, but he also didn’t want his name added to Webster’s hit list. One thing he did know, Linda Darby was facing a major challenge. In Testler’s opinion, Blue was Webster’s best operative, aside from himself of course.

Chapter 14
    Ben McIlhenny had always wanted to be cop. His love for law enforcement had started as a child watching cowboy movies with his father. His favorite was Bill Elliott playing Red Ryder. Growing up in Montana, he never lost his love of cowboys and traditional westerns. But he also came to understand the job of law enforcement involved much more than just riding into town knowing that the saloon owner would be the head of the bad guys.
    In his teen years he left Montana to move in with an uncle who lived in New Jersey where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in criminology, joined the Newark Police Department, eventually earning his detective’s shield. He wanted police work to be his life, and everything had gone wonderfully until one evening after an off-duty dinner and