Free The Templar Archive by James Becker

details.”
    Marsh relayed the information, then asked the obvious question. “So, what do you want me to do now? I can do moving target surveillance, obviously, but I need a definite starting point. A home address or some other confirmed location. And do you want me to continue following the woman, or do you want both of them to be tracked? I have a colleague who can work with me if they split up. But I think they’re an item.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Marsh explained what he’d seen on the street after the two people had walked away from the coffee shop, and some parts of the conversation that he had overheard. In fact, he hadn’t just overheard it: he’d also recorded much of it. In one of the inside pockets of his jacket was a small digital recorder, and running down his right sleeve was a thin cable that terminated in a miniaturized directional microphone, the mike fitted with a simple slider switch that would turn the recorder on and off as required. It was a much more discreet piece of equipment than other directional recorders, and although most people might look slightly askance at someone pointing their hand directly at them, Marsh had found that simply carrying a newspaper in his right hand, with his arm bent at the elbow, looked entirely natural and worked very well, allowing him to point the microphone unobtrusively at his desired target. It was another very valuable part of his surveillance armory.
    “Do you know the identity of the man she was with?” he asked.
    “It was almost certainly a guy called David Mallory. He’s also in the frame for this investigation, but we’ve had to let them both walk because we don’t have enough evidence to hold them or charge them. We still think that the woman is the prime suspect, or at least the more important half of the couple. But I’ll send you pictures of Mallory as well, just in case she was with somebody else that we don’t know about.”
    “You don’t need to bother,” Marsh replied. “I’ve gothalf a dozen shots of him, in the street and in the car. I’ll pick the best two or three and send them to your mobile as soon as we finish this call. You can ident him for me.”
    “Thanks. That’ll speed things up. Right, I’ll get back to you with new instructions once we’ve located either the suspects or that car. Can you be prepared to go mobile at very short notice?”
    “Of course. I’ll grab a taxi and go to pick up my vehicle. I’ll be ready within a maximum of thirty minutes.”

7
    Dartmouth, Devon
    “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Robin asked. “That Porsche is powerful enough to get us away from any trouble we might meet.”
    “I agree,” Mallory replied. “But unfortunately it’s also distinctive enough to get us into trouble in the first place. It’s a very difficult car to hide, and for the moment I think anonymity is a lot more important than speed.”
    A few minutes later, Mallory reversed the Cayman into the single parking place at the back of Robin’s antiquarian bookshop. She had started her Golf and parked it a few yards away down the street to allow him to occupy the space. Mallory transferred their bags to the smaller vehicle, locked the Porsche, and walked over to the Volkswagen, carrying a small black bag in his hand.
    “Do you think we’re going to need that?” Robin asked, pointing at it.
    “I hope not, but having a loaded pistol with us still seems to me like a good idea, until we find out what’s happening with those bloody Italian thugs.”
    “Are you sure we couldn’t stay in my apartment?” Robin asked, pointing at the level above the bookshop. “We are here now, after all.”
    “I really don’t think that’s a good idea, just in case we are being watched. We should try to be as unpredictable as possible and just pick a hotel somewhere at random. I prefer the idea of staying somewhere where there’s more than one way in and out.”
    “That’s okay with me, if that’s what you