Acappella Blue
by
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Ellis Linden sat perfectly still; his elbows planted on the desk. His fingers formed a bridge that delicately balanced each hand in mid-air. He stared straight ahead as he battled to keep his eyes open. He’d been awakened in the middle of a sound sleep and a sexy dream. His office was the last place he wanted to be right now. His normally bright blue eyes sank in dark circles that looped around his bloodshot eyes. He was pale and felt sickly. Ellis looked in Dutch’ direction, but not at him. He was preoccupied about something important, but Dutch had no idea what it was or why the director, and most of his staff, was at the office before daylight. "Who’s Eddie Slater?" "He’s one of the team members working on Acappella Blue. Why?" "He was found shot to death across the street from an Upper East side apartment building in New York. There was no identification on the body. The bullet struck cleanly at the base of the skull, so the shooter knew exactly what he, or she, was doing. Whoever did it was well trained and I don't mean at the police academy." Ellis paused. "More importantly, my contact described Harris Churchill perfectly. He posed as a reporter shortly after the body was found. The apartment building guard said he’d been there a few minutes before to see a tenant named Avery something-or-other." "You think Churchill knows Slater was following him?" "Unless he’s a complete idiot, he knows. There aren’t many people around at two o’clock in the morning. They found a nine-millimeter in Slater’s hand. Why would he have his piece drawn?" All Dutch could think about was that his experiment was unraveling again, worse than before. Eddie Slater was a loose cannon to begin with and didn’t like following directions, but Clarence said he was the best undercover man in the business. If he was doing something more than observing Harris Churchill, he was doing something wrong. "I can’t answer that question, sir. Violence isn’t necessary for this project." Ellis stood up suddenly. "Got to do something about this, Dutch. The President is breathing down my neck about a number of things, but not a day goes by that he doesn’t ask about your experiment. There are some serious rumblings in Congress about impeaching. I wouldn’t be surprised if he retaliates on the embassy bombings soon. This agency doesn’t need any more negative publicity. I plan to announce my candidacy next month and I don’t need a scandal, too." "I’ll take care of it, Ellis. It won’t happen again." "Very good. Give me a damage report tomorrow and get this damn experiment wrapped up by Thursday." Dutch went to his office and picked up the phone before he even sat down. He needed some answers. Clarence was going to cry foul about the Thursday deadline but Dutch didn’t make the rules, he just followed them.
"Clarence there?" "One moment, please." He took two Advil from the top drawer of his desk and drowned them with his cold coffee while he waited for Clarence to come on the phone. "Hello."
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About the Book
When
Osama bin Laden is suspected of bombing two U.S. embassies in Africa, President
Jessup secretly gives Dutch Dantley the go-ahead for Acappella
Blue, an experiment he has not tested.
Dutch meets Trisha
Gregano, a beautiful and ambitious reporter who reminds him of his late wife.
She agrees to help Dutch with his experiment, but finds
herself attracted to Harris Churchill and is seduced by him.
Disillusioned,
disoriented, and scared for his life, Harris Churchill disappears just as Dutch
is about to conclude his test. Trisha is found dead . . . raped and full of
drugs. Harris becomes a prime suspect.
In
the psychiatric ward of a Chicago hospital, Grace Wheatley begins to unravel
Harris’s story. He sees his situation as bad luck and coincidence, but Dr. Wheatley
senses a possible setup. She calls Harris’s arresting officer and learns that
he’s a murder suspect.
When
Dutch
discovers Harris’s whereabouts, he sets in motion a complex series of events to
capture and kill him. After killing some of bin Laden’s henchmen, Dutch
forces Harris’s old boss, Langston Skinner to get involved. When the CIA taps
Dr. Wheatley’s phone, agent Clarence Washington learns that Dutch
killed Trisha and he coyly devises a trap to snare him.
About the Author
Raymond Michaels began writing as a form of therapy over twenty years ago after an unusual event nearly ended his life. The circumstances surrounding this event formed the material for Acappella Blue. After completing an assignment for a national professional publication in 1985, Mr. Michaels was hooked and began pursuing his writing career more seriously. Acappella Blue is his first novel and he is currently working on a new book. Raymond Michaels lives and works in Northern Virginia with his wife and two daughters.