Chasing Ghosts (12 page)

“
Only thing is,” Padre continued, “it
was all true.” He nodded toward Luther’s report.

Wozniak’s face lined with worry. “I don’t
like this.”

“
Me neither.”

“
What do you know about the guy in the
trunk of the rental car?”

“
He’s definitely Lee Connors. He’s a
sales rep for a water filter company. Lives in Boston and was in
town for a sales conference. Wife is flying in to retrieve the
body.”

Wozniak anchored his elbows on the desk,
steepled his fingers in thought. “Dagger, this Lee Connors, whoever
the guy was in the quarry, whoever the twin…and good God it has to
be a twin. What the hell else could it be?” Wozniak shook that line
of thought out of his head. “Let’s say twin for now, and then we
have Cardinal Esrey and the bodyguard. Everything all tethered
together and we haven’t a clue how, when, or why.”

“
That about covers it, although Lee
Connors was probably an innocent bystander. Our quarry guy needed
Connors’ rental car and a room to lay his weary head.” Padre stood
and gathered up the reports. “When you figure it all out, let me
know.” He turned to leave.

Wozniak’s head snapped up. “What do you mean
when I figure it all out?”

Padre smiled and sat back down. “I just
thought I’d take a few days vacation.”

Wozniak waggled a finger at him. “No you
don’t. You get over to Dagger’s and wring it out of him. Talk to
that cute assistant of his. She’ll give you the lowdown.”

Padre’s smile faded. “You’re kidding, aren’t
you? In that last case with the art thief she literally threw her
body in front of Dagger to save him. You were there. You saw
it.”

The chief sank back in his chair. “You’re
right. She’s as loyal as a pit bull.”

“
When she gave Jimmy Cho a description
of the guy who allegedly showed up on her doorstep, the damn sketch
looked like me.”

“
Then lean on that squirrelly friend of
his. Dagger joked that he’s the one who tossed the body into the
quarry, right?”

“
I’m just starting to get this guy to
trust me. I can’t go jack boot stomping into his pawn shop and drag
him down for questioning. I just can’t.”

“
Then you have no choice. Haul Sara in
for questioning.”

Padre glared at Wozniak. “On what
grounds?”

“
Obstruction of justice. Tampering with
evidence. Being too damn gorgeous.”

“
That’s not a crime.”

“
Which one?” Wozniak slowly smiled at
that one, the gruff big daddy grin that worked on all of his
previous wives. The one that showed appreciation for the female
gender which kept him from becoming a priest.

Padre pushed away from the desk and stood.
“I’ll have to try something else that will shock Dagger into
leveling with me.”

“
What’s that?”

“
The truth.”

CHAPTER 15

“
Aren’t you looking dapper.” Sheila
stroked the fabric of Dagger’s black and gray pinstriped
jacket.

Dagger slid onto the bar stool and signaled
the bartender. “You hate this outfit, Sheila.”

“
Maybe it’s growing on me.”

Dagger doubted that. He shoved a twenty
across the bar and studied his reflection in the mirror. So maybe
the black crew neck shirt under the pinstriped jacket was a little
much. Black was supposed to make him blend into the shadows but
with all the loud colors people wore these days he was sticking out
like a sore thumb. He also had to quit scanning his surroundings
like a cyborg checking for suspicious characters. Sara once said it
made him look as though he were casing a place out to rob later.
But he couldn’t give up his black and gray just yet. There was
something about bright colors that repelled him.

He turned away from the mirror and toward
Sheila. “So, how’s Father Thomas these days?”

“
A little stuffy but congenial. I did
talk to Lawton Security though. Snippy little receptionist almost
wouldn’t let me speak to the owner.”

“
I almost forgot about the security
guard.” He didn’t ask any prying questions. Sheila would spill it
all in due time. It was a matter of separating the wheat from the
chaff, or the lies from the half truths.

“
Hank Hanover was a ten-year veteran
with the security firm,” Sheila said without referring to any
notes. “Great work record. Former Saint Louis cop who was sidelined
by an injury. Pretty active in his local church which is why he
wanted the security detail for Cardinal Esrey.”

“
I take it Padre also spoke with Lawton
Security?”

“
He didn’t say.” Sheila slapped a
silver cigarette case on the bar. Before she had a chance to shove
the cigarette in her mouth, the bartender had already flicked a
lighter. “Thanks.” Her eyes dragged over the bartender’s sculpted
body.

“
And Father Thomas also didn’t know who
leaped out of his hotel window?”

“
Why would he? They are only traveling
through town, giving a speech, some meet and greet, then off to
Rome. Father Thomas let it be known that the cardinal is up for a
Vatican appointment. Of course, I’m not supposed to repeat
that.”

Sheila took a long drag from her cigarette.
Dagger could tell by the way she was pursing her lips that she was
just dying to share some hot rumor with him. He concentrated on his
drink and wished the smoking ban in Illinois would be adopted in
Indiana.

“
Your turn. Tell me the real reason you
were at the crime scene scouring the hotel parking lot.”

“
Does there have to be a reason?” He
pushed his empty glass to the edge of the bar and motioned at
Sheila’s glass. “Guess it’s the almost a cop in me.” Dagger had
once attended the police academy with the thought of making an
honest living. “Since I had been invited by Robert Tyler to attend
dinner as added security, I felt compelled to check things out. As
you saw, Padre’s guys picked the place clean before I got there.”
He placed another twenty dollar bill on the bar. “I would think
your connections could get more details on the coroner’s report.
Padre has been pretty tightlipped with me lately.”

“
Yes, I have noticed a bit of a cooling
off there. Is the honeymoon over?”

Padre was still straddling the fence
between being shocked by the
Friday the
Thirteenth
case and intrigued by witnessing the
unimaginable. Eventually Dagger knew intrigue and the blue rush
would win out. Once cops got the adrenaline going, it was hard to
deny the rush.

“
We’re just in a chess game of wits at
the moment.” Dagger’s eyes scanned the faces in the mirror behind
the bar, searching out of habit for danger. Maybe subconsciously
looking for another Demko. His gaze drifted to Sheila’s reflection
as she sucked on her cigarette. The foul habit made the lines
around her mouth more pronounced, not that she still wasn’t
beautiful. “I’m more interested in what the
Daily Herald’s
ace reporter thinks. What’s your
take on the jumper? Any buzz in the underworld about zealots
wanting to vent their frustrations with the church?”

Sheila stabbed the remainder of the cigarette
in the ashtray and fished around for another one. Her cigarette
case was empty. Next, she attacked her purse while the bartender
waited in the wings with a lighter. “The hotel turned over the
incoming phone records to the police department. Padre is checking
for threatening messages. In the meantime they have moved his
speech from the hotel to an undisclosed location.” She sighed when
she didn’t find a pack of cigarettes in her purse and waved off the
bartender’s offer to buy her a pack. “I need to cut down
anyway.”

“
What about fingerprints in the hotel
room? Padre share any of those results with you?”

Sheila’s gaze raked over his body and she
leaned back with a look he recognized. “No, Padre was tightlipped
but I have a man on the inside who will give me the scoop which I’d
be willing to share with you…for a price.”

Dagger knew that price. It had dragged him
back into her clutches too many times to count. “Thanks, but I also
have my sources.” In an effort to avoid pissing her off entirely,
he added, “But nice try.”

This warranted a shrug. “Can’t blame a girl
for trying.”

Sara was on the phone when Dagger returned
home. She sat curled up in a corner of the sectional, a smile on
her face that told him Nick Tyler was on the other end of the
receiver. He closed the outer door to Einstein’s aviary. He had
carpeted it which added more soundproofing in addition to keeping
out the light from the living room.

He walked over to the bar under the staircase
to grab a beer from the refrigerator. He took his time so as to
catch portions of her phone conversation.

“
I’ll be ready. Night.” Sara pushed the
END button, a smile illuminating her face. “Nick’s
home.”

“
Really? For how long this
time?”

She uncurled from the couch and set the phone
on the coffee table. “What did you learn from Sheila?”

Sara had deftly ignored his question. Dagger
didn’t consider it prying. He just knew guys like Nick. He was
Paris Hilton in pants. Wherever there was a camera or a party, he
was there, leaving broken hearts in his wake. Dagger didn’t want
Sara to be one of them.

“
Police don’t know anything, although I
think Padre was dodging her questions.” He took a long pull off the
beer bottle, kicked off his shoes, and sank onto the couch, propped
his feet on the coffee table. “The security guard, Hank Hanover,
had a clean work record, was a cop in a previous life, a
churchgoing guy and volunteered for the assignment to guard the
cardinal.”

“
Any fingerprints in the hotel
room?”

It scared him sometimes how her mind was
starting to click like his. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe he
wasn’t giving her enough credit to recognize a two-timer like Nick
when she saw one. “She claims to have someone on the inside but
we’ve got Skizzy and he’ll let us know when something pops up in
the department computers. Speaking of which.” Dagger picked up the
phone and called Skizzy. “Look over Cardinal Esrey’s travel
itinerary for the past month. Check airport and hotel cameras and
see if you can find anything suspicious.”

“
What are you looking for?”

“
A stalker maybe, someone following
him, getting on the same plane, sitting close by at a restaurant,
anyone suspicious. No rush. Tomorrow will be fine.” Dagger hung up
before Skizzy could rant.

CHAPTER 16

Dagger gave a low whistle. The macaw peeked
out from behind a frond in one of the upper branches of the tree in
the aviary. “Fetch, Einstein.” Dagger tossed a frisbee in the air.
A blur of bright blue and scarlet charged from the tree as Einstein
caught the Frisbee in his beak, then landed on a perch by the
window.

“
Einstein, you are supposed to return
it to me.” Dagger shook his head. “Training a macaw isn’t as easy
as they say.”

“
That’s because he’s a bird, not a dog.
If you wanted a pet that fetches, you should have bought a dog,”
Simon said.

The Frisbee dropped from Einstein’s beak and
landed in the birdbath. The macaw pulled a chain then stood under
the shower flapping his wings.

Simon cackled at Einstein’s antics.
“You got some coffee?” They convened in the kitchen. Morning light
splashed across the room. Simon slapped the
Daily Herald
newspaper on the table and shuffled
over to the coffeemaker. “Might find the society page pretty
interesting.”

“
I doubt it.” Dagger grabbed his cup of
cold coffee and set it in the microwave. “If it’s about Sheila, I
don’t care to read it.” He punched the one minute button on the
panel.

Simon scanned the kitchen counter. “Got
anything to eat?”

“
Eunie told Sara to only serve you
fruit so there’s a fruit salad in the fridge.”

Simon mumbled something unintelligible and
reluctantly dragged out a bowl of fruit salad from the
refrigerator. Once they were settled at the table, Simon winced at
the fading bruise on Dagger’s cheek and tsked. “You should cover
that with makeup. People are going to take you for a thug.”

“
They already do. Besides, it makes
people keep their distance.”

“
Aren’t you the social butterfly.
Speaking of which.” Simon nudged the paper toward him.

“
What am I supposed to
read?”

“
That Gabby lady’s column. The one that
tells you what the rich and famous are doing.”

“
And I should be interested because…”
Dagger’s words caught in his throat as he saw Sara’s picture
overlaid next to Nick Tyler’s. His eyes quickly scanned the article
that reported a rumor from an undisclosed source that Cedar Point’s
answer to Brad Pitt had purchased an engagement ring. Speculation
was that a local woman with whom he had been seen with on occasion,
would be the recipient of a four-carat pink diamond. Dagger
realized his index finger was hot from grasping his coffee
cup.

“
Didn’t I tell you?” Simon stabbed at a
strawberry with his fork. “But no. Now Tyler is going to dangle
this gorgeous ring in front of her. He’s young, good looking, not
that you ain’t.”

“
Young or good looking?” Dagger glared
at the postal carrier.