Chasing Ghosts (13 page)

“
He’s got more money than God for one
thing. Lots to offer a woman.”

“
Sara doesn’t care about money or
mansions.”

“
She spends a lot of time with him…when
he’s in town.”

“
Right, when he’s in town.” Dagger
stalked over to the coffee machine and filled his cup. “Sara knows
he dates other women which is why I don’t think the ring is for
her. They aren’t serious serious.”

“
Serious serious, like in sleeping
together serious?” Simon’s eyes twinkled as they followed Dagger
back to the table.

“
She would have told me.”

Simon barked out a laugh. “And why is
that?”

Dagger shrugged in response, his eyes
drifting to the article again. He and Sara had shared a lot of
information in the past. Of course she would come to him…even
though she always avoided the subject of Nick in the past. And why
was that? He didn’t want to think about it.

“
You’ll see,” Dagger said. “The ring is
probably for some daughter of a U.S. ambassador he met overseas.
Someone with comparable status and a lot of
connections.”

“
AWK AWK. WHAT A BODY.”

Dagger heard Sara tell Einstein to shut his
beak. He shook his head at Simon as a caution to change the
subject, then quickly pulled the paper off the table and put it on
the chair next to him.

Sara breezed into the kitchen, her hair a
mass of tiny pink papers. “Hi, Simon. I see you are eating
healthy.” Sara planted a kiss on Simon’s pudgy cheek. “I’ll be sure
to report back to Eunie.”

Simon shot a puzzled look at Dagger who
seemed just as confused by her appearance. Sara pulled a bowl from
the cabinet then settled into a chair next to Simon.

“
That all you’re eating?” Simon asked
as he watched Sara scoop fruit into the bowl. His gaze kept
drifting to the pink papers infesting Sara’s hair.

Sara unwrapped herself from the chair, pulled
a bag from the freezer and popped it into the microwave. Next she
grabbed three plates and set them on the table along with napkins.
When the microwave dinged she pulled the bag out and shook the
contents onto a platter.

“
I made ham and cheese crescent rolls
last month and froze several bags. Eunie said you can have two.”
Sara smiled at Simon’s grumbling.

“
Thanks,” Dagger said. He watched
Simon’s puzzled stare at Sara’s hair. He couldn’t take it anymore.
To Sara he asked, “Did you borrow Skizzy’s headset?”

“
No,” Sara said with a withering glare.
“They showed this on TV. I took small strips of hair and wound them
around the pink papers. After several hours, I’ll have a head full
of corkscrew curls.”

“
Going someplace special?” Simon
asked.

How like Simon to get to the meat of the
question, Dagger thought.

“
Nick is taking me to dinner at the
country club. Said to go all out because it’s a special
occasion.”

Simon’s smug smile had
told you so
written all over it.
Dagger wanted to punch him silly.

Father Thomas paced in front of the caterer,
menu in hand. The event had been moved from the hotel to the Tyler
mansion. Robert Tyler had given his name and introduced the timid
priest as a staff member in order to keep the caterers from knowing
the location of the diocese farewell reception. Father Thomas had
obliged by not wearing his clerical collar.

The caterer sat patiently at the table, her
starched blouse looked as prim and proper as a cleric’s collar.
Elaine Godet had catered for the wealthiest families and
high-profile functions for over twenty years. She pulled a pen from
the twist of salt and pepper hair which obediently remained in
place.

“
Being that it is summer, you might
want to avoid the heavier creamed sauces and dishes,” Elaine
suggested.

“
Yes, yes, Mizz Godet,” he
agreed.

“
It’s Go-DAY,” Elaine stressed. “Since
this will take place later in the afternoon we will need to offer
more éntrees.”

Father Thomas appeared not to hear. “The
strawberry walnut salad will be nice and light as well as the
spring vegetable soup.” He turned and retraced his steps.
“Raspberry iced tea and coffee. The dessert selections look
fabulous. I just don’t know about the éntrees.”

Robert watched him struggle with the number
of choices and decided to step in. Any minute he expected the
priest to start a mantra about Cardinal Esrey’s nap time, digestive
problems and allergies. Not that Esrey had any but it wouldn’t stop
Donald from worrying about them.

“
We probably need one red meat, one
white meat, and possibly a fish. Maybe a blackened salmon with dill
sauce. Do you agree, Donald?”

He bowed his head, the sunlight shining
brightly on his bald dome. “Yes, yes. What about a potato?”

“
Seasoned rice with mandarin oranges
perhaps?” Robert pleaded with his eyes for fear the meek man would
offer to ask the cardinal’s opinion.

“
But the red meat needs a potato.”
Father Thomas’ fingers wound together like plump white worms. “Rice
with red meat doesn’t go.”

The woman seated at the table tapped her pen
repeatedly, snatching glances from one man to the other. Father
Thomas caught the irritation of the tap-tapping but before he could
say anything, Elaine offered, “Boiled pearl potatoes with parsley
works fine with the beef burgundy.”

“
Yes.” Robert was relieved to finally
end the lengthy menu selection debacle.

“
Oh, I’m not sure,” Father Thomas
whined.

Elaine bent her head and lasered a glare over
her bifocals at the timid man. “Beef burgundy over buttered
noodles?”

“
Perfect!”

Elaine and Robert breathed a collective sigh
of relief, but when Father Thomas piped up with, “Then again,” they
each groaned a little too loudly.

“
Maybe we should ask…” he started.
“LILY.” Robert cried out in relief as his housekeeper appeared in
the doorway dressed in her traditional black and white uniform.
There was so much black and white in the house this week that
Robert was contemplating putting out a moratorium against wearing
black after the cardinal leaves. “We were just going to come find
you. We need help with a menu. Do you think pearl potatoes or
buttered noodles go best with beef burgundy?”

“
Boiled pearl potatoes, of course,”
Lily said. Wisps of short graying hair framed a wise and trusting
face. “Buttered noodles would be too heavy.”

“
Thank you,” Elaine said with unabashed
delight. She gathered up her papers before anyone could make
additional changes. She passed Nick as she headed toward the
doorway.

“
Did I miss something?” Nick asked,
watching as the harried lady rushed out.

“
I’ll go share this with His Eminence,”
the priest announced, and hurried out of the room.

“
He is a strange guy.” Nick placed a
small white and gold box on the table. “Tell me what you
think.”

“
Is everything set for tonight?” Robert
opened the box and smiled. “You have excellent taste. She is going
to love it.” He saw a look of apprehension cross his son’s face.
“Having second thoughts?”

“
Who me? Absolutely not.”

Robert motioned to the veranda. It was on
these beautiful summer days that Robert wished he had a Spanish
villa that was open and airy. Unfortunately, being this near the
water in the Midwest brought too many insects. “You aren’t doing
this for me, are you, Son?”

“
What do you mean?” Nick sat down, the
ring box clasped in his hands.

“
I want you to take an interest in the
business. So to placate me and also be able to enjoy sun and fun at
our Martinique resort, you are going to give the impression you are
settling down.”

Nick kicked his sandals off and pressed his
bare feet against the railing. “Not at all. I’m just trying to
snatch Sara before someone else does.”

“
Someone like Dagger?” Robert watched
his son gaze longingly at the sailboats in the distance. He changed
the conversation back to his original question. “You called the
clubhouse to confirm all the plans?”

“
Yes, and Lily went over the menu with
the clubhouse staff.”

“
I’m surprised Sara hasn’t called after
seeing that rumor in the gossip column this morning. Whose idea was
that?”

“
Sheila’s.”

Robert chuckled. “That explains a lot.”

“
What do you mean?”

Robert rose from the chair and settled
against the railing facing his son. “I believe Sheila knows Sara
better than you. She knows Sara is too kind to turn you down after
all the fuss being made and all the trouble you are going through.
And now with that gossip column practically spelling it out for the
whole town to know, there isn’t anyway Sara would humiliate you by
refusing the ring. This opens the door to Dagger which is all
Sheila is interested in.”

Nick gave a shrug. “Is that such a bad
thing?”

CHAPTER 17

“
Oh shit,” Dagger mumbled under his
breath as he saw the smiling face on the surveillance screen.
“Padre’s here.” He pushed the button for the gate to
open.

“
Wonder which subject he wants to
discuss,” Sara said. “Your truck or the remains in the
quarry.”

Dagger stared at Sara’s hair. It was a mass
of long tendrils. He preferred her hair straight like she always
wore it. Given the weight of her thick hair, he expected the curls
to be gone within a few hours.

“
Nice,” he settled on rather than
telling her what he really thought. He wondered what she planned to
wear tonight and whether or not he should tell her about the rumor
in the newspaper. A knock on the door interrupted his train of
thought. “Door’s open,” Dagger yelled. He tucked the Kimber in the
top drawer of the desk and pulled his hair back in a ponytail in an
attempt to look clean cut. It didn’t work. Danger flowed through
his veins and guilt seeped from his pores.

Einstein clamped claws on the grated door and
screeched, “UP AGAINST THE WALL AND SPREAD ‘EM. AWK.”

“
Hey my feathered friend.” Padre shot a
salute at the macaw. “Whoa.” He took a step back. “Lookin’ good,
mamacita.” Padre walked a 360 around Sara. “Curls
galore.”

“
Thanks,” Sara said. “It’s different
but it won’t last long. Do you want a beer, Padre?”

“
Nah. I can’t stay long. Have to get
back to the office.”

Dagger eyed him with a bit of suspicion. The
shit-eatin’ grin was gone so the cop wasn’t going to play the I’ve
got something on you game. Instead, Padre was wearing his trading
card face.

“
I have chocolate chip cookies,” Sara
said in a sing-song voice.

Padre rubbed the small paunch barely kissing
his belt buckle. “The wife has me on a diet.” When Sara flashed a
pout, the cop said, “But what the hell.” He cocked his head as he
watched Sara walk out of the room, then swiveled his head to the
glass window. “Whose PT Cruiser in the driveway?”

“
Sara’s,” Dagger said. “It’s a girl
car.”

“
But it’s a guy color,” Padre added,
checking out the bright red paint.

“
Doesn’t quite have the power a guy
likes.”

Sara carried in a plate of cookies and a
bottle of water and set them on the coffee table. “Are you cutting
up my car again?”

“
Not me,” Padre replied as he settled
on the couch.

“
COOKIE.” Einstein poked his beak
through the grating.

“
You get a Brazil nut and like it,”
Dagger said, shoving the nut between the grating. Einstein eyed the
treat suspiciously but after a few seconds of contemplation,
gingerly plucked it from Dagger’s fingers.

Padre popped one cookie in his mouth whole,
shaking his head with approval, then washed it down with water.
“With all those cars you got, how come you needed to buy another
one?”

“
This one is all mine,” Sara said.
“Besides, Dagger’s truck was stolen.”

“
Really? When was that?”

“
About three or four days ago,” Dagger
replied. “I filed a report.”

“
That right? Funny, I didn’t see a
report. The only one I saw was the report on your truck being
burned at the Ritz the other night.” Padre popped another cookie in
his mouth.

“
My truck?” Dagger sat on the love seat
cattycorner from Padre. He spent several seconds puzzling over the
news and hoped it looked sincere. Sara would have been better at
pulling it off. “Are you sure?”

“
Positive. Where was your truck when it
was stolen?”

“
I had it at the shopping center,” Sara
admitted. “I don’t know why anyone would want to steal it. The
thing was a total wreck.”

“
Hey,” Dagger barked. “The truck was a
classic.”

“
A classic wreck,” Sara
countered.

Padre took another cookie, this time savoring
it in two bites. “You two can argue about its quality all you want.
What I want to know is how a dead man ended up on top of it.”

“
The jumper at the Ritz?” Dagger asked.
“Can you tell if the truck was stripped and dumped
there?”

“
Was there really anything worth
stripping on that junker?” Padre asked.