Chasing Ghosts by Lee Driver

didn’t. Other than the cardinal’s current travel plans, the only
biography Dagger had was the one Sara had printed from her Google
search. His suspicious mind started questioning the cardinal’s true
identity. All Dagger had to do was snatch a wine glass the cardinal
touches and, as a backup, have Sara pick up some prints from the
hotel room. That was their only starting point.
    His mind drifted to Demko. Why did he seek
him out specifically? There were other P.I.’s in the area. The more
he thought about it, though, he realized they were all
high-profile. Their pictures were on billboards, smiling up at you
from restaurant placemats, on flyers posted at the local grocery
store. Someone would get suspicious if any of them were found dead.
But most people knew little about Dagger. His clients were all word
of mouth. His obituary would be a tiny blurb buried near the
classifieds.
    And then there was the cardinal. Dagger
studied the face. Could he be wrong? Did Esrey only resemble
someone from Dagger’s past? Why were some people he had killed so
fresh in his mind but Esrey was a blur? There wasn’t anything in
the cardinal’s past that even hinted at corruption or misconduct.
Maybe…Dagger shook the thought from his head. That was too bizarre
to even contemplate. But the thought nagged at him, kept pushing
its way to the forefront until he gave it some structure.
    Maybe it wasn’t the cardinal’s past that had
him targeted. It could possibly be his future.

    CHAPTER 8

    Mansion didn’t quite describe the size of
Robert Tyler’s home. Castle was a better term, Dagger had always
thought. The grounds were manicured, the evergreens shaped to
resemble animals. Fountains sprayed and pools bubbled. The veranda
where Dagger stood offered a great view of the Tyler boat dock in
the distance, the stables off to the right. This side of the house
faced east. Dagger could only imagine what kind of sunrises they
enjoyed. Then his thoughts drifted to Sara. She would hate living
in a house this size with servants and high-profile elites drifting
in and out. Or would she? The house didn’t have rooms…it had wings.
The ballroom had held many gala events including a post-election
party for the Indiana governor several years ago. There were
groundskeepers, a cleaning service, a limo driver whose
responsibilities included washing all of the Tyler vehicles.
Captains were hired whenever Tyler took the yacht out on Lake
Michigan. A stable master kept the horses groomed. Yes, Sara would
definitely hate it here.
    “ Dagger, there you are.” Robert Tyler
stepped out onto the veranda and handed Dagger a beer. “Cardinal
Esrey will be coming down in a few minutes.” Robert rested one
elbow on the railing and watched the guests in the sitting
room.
    Dagger figured Robert was so used to the
grounds that he now took them for granted. Even his string of
resorts ran like clockwork so there wasn’t a need for him to travel
that much. Robert’s tanned skin showed few lines which had Dagger
wondering if the man recently had a facelift. His hair appeared
thicker and more silver. Hair plugs? Was Robert trolling for wife
number three? He had always been trim and in excellent shape but
having an in-home gym with a weight trainer visiting three times a
week would keep anyone in shape.
    “ I’m sorry Sara couldn’t make it. She
is a lovely young woman.” Robert studied his manicured fingers.
“She would be a catch for any man, don’t you think?”
    Dagger gave a hint of a grimace which he
hoped looked like a smile. Maybe Nick was the wrong Tyler he should
keep an eye on.

    Sara shoved her shorts and top into the gym
bag and stashed it in the supply cabinet in the women’s washroom.
The hardest part was trying to shove all of her hair under the
short red wig. The gray and white uniform fit loosely but it was
all she could get her hands on in such short notice. She had worn
her own gym shoes so hopefully she wouldn’t run into a member