Free Chasing Ghosts by Lee Driver Page B

others that might be found in the hotel
suite. Sara had left out the little detail that Dagger wasn’t
investigating the possible theft in the suite. Perhaps he finally
was rubbing off on her.
    Dagger scanned the cardinal’s prints into the
computer and zipped them off to Skizzy to check through AFIS to
verify the cardinal’s identity. Padre had taken pictures of every
inch of the suite and planned to show them to the cardinal tomorrow
to attest to the contents and confirm that nothing had been
stolen.
    Sara hadn’t said one word to him since he
returned home. He could feel eyes drilling a hole in his back. The
bruise on her neck had vanished completely, a testament to her
rapid healing abilities. His ribs still ached and his bruises
looked like he had gone six rounds with Ali. He turned from the
computer to find Sara sitting on the couch, bare feet propped on
the coffee table. She was flipping through pages of a magazine
barely looking at the pictures, her tanned legs clad in floral
capri pants. One of his jobs was to keep her safe and she was
almost killed tonight. Maybe involving her wasn’t the right thing
to do.
    “ I said I was sorry, Sara. If I had
known it was going to be dangerous, I would never have sent you.”
Other than drilling him with those laser blue eyes, she said
nothing.
    After several additional seconds of chill,
Sara tossed the magazine on the coffee table and announced, “I want
my own car.”
    Dagger blinked. “What?”
    “ I want my own car. You drove the
Beemer and left me with that rattle trap you call a classic. The
truck isn’t something I care to drive in heels nor is my
motorcycle, although the truck no longer exists since that’s the
vehicle Demko Number Two fell on. The Navigator is as long as a
limo and too cumbersome for me to handle and I’m not familiar with
the Taurus. I want something that’s mine.”
    “ So, that’s all it takes.” Dagger moved
her feet and plopped down on the coffee table in front of her.
“Bodies fall on you, you fall out of a window, almost get blown up,
but all you want is a car. A woman after my own heart.” He grabbed
her hands and held on tight, thankful that her fear of people no
longer applied to him. His patience had paid off and seeing the
smile radiating on her face filled him with a thrill that could
only be equaled by the purchase of a new weapon. Sara never asked
for much. Not like most women. Sheila used to drag him off to
jewelry stores for the latest bauble that caught her eye. He felt
it was a waste of money. Not to be denied, Sheila would buy it for
herself and tell her friends that it was a present from
Dagger.
    “ What kind of car do you
want?”
    “ A PT Cruiser convertible.”
    “ Done.”
    Sara cocked her head, not sure she heard him
right. “Really?
    “ Really.”
    She threw her arms around his neck and kissed
his cheek. “Thank you.” She jumped from the couch and ran up the
stairs to her bedroom.
    Dagger started to second guess his motives.
Was he trying to compete in some way with Nick Tyler? Would Nick
turn around and buy her a Jaguar to show him up? Sheila would have
asked for a Mercedes or Lexus but all Sara wanted was a PT Cruiser.
Just to see that dazzling smile of Sara’s was enough for him. Then
he frowned.
    “ HEY! What about my truck?”

    CHAPTER 11

    Luther pulled his mask off and motioned for
Padre to follow. They each had endured three hours of restless
sleep last night knowing this was going to be an unusually gruesome
autopsy. But they hadn’t realized how shockingly gruesome.
    Luther’s assistant, Gretchen, had completed
the autopsy on Hank Hanover, the security guard found dead in the
cardinal’s bedroom. No surprises there. He had been asphyxiated and
his neck broken by a very powerful force.
    It was the remains in the hotel parking lot
that Luther chose to handle. He loved challenges. When Padre had
surveyed the crime scene, there had been something eerily familiar
about the victim. Of course