The Good Die Twice

A Chase Dagger Mystery

Lee Driver

This book is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Any
slights of people, places, or organizations is purely
unintentional.

Copyright © 1999 by Lee Driver

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be
reproduced

in any form without permission.

Library of Congress Catalog Number
99-62925

ISBN 978-0-9820352-1-4

Smashwords Edition

CHAPTER 1

Nocturnal wildlife played a deadly game of
hide-and-seek a hundred feet below the gray hawk. Silently the hawk
glided, silhouetted against the full moon, wings flat and graceful.
It circled slowly, its underwing coverts trapping the rising air
currents. Nature had no reason to fear the hawk, not at night. The
hawk was a diurnal predator, it preyed only by day. But even in
daylight, the animal kingdom didn’t have to fear this particular
gray hawk. The only animals in danger both day and night were
two-legged.

The hawk folded its forty-inch wing span and
perched on top of a pole. The warm, westerly breeze off Lake
Michigan rippled through its feathers. In the distance, a train
rumbled, its horn blasts echoing through the woods.

The hawk possesses the greatest eyesight in
the animal world. Its eyesight not only outdistances a human’s, but
its visual acuity is also eight times more powerful.

The hawk can distinguish the various sounds
prevalent during the day and those more common at night. It can
distinguish between mating calls, distress and cries of pain. And
it knows animal sounds from human.

Angry voices made the hawk jerk its head
around. Swooping down for a closer look, it searched in the
direction of the sounds, near buildings with windows facing the
lake.

The buildings were tucked on the north side
of a bluff where thick woods created a cozy backdrop. Clusters of
townhouses faced the lake, each having its own deck with stairs
leading down to the beach.

The hawk settled on a deck railing and cocked
its head. The voices were coming from the end unit. Three figures
could be seen beyond the French doors. Light filtered through the
slices of vertical blinds revealing stark white end chairs and a
sofa.

Two men were struggling with a woman. A
muffled pop shuddered through the hawk. The odors were
strong…gunpowder and blood. A deadly combination. The woman
crumpled to the floor. Her long, blonde hair flowed gracefully
around her head. A stain seeped through her white dress and between
her breasts. The woman lay motionless, blue eyes open in shock,
lips parted slightly. The stain grew, spreading onto the white
rug.

A bright speck danced toward the fireplace.
The hawk followed the object with curiosity. With unusual
human-like intellect, it studied its surroundings as if looking for
landmarks. By the time it returned its gaze to the French doors,
the blinds were drawn tight.

With quick wing beats the hawk took flight,
made a pass over the townhouses, and flew off. It climbed higher,
over treetops, across a ravine toward a huge building with
spiraling towers. It searched the balconies for a white scarf tied
to a door handle, located it, and disappeared through the open
balcony door.

CHAPTER 2

“Dagger, wake up.”

“Hmmmm?” The interruption sounded distant,
part of his dream. Dagger lifted his head from the pillow and
glared at the clock radio. “It’s only four o’clock. Go back to your
room, Sara.”

Sara hit the wall switch, which turned on
both bedside lamps. Shielding his eyes from the light, Dagger
groaned. Through his splayed fingers he watched Sara pick through
his pile of clothes on the floor. She was clad in black from neck
to toes, colors she had been taught to wear on stakeouts.

“Hurry,” Sara ordered, flinging his black
shirt and slacks at him. “A woman has been murdered.” She dropped
the bombshell and retreated to her side of their hotel suite.

Dagger dragged his body to the edge of the
bed and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He struggled with the pant
legs as Sara breezed through the doorway again.

“What’s taking you so long?” She had her dark
waist-length hair pulled around to the side and was braiding it.
Pinpoints of blue-green were encased in almond-shaped eyes. “Hurry,
hurry.”

“If she’s dead,” Dagger mumbled through the
black shirt he pulled over his head, “I doubt she’s going
anywhere.”

“Are you sure this is the place?” Dagger
parked his dark blue van at the end of the block and killed the
lights.

“I think so.”

“Think?” Dagger raked his fingers through his
shoulder-length hair.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

The dark woods provided an excellent cover as
they approached the back of the townhouses. A layer of mist snaked
out from the woods and creatures chattered in the branches. The
July air was humid, dewy, and blades of grass felt saturated and
slippery under their shoes.

Dagger held a flashlight in one hand but it
was turned off. He stopped and listened. Birds were just starting
to awaken and were filling the air with their incessant
chirping.

Sara stopped and listened, too. She was able
to filter out all the wildlife noises. Shaking her head, she
proceeded up the asphalt drive to the side of the townhouse with
Dagger close behind. Glancing at nearby trees, then at the lake
ahead, she announced, “This is the one.” She turned her attention
to the deck and started to climb over the railing.

Dagger grabbed her arm. “Wait. How can you be
so sure?” He looked down the lakefront at the row of townhouses.
“It could be any one of them.”

“It’s an end unit.”

As silent and agile as a cat, Sara climbed
over the railing and stayed close to the building as she listened
for sounds beyond the French doors. “I don’t hear anything.”

The sky toward the east was turning a dark
blue as daybreak was fast approaching. Sometimes, if you blinked,
you could miss it entirely. Dagger crossed the patio and turned the
flashlight on. Other than the patio doors, there weren’t any other
entrances on this side of the townhouse.

“Come on,” he whispered. They retraced their
steps to the back of the townhouse. Dagger shined the flashlight on
the back door to check for evidence of a break-in. There wasn’t
any. While Sara held the flashlight, Dagger maneuvered a lock pick
and the tumblers gave with a click. With gloved hands, he carefully
turned the doorknob and they entered through what looked like a
utility room.

Piping was exposed where they assumed a
washer and dryer would be installed. Moving cautiously, they
listened for any noise on the other side of the door. Sara shined
the flashlight on the tiled floor looking for the usual evidence of
a crime—drops of blood, suspicious footprints—but there weren’t
any.

Slowly, Dagger opened the door that led to
the kitchen. The interior was damp, musty. Sara flashed a beam of
light on a wall switch just as Dagger flipped on the lights.

Sara quickly moved to the living room. Large
globe lights extended from the ceiling fans. The white upholstered
furniture and thick area rug were unstained. Puzzled, she said, “I
don’t understand. I saw her. I saw the blood.”

Dagger leaned against the island counter
separating the living room from the kitchen. He gathered his
collar-length hair into a rubber band and tried analyzing the
situation. Sara was not one to let her imagination run wild. Yet,
there wasn’t a body. There wasn’t even a hint of a crime. He opened
the vertical blinds and unlocked the French doors. After sliding
back the screen, he stepped out onto the wooden deck. He motioned
to Sara.

Reluctantly, Sara followed and walked out to
the railing closest to the adjoining unit. Getting her bearings,
she looked out at the lake, the navy blue sky now a lighter hue
with hints of pink and yellow near the horizon. She faced the
townhouse again and stared at the French doors.

Dagger studied the intensity in her face as
she started to chew on one of her knuckles. It was a nervous habit
she had started after her grandmother, Ada Kills Bull, passed away.
He had thought she would slowly give up the habit, but if anything,
it had only gotten worse.

“I don’t understand,” Sara said again.
Frustrated, she went back inside and crouched down. She felt the
carpeting. It was dry. She wiped her fingers across the solid oak
floor. “It isn’t even dusty.”

Dagger slid the screen shut. “The place has
been closed up. It wouldn’t get dusty.”

“It’s almost TOO clean.” Sara got down on all
fours.

She was tenacious, Dagger had to say that
much for her. She looked up at him with those dazzling eyes
pleading for him to help confirm her sanity.

“If you want, Sara, I could have the police
come over and coat the place with luminol. If there is any residue
of blood...”

Sara shook her head. “I can’t do that,
Dagger. The police will want to know where I was when I saw the
murder and why I didn’t do anything, and wonder how I escaped the
killers.”

“I’m sorry, Sara. You’re right.”

Her eyes searched every crevice as if unseen
magnifying lenses were attached to her irises. A slight smile crept
across her face as she crawled toward the fireplace. Reaching under
the fake logs, she retrieved a sparkling object.

“I saw something fall off of the woman as she
fell to the floor,” Sara explained.

“It’s an earring, a black topaz or something.
Sucker’s at least fifty carats.” He held it up to the light. “Sure
is a strange color.” He folded the earring inside his hankie and
slipped it in his pocket. “Now all we need is the body.”

CHAPTER 3

In the lobby of the Dunes Resort a bell
captain and waitress were setting a long table for the continental
breakfast. The colorful mosaic-tiled floor was dotted with thick
Persian area rugs.

Dagger tugged at the collar of his shirt. His
stubble was itchy and the lobby was a bit too warm. He wanted a hot
shower, some breakfast, and a fast ride home. This was not how his
one-day surveillance was supposed to end. A client by the name of
Hardaway had hired Dagger Investigations to follow Mrs. Hardaway
and find out to whom she was giving away corporate secrets. Dagger
had followed her to the Dunes Resort where she was spending the
night with her husband’s business partner. Getting glossy
eight-by-tens for pissed off husbands were not cases Dagger
Investigations usually handled. But the amount of money Stu
Hardaway was paying was enough incentive for Dagger to drag out his
audio equipment.

The Dunes Resort was an eighty-year-old hotel
getaway near Michigan City, Indiana. During its lifetime it had
gone through numerous renovations. The new owners had invested a
huge sum of money in the latest updates including the building of
the townhouses on the lakefront.

The desk clerk returned. “Which unit did you
say?” The red-haired woman rested the bifocals on the tip of her
nose. She studied the pamphlet unfolded on the counter. Her lapel
pin said MARIA.

“This one.” Sara pointed to the corner unit
in the photo.

Dagger explained, “We saw it last night but
it was occupied and we didn’t want to disturb them. If they are
checking out today, we would like to take a look inside.”

Maria bent her head to peer over her glasses
at them. “That’s impossible. Those units won’t be available for
rent until August. No one could have been in there last night.”

“But they look finished,” Sara protested.

“The last items to be installed are the
washers and dryers, and that won’t be for another week.” Maria
folded up the brochure and handed it to them. “Take this with you
if you’d like. It’s easy to get turned around here, there’s so much
property.” She handed Dagger a business card. “This is our Guest
Services Department. I can have them call you when they have
additional information if you’d like.”

Dagger wrote his name and phone number on the
back of the card and handed it to her. “I’m in Cedar Point,
Indiana. Just on the Indiana/Illinois border, about an hour from
here. They can reach me at this number.”

CHAPTER 4

“Did you miss us?” Sara slid open the grated
door to the bird aviary. The forty-by-thirty-foot room housed a
large climbing tree that reached to within a few feet of the
cathedral ceiling. Large skylights provided natural sunlight and
fluorescent bulbs set on timers dimmed the lights gradually in the
evening.

Feeding stations were strategically placed.
One side of the room held a large birdbath with a showerhead
operated by a chain. The tiled floor around the shower drained to a
grating in the corner. Astro-turf under the tree made the room look
more like a park than an oversized birdcage.