Sassy Cinderella and the Valiant Vigilante by Sharon Dunn

Author:Sharon Dunn [Dunn, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General, Juvenile Nonfiction, Humor
ISBN: 9780825424953
Google: EzZInwEACAAJ
Amazon: 082542495X
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Published: 2003-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Technically, the apartment is abandoned.” The Jesus tattoo man, who’d told me his name was Robert, walked ahead of me down the stairs to Dale’s apartment. He’d opted to leave his yippy little dogs upstairs. “I’ve got to call the sheriff to get this stuff hauled away. Laws these days favor the tenant. Sheriff said it was okay if you have a look. Long as you don’t take anything.” His “Jesus is Lord” tattoo rippled as he stuck the key into the lock and twisted. The door screeched open. “If we find a photo you can use, we’ll have to make a copy of it. If Dale comes back, I don’t want to risk him saying I took his stuff.”

“You think he is coming back?”

“Kind of doubt it. Haven’t seen him since that Friday you came by. He’s behind on rent. It’s going to take me a month to get the place cleaned out and rented again. The guy cost me a lot of money.”

I stepped inside while Robert stood in the doorway. The main living area consisted of a kitchen and living room divided by a counter. An open door off the kitchen led to the bathroom.

“Look around but don’t mess stuff up.” Robert crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. “If you find a photo, we can use my scanner upstairs, then put it right back.”

Not that there was much to mess up. Dale hadn’t taken time to unpack anything but the essentials. Open boxes with clothes heaping out of them rested on the burnt-orange carpet. Several pairs of jeans were thrown on the couch. Sweatshirts cluttered the floor. A shoebox and two coffee mugs rested on the counter.

“There’s no bedroom,” Robert commented. “The couch pulls out.”

I wandered into the living room. Dale hadn’t worked at making the place homey. He didn’t even have the proverbial beer can collection most college students acquire. “Doesn’t look like he was here much.”

“I work long hours at the firm.” Robert shrugged. “The guy was quiet. I really didn’t pay much attention to if he was here or not.”

Three unframed photos were pinned to the paneling. The first was a posed picture of an older woman, probably his mother, and a buzz-cut toothless kid, probably a little brother. The second photo was of Dale in chaps and cowboy hat, leaning against a fence. He was a few years younger, maybe a high school freshman. Even at that age, a look of weariness clouded his expression. The last photo was of Dale, Theodore Aldridge, and the female professor from the film department. They sat together in a pizza parlor with people milling around them.

The three grinned for the camera. Aldridge had one arm around the professor woman and the other around Dale. Two beer glasses, one empty and one full, sat on the table in front of him.

I pulled the pin out of the photo. “This is the most recent one. Maybe you can enlarge and crop it so just Dale is in the photo.

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