Chapter 25. The Address

*

“Tell me again why we’re walking this morning?” Sean asked in an amused tone.

*

“It’s good for us.” I said.  I didn’t add that it would also accomplish another goal of mine—to check out Rosario Vasquez’s address.  It had been three days since he’d told me where to go, and I’d decided to take Sean along with me—without him knowing exactly why he was tagging along.

*

*

*

*

“I can think of a lot better way to get some exercise.  In the morning.  Before work.  We wouldn’t even have to leave the house—and even better, there are no sweaty clothes to worry about.” Sean said with a devilish grin.  When I stared at him with narrowed eyes, he added, “Just sayin’.”

*

We walked for less than a block before he spoke again.

*

“Seriously—why are we doing this?  Does this have something to do with Vasquez?” he asked.

*

*

*

*

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said.  Even to my ears it wasn’t very convincing.

*

“Well, whatever it’s about– I’m glad you asked me to come along.”  Sean said.

*

“Even though it’s only walking?” I asked.

*

“Even though it’s only walking.” Sean said, smiling.

*

I changed the subject by noting how well his bruises and scratches had healed, and ended up punching him lightly in the shoulder when he joked that it was because he was part werewolf.

*

*

*

*

I stopped when I spotted it across the street.  I’d mapped it out earlier, on my computer at home so I knew exactly where it was.

*

“Hey, mind if we stop a minute?  Something weird is going on with my shoe.” I said, and wiggled my foot around a bit.

*

“No problem.” Sean said.  He turned and became distracted by a sign.  “Hey…graffiti.  Kids today have such filthy mouths…”

*

I watched the house, and wiggled my foot a little more and rolled it from side to side a few times to keep Sean from noticing.

*

*

*

*

And then I saw what I was watching for.

*

She waddled out of the small house and picked up her newspaper before turning and going back inside.

*

Rosario Vasquez wasn’t going to come after me—I knew that for certain now.  He had a reason for staying out of prison and he wouldn’t jeopardize his chances to get out of serving time.  I had a feeling that I’d be hearing from him again, so I decided that I would very carefully find out everything I could about this woman.

*

“Shoe situation resolved.” I announced cheerfully.  We finished our walk about fifteen minutes later, then parted ways to finish out the rest of our day.

*

*

*

*

SAME DAY, 5:45 P.M.

*

*

“Uh…thanks for coming along with me.  Again.”  I said sheepishly.  “I know you’ve probably got a lot to do, and I keep bothering you.”

*

“You know I don’t mind.” Sean said softly.  “Which one is it?” he asked.  I pointed to the storage unit just ahead.  I’d picked up the key from my mom fifteen minutes ago.  We approached the correct unit and I unlocked it and pulled the door up.  The musty smell of stagnant air started curling out into the fresh air outside.  I switched the lights on.

*

*

*

*

“Huh.  I was expecting there to be more stuff.” Sean said, looking around.

*

“Nah.  He had this tiny one bedroom place.  It was so small he could barely fit his double bed in his room.” I said, and to my surprise I felt like smiling at the memory.  “He was so excited about his own place—he’d hated living in the dorms.”

*

“Well…privacy is very important to a guy that age.” Sean said, winking at me.

*

“I’ll bet.” I said dryly.

*

*

*

*

“So the police went through this when he went missing, right?” Sean asked.

*
“Yep.  Then we went through it several times after that.” I said.  “I don’t really expect us to find anything, but a new pair of eyes can’t hurt.”

*

I moved to the clothing and started going through the pockets of all the coats, shirts, and pants.  Sean rummaged through some of the equipment scattered around the tables.  We hadn’t bothered with boxes for a lot of the things, because Scott really didn’t have all that much stuff.  The papers he’d had in his apartment were sorted into files at my parents’ house.

*

*

*

*

“Music box?” Sean asked, picking up something he’d found on a coffee table pushed up against a sofa.

*
“Yep.” I replied.  “He’s had it since…well, before he was born.  Mom got it when she found out she was pregnant with him.”

*

“What tune does it play?” Sean asked.

*

“I can’t remember the name of it—maybe you’ll recognize it if you wind it up.” I suggested.

*

*

*

*

I heard the tinkling chimes of the music box start up.

*

“It’s familiar, but I don’t know the name of it.” Sean said.  Suddenly, I heard the loud clack of a piece of wood hitting the coffee table and then something small and metallic skittering across the concrete floor.  Sean cursed and started turning the music box over.

*

“That’s weird—the bottom fell out of the box, but—it’s like it was a false bottom.” Sean said.

*

*

*

*

“A false bottom?” I asked, and walked closer to where Sean crouched down to look for the part of the box that had fallen to the floor.

*

“Hmm…” Sean murmured, and he got on his knees to reach further under the coffee table.  “Oh, wow.  Eddie, you might find this interesting.”

*

*

*

*

“What? What is it?” I asked.  I leaned closer, watching as Sean brought something up from the floor.  It was clutched between his index finger and thumb.  Part of me was unwilling to believe that he could possibly have found anything significant.  We’d gone through Scott’s belongings so many times—and not just his family, but trained investigators and police as well.

*

*

*

*

“Is there any reason why Scott would have one of these in his possession?  Other than the usual one, I mean.” Sean asked, and the gleam in his eye told me that he thought he’d found something important.

*

I peered at what he grasped between fingers and it sparkled as it caught the lights from overhead.  When I realized what it was, I gasped.

*

It was a diamond engagement ring.

*

*

*

End of Story 2 of the Edith Prescott Mystery Series.  Please check back in a few weeks for the beginning of Story 3.  I will likely take a week or two to do some detailed plotting.  I will, however, be moving to another state at the beginning of August, and that means I’m going to be packing and rather busy!  Updates to Story 3, once it begins, will be a bit sporadic at first because of that.  Thanks to all my readers, and to everyone who comments–you are all wonderfully patient and kind.

<– Previous chapter

• June 7, 2010
• An Edith Prescott Mystery: Story 2
• 71 Comments