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THE NEXT MORNING SUE Lee meet with Professor Henderson; his information was disturbing. He did not know a student named Douglas Gleason and had registration check their records with no results. However, they did have an address for a student named Drew Gleason.
Sue Lee arrived at the address given to her by university housing.
The war caused a shortage. Stanford’s students depended on the office to provide living quarters. Sue Lee knew some stayed on after graduation to take advantage of the post-war lower rental rates.
There was no one around the working-class neighborhood. Leisure time in these row houses was in the evenings after a long day. Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked closer at the front door. It was ajar, and the lock was broken!
After seeing the broken lock, Sue Lee walked across the street to a Muni bus stop bench. It provided her with a view of Gleason’s Row House. She knew it was two levels with a split entrance with one apartment up and one down. However, without knowing which one he was living in, she wanted to observe any activity on either floor. “Damn, I should call the police, but I want to see his living quarters.”
She smiled and moved over for an older lady in a bright floral print dress with a matching attractive helmet hat. She arranged herself to sit down next to Sue Lee and said. “Do you have a schedule? I hope I didn’t miss the Harrison bus. I’m meeting my Sister?”
“No, I’m sorry I don’t, but what time was it due? According to my watch, it’s now 9:30?” Sue Lee answered while watching the house windows for any movement.
“Oh, good, I just made it. We should see it coming up the hill soon.”
Sue Lee followed her gaze, looking at the maze of trolley lines crisscrossing the streets. In the corner of her eye, she saw a movement in the house across the street. She casually turned towards her companion, so she could watch the house.
“I see it. It won’t be long now.” As she spoke, the front door opened, and a man appeared looking in both directions before hurrying across the street away from them, disappearing behind the corner. Her hunch was right. Someone had been in the lower apartment, but she could not see the face and wasn’t sure if it was Potts.
“You must be new to the neighborhood, or are you visiting?”
“Actually, I’m from the University. We are closing down some of our rental accommodations that are not needed now. It involves a lot of walking. This bench in the sun was inviting. I do have one nearby, a 1261 address. I believe.” Sue Lee said, looking at the address given to her by the University office.
“It’s the house across the street from me, but that nice young man is not there anymore. Muriel told me he was taking a cruise. She’s the landlady who lives upstairs. Terrible, deft, you need to shout to be heard. Oh, here’s my Bus—goodbye!”
Sue Lee listened to the electrical lines’ crackling sounds as the bus pulled away before crossing the street to 1261.
Both doors, the front entrance and the one to the lower apartment, had been jimmied. Sue Lee stood at the gate with a key in her hand given to her by Muriel, the landlady; it wasn’t needed. After much shouting, Muriel concluded she was a potential renter and sent her off with the key. It was feeding time for her pets. “My God, the woman lives in a zoo with birdcages above, aquariums, and cats below.”
“Apparently, Drew or Douglas didn’t leave that long ago. I smell aftershave, or it could be the recent visitor?” she sniffed as she walked toward the bedroom.
The apartment was a mixture of furnishings. Sue Lee noticed nothing was broken. The upholstery was clean. She also saw the kitchen was tidy, not the usual bachelor mess.
However, his neatness left no clues. The only thing Sue Lee learned so far was from the lady on the bench. He was supposedly on a cruise. She made a mental note to check ship departures in this morning’s paper.
Sue Lee returned the key, explaining she found a broken door and reconsidered renting in this area. The landlord perhaps didn’t hear her correctly, went on singing while happily feeding her menagerie.