"He looks friendly," Sandy commented, "We should go ask what's going on." She was already walking up to the man.
"Sandy, wait!" Ariel called as she hurried after her brown-haired friend.
"Hi, girls!" the man greeted cheerfully as he pulled a toolbox from under a plank.
"Hi!" Sandy greeted back, "Do you live here?"
"Let's talk where it's dry, okay?" He walked back to the porch of the house with the toolbox.
The girls followed after him.
The man brushed the rain out of his short black hair. "So, how can I help you?" He was average in build, not muscular or thin, not fat at all. He appeared to be around his thirties.
"Is this your house?" Sandy asked, glancing up at the building.
"Oh, yes. Just bought it," the man claimed, "Thought it'd look good if it's fixed up."
"I heard there was a shoot-out here," Sandy mentioned.
The man's eyes brightened. "Ah, that story." He placed the toolbox at the doorway. "Yeah, that got my attention when I asked about this place. Come this way, I'll show you something."
The stranger led the way to the broken windows at the front of the house. "See those?" He pointed out a few holes around one of the windows.
The girls' eyes widened. "Bullet holes?" Ariel asked.
The man nodded. "Yup. There's more on this window here." He wiped some rain out of his face and showed them the next window. "And there's even more upstairs." He turned to the girls. "Name's Nick, by the way."
"I'm Ariel," the blond girl introduced herself, "She's Sandy."
"Any sign of the stolen jewelry?" Sandy interrupted.
"Jewelry?" the man uttered as he moved back towards the porch. "Didn't the cops recover them?"
"Yes, they did," Ariel confirmed.
"But maybe they missed something," Sandy suggested hopefully.
Once under the shelter of the porch, Nick shrugged. "I've been working here all week. Haven't found any."
"Hey, could we have a look around?" Sandy asked, "Maybe we'll find something."
Ariel gave her friend a hard look.
"Sure, I can show you around the place," Nick offered.
"Can I keep anything I find?" Sandy asked.
Nick chuckled lightly. "I think the authorities will want it back."
"Oh," Sandy uttered disappointedly.
Nick rubbed his unshaven chin. "Maybe there's a reward for it."
"A reward? On something that's supposedly found?" Ariel questioned.
"You've got a point there," Nick allowed, "Still, I guess if everything's been found, no one will miss it if we keep anything we find."
"That's dishonest," Ariel pointed out.
Nick shrugged. "Like you said, everything's been found. So who are you going to return whatever we find to?"
Ariel chose not to argue.
Nick stepped into the house. "So, still want to look around?"
"Sure." Sandy accepted the invitation and followed him in.
"Sandy..." Ariel hesitated a moment at the doorway. Then she closed her umbrella and stepped into the house.
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