A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials. --------------- Lucius Annaeus Seneca [NB: We will be sharing lovely Christmas pics from trips and friends with our stories for this season.] ************* “Lex! I truly understand how you must be feeling right now, but I am thinking that maybe _ maybe this could all be a mix up _ you know, probably a stunt. We both know it’s not even possible that anyone in this community would want to harm Dapper.” “Eric, I also want to believe that you're right but then its almost midnight and Dapper is not home. She never stays out late and she was last seen along that darned road...where the f***k is she?" Alex knew Eric was not far from the truth but he needed answers not assumptions. His late father was revered and had no enemies. He was loved by the people and upon his demise, they had transferred the same love and respect to his family or so he had thought because he could not understand why his sister wo