Home Intrusion

The phone rang this morning at about 1:30 AM. As I answered it, hearing my mother-in-law's voice, I flashed back to a few years ago when a similar call at about 3 in the morning was due to her going into congestive heart failure. This time, someone had tried to break into her house. The police had just left after combing the yard and area, and recommended that she call a family member to come over if possible.

I quickly pulled on my pants, grabbed my mag light and jumped in the truck while Fran kept her company on the phone. Fortunately, she lives only about 3 minutes away, so when I arrived I was able to double-check the yard and basement for her, looking into any possible spot that someone could be hiding in.

She recounted how, upon going to the washroom after some late night TV viewing, she heard a metal scraping sound from the side door. She crept into the kitchen and turned on the outside light. Through the small glass windows on the top of the door, she could see the screen door was open - that and the continued sound of metal scraping on metal indicated that someone was at the door, trying to get in. She snuck over to the window above the sink and could see someone standing on the sidewalk (likely a "lookout") looking up the driveway where the door was. She turned on the front lights and a few more interior lights. The "lookout" gestured something and then start walking down the street. Then she went for the phone and called 911. The police arrived within minutes.

We had some tea and sat up talking for a few hours, until she felt comfortable enough to go to bed. I'd intended on sleeping on her couch to ensure she felt safe, but she insisted she'd be less able to sleep if I was still there (also something to do with the fact that if I stayed there that night, the next night it would be even more difficult for her to be alone)

I finally got back to sleep some time after 4:30 (less than an hour before I had to get up for work), and Francine and I are looking into getting her set up with a security system. Francine and I use Voxcom and have been very satisfied with their services. We'll likely call them first.