gets too low, as it did when your power was cut off, it has an infrared blue light that kicks on, enabling it to see in the dark. I’ve seen these used by law enforcement to monitor people on home confinement or early release programs.”
“So someone actually broke into our house, planted this monitor in our bedroom, connected it to his own laptop through the Internet, and then went around the house and called us on the phone?” Michael said. His mind wandered back to Russell’s murder earlier in the evening, and in another part of his brain, he wondered when to break that news to Samantha.
“You got it,” Fletcher said. “But he must have come into your house earlier to plant the device. He then either left and returned, or …” Fletcher stopped, looked at Samantha, and took a deep breath, “he stayed in the house and hid out waiting for the right time.”
Samantha let out, “My God, I was out most of the afternoon. Do you mean he may have been in the house for a while, just watching me and waiting? He was here while I was alone, before Michael came home?”
Fletcher and Michael exchanged concerned glances. “Right now, Samantha, we’re not sure exactly what happened here.” Fletcher said as he watched the faces and signals of the parade of officers as they approached after checking out every corner of the house. He stepped aside and conferred with the one who appeared to be his next-in-charge. The officer spoke, loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s all clear; no one’s in these rooms, Chief.”
Fletcher resumed speaking with the officer and then turned back to Michael and Samantha. “As he said, everything’s okay now. But not only didn’t we find anyone hiding, we can’t even find any indication of a break-in. The doors to the outside were all locked, although with most of your locks, they could have been relocked easily by someone on their way out. Except for some damage we did to your doors getting in, nothing appears to have been disturbed.
“We’ll let you look yourself in just a few minutes in case you see something out of place that we might have missed. Other than the monitoring device, there’s no trace that an intruder was here. For all we know, he came in, planted the electronic devices, left the house, and controlled everything, including your phone system, from a car a block away.”
“Maybe, but we heard someone actually trying to turn the door handle,” Michael said, pointing to the bedroom door.
Fletcher appeared stymied until he appeared to have a revelation. “It was probably a clever sound effect that they piped through the system.”
“But, Fletcher, we saw the knob turning,” Michael said.
Fletcher’s face tightened. “Listen, I have to admit this is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Even from my days in New York.”
The unfinished 9-1-1 call was eating away at Michael and, he guessed, at Samantha, too. He was sure Samantha understood that he was perhaps treading carefully, waiting for the right time to pose the question to Fletcher as to how he knew there was an emergency at their home.
But before Michael had the chance to ask, Fletcher posed his own question. “Michael, when did you get a police scanner, you little devil?”
“What do you mean?”
Fletcher smiled, a sarcastic look on his face. Michael recognized the look, the one Fletcher used when he was sure Michael was trying to put something over on him. “Come on, how do you think we got the emergency call? It came through to headquarters on a two-way transmitter, the kind they sell with the police scanners.”
“But, Fletcher, I don’t have a scanner or transmitter, whatever the hell they are, and I never sent any message to you guys. I did start to dial 9-1-1 on my cell phone, but you called on the house line before I ever finished dialing. I’m serious.”
Fletcher appeared confused. “That’s impossible. Who called in then on our police frequency?”
Michael thought for a few
“So someone actually broke into our house, planted this monitor in our bedroom, connected it to his own laptop through the Internet, and then went around the house and called us on the phone?” Michael said. His mind wandered back to Russell’s murder earlier in the evening, and in another part of his brain, he wondered when to break that news to Samantha.
“You got it,” Fletcher said. “But he must have come into your house earlier to plant the device. He then either left and returned, or …” Fletcher stopped, looked at Samantha, and took a deep breath, “he stayed in the house and hid out waiting for the right time.”
Samantha let out, “My God, I was out most of the afternoon. Do you mean he may have been in the house for a while, just watching me and waiting? He was here while I was alone, before Michael came home?”
Fletcher and Michael exchanged concerned glances. “Right now, Samantha, we’re not sure exactly what happened here.” Fletcher said as he watched the faces and signals of the parade of officers as they approached after checking out every corner of the house. He stepped aside and conferred with the one who appeared to be his next-in-charge. The officer spoke, loud enough for everyone to hear. “It’s all clear; no one’s in these rooms, Chief.”
Fletcher resumed speaking with the officer and then turned back to Michael and Samantha. “As he said, everything’s okay now. But not only didn’t we find anyone hiding, we can’t even find any indication of a break-in. The doors to the outside were all locked, although with most of your locks, they could have been relocked easily by someone on their way out. Except for some damage we did to your doors getting in, nothing appears to have been disturbed.
“We’ll let you look yourself in just a few minutes in case you see something out of place that we might have missed. Other than the monitoring device, there’s no trace that an intruder was here. For all we know, he came in, planted the electronic devices, left the house, and controlled everything, including your phone system, from a car a block away.”
“Maybe, but we heard someone actually trying to turn the door handle,” Michael said, pointing to the bedroom door.
Fletcher appeared stymied until he appeared to have a revelation. “It was probably a clever sound effect that they piped through the system.”
“But, Fletcher, we saw the knob turning,” Michael said.
Fletcher’s face tightened. “Listen, I have to admit this is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Even from my days in New York.”
The unfinished 9-1-1 call was eating away at Michael and, he guessed, at Samantha, too. He was sure Samantha understood that he was perhaps treading carefully, waiting for the right time to pose the question to Fletcher as to how he knew there was an emergency at their home.
But before Michael had the chance to ask, Fletcher posed his own question. “Michael, when did you get a police scanner, you little devil?”
“What do you mean?”
Fletcher smiled, a sarcastic look on his face. Michael recognized the look, the one Fletcher used when he was sure Michael was trying to put something over on him. “Come on, how do you think we got the emergency call? It came through to headquarters on a two-way transmitter, the kind they sell with the police scanners.”
“But, Fletcher, I don’t have a scanner or transmitter, whatever the hell they are, and I never sent any message to you guys. I did start to dial 9-1-1 on my cell phone, but you called on the house line before I ever finished dialing. I’m serious.”
Fletcher appeared confused. “That’s impossible. Who called in then on our police frequency?”
Michael thought for a few
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