Crime Scene Investigation

This morning, my front yard became a crime scene!

At about 7:30 a.m., I went out to get the paper. Strangely, the paper was on my front stoop, not in the driveway, as usual. Then I noticed that my garden hose, attached to a bib by the front door was laid across the stoop, across the front walk, and out to the driveway--and the water was running.

I stepped out front, and on the lawn on the other side of the driveway, was a large metal safe that had been cut open with a torch. Lying in front of the garage door were three shotguns. By the safe was an empty handgun holster. Ammunition was strewn all over the driveway.

When I called 911 to report the situation, I learned that police units had already been dispatched to a nearby house. Before long, a neighbor came by, and explained that two safes had been taken from his garage. One was on our lawn. The second was found later in the driveway of a house on the other side of the street, a couple of doors down. The guns all belonged to my neighbor, who is a hunter. Apparently, the only thing missing from the safe in my yard was a large amount of cash.

The neighbor said that a similar robbery took place on the street next to ours about a month ago. Articles from that robbery had been strewn along the footpath in the green belt that surrounds our tract.

Soon, more police units were here, along with a sergeant, and a detective. They interviewed Bonnie and me. We had gone to bed about 10:30 Friday night. Our dogs woke us as usual a few minutes before 7:00 this morning. Neither we nor the dogs had heard anything. The master bedroom is at the back of the house, and we use one of those white noise generators to mask out sound at night. The police checked the area around the house, but found no signs of the perpetrator(s).

Bonnie and I went about our business. We went shopping for groceries that we need for our Christmas Eve dinner. When we returned, the police were still here. They called in a tow truck to pick up both of the safes. It was after 11:00 a.m. before everyone was gone and things were back to normal. The police took my garden hose as material evidence. They said it may have fingerprints or DNA on it.

I wonder if I will ever find out who committed the robbery. I am pretty sure, though, that I will never see my garden hose again.