tense. Bree waved the deputy and Matt closer. They met in the driveway. “Deputy, please stay with Ms. Phelps. Matt, you’re with me.”
Matt fell into step beside her. “You’re not giving me a gun, so you think the intruder is gone?”
She nodded. “The house is clear. I suspect the intruder went out the back door when he or she heard me arrive.”
They walked along the side of the house. Matt stopped and pointed to a window. The glass had been cut away. The extracted pane sat on the grass leaning against the house.
Matt rose onto his toes to look through the window into the garage. Inside, a lawn mower stood next to a black Ford Escape. Other tools and supplies were stacked in the corner. “Looks like he or she went in this way.”
They moved through the side yard. Bree pointed to Shannon’s gate, which stood open. Shannon’s neighbors didn’t have fences. Matt and Bree jogged along the fence line. At the end of Shannon’s property, Matt shined his flashlight on the ground. A path of crushed grass led through the neighbor’s lawn. “The vegetation is too thick to show actual footprints.”
The rear neighbor’s yard was wide open. Bree could see the street on the other side of the property. “The intruder could have parked over there and walked across the grass to Shannon’s house.”
They walked from Shannon’s yard to the street but saw no footprints. The rear neighbor’s house was dark and empty-looking. Bree and Matt walked back to Shannon’s house. She stood in the driveway with the deputy.
“Is the neighbor behind you home?” Bree jerked a thumb in the direction of the house.
“No,” Shannon said. “There’s usually a boat parked next to the house. It’s not there, so I think they must be on vacation.”
So, no one was home to report a strange car parked there.
“I want to check something,” Bree said.
Matt followed her to Shannon’s garage. They passed a hedge trimmer and other yard tools. Some two-by-fours and sheets of plywood were stacked next to a toolbox, some small gardening tools, and a box of random junk. Bree went to the breaker box in the corner and opened the door.
Matt aimed his flashlight on the box. The main breaker had been thrown.
“They turned off the power.” He flipped the switch, and the power came back on with the hum of appliances. The alarm system began to blare. They went back into the house and confirmed the lights were on. They returned to the driveway, where Shannon was scrolling on her phone. “As soon as the Wi-Fi resets, I can turn it off.” She tapped on the screen. The alarm went silent.
“I need a better alarm system.” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “It was the cheapest one. My budget was tight when I bought the house.”
“Does it have battery backup?” Matt asked.
Shannon lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
So, that’s probably a no.
Matt glanced back at the house. “Is the door between the house and the garage alarmed?”
Shannon shook her head. “No, I was trying to save some money. It seemed redundant since they put contacts on the window and the overhead door has an electric opener.”
“Overhead doors are not that hard to break into.” Bree holstered her gun. “But it looks like the intruder entered through the garage window.”
Shannon looked confused.
“The contacts are magnets,” Matt explained. “They are placed on the frame and window to line up when the window is closed. The alarm goes off if the contact between those magnets is broken. So, they only work if a window is forced open. Your intruder cut out the whole pane of glass. He didn’t open the window frame or disturb the contact between the two magnets.”
Shannon’s jaw dropped. “I never thought of that.”
Matt didn’t believe security systems were something that should be purchased with a Groupon. Whoever had sold her the security system should have explained it better. Criminals were very resourceful.
He continued. “You should ask your alarm company about adding battery backup and cellular monitoring to protect you in case of power outages. Also, you should have the door between the house and the garage alarmed.”
“OK.” Shannon’s voice was weak. “I didn’t even keep that door locked before tonight, but I will from now on.”
Bree turned toward her deputy. “Dust the garage windowsill and glass for prints. Then come inside and dust the door handles to the interior garage door and the french doors off the kitchen.” She turned back to Shannon. “I need