Bertie was frowning. “So, how did you find it, and where exactly?”
“With the second ring, I knew it was definitely coming from the garage. While I waited for the third ring, I searched the entire space, including the laundry area, but didn’t see anything. I couldn’t see behind the appliances and I didn’t want to move them unless it was necessary. When the time was close I kept my hands on top of both machines and…
“Vibrations!” Bertie said. “The vibrations told you which machine it was behind.”
“Right,” Harry said, with a chuckle, “except it wasn’t behind either of them.”
Both women looked puzzled.
“I felt the vibrations with both hands. The thing was stuck between the appliances. I saw it when I shone the light in there but, I had to get the crowbar from the truck to pull it out.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hogan.” Shirley said. “Now I can move ahead and put the house on the market.”
“And it wasn’t a phone, after all,” Bertie added.
“It sounded pretty much the same, until you get close to them. I’ve turned it off, by the way.” He handed the alarm over to Shirley.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two days later, Shirley stopped in to pay her bill and said the owner had laughed when she heard what was making the noise.
“And no one had missed the thing?” Harry asked.
Shirley shook her head. “Apparently, one of the girls had used it for a while to get on a schedule while studying for exams. According to the Mother, it was a short-lived phase.”
“But, how did it come to get down there?” Bertie asked.
“The woman did a final load of laundry the night before they left and the alarm had been in the second laundry hamper. It probably got knocked or dropped in there during packing. Anyway, she laid it on top of the dryer, intending to bring it up with the dry laundry… but forgot about it. That’s all she knew but, she said that the cat might have knocked it over.”
“So, when it fell, the switch got jarred into the ‘on’ position,” Bertie said, frowning.
“The cat might have done that while playing with the thing before it fell,” Harry said. “The alarms were set for afternoon times, she did the laundry at night and they probably left the next morning. So, they were gone by the time it started ringing.”
“I don’t care how it happened as long as it’s over,” Shirley said, “Thank you again.”
“Such a simple thing to have caused such a fuss,” Bertie said as the door closed behind Shirley.
“All in a day’s work,” Harry said.
