Two nights later, Harry parked his truck, across the street from the Walkers’ home, in the driveway of a house that was for sale. He sat there in the darkness, keeping an eye on Walker’s driveway and front door, but saw nothing.
He repeated this process during the next two nights, but saw nothing suspicious… mostly couples or groups of friends out walking, and limited traffic.
********************
After three nights of surveillance, he called Walker to report his findings. “Has your alarm gone off during the past three days and nights?” he asked.
“At least half a dozen times,” Walker replied
“Well, I can safely say that it’s not teenagers. I have not seen one teenager on the street in the past three nights. And no one has been anywhere close to your doorbell, or even the front of your house.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“Just that one possible cause has been ruled out. During the next couple of days and nights, I want you to take note of the exact times the alarm goes off. Perhaps your wife might help you during the day so you can get a good nap. You sound tired,” Harry said.
“A nice long nap sounds wonderful,” Walker agreed. “But I’m sure Winnie would love to help. The alarm wakes us both but she’s not the one who gets out of bed to check it out. She can just lie back down and go right back to sleep again.”
Harry chuckled. “We need to get this figured out before you start falling asleep at the supper table.”
Walker laughed. “At this rate, I can see that happening.”
Meanwhile, the forecast was predicting a good chance of thunder and lightning during the next several nights. Research indicates that lightning could trigger these Smart Doorbells, so Harry parked across the street again. He intended to note the start and end times of any period of activity, and any particularly strong lightning. However, there was nothing more than a few low rumbles in the distance and no lightning at all. Another possible cause crossed off the list.
********************
Mugs of coffee and tea buns were on the kitchen table as Harry sat across from Cyril and Winnie.
It was time to talk about what they knew and what they didn’t know; what they had checked out and what was left to try.
“Mrs. Walker, do you really believe it’s a ghost?” Harry asked.
“Yes, I do,” she said, nodding her head. “It’s in the doorbell, or near enough to set off the alarm.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“We bought the place when we retired, three years ago.”
“Where did you live before?”
“We had a condo, in the city,” Cyril said. “We were both in jobs we enjoyed, had no major health issues, so we worked until I was seventy and Winnie was sixty-eight.”
“Why did you decide to move out of the city?”
“We wanted someplace quieter, less busy,” Winnie said, “a slower pace of life, I guess.”
Harry nodded. “I certainly understand that, but why did you think you needed a Smart doorbell?”
“We lived in an apartment until we bought the condo and those places had security. This is our first time owning a property like this, with a house and our own piece of land. We didn’t know what to expect or what might be needed in the way of security,” Cyril explained.
