“That makes sense,” Winnie agreed.
“However, I still think there’s most likely a logical explanation here.”
Cyril was nodding. “The voice of reason. I agree… but what IS the explanation?”
“A faulty system was ruled out when you repaced it,” Harry said.
Cyril nodded his head. “Several months ago.”
“And you’ve noted the times the alarm was sounded when there was no wind?”
“It’s all written down,” Winnie said.
“There was no lightning during the time we’ve been checking,” Harry said. “I think the next thing to try is a surveillance camera for several nights.”
“You watched the house and saw nothing,” Cyril said. “What will cameras pick up that you didn’t?”
“Many things can set off these systems. There are various insects flying at night which are sometimes chased by bats,” Harry told him. “A bat flying nearby would set it off just as easily as a tree waving in the wind. But, a bat would be too dark to see from across the street.”
“If there are bats out there, I’m not going out there again after dark,” Winnie said. “I don’t want any bats getting tangled up in my hair.”
********************
Two days later, the cameras had not recorded any bats, despite the fact that the alarm had gone off several times.
“Mr. Walker, there’s only one more thing we haven’t tried tracking yet – transport trucks.”
“Transport trucks?” Cyril sounded confused. “What have they got to do with anything? They’re out on the highway.”
“But you’re not that far from the highway and, according my research, it is possible,” Harry said.
“Now it’s starting to sound more like science fiction,” Winnie said. “Like someone is keeping watch on us through the modern technology we use.”
Harry chucked. “I don’t think you need to worry about that, Mrs. Walker. It’s the size of the vehicle, such as a tractor-trailer carrying some piece of heavy equipment. Or even a motor home can be high enough.”
Three days later, just one truck has triggered the doorbell alarm, a tractor-trailer towing a flat bed with a crane – and that was during the day. Very few big rigs seemed to use that route.
********************
At the end of the week, Harry met with Cyril and Winnie again to discuss the steps they had taken and the results.
“Okay,” Harry said. “It’s back to square one… you have checked all the known triggers… pranksters, trespassers, the wind, bats, technical problems, oversized vehicles, the digital video…
“Video?” Cyril echoed. “What video. I don’t have any video.”
“The video that’s stored inside the doorbell. I just assumed it was the first thing you would have checked.”
“Inside the doorbell,” Winnie said. “How can there possibly be any video inside there?”
“But there is,” Harry said. “You can access it through your phone, just as you do to turn off the alarm.”
Cyril pulled his phone from his pocket and fiddled with it for a few seconds. “By jingles,” he said. “There it is.” He tipped his head to one side. “Now that I think about it, there was something in the instructions about it but, since we never had to use it, I forgot about it.”
