Everything was peaceful and quiet the night after my Dad nailed all of the windows down tight at our house. Of course all the occupants of the house breathed a deep sigh of relief and had a very good nights sleep. Something that hadn't been had in a long time.
It wasn't until the next afternoon that we were advised that one of our neighbors across the street, who was gone out of town for the weekend, had her kitchen window, over her sink area, broken and police were not sure if the burglar got into her house, or found it too difficult to squeeze through the little window. She happened to come home a day earlier than expected, and discovered the broken window. Of course she did not go into the house until the police arrived and went in with her. According to her, nothing else in the house had been touched, and that is why police believed the burglar had not been able to get in..A couple of cigarette butts were found in her driveway, which ran under her kitchen window. They were the same kind that our burglar smoked.
After this happened, my Dad took my mom down in our basement and showed her how to use the little b-b-gun he had..This didn't sit too well with my mom, because she didn't want any kind of a gun in the house, let alone, in the drawer of her night stand, which was right by her bed.
The police thought it was a bad idea also due to so many children being there. They promised to patrol the area more. They also checked out how my Dad had nailed down all the windows, and agreed that there was no way for anyone to get in the house. My 2 brothers still kept baseball bats under their beds for added protection.
It was around 1:am when my Mom heard strange noises coming from one of the dining room windows. She said it sounded like someone was trying to pry open the window. She yelled for my brothers, who came charging down the 13 steps from the bedroom to the living room..Both had flashlights. By this time the noise had stopped that had been coming from the window..My Mom instantly called the Police.They told her not to let anyone go outside.
They were there in a matter of minutes. 2 Police cars, no sirens, and an unmarked police car, which carried the police dog. The dog immediately went to the side dining room window, sniffed around and then took off thru our back yard to the fence and was trying to get over it, to go further.
He and the policeman both jumped the back fence and continued through the neighbors yard onto the street behind.
When the Police were finished gathering what evidence was around the dining room window, they came inside and talked to Mom and my brothers..The prowler had used a crowbar on the window, and had almost gotten all the nails out of the window.
The Police said if my Mom hadn't heard the noise, he probably would have gotten in and no telling what would have happened. They said he had been one determined person to stay there that long and keep at it. The Police found the crowbar laying on the ground, along with his cigarette butts. They never did find any fingerprints as it was assumed he had always worn gloves due to the cold weather.
Soon the dog and his handler came back. They had chased the guy but lost him as he ran through different yards for several streets. That is one of the reasons the police think he lived very close, because he knew the short cuts, especially in the dark.
The Police stayed with my family until my Dad got home from work. They planned on a council meeting that next night and would spread the word to other neighbors to please come to the meeting. Some kind of a plan had to be made for everyones safety, especially our family.
Please come back for Part V on 2-9-07, which is the date I will finish my story...
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
