"	Gene's Story or How I Gained a Cousin A novel by Karen Lockhart Copyright 2016

CHAPTER 18

Oh no, it looked like the police were at my condo unit.

“Ginny, stay cool, if the cops want to see ID, don't worry, you are all set.” I whispered, “Let me deal with anything that comes up, comprende?”

Ginny was so upset all she could do was nod her head.

I parked out front since my driveway had a Swampscott cruiser parked in it. Two cops who were standing beside the cruiser looked up as I stopped and got out of my SUV.

“Do you live here?” the older,one asked, looking at his partner, “We had a alarm sound and responded with a fire engine. The alarm company couldn't tell if it was a burglar or fire alarm going off.”

“Yes,” I answered, “I'm Ellen Hansen, and this is my cousin Ginny. Please tell me it wasn't a fire, officer.”

“The fire laddies have gone through the house, and found nothing. It appears someone opened the front door and set off the alarm. My partner and I checked everywhere, including the closets, no one's hiding inside.” The officer said. “But I would suggest a different door lock. They opened it by 'bumping' the tumblers of the lock.”

I asked him, “What is bumping?”

“That's when you get a key that fits your lock, grind down the ridges, stick it in the lock, and whack it with a hard object. You know, a hammer, or even a book. This makes the pins in side line up, and Bob's your uncle, it opens.”

“Oh dear, what can I do to prevent this”, I asked, acting the helpless female. “Do I call a locksmith at this hour?”

“After the detective is finished inside, we'll have you two look around to see if anything is missing. That will give time enough for a locksmith to get here. I'll call him myself, that should speed him up.”

I looked around for Ginny, and there she was again, batting her eyelashes at a cop. I am starting to get jealous, no, I'm jealous! I looked over at the other cop, it was Tom Kelly, the guy Ginny was smiling at the other day, Oh well, no trouble there.

The detective stuck his head out the door and asked if the owner was there. Before I could answer, Sargent Salt answered, “Right here, detective, you want her inside?”

“Yes, please.”

I broke Ginny away from her adoring fan, and the two of us went inside. “What do you want us to do ?” I asked.

“I'm Detective Tom English, and you are?”

“ I'm Ellen Hanson, I own the place and this is my cousin Virginia.”

“Could you two look around and see if anything is missing, I've looked and nothing seems to be out of place. Take your time, no hurry.”

I gave the kitchen a quick look, who wants to steal stainless steel dinnerware? Ginny ran into her room, while I checked out the living room and bathroom. I told Detective English, “Everything is in its place here, let me check in my bedroom.”

I was in my bedroom,when the locksmith arrived, with locksets for both front and back doors. Sargent Salt got him started on the front door, while I finished up in my bedroom. I called out to the detective that nothing had been disturbed, and I wanted to speak with the locksmith.

“Sure, go ahead,” He said, “that's more important.”

I asked the locksmith about 'bumping' the lock to open it.

“Not this one, you couldn't open these Yales with a sledge hammer. Once I finish this one, I'll do the back door.” With that, he turned back to the door, and I turned back to Detective English.

'Miss Hanson, we've had a rash of these break-ins lately, when the alarm went off, it scared them away. You and your cousin should be safe, they won't be back, especially if one of you is home.”

With that, he gave us a wave, and told the uniformed cops he'd talk to them in the morning.

Sargent Salt finished watching the locksmith get done with the back door, grabbed the four keys and hand them to me. “Done, you girls will be safe now with those Yales on the doors. Here are the keys, don't loose them, it'll cost a fortune to have new ones made.”

“What do I owe you,” I asked the locksmith, “Do you take a personal check?”

“Yes but your Homeowners insurance will cover this, I was called by the police for this,so you should be ok.”

I thanked him as he left and wished him a good night. After he got into his truck, Ginny grabbed my sleeve and asked,”Do you think it was Morales?”

“No Ginny, I don't. What would he learn breaking into my place, that he couldn't find out just by asking around? Don't become paranoid, it'll eat away at you. Now, what are you making for dinner tonight, and don't say reservations.”

That brought her back down to earth, and got her thinking. “I can throw a chicken casserole together in a jiffy, with some rice, peas, and broccoli. Toss it in the oven at 350 for 45minutes, and it'll be done, Oh look, here's some grated cheese, I'll cover it with the cheese after I pull it out of the oven.”

“Lets change and get after it, but first, I'll put the Explorer in the driveway, and bring in the newspaper.”

She changed and stuck her head into the freezer, while I struggled with what I wanted, beer or bourbon, the bourbon won.

I plunked my self down on the sofa, with three fingers of sour mash, and changed over to the new keys. “Ginny, toss me your house key, and I'll swap the old for the new.”

The time it took to change three keys equaled how long it took to drink three fingers of bourbon. Perfect!

After about an hour, Ginny called me to the kitchen, there was her casserole and a sweating can of Fosters on the table. Perfect again!

After dinner She tossed the television set and we heard about our break-in, apparently there was two others in the neighborhood. The police think the crooks got in the same way in all three cases. Ginny sighed at that, “Oh good, it wasn't Morales, I can sleep tonight.”

I figured now was a good time to tell Ginny I slept with a 9mm Rock Island Arms handgun beside my bed, and I knew how to use it.

“I know,” she said, “the cute cop Tommy Kelly asked me about it.”

“So, it's Tommy is it? Don't get to the point where you leave him disappointed. You know what I mean?”

Ginny nodded, “At this point, we're just friendly, I told him about being smacked around by a boy friend, and didn't feel like getting that close, for a while anyway.'

The bourbon and 26oz of beer did their work, I fell asleep.

To be continued,

Many thanks to Bronwen Welsh for correcting typos and punctuation