Did You Hear That?

I thought someone had broken into the house.

Joan and I had been out shopping and got in around 9 p.m. Drew was flying in from D.C. later that night, so we were expecting to come in to a quiet empty house. As we were standing in the entry with our arms full of bags, we heard a door slam in the back of the house. Joan turned around and looked at me with wide eyes and I said, "Did you hear that?" She nodded her head. "Do you want to leave?" This time she answered from the front seat of the car with her purse clutched tightly in her hands. I was right behind her.

We drove to the security hut and told our story. "Wow." said the guard, without enough passion. "You must be really scared."
So I asked in my best damsel in distress accent, "Could you go in the house with me and be sure no one is in there?"
"No. But I'll send someone to drive around a few times."

Long story short, I called 911. And as calmly as I could, I explained that it was probably the wind, but we heard a noise that sounded like a door slamming in the back of the house. Because we are in an unincorporated part of Largo, they transferred me to the county sheriff's office. "We'll send someone right over."

We parked in the driveway across the street and waited, hoping the officer wouldn't turn on his lights or siren. Within minutes not one, but two cars pulled up. Seemed like it was overkill, but it beat the response of the security guard, so I got out and greeted them. They were extremely polite and reassured me that they would search the house inside and out. Joan and I giggled nervously as I got back in the car. "I can't believe they sent two cars!"
"Me either!"

Two minutes later...two more cars.

Two minutes later...another car with "Canine Unit" written on the side.

Neighbors trying to get home were making U-turns to avoid getting caught in the gunfire at the Texas Crack House.

Ten minutes later, the security guard tootled up in his golf cart. I lowered my window to assure him we were okay. "Hello! We're okay!" He didn't see us. I opened the car door so the light would come on. "Yoo-hooo! Over here! Don't worry! We're fine!" Again, no indication that he knew we were 30 feet away. Maybe he couldn't hear me over the Police Dog barking so loudly...or Joan laughing hysterically in the floorboard.

At this time I would like to express my deep gratitude to the entire Pinellas County Sheriff's Department for their quick response and their thorough investigation of our house and surrounding property. Their conclusion was that our back bedroom door was not completely shut when we left (it opens to the screened lanai, which was locked)and when we opened the front door, the wind caught and slammed it shut.

The "Going Beyond The Call of Duty Award" goes to the two officers who stayed in the driveway without us asking or knowing, until Drew got home. I think it was their way of saying, "Wow. You must be really scared."