by Janet Blaylock

Created on: April 28, 2009   Last Updated: April 12, 2010

Startled by the sound of Crissy's barking, Becky sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "Crissy what's wrong? Mommy's tired."

Becky crawled out of bed and walked into the living room. When she peeked out the window in the front door, she saw a car parked in the middle of the street.

After watching the car for a few minutes, she saw a woman get out and walk behind it. She saw the woman attempt to bounce the car up and down, and then she saw the woman get back into the car and attempt to start it again. It was obvious to Becky that the woman was having car trouble, but since it was 2:00 AM, she decided to go back to bed. She didn't want to open her door in the middle of the night to some stranger. "Crissy, it's all right. Let's go back to bed."

Within minutes, Crissy barked louder, and as Becky listened, she realized someone was knocking on the screen door. She woke up Cindy and whispered to her, "Someone's at the door."

"What?" Cindy asked, as she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Sh! Someone's at the door."

"What time is it?" Cindy asked.

"It's 2:00 AM."

"Who would be calling on us at this time of night?"

"I saw a woman having car trouble a few minutes ago, so it might be her."

"Call Detective Mallory and let him know about the woman," Cindy replied.

"That's a good idea, but I don't know about opening the door to this woman."

"That's why I said to call Detective Mallory," Cindy replied, sleepily.

After Becky called Detective Mallory, she decided to talk to the woman, but through the locked storm door.

"It's 2:00 AM. What are you doing here at this time of night?" "I'm having car trouble and wondered if you could take me to a nearby gas station?"

"I don't think so because I don't go anywhere with strangers, especially at night."

"Well, I guess I just have to walk," the woman mumbled.

"Sorry, but I can't help you," Becky replied, as she closed the inside door.

Detective Mallory arrived and captured the woman. He handcuffed her and placed her in his car. Then, he knocked on Becky and Cindy's door.

"I told you I can't help you," Becky hollered through the door.

"This is Detective Mallory."

"I'm sorry," Becky apologized, as she opened the door.

"I'm glad you contacted me because we've been searching for this woman for the last two weeks. She drove around to different houses and knocked on people's doors in the middle of the night. She told each person that she had run out of gas and attempted to get someone to take her to a gas station for help. Every time someone took her, her partner broke into the victim's house and robbed him or her."

"I'm glad I called you, too," Becky replied. "I want to help people who are struggling, but I told her I couldn't help her because I didn't go with strangers, especially in the middle of the night."

"You did the right thing. However, it's not a good idea to even open your door to strangers, especially in the middle of the night. You never know what they might do," Detective Mallory said.

"I agree. I'm glad Cindy was here, too. She wanted me to contact you because we weren't sure about this situation," Becky replied.

"I'm glad you contacted me, too."

"Thanks for coming."

Becky shut the door and locked it, and then she told Cindy what happened. She was also glad that Crissy barked and woke her up.

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