I had taken two naps that day, and was wide-awake long after Q and T drifted off. I was finishing my book The Innocent Man, by John Grisham just before 2:00 a.m., when I heard someone fiddling with our door and apparently trying to get in.
I poked T and whispered, "Someone is trying to get in our room!" He was a bit groggy, but heard the clattering of the knob.
He called out, "Hello?" and the person hurried down the stairs.
After that we could hear a lot of clattering and clinking from downstairs. We figured at first it was just a drunk, confused guest, but something didn't feel right.
I convinced T to go down and take a look. This is probably not the smartest idea, but curiosity was getting the best of us. He went down and saw a figure hunched behind the bar putting wine and liquor bottles in a bag. "Can I help you?" T said.
"Yeah, you can," the guy said as he stood and started walking toward T with his hands behind his back. Then he took off and ran out the kitchen.
T hustled back upstairs and called the police. The burglar had left his shopping bag full of bottles on the bar. When we saw the cop pull in, we heard more noise downstairs and figured the cop was already inside. It turned out it was the little crook returning for his bottles! Pretty brazen.
The police and deputies talked to us and got a description. They brought in a police dog to sniff around for the guy. We returned to bed but were wide awake for quite awhile. What would we have done if he got in our room?
The next morning we enjoyed French toast and scones. The inn workers were very apologetic, but we of course didn't hold anything against them. They gave us the night free and a certificate for a two-night stay. Sometimes crime does pay!
--MM
I just finished reading that book on xmas - quite good. I'm not sure if the criminal was dumb for coming back or just ballsy - I mean, he did get away with the loot!
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