“Let’s face it, Paul, at this time of day, she’s going to be at work. I’m counting on that.”

Before Paul could respond, George hopped out of Paul’s car and walked down the street and up to the door of Mariel’s apartment. The entrance was shielded from the neighbors by wooden fencing. He rang the bell three times and waited. There was no reply, and no barking dog to worry about. George then went next door to the apartment on the end of the row and rang that bell also, and again got no reply. If he had to bet, these apartments were all rented by single people. They had one-car garages, and the gardens were neat enough but untidy. There were no kids’ toys lying around and only one small garbage can in each entryway.

With calm that surprised him, George walked around the back of the building and saw that the yards were separated by fences that extended only as far as a wooded area in back, and were not closed off. No one has a dog, thought George. Good! He approached and clambered around the fence and into Mariel’s yard, then went to her back door, tried the handle, and when that didn’t open, he took a rock from the garden, smashed the glass above the handle and carefully let himself in. That was easy, he thought.

George looked for the alarm box a resident would use to switch the system off or on, but there wasn’t any. He then walked to the front door, opened it, and peered down the street, gesturing to Paul to come in. When Paul didn’t move, George jogged down the road to the driver’s side of Paul’s car.

“Are you crazy?” said Paul.

“Probably. Do you have any surgical gloves in the car? I’m going to wipe down what I touched already.”

“George, what about the neighbors? And an alarm?”

“There’s no alarm and I’d bet my last dollar there are no neighbors at this time of day. Come on, get the gloves, you’re wasting time. And come in and help.”

“I don’t believe you,” said Paul. “I’ll do anything to help, but it’s got to be within the law, George. You’re on your own on this one.” He got a pair of sterile surgical gloves and handed the package to George. He kept them in his car along with other medical equipment for roadside emergencies.

“Okay,” said George. “Keep a lookout. If she comes back, call me, or honk the horn, or something.”

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