A 91-year-old widow was home alone when she realized that two burglars were trying to break into her home. But by setting up a trap for the robbers, the older woman outsmarted them.
Vernon Jones had pledged to stay with Dolores till the end of their life and even go to their heavenly home with her when he asked for her hand in marriage.
Unfortunately, destiny wasn’t so kind to their plans, and one day Vernon abruptly had a heart attack and had to leave Dolores. Following Vernon’s death, Dolores found herself largely isolated.
The tiny antique shop run by Vernon, a well-known antiquarian in town, was doing very well. Additionally, he kept some of his priceless antiques at home, which the neighbors soon noticed and began chatting about. This resulted in several attempts to rob Dolores and Vernon’s home and business.
Dolores thus felt unsafe in her house when Vernon passed away. Everyone in her neighborhood knew she was alone. She was therefore too scared to accept assistance from her neighbors, even when they gave it.
Dolores saw Bob, her 31-year-old neighbor, looking through the front gate of her house one evening as she was on her way home from her shop. Pretending not to notice Dolores, he hurried away as soon as he spotted her approaching.
According to the reports Dolores had heard, Bob was unemployed and an alcoholic, and his wife had moved in with her parents after leaving him. Since then, the man had been living alone at his home, where he would spend his days drinking or wandering the neighborhood, savoring the attention of other ladies.
Bob was an unemployed drinker who lived next door to Dolores. | Image: Pexels
Dolores knew Bob was strange, so she initially ignored him. But the following day, she noticed that he was looking at her. She was reading a book on her balcony when she caught him staring at her through his bedroom window just as she was ready to go on to the next chapter.
The way he continued to stare at her made her feel uneasy, so she walked inside and closed the door to her balcony. Later, she discovered Bob was gone when she glanced out the window to see if he was still on the window sill.
Ever since that day, Dolores had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Because of this, she was very careful and often secured all her windows and doors.
But one night, while she was in the kitchen making tea, she heard an odd sound coming from her backyard. Despite her fear, she made an effort to maintain her composure.
In her backyard, Dolores noticed an odd noise | Image: Pexels
Taking a pan, she slowly unlocked the rear door. The door of her old house groaned as it opened, and she saw Bob and another man leap over the wooden fence in the backyard and head off.
“If you don’t go, I’ll contact the police! Why in the world are you here? When Dolores noticed them emerging from a bush, she yelled at them, but they fled silently upon learning of the presence of the police. Dolores found a number of beer bottles laying in the forest when she went there.
Dolores had trouble falling asleep that night. She kept thinking about the potential that Bob and his accomplice might have tried to hurt her every time she closed her eyes. What if they hadn’t managed to get away? What if there was a problem?
She needed to take action since she felt things were becoming hazardous, but she couldn’t even tell the police until she had concrete proof against Bob. The only thing she could do, Dolores thought, was to be alert.
Dolores equipped her home with security cameras | Image: Unsplash
In order to install new locks and cameras around her house and backyard, she hired a handyman the following day. In order to stop Bob or anybody else from attempting to break into her home again, she made the decision to monitor the area around it.
After studying the security camera footage all day, Dolores failed to spot anything unusual. Thinking that Bob would be alarmed given her earlier warning, she went to bed that night feeling comforted.
But around midnight, she was awakened by a loud noise coming from the backyard. The first thought was that it might have been Bob once more!
Dolores was informed that someone had broken into her yard when she hurried to the living room and switched on the monitor to look at the security cameras. However, the backyard cameras were malfunctioning.
Calm and unaffected, she tiptoed to the kitchen window. She spotted two black-clad creatures wandering around her house as she gently raised the window shade. Their faces were hidden, making it impossible for Dolores to identify them. She did, however, hear them talking about looting her home. She made the decision that she needed to come up with a plan to save herself before it was too late.
Through the kitchen window, Dolores noticed two men outside her home | Image: Unsplash
Dolores called 911 right away to report that someone had broken into the backyard of her home. The operator told her not to panic and that the police will be there shortly.
Determined to apprehend the bandits who had tried to break in, she hung up the phone and carried her husband’s portrait to the kitchen. “Vernon, oh!” From the kitchen, she spoke loudly, as though she were addressing her late husband. “Honey, you are sorely missed! Why did you abandon me in this manner?
As she was saying that, she became aware of the two intruders’ silhouettes coming toward the garden door, which was obscured from view by a thin white curtain.
She went on, “Honey, I still haven’t touched the antiques you left in the garage.” “The ancient silver flute your great-grandfather gave us for our wedding and your grandfather’s old gold watch are both securely kept in the garage. We would open a modest store in our house, as you had promised. Honey, those antiques have been waiting for you the entire time and are worth thousands of dollars!
As she spoke about the antiques’ worth, Dolores saw the shadows grow lighter and lighter until they vanished entirely. One of the intruders was breaking the camera in the garage when she hurried to the living room to look at the video. It was time to catch them, Dolores knew!
By mentioning the antiquities in her garage, Dolores deceived the burglars. | Image: Unsplash
She discreetly opened the backyard door after grabbing a lock, gas spray, and Vernon’s baseball bat. She wandered until she reached the garage, where she splashed gas on the two men’s faces and dragged down the shutters before the robbers could escape.
Additionally, she attempted to lock it from the outside, but the two robbers persisted in attempting to raise the shutters.
Luckily, the police showed up at that moment, and upon noticing the elderly woman in distress, they hurried to assist her and apprehended the robbers right away.
When Lewis Robinson, one of the officers, took off the invaders’ masks, Dolores wasn’t shocked to see that Bob was one of them! She had been right! “I knew!” she said.
Officer Robinson gave Dolores a puzzled look. “Ma’am, do you know who he is?”
“Yes, officer!” “Dolores said.” This is the neighborhood where he resides. A few days ago, I spotted him in my backyard with another man.
“You don’t need to worry anymore, ma’am,” Officer Robinson assured her. “I’ll make sure they don’t appear in the area ever again. Ma’am, do you live alone?
“Yes, officer. My son resides in Texas, and my spouse passed away two months ago. He is so busy with his job there that he seldom ever comes to see me.
“All right, ma’am,” answered Officer Robinson. “It’s dangerous to live alone, and the number of crimes is just rising daily.” You did a fantastic job attempting to lock them in the garage, by the way.
Dolores reddened, “Oh.” I simply acted as though I had some antiques in the garage and was conversing with my late husband. The idea succeeded because I knew they could hear me coming from the kitchen.
“Ma’am, I’m really amazed. I’m pleased you weren’t frightened and caught them! Please be careful.
Before departing, Dolores returned Officer Robinson’s smile with, “Sure, officer.”
As advised by Officer Robinson, Dolores told her son Todd everything that had occurred. Todd told Dolores to move in with her since he was so worried.
Todd moved his family to Dolores’ town after asking for a transfer at work since Dolores did not want to go to Texas because she and Vernon had many memories of their old home.
Vernon’s shop is being owned by Dolores and Claire, Todd’s wife. They gave it a somewhat different name, “Dolores and Vernon’s Treasure House.”