Sophie Said a Strange Man Had Been Inside the House — Then the Silver Ring and Muddy Footprints Proved She Had Been Telling the Truth
Chapter 2 — The Side Door Was Still Locked
Daniel did not follow the footprints immediately.
First, he took Sophie and Vanessa back toward the front of the house.
“Stay here.”
Vanessa looked alarmed.
“You’re going back there?”
“I’m checking whether anyone is still inside.”
Daniel called their neighborhood security service.
He explained that an unknown person might have entered the house.
A patrol officer was already nearby.
Daniel waited.
He did not want to turn a strange situation into a dangerous one by searching every room alone.
Sophie sat on the couch beside Vanessa.
Her teddy bear remained pressed against her chest.
Vanessa reached toward her.
Sophie shifted slightly toward the other side of the couch.
Vanessa noticed.
Her hand stopped.
A few minutes later, security officer Marcus Lee arrived.
Daniel showed him the muddy footprints.
Marcus checked the ground floor.
No one was inside.
No broken windows.
No forced locks.
Nothing obviously missing.
Then he examined the side entrance.
“Door’s locked now.”
Daniel frowned.
“Could someone lock it after entering?”
Marcus pointed toward the keypad.
“This is a smart lock.”
“Correct code opens it.”
“Once the door closes, it automatically relocks.”
Daniel looked toward Vanessa.
“Who knows the code?”
“Us.”
“Rachel has an emergency code.”
“Your parents have another.”
Then Vanessa stopped.
Daniel noticed.
“What?”
She looked toward the utility room.
“There was supposed to be a service technician today.”
Daniel frowned.
“For what?”
“The water sensor.”
Three days earlier, their smart leak detector had produced two false warnings.
Vanessa scheduled a technician from Northline Home Services.
The appointment was supposed to happen between two and four that afternoon.
“You never mentioned that.”
“Because I canceled it this morning.”
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
The sensor stopped malfunctioning.
Vanessa decided to wait.
She received a cancellation message at 9:07 AM.
She showed Daniel the phone.
YOUR SERVICE VISIT HAS BEEN CANCELED.
Daniel looked toward Marcus.
“Could the technician still have the access code?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“The code was temporary.”
Then Marcus asked the important question.
“Did you delete it?”
Vanessa opened the smart-lock application.
Her face changed.
A temporary code still existed.
NORTHLINE SERVICE — ACTIVE UNTIL 5:00 PM.
Below it was an entry record.
2:17 PM — ACCESS GRANTED.
The stranger had not broken into the house.
Someone had entered using a code Vanessa believed had been canceled.
