Beaufort, South Carolina
February 23
Milo Graves sat in the driver’s seat of the pickup and tugged on the logoed baseball hat. Stepping out, he closed the door and confirmed the magnetic Ace Alarm sign was properly affixed. Clipboard under his arm, he walked up the path and rang the bell.
The old woman pulled the door open without the slightest hint of caution.
“Hello, young man.”
“Morning, ma’am.”
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“Well, I was in the neighborhood on a job, and I noticed you don’t have a security system. We’re running a special right now where we install for free, and you just pay the monthly monitoring fee.”
“You know, I never would have thought I needed a burglar alarm, but when I came home from the market the other day, the kitchen window was open. I don’t think anyone came inside, but it was very upsetting.”
Milo internally applauded his manipulation. Opening her window ratcheted her unease without necessitating a call to the police.
“Might be nice to have a system. A blaring alarm would scare off any would-be intruders.”
“You know, I think you might be right. Come inside and give me your pitch. My neighbor has an alarm, but she’s a single gal living alone, so I understand.”
Milo followed Mrs. Critchfield into her living room and waited for her to offer him a seat. The gingham easy chair had a lace doily over the back, and Milo nearly sank to the floor when he sat.
“Yes, we installed that system for your neighbor. Be careful you don’t set it off when you stop by. Police and fire will both respond to our alarms.”
“Oh, I know. It’s happened twice.” She spoke from the kitchen, putting together a tray with lemonade and cookies. “I kept forgetting the code. Twitch finally changed it to my birthday to make it easy for me.”
Milo had seen the old woman go into Twitch’s cottage to drop off a batch of cupcakes. When she had punched in the code, he knew.
Mrs. Critchfield set the tray down on the oval coffee table and took a seat on the couch.
“Well, as I said, we are running a limited-time special—the entire system installed for free. That’s an eight hundred dollar savings. You simply pay a very reasonable monthly monitoring fee.”
“Well, it does sound like a good deal. As I said, I just never thought I would need a burglar alarm.”
“It’s a crazy world out there, ma’am. Better safe than sorry.”
“I suppose you’re right. All right, Mr. …”
“Gates.”
“Oh, like the Microsoft fella.”
“Yes, unfortunately, no relation.”
She chuckled. “I suppose if he was your papa or long-lost uncle, you wouldn’t be selling old ladies burglar alarms.”
He laughed with a clenched jaw and picked up his clipboard. “No, I don’t imagine I would. Now, I just need some information from you, and we can get the work order in the system.”
“All right.”
“Oh, and put your birthday next to your name. You get free monitoring on your birthday month.”