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At around 12noon, I was sat sitting at my desk, and was frightened (more than) half to death by a very scruffy looking guy standing inside of my room, about 2 feet away from me. I normally leave my door open during the day for some fresh air to circulate through my room – with all my gear running all the time it tends to get rather hot. The guy was as silent as a ghost – as I didn’t even notice him coming up the stairs, or even entering my room to stand so close.
He asked “if I was part of the transition” – whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about, and what he wanted. He said he was waiting for someone.
He walked out of my room at that point, and went into the bathroom down the hall, and closed the door. He was in there for quite some time (I was keeping an ear out for him) and at one point I heard him slam the doors on the bathroom cabinet, so he was looking around and through everything.
When he came out of the bathroom, he went downstairs for a little while. I then heard him come back upstairs, past my room, and up to the room on the top floor. I heard some keys jiggling at that point, and I wondered if it was perhaps the guy from upstairs, but I know he doesn’t usually get up till late, and I didn’t see him go out earlier (we always say a quick ‘hi’ if I see him walk past my door). After a few moments, he came back downstairs, and I glanced him as he again walked past my door. This time I got up and asked him what he was doing here, and who he was visiting. He told me that he was here doing maintenance, but was waiting for someone to arrive. I asked him maintenance on what (as he could have been here legitimately due to the renovations currently going on in the building). After a little ‘umm and arring’ he said “the stuff downstairs”. I didn’t really believe him, and told him if that was the case, then to wait downstairs and not wander the corridors. He then walked back downstairs at this point.
I got straight on the phone to the Real Estate Agent, who called up the owner while I was on the phone to her. The owner described a man who may possibly been here for the renovations (who I have seen here before) but this guy wandering around today was definitely not him.
After I finished on the phone to the Real Estate Agent, I got strai8ght on the phone to the police (I actually dialled 000! – Interestingly enough, when I was asked whether I wanted Police, Fire or Ambulance, the dispatcher dialled up the police, but they didn’t answer! LOL!) I told the police the situation, and they said they would send someone over.
Whilst I waited for the police, I kept an ear out for this guy, to see if he came back upstairs – which he did.
He went into the room next door, which apparently wasn’t locked. The room is currently vacant, and there were cleaners in there yesterday cleaning the carpet (with a terrible smell!) and I guess they didn’t lock the door after they finished.
I heard some banging noises, and what sounded like him jumping out of the window onto the corrugated iron of the veranda about 2 feet below the window. That was the last I heard.
An HOUR after I called the police, they finally arrived – 3 of them in a paddy-wagon.
The police knocked on the door to the room next door, but obviously no response. They asked me to call the owner or Real Estate Agency to get the keys to open the door. I called them up but while I was on the phone on hold, the police wanted me to go downstairs and show them the veranda etc, so I hung up at that point.
They went out the back and I showed them where the window is in relation to the veranda and how easily he could have gotten out that way. They told me that if I see him again, not to approach him and to call them straight away.
Shortly thereafter, two people from the Real Estate Agency arrived, and unlocked the room next door, but of course, it was empty. The lock on the window had been broken however, so I helped the agency out by taking a couple of photos of the damage, and emailing it back to their office.
I thought that was the end of the excitement, until the guy from down the hall came home, only to find that the poor guy had everything of value he had, stolen.
The window to his room also backs on to the veranda, and this guy has gained access to his room that way. I told the guy not to touch anything, as they would probably want to take photographs and fingerprints. I didn’t think at the time, I should have come to the rescue with my digital camera again, and taken some pictures myself!
I called the Real Estate Agent as soon as the guy had discovered all his stuff gone, but the agent I usually speak with was in a meeting, but I left a message with the person who answered the phone saying what had happened, and that we were about to call the police again.
On calling the police, the person I spoke with said that they needed to speak with the guy who had been broken into, as he was the only one who could report the incident.
They were on the phone for 5 or so minutes, when the guy from down the hall handed the phone back to me saying they wanted to speak to me again. The guy is an overseas student, I’m not too sure where he’s from, but his accent sounds possibly french. Anyway, the woman on the phone said she wanted to clarify a few things as she had a little difficulty understanding what the guy was saying. Suffice to say, she had just as much trouble understanding me, as I had had a few cups of coffee earlier in the day, and the adrenalin was pumping at the time as well!
That’s the end of the story (so far), as I didn’t see any sign of the police coming back after the guy had finished on the phone (and I was keeping an eye out the window for them, as none of the doorbells in this place work)
Any further updates to the drama of the day will have to be in another post – this one is turning out to be War And Peace!
I just thought I’d put down my recollection of the days events in here while they were fresh in my mind, and I can always refer the Police to my post for their reports – I can always do with more hits to my site!! LOL
