DISPATCHER: "911, what's your emergency?"
CALLER: "My name is Dina Nicolls. There's someone outside my apartment trying to get in the front door."
DISPATCHER: "Okay, Dina, do you live alone?"
CALLER: "Yes…I'm scared…please send the police…hurry…oh, my god, they just tried the back door."
DISPATCHER: "Where in the apartment are you?"
CALLER: "I'm in my office closet…oh, god, hurry, please!"
DISPATCHER: "I have police on the way, Ma'am, stay there where you are…can you tell me how many there are outside?"
CALLER: "I don't know…one...maybe two…"
Suddenly, the 911 dispatcher heard the sound of breaking glass, and the woman on the other end of the phone screamed.
CALLER: "They're coming in!"
DISPATCHER: "Okay the police are on the property, Dina, stay with me."
CALLER: "Okay…oh god, tell them to hurry."
She tried to talk to the panic-stricken woman calmly, and was relieved for her as she heard the sirens of the responding police cars. She could hear people yelling in the background, and the sound of something breaking as the police entered the apartment yelling, and ordered someone to the ground.
CALLER: "They're here…oh, thank god, they're here!"
DISPATCHER: "Okay, Ma'am stay there until the police come to where you are."
She heard the officers call out to the woman from very close;
OFFICER SNOWE: "Miss Nicolls? This is Officer Snowe, you can come out now, it's safe."
The dispatcher heard the sound of the closet door sliding open, and the woman began to cry as the officer took the phone from her hand and spoke to the dispatcher.
OFFICER SNOWE: "This is Officer Snowe, the B and E is in custody, and the scene is secure…Yes…Okay…Thanks."
As the other responding officers took the intruder away, and left the apartment, Officer Snowe walked me to the livingroom and sat me down on my sofa. I was shaking with adrenaline, as I pulled my robe tighter around me.
I'd never been in that kind of situation before, and it had really shaken me up. I couldn't even manage a clear sentence. I guess I was in some kind of shock or something.
"Can I get you a glass of water?" The officer asked me."
I took a deep breath as I tried to reply; "Yes…please."
I watched him as he walked to the kitchen, and I told him where the glasses were. As he returned, handing me the glass of water, I took a big gulp, and set the glass down on the coffee table, as I tried to calm down.
"Okay?" He asked me.
My voice was still weak. "Yes…thank you."
"Do you mind if I sit down and ask you a few questions?"
I shook my head as I sagged into the sofa, and he pulled a chair in from the kitchen and sat down with a small notebook and pen.
When I finally looked up at him, I was stunned; he was one of the best-looking men I had ever seen, and as I glanced quickly toward his vacant ring finger, I almost forgot why he was there.
"Miss Nicolls, could you give me your full name, please?"
"Oh, uh…Dina L. Nicolls."
"And would you tell me everything you can remember about exactly what happened here tonight?"
"Well," I said, "I was in my office writing…I'm a writer…and I thought I heard someone at my front door…I thought it was my neighbor, because she never knocks, she just walks right in, but when I looked out the peep-hole in the front door, there was a strange man outside, and he turned the doorknob, like he was trying to get in. I ran back to my office, grabbed the phone, and called 911."
"Okay, and then?" he asked, looking directly at me.
I stammered as I tried to reply to his question…holy crap, he was hot.
"I heard the sound of him walking past my office window, and at the same time, I heard someone try the back door, and I took the cordless, and hid in the closet. Then I heard the glass of the back door break, and…well, I was scared, so I screamed."
I could feel myself turning red as he asked me to go on.
"Then, I heard you guys come in yelling, ‘Police!' and then the sound of something breaking…" I looked around the room…my ceramic lamp from the hall table lay shattered on the livingroom floor.
"…of the lamp in the hall breaking. You guys yelled at someone to get on the ground, and a few seconds later, I heard you, and then you opened the closet door and took the phone."
"Did you see the person that was in your apartment?"
"No," I replied…"I saw the man in the peep-hole, but I don't know if he was also the one at the back door, or if there were two of them. I only saw the one outside."
"Do you have any ex-boyfriends or anything that would come over at this hour and try to get in, or anything like that?"
"No, no…nothing like that."
"Miss Nicolls, do you have the emergency number for the apartment manager? You're going to need that window covered securely until the glass can be fixed."
I got up and went to the bulletin board, took the manager's phone number down, and handed it to Officer Snowe.
I watched his strong hands as he dialed the number, and brought the phone up to his ear.
He stood there for a moment, and then; "Hi, is this the apartment manager? This is Officer Warner Snowe, with the Puyallup Police Department. We just responded to a breaking and entering with possible intent on your property…O-101…Yes…Dina Nicolls…No, she's okay, but they broke a window trying to get in, and I'm going to need you to send someone over to board it up until it can be fixed. Okay, great. Thank you."
Officer Snowe hung up the phone, and turned to me.
"Well, it's going to be awhile before maintenance can get here to cover up the broken window, but I'll stay here with you to make sure it gets done."
I walked into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee.
"Sorry I don't have any doughnuts on hand", I quipped.
He laughed. "Well, I work out and try to stay away from that kind of thing anyway."
Without thinking, I said, "It shows."
I could feel myself get hot, and I knew I had to be turning several shades of red.
He laughed as he got up from his chair and removed his coat. As he turned around to lay his coat over the back of the chair, I admired his butt…holy crap. I couldn't stop staring.
His radio suddenly went off with police chatter, and snapped me back to reality.
"Uh…what do you take in your coffee?" I asked.
"Oh, just cream." He replied, as he walked into the kitchen.
As he came up beside me at the coffee pot, I could smell his scent…masculine, and clean, but not hidden by cologne. I felt my body beginning to react with sudden desire, and as I set out a cup and the cream, I excused myself and went to the bathroom to collect myself.
I was wet, and very nervous. I felt like I was going into heat, and I couldn't get my head on straight. I dried myself off, flushed the tissue down the toilet, and told myself to get a grip as I walked back into the kitchen to fix up my coffee.
"So, Officer Snowe," I began, "Would you like me to turn on the TV, or the radio or something?" I was feeling uncomfortable enough with the quiet atmosphere in my home. I needed some distraction.
"Well, sure, you can turn on a little music. I'm not really that big on television. But please, since we're having coffee together and all, just call me Warner.
"Okay", I said, smiling, "Warner, it is."
I turned on the stereo and put in a light, over-coffee kind of jazz CD, and sat back down on the sofa with my cup.
"So how long have you lived here?" He asked.