KNOCK KNOCK...... WHO'S THERE?

Last post I mentioned that the first few days back from Hawaii were pretty bizarre. Evander had been here about an hour visiting. He left and we were watching TV when the doorbell rang once again.

Standing there was a young lady---late 20's or 30---- a tall blonde greasy hair, tear stained face, ultra sheer top, baggy jeans and dirty bare feet.


She looked at John and the conversation was like this:

blonde: I want to talk to my husband

John: Ummm he isn't here.

blonde: Oh yes he is. I followed him over here and saw him go in.

John: I am sorry but it is just my wife and I in here.

blonde: you're lying I know he is in there.

Me at the door now: Hi does your husband come here often?

blonde: no but he went in here.

John: You are welcome to come in and look around. No one else is here.

she keeps looking toward the field by our house and acting so strange. She looks like she is going to burst into tears.

blonde: I came here because I saw your pretty cat and she looked well cared for. I thought it would be safe here.


John and I: come in please. IT is safe here. It is really okay.

After much encouragement she came in. John introduces us and asks her name.

'stephanie' then she gives two different last names.
john: what's your husband's name?
stephanie: ryan no............ adam................
we can smell no alcohol on her breath. Her top shows every 'little' mole and other appendages through it. She keeps covering her breasts with her hands.

me: please come in we can help you call someone to help you.
she tells us she was outside and a man was following here and grabbing at her. She bursts into tears now.

We lead her into the family room and john offers her a glass of water.
I grab the phone and head to the bedroom and call 911
911: state your emergency
me: I am sorry but an adult lady showed up at our door and she is either high on drugs or is mentally ill and hasn't taken enough! She needs to be somewhere safe and we do not know where that is. She looks and acts very confused.
911 then asked for a description, asked for my full name and patched me through to a deputy. They are on their way.

Back to the living room with a sweater for 'stephanie'.
John looks relieved. We start talking again and then we get out of her that she was at a nearby restaurant. She again starts talking about the man following her and grabbing for her.
John grabs a jacket and goes out the door.

me: how long have you been married stephanie?

stephanie: a few months well we aren't married but we have been together a very long time.
me: how long is that?
stephanie: a few weeks
me: I see. where do you live?
she tells me she lives on the corner of two parallel streets that do not intersect anywhere.

I have her call her 'husband" She picks up the phone and dials three numbers then lays the phone down on the table.
See? they aren't answering me. They know it's me. They never want to talk to me.
The door bell rings and the deputy sheriff shows up.
Stephanie is visibly upset to see him
what the hell is he doing here?
me: stephanie this is my friend mark. I called him because you need to be some where safe and I do not know where that is. He is going to help me find out where we can take you.

She moves closer to me and he sits down across from her.
I explain we know she came from the rancho viejo down the road. So she has walked through muddy fields to get to our house.

officer: where are your shoes?
stephanie: they took me outside and kept them
officer: who is 'them"
stephanie: the mean people. I couldn't help it. I went into the bathroom and you have two chains you can pull. I must have pulled the wrong one.
I pulled it and the sign came down that said ; you are now pregnant.
I started crying a lot. I don't want to be pregnant. I'm not even married.

me: do you have a husband stephanie?
stephanie: yes you know I do. I already told you that.
officer: what is his name?
stephanie: uhhhh ryan
officer: did they cut you off at rancho?
stephanie: I didn't even have a drink. I came out of the bathroom crying because I didn't want to be pregnant and they made me leave.
me: do you have a purse or wallet?
stephanie looking around the room: Yes you took it away from me.
me: stephanie you had nothing with you when you arrived here. could it be at the restaurant?

stephanie: no yes maybe

officer: stephanie we have to take you somewhere safe. This nice lady wants to go to bed it 's late. Where can we take you?

stephanie: can't you just drive up and down a street and if i see something familiar you can let me out?

officer: no ma'am I can't do that.
me: do you have family here stephanie?
stephanie: yes my father lives at newman lake.
officer: well that is a little out of my area but I guess I can take you to your father's.
stephanie starting to get up.
me: why don't you call your father and make sure he is home. That way we know it is okay to take you there.
stephanie takes the phone from me and dials two numbers and puts the phone down. She picks it up and dials two more and then again lays it down on the table.

she looks at both of us and says: see he is home. He just doesn't want to talk to me. I only call him when I am in trouble and he knows it's me.

The officer looks at me and rolls his eyes!!
about that time John walks in, the officer is guarded until I tell him it is my husband.

John: I went outside and all around the yard then went to the end of the drive at the fence and there was a guy standing there just watching the house. He is Mexican and about your size. He saw me then quickly walked off. I followed him through the fields and down the street to the rancho building. He turned down one side of it and stopped when I still followed.
He did not seem to understand or speak much english.
He said no when I kept asking him if he had been following that girl and he had a rancho shirt on. He said he bought it and did not work there.

He kept pointing to a red car in the parking lot and the license plate number is. and then he recited the number.
he also had a sack with him. He said he went into the restaurant and asked about the blonde girl. Everyone wanted to hear what had happened and where she was etc.

They told john she was alone and never was with anyone when she entered. She went into the bathroom and then came out crying and yelling and then started stripping right there in public. She said she was pregnant and had to get rid of it.

They tried to calm her down and get her to stop. They got her sheer top back on her and then escorted her out of the building.

The police officer called for back up and then for a trace on the license plate number.
officer: tell me your name
stephanie: ummmmmmmm stephanie
last name?
stephanie: i don't have one that i remember
john" wasn't it hodgkins?
she shoots john a glare and agrees.
officer: i need your birth date
stephanie gives him one that makes her 24 she looks much older so am thinking she has had to have had a pretty rough life to look like this at 24 or she is just lying.

The officer mouths something to me and I shake my head. He then writes 'warrants!" on a piece of paper. auhhhhhhhh i get it now.
officer: Stephanie we are going to take you to a safe place to spend the night. Let's go.
she goes with him out side then half way across the grass. Another unmarked car barrels up with out headlights and parks behind the first car.

She panics and wants to come back to me "she is safe i feel safe with her."
I tell her it is okay to go with mark. So she does. The other officer gets out and towers over them both. He says something then she gets angry and he must have read her her rights. They hand cuff her and start yelling at her to give them her 'real' birth date.

John and I go inside and when we check in a half hour both vehicles are still parked there. An hour later they remain.
90 minutes later they are gone.

The next afternoon the neighbor's daughter shows up at the door
come and tell Mom and ryan ( her grandson) who that woman was.
I go across the street with Maria and enter Angie's house.
Her great grandson is 17. They listen as I relate the story.
ryan: did she have a package of cookies?
me: what? cookies?
ryan: yeah I was moving stuff from the pickup to my new car and I left my door unlocked. I went back outside and everything had been rifled through and thrown all over the car. The only thing missing was a package of cookies I bought for my mom.
me: nope no cookies barely all of her clothes no crumbs on her mouth.
angie 80 is spanish and grew up in spain. She still has a very thick accent. she is about 4 ft tall and a spitfire.
angie: I tell ryan he no change cars in the dark. Some one think he steal and they call the cops. He goes back outside and then I go to the door.
angie: Ryan Ryan you should not do that at night. Some one gonna call the cops on you!
IN the meantime ryan notices the cops and the yelling about a birth date and thinks someone called the cops on him. He is talking to his mom on his cell phone.
his mom tells him to walk over to the police and she will talk to them.
in the meantime angie yells again

angie ryan come in before you get in trouble and they call the cops.
ryan: it is okay grandma the cops are already here.
cops: who is that
ryan: my great grandmother
angie: You leave my ryan alone he is a good boy.
ryan: grandma it is ok go back into the house.
the police tell him he is fine and this has nothing to do with him. He asks his mom to call great grandma and calm her down.
so that was the second night we were home!!! can you believe it?

At one point it crossed both of our minds that this could be a 'setup' to be robbed or worse but it was nothing like that. Our adult children were all'
'why didn't you leave her on the porch and call the police?"

John and I are not like that. I think we are so helpful we just go into 'action' and do what needs to be done. She looked and acted so lost and confused we couldn't just leave her out there.
One of the neighbors offered to come over the next night and ring the bell at bed time and see if he could keep us 'in the swing of more events'.

We asked several friends and family members how they would have responded. Not one of them said they would have had her come in to heir house. They would also not go looking to see if anyone was following her let alone follow the guy.
Has this ever happened to any of you? How do you think you would have reacted had it been someone at your door?