Alarming

Last night after I was in bed asleep the phone rang. The alarm company called to say the bookstore alarm was going off; they had called the police; and how long would it take me to get there?

I got dressed and of course the car battery was dead. Luckily my backup battery (thank you Costco!) worked like a champ. I drove down to the store and plenty of parking. I tried to get the Westfield security to let me into the building and to meet me at the store, but after three tries and a language barrier I found another way in.

No one (police or Westfield security or master criminals) were at the store when I finally got up there. The doors were locked. I called the alarm company who were very non-committal about the status.

"Wouldn't the motion sensor alarms go off if someone was in the store?"

"You would think so."

"If someone rattled the door from the outside would it set off the alarm?"

"Sometimes if they're cleaning the mall floors it sets it off. We get that all the time."

Thanks. That's helpful. I decided not to search the store, locked up and went home, alas, not back to sleep, but to watch Law and Order for a couple hours. Luckily I'm working late tonight.