A ghastly scene awaited our eyes

A robbery gone wrong

Keith got the promotion he applied for, so that evening he and his wife Joanne went out to dinner and a show to celebrate.They also had a drink on the way home after the show.
When they got home Keith wanted to put the key into the lock, but as he did so the door moved. Immediately he pushed Joanne behind him and went into the kitchen. He took a knife from the knife stand just inside the door, and also the broom. The house was in darkness, but Keith knew his home intimately. He moved down the passage and stopped just outside the lounge door. He stuck the broom inside the lounge and heard a shot being fired, which hit the broom with a thud.

He whirled into the lounge and struck out with the knife in desperation, he heard a moan some thrashing about and the sound of a body hitting the floor. He switched the light on and saw the thief lying in a crumpled heap in the corner.

In the days without cell phones all phones were land-lines, and that is where I come into the story, we woke up to banging on our door, with Joanne trying to explain to us what had happened and Keith waiting at the house. She phoned the police and stuttered out that there had been a burglary/death in her house. My husband took the phone from her and explained more calmly. Joanne next phoned their parents to let them know what had happened. They had to wait outside the house while the police were busy, and in winter ten degrees at 2 o'clock in the morning, we invited them into our home, out of the cold and
with tea/coffee, but also next door in case the police wanted them.

You read about crime scenes, but you don't see the reality which keeps the police busy for hours, and the home owners sitting out in someone else's lounge.
Keith and Joanne never slept in the house again. They never found the person who had given the thief the safe combination. Keith had to appear in court because of the thief's death and was not charged. The house was given a thorough clean-up and sold to someone else.