Piece By Piece
by Dan Powell
Paul arrived home to find his staircase had been stolen, the splintered front door
frame clear evidence of forced entry. Nothing else had been taken from the ground
floor but Paul couldn't be sure about upstairs having no way to get up there and it
being far too late to disturb the neighbours for a loan of their ladders.
'We've had a number of similar burglaries in recent weeks,' the police told Paul.
'Stolen staircases?'
'No, sir, other house features. A house on Greenacre had their windows pinched and
someone over on the Moatland estate had their roof timbers taken while on holiday.
The rascals left the tiles and just took the timbers. Looks to us like some joker
is stealing a house, piece by piece.'
Paul handed the police a photo of the stolen staircase and thought about asking if
they could track the culprits using CCTV and satellite footage but it sounded too
much like something someone would say in an American law enforcement drama.
'We'll be in touch if we find anything,' the police said.
Paul poured a glass of wine, drinking it cross-legged on the hall floor, staring at
the hole where his stairs had been. Perhaps he might build a retractable staircase
like one he had seen on the internet. Let's see someone steal that, he thought,
wishing he could go to bed.
by Dan Powell
Paul arrived home to find his staircase had been stolen, the splintered front door
frame clear evidence of forced entry. Nothing else had been taken from the ground
floor but Paul couldn't be sure about upstairs having no way to get up there and it
being far too late to disturb the neighbours for a loan of their ladders.
'We've had a number of similar burglaries in recent weeks,' the police told Paul.
'Stolen staircases?'
'No, sir, other house features. A house on Greenacre had their windows pinched and
someone over on the Moatland estate had their roof timbers taken while on holiday.
The rascals left the tiles and just took the timbers. Looks to us like some joker
is stealing a house, piece by piece.'
Paul handed the police a photo of the stolen staircase and thought about asking if
they could track the culprits using CCTV and satellite footage but it sounded too
much like something someone would say in an American law enforcement drama.
'We'll be in touch if we find anything,' the police said.
Paul poured a glass of wine, drinking it cross-legged on the hall floor, staring at
the hole where his stairs had been. Perhaps he might build a retractable staircase
like one he had seen on the internet. Let's see someone steal that, he thought,
wishing he could go to bed.
