The dispatcher instructed Margaret to remain in her locked bedroom and avoid investigating the noise. He confirmed that officers were on their way. Then he asked whether anyone had access to her house. Margaret mentioned that her daughter, Rachel, had a spare key, but she lived nearly three hours away. She also remembered giving a spare key to a handyman several months earlier. Before she could explain further, the scraping stopped. The sudden silence frightened her more than the noise itself.

A few seconds later, the dispatcher asked her to describe the woman’s voice from the previous call. Margaret said she had no idea. The dispatcher hesitated before revealing that the caller had repeatedly whispered one sentence: “Please tell Margaret not to open the bedroom door.” Margaret began crying. Why would a stranger know which room she was sleeping in? And why would someone calling from inside her house be warning her against opening a door? Then she heard three slow footsteps moving across the hallway.