From the print edition, released today, which will soon be posted on the Web site:

Aftermath of a break-in

By Kirk Boxleitner

ARLINGTON — "Let's find these guys and put them on the front page," laughed one police officer, donning his sunglasses to imitate David Caruso on "CSI."

It was a welcome moment of levity, after I'd returned to my office on the weekend to find the front door lock gone.

I arrived at The Arlington Times sometime after 11:30 a.m. Aug. 23, after covering a story, to find the front door unlocked and a small pile of paperwork strewn on the floor.

Nothing appeared to be missing when I walked through the office, but I was nonetheless concerned by the missing lock and unlocked door, since it's office policy to lock up at the end of the day.

After making a few calls and reaching Scott Frank, my managing editor, who didn't know of any reason why the lock should be gone, I dialed 9-1-1, explained the situation, and within 15 minutes, four police officers were on the scene.

Arlington Police Officer Mike McQuoid was one of the few who was willing to be named for this story, since he normally works the traffic detail.

"We're a couple of people short today," said McQuoid, as he dusted for fingerprints on the front door. "Fingerprint dust adheres to the moisture and oils left behind by our hands. If it's sufficient, we can pull it off with clear tape, put it on a card and send it to the FBI fingerprint database."

McQuoid explained that glass, non-porous plastic and polished metal tend to provide the clearest fingerprints.

Inside, two other officers were using magnetic fingerprint dust on countertops, which they touted as easier to clean up, but they admitted can sometimes be too dark.

"What we're looking for is ridge detail," said one officer, brushing the countertop and peering at it to try and spot any tell-tale signs. "The timeframe for fingerprints is not as long as with DNA, but it's still going to be a couple of months before we hear back."

Officers noted that there had been a recent "rash" of burglaries on Olympic Avenue, speculating that the break-in at The Arlington Times could have been committed to steal an office cash-box, but they noted that most of those break-ins occurred at the back entrances of those establishments.

Officers then advised me to inform them if I learned later that anything had been stolen, and to provide them with serial numbers for that property, since they anticipated that such property would be pawned soon afterward.

Once police had left, my next job was to find a way of securing the now-lockless front door to my office.

Mike Jones is the owner of Arlington Hardware and Lumber. just south of my office on Olympic Avenue, and after I called his store, he walked up the street armed with screwdrivers and other tools.

"It's really interesting what's happened here," said Jones, noting that the outside lock was gone, but the inside lock was intact. "Somebody must have taken a wrench and spun it out, but it's unusual to be able to do that. Somebody knew what they were doing."

Within half an hour, Jones had traded out the remains of the old lock for a completely intact new lock, and was shrugging off any questions about how much it would cost.

"Don't worry about it," said Jones, who promised to get in touch with my office next week. "I know you're not going anywhere," he laughed.

Two hours had passed since I'd first walked in the door, but at least in the short term, the problem had been dealt with.

As long as I was going to be stuck there, I was going to turn it into billable hours.