Like many young men in Brazil he was a regular pot smoker, but about three years ago helped at an annual "trance" music festival, and admitted to me eventually that he tried some "harder" drugs there. It changed him. Even his girlfriend came to see me with concerns about his well-being, and although he wasn't addicted, he did start seeking out other drugs, though pot was about all he could afford occasionally. His mother also came to see me and I gave her some money to have him admitted to a clinic some 200 miles away, which he walked out of after 24 hours claiming to be fine, but his mother did manage to get him on some medication which seemed to be working - if he took it! He had become paranoid, under the belief that everyone hated him, and was out to get him, and was unable to find work which also didn't help. He was living at home (at 24 years of age) as he couldn't afford anything else, and this was stressing him out further, as "home" was a 2 bedroomed house with his parents, and three siblings, one mentally handicapped under medication as well.
As he appeared to be under control, confirmed by his mother who I know well, I decided it would be OK to let him look after my house while I was away - a situation that, I felt, would be mutually beneficial - I had a friend looking after my house, and he had somewhere to stay, expense free as I left money for all the utility bills, for 6 months. This would be the fourth time we had done this, and the previous three occasions it had been fairly successful - apart from a few minor breakages (glasses, plates, etc.) and losing the keys once (so I had to replace all the external door locks, three of them and three padlocks on security gates!).
My motorbike remains indoors while I am away (I keep both sets of keys with me!) , and I have a spare bedroom I use as a "junk" room, which I keep locked (normal door lock, and two padlocks) with personal things in when I travel, so was alarmed when he contacted me (as did his elder sister, who I didn't know) to say he had a breakdown, and had been curious about that room so broke in! He had rummaged around my things and found some foreign currency (Pounds, Dollars and Euros) that I keep for travelling, and had taken those to buy a mobile phone. He also said the front door was broken, but his sister said the family broke that as he had fallen asleep with a pan on the stove, and they had to get to him. Apart from them assuring me the house was secure, though he did tell me he had lost my house keys again, and that they would reimburse me, that was all I could find out while still in Peru!
I let him know my expected arrival time and got home to find the house locked up and as I didn't have a key for the flimsy padlock, and new lock they had installed, I had to make my entry round the back of the house as I still had my keys. While I was unpacking my car he showed up, and I learned a little more about what had happened, though I still don't think I have been told anything near to the truth!
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| This is what the outside of the front door looked like. He told me he had lost the keys only 2 weeks prior to my return - his story being that he found an unlocked car in town and decided to sit in it "to see what it felt like to own a car", put the keys and his phone in the glove box, but forgot them when he got out of the car, and it had disappeared when he went back for them. However the front door had been damaged 5 months earlier, when his family had to break in due to the unattended pan - he apparently wasn't in the house at the time - so I realised that the keys had been lost way back then, and that breaking in was the only mode of access, meaning big lie! This morning a young man doing some garden clearance next door came across - my keys (and a phone) in the weeds, so the story about leaving them in a car was also ... big lie! |
Damaged saucepan - supposed to have a double base, but totally destroyed.
Storeroom door
When I started looking round my house I found more evidence of "missing" or damaged items - first the empty box for a Casio wristwatch, "oh, I sold that, too", another irreparably damaged VW logo wristwatch, "I borrowed that and wore it, got into a fight and it got damaged", the damaged aluminium case of a knife set ...
This hadn't even been locked, but he forced it open!
... a broken figurine of an African Grey Parrot (which had been my mother's and one of the few things of hers I kept for sentimental reasons), also dotted around my house were things (ornaments and such) that I didn't recognise - till I realise they had been taken from stored boxes I was keeping for a friend! He had also brought from the storeroom a lot of my things, which I had secured in there - including some groceries I had put away for safekeeping as they would still be "in date" upon my return, some of which he had used - and I realised my stock of booze was also gone, which had included an almost full litre bottle of Single Malt Whiskey (that had cost me almost £50).
I asked if he had taken anything else and he admitted to a shirt and some shorts, "I didn't have anything to wear" - the shirt turned out to be a Lacoste Polo shirt, the only item of "designer" clothing I owned. Since I have been back it has become obvious that he also wore a lot of my t-shirts, too, since they were all clean, but folded completely differently to how I do it (I am a creature of habit!), apart from one, a dark blue t-shirt, that was covered in fluff from washing, probably with a paper tissue in the machine, which I would never have put away like that.
I changed the sheets on my bed, and found it had been made with three sheets, two fitted ones (one correctly on the bottom, and one on top over everything!) and a flat sheet - and the 6 pillows on various beds had 9 pillowcases on them (plus liners I bought in the UK).
I contacted him a couple of days later to ask about some tools that were missing, and he admitted to "borrowing" those, and returned them, though denied all knowledge of a couple of other items - including a "Rolex" watch (bought in Tunisia years ago while on holiday with my daughter to get rid of a very pushy salesman in a shop there), which to the untrained eye looked pretty original (terrible timekeeper though, which I found out on the only time I ever tried wearing it for a joke!), though when I told him that a new Rolex would cost in excess of US$5000 he almost passed out, and then admitted he might have taken that too, and sold it (I got the impression he got next to nothing for it, and didn't tell him it was a "fake", whoever bought it here wouldn't have been aware either - we do not have sophisticated "fences" here).
I had left more than enough money for all the utility bills and my Council Tax, while I was away - but he apparently blew that within days of me going, probably on drugs! His mother said she paid the bills, but when I got back I found that there were three months of electricity bills outstanding (March-May!),and one of water, and that the water had, in fact, been disconnected for two months back in May, for non-payment. The Council Tax was also unpaid, so I had to settle all those.
His mother and sister both say he has mental problems (caused by drug abuse?), and so is not really responsible for his actions! His mother insists they will reimburse me for the losses and damages, though I know this won't happen as they cannot afford it. He is on medication now, which apparently is controlling his condition, and he does appear pretty normal at the moment. I just feel so betrayed by him - I have known him for 8 years and considered him a friend, despite the age difference. I was his go-to guy when he needed anything - borrow tools, borrow money (though I never got paid back!), needed a lift somewhere, needed internet access (on my WiFi!) - and the only thing I ever asked from him was that he took care of my house, which in exchange he got to stay for free (only had to feed himself) and had the run of the place, apart from my locked storeroom!
I am not sure if I can ever forgive him, or trust him again, especially since he shows little sign of remorse for his actions - and has continued to lie about exactly what happened while I was away.
