Solved! The case of the mystery maid

updated 6:52 p.m. ET Aug. 11, 2006

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - When Debbie Phillips tried to report a crime, police just snickered. "I told him that someone came into my house and cleaned," the president of the Putnam County School Board said. "He just laughed."

The problem wasn't that her home smelled a little fresher or looked a little tidier. The problem was that Phillips had no idea who the mystery cleaner was.

Her husband denied cleaning up the joint. So did her next-door neighbor. Everyone she asked denied responsibility.

All she knew was the rugs weren't where she had left them that morning in June. Trinkets had been rearranged and in the master bedroom, the bed was made differently.

It didn't look like anything had been stolen, but she couldn't be sure.

Nearly a month passed before the mystery was solved. Her son called her at work recently after a cleaning lady arrived at the front door.

As it turns out, her neighbor across the street, with a similar house number, the same number of rooms to be cleaned and a house key hidden in a similar spot outside, had hired a cleaning service.

"They just came to the wrong door," Phillips said.

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