DEAR ABBY: Four years ago, I hired a woman to help me with household chores I could no longer handle. (I am 83 and in poor health.) "Nelly" came for two hours every other week and was a great help. She started out at $10 an hour, and last year she requested her hourly rate be raised to $12.50. I obliged.
During Nelly's visits, I learned about her family: a "macho" husband who showed her little respect; a daughter with a jailbird boyfriend and a pack of kids; and several brothers who cheated her out of her inheritance from her parents.
I liked Nelly and I felt sorry enough for her to consider leaving her a bequest in my will. It was my way of saying thank you beyond what I paid her.
A few weeks ago, I noticed some jewelry and $150 in cash were missing from my bureau. Among the missing items were two rings that had been given to me by my late husband. They were of great sentimental value to me.
No one other than Nelly and I had been in my bedroom. I suppose the temptation was too much. Finally I asked her if she'd seen the missing items. She claimed she hadn't. However, the next evening she called and said that her husband no longer wanted her to work for me because she was "needed at home."
Should I confront her and demand that my jewelry and money be returned? Nelly cleans for other folks I know, and perhaps they need to be warned. -- PUZZLED AND ANGRY IN OKLAHOMA
DEAR PUZZLED AND ANGRY: Do not confront Nelly -- and do not do anything that would spread rumors. DO call the police and report the missing items. Tell them who was in your home at the time the items went missing and let them investigate. It's their job.