Queen Megan and the Case of the Stolen Vehicle

Jake and I live in a basement apartment of an unassuming gray fourplex in an older neighborhood. Our neighborhood is a melting pot of all things diverse. You can find ex-convicts who enjoy the occasional bomb threat living in a house built of exposed plywood down the block from a restored and recognized State Historic home.

So, on Saturday morning I was sweeping the front porch when our upstairs neighbor, Peggy, came outside for a chat. Peggy scares the bananas out of me! When she is around I am fortunate if I can mumble a single word before I turn into a useless bag of strawberry jelly that only desires to hide its big jelly face. Thankfully, Jake was there to do the interactive portion of the conversation while I just stood there inert (like strawberry jelly does). Peggy was curious if we knew who owned the vehicle parked in one of the four parking spots. I hadn’t even realized (until it was pointed out) that there was an unknown vehicle in the parking area. Peggy was furious someone had parked in this spot because they had parked ‘alarmingly’ close to her vehicle. As a matter of fact, she was so distressed that she had procured two 15 lb. chunks of concrete and placed them in front of the vehicle. This would alert her when the owner came to move the vehicle and grant her the opportunity to have words with them. We have a new neighbor moving in this week so I just figured the vehicle belonged to them, and didn’t give the issue a second thought.

Peggy on the other hand, couldn’t let the issue drop. It was some time after one when our landlord showed up along with an officer, only to be followed by a K-9 unit arriving. Jake stepped outside and spoke with one of the officers who politely informed him that the plates on the vehicle were stolen. Our driveway was suddenly a hotbed of activity. By three the vehicle had been searched inside-out and impounded. As it turned out, not only were the plates stolen (from a separate vehicle) the vehicle was also stolen.

So, I am left wondering if our new neighbors tried to hide a stolen vehicle there, if the person who stole the vehicle was/is planning on coming back, why they decided to try and hide the vehicle there, and how safe my vehicle is. I guess that the best result of this whole ordeal is that those 15 lb. concrete chunks are now acting as the divider line between Peggy’s parking spot and the new people’s parking spot. I’m so glad we don’t have the parking spot next to her!