Alleyway Blues

Yesterday was not a good day and it capped off a pretty bad week. All sorts of tsoris that I don't need to get in to. But the capper was in the afternoon when I got this crappy text.

I had been loading up the van for the flea market on Sunday and because the yoga and pilates people usually commandeer all the street parking on Main I am often forced to park behind my shop.

I own my building and have a couple parking spots in the rear that I use. My van is long but I was not aware that it had ever been a hindrance.

Third time? No one has ever complained about me blocking the alley, which I don't and this text honestly got my blood boiling. 

Sign your name, asshole. I hate keyboard warriors.

Of course, the first thing I did was try to call the number back but it was a no go, like a burner line.

I was livid. I started going through my internal enemies list which is not too large in all honesty and wondered about who might not have the guts to confront me directly?

I narrowed it down to a few people in my mind but really couldn't be sure.

I discussed it with my neighbors, no one knew anything.

We had a homeless psycho derelict break into Jackson Square and the owner came by yesterday. He called the cops to make a report.

The homeless guy was still inside when the cop showed up, homeless guy put his head through the gate and asked how he could help the cop? I think he got arrested but who knows? I walked away.

A few minutes later I went back and showed the cop the text and told him that I would contact him again if I started getting harassed.  He said that he could not run the number unless there was a direct threat. 

I was not feeling good at all. You just don't know about people anymore and I didn't want anything to happen to my building or my van. What anonymous prick was pissed off at me?

Last night when I got home I put the number in google search and came up with nothing except a Kansas church, pretty blocked out and no luck.

I hate having an unknown enemy, the person who would resort to this kind of language without at least talking to me first. You never know how weird people can get these days.

I decided to call a local private investigator who has helped me many times in the past, Tony C. Tony can break through the red tape and figure this sort of thing out. Tough dude, great friend.

I called him a little before eight this morning and he told me that he was still in bed. And then he asked me a question that startled me. 

"Is this about the problem in the alley?"

I was completely bewildered, how did he know about that? Then he started laughing. 

"I sent you the text, I was just messing with you. Payback for all the times you have flipped me the bird while I was talking to clients out on Main St.."

We both had a good laugh. He got me. He told me that when he saw my call this morning he thought that either I was somehow on to him or that I wanted to hire him. Pretty sharp. Right on the second count.

How funny is that, the guy I call first is my secret perp?

I guess that we are even now. The mystery is solved. Glad I don't have to keep looking over my shoulder. But he should step lightly, he may actually now have another one coming.