If you haven't read this story before, you may want to start at the beginning, just to know what's going on.
Driving up to my shop, my mind was on a million things as I pulled into my usual spot, about get out.
I had my hand on the door latch, but I hesitated when I noticed a scruffy looking guy hanging around the front door.
He looked pretty rough; dirty shoulder-length hair, ratty beard, old ripped jeans and a beat-up leather jacket with enough holes in it, he had to feel the cool morning breeze blowing right through it. Eyeing him as he paced back and forth nervously puffing on a cigarette, I was tempted to call the cops, since I had no interest in getting mugged before I even got in my shop.
Deciding to see what he wanted first, I put my window down a few inches and called out, "Hey, can I help you with something?"
He nodded, and quickly hustled over to my car. "Are you Damon?"
"Depends. Who wants to know?"
He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen and showed me some pictures of car parts spread out on a blanket on the ground -- obviously stolen.
His voice sounded kind of jerky, and I noticed he was twitching, like he was high on something. "Look man, I can give you a really good price if you see anything you can use. And I've got loads of catalytic converters too, for all kinds of cars."
I held up my hand, to stop his shpiel. "Sorry pal, but I never buy anything off the street."
Just then I looked in my rear-view mirror and muttered, "Aw, shit!" when I saw that the dark blue car I'd noticed parked out on the street, now had a flashing cherry on top.
Of course, the cops were going to think I was involved with this guy. Probably throw us both into the back of their cruiser, take us downtown, and ask questions later.
Eyes wide, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, the guy shoved his phone in his pocket and took off running. Not wanting to get shot, I ducked down in my seat, hoping they wouldn't notice me, when both cops gave chase with their guns drawn.
As she chased after him, one of them yelled a warning over her shoulder at me, "And
you
stay right where you are."
I held up my hands, and nodded to let her know that I wasn't planning on going anywhere.
Seconds later, a marked police cruiser pulled into the lot with its lights flashing. A young cop, gun drawn, ran after them, as an older heavy-set officer came over to the side of my car, motioning for me to put down my window.
When he asked, I told him who I was and what had happened, and also told him that I'd never seen the guy before. Thankfully, he just took a few notes, nodded and went back to his patrol car.
Once the dust had cleared, and they'd caught the guy and put him in the back of the cruiser, the cop who'd yelled at me, stayed behind to ask me a few questions.
I noticed right away as she stood beside me while I punched in the alarm code to unlock the front door, that she was really pretty. Gorgeous dark brown eyes, lush full lips and good-sized breasts, that were actually kind of straining against the fabric of her dark blue uniform.
Kind of laughing to myself, I was thinking if she wanted to handcuff me, I'd be more than happy to comply.
Once I'd escorted her back to my office, so we could talk in private, she asked if I knew the guy who had been waiting for me.
I shook my head and repeated what I'd told the other officer. "No, I've never seen him before."
"Well, we know there's at least one chop shop operating around here. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that, would you?"
I held up my hands. "Hey, I don't keep track of what goes on around here. All I know is that the guy next door runs a bakery, because we can all smell whatever he's baking. And occasionally we go next door to grab something for lunch. I think the owner's name is Al, but he's the only one around here that I ever talk to. I don't know anyone else, or what they do, mostly because they keep to themselves.
"Look, I run a legitimate business, and everything I buy, I buy legally. You're welcome to take a look at my books if you'd like," I said, nodding at the rows of binders beside my desk. "I've got receipts for everything that comes in here. I'd never deal in anything that might have been stolen, or fallen off the back of a truck."
She wandered over to take a look, and as she bent over my desk to leaf through a few receipts, I couldn't take my eyes off her spectacular ass.
Finally, she closed the binder and came and stood in front of me. Eyebrow cocked, she looked me up and down. "Are you packing?"
I smirked, smiling into her big brown eyes. "That depends on what you mean by
packing
."
Obviously unamused, she took a step closer and shocked me when she thrust out her hand, and grabbed my ever-present bulge straining in my jeans.
"So, is this loaded?" she asked, keeping hold of me. Up close, I could see her eyes were sparkling, and realized she was trying to be funny.
Trying to keep a straight face, I shrugged. "What can I say? I'm always loaded and ready for action."
"Probably hair-triggered too, I bet."