The Holdup - Part 2

About a week or so after the holdup, I got a call from the Augusta police department to come down and look over the report and some items of interest in the case.

I was led into a small conference room, and was asked how things were going at the store. I told them I'd left, though not due solely to the holdup, and they said they understood even if it had been.

Apparently after the holdup, a couple of people had checked out of the Super 8 motel at 2am, which is an automatic phone call from the desk clerk to the police department. My wallet was found in the bushes outside the motel door, and a number of items relating to the robbery were inside.

"Do you think you could identify some of them?"

I said I'd give it a try.

First up were sunglasses - three different pair. "Which ones did I recognise as the perpetrators?"

Hmmm...well, not the ones with the K-mart price tag still on them...and certainly not the police issue aviator shades...that must mean the vaguely recognizable ones in the center.

All other items went through the same process, including the gun. (Standard police issue, shiny revolver...nope, gotta be that one.) Looking at it harmlessly on the table, I could see it was most likely a .22 target pistol - certainly not two feet across. (Though as a friend pointed out to me, a .22 at point blank range could still kill and do a lot of damage.)

We then went through my wallet, (all the now-cancelled cards intact, the three dollars in cash I had gone), and identified each and every single piece of paper. Anyone who has ever seen my wallet will tell you this is an insanely long process.

"And an American Express receipt..."

"A what?"

"You don't have an American Express card?"

I shook my head. "I don't even know anyone who has one."

The officer nodded. "Do you mind if we hang on to this?"

"Not at all, since it isn't mine."

I went over the story with the officers again, who agreed that the thief had probably overheard the conversation I'd had with the manager regarding my poor "drop" technique. Just odd to think I'd probably seen the man in the flesh a few times before.

They did finally catch the thieves in Boca Raton, FL. They used that AmEx card to charge motel rooms all the way down the coast, finally nailing them there due to making advance reservations.

Word of advice - when you're on the lam, pay cash. Or at least shred all your receipts.