Suspicious Conduct

Walking Sparky very, very late last night, I saw a suspicious truck parked next to College Cyclery on Freeport. Instead of the usual bright neon sign on the establishment, the place looked unnaturally dark. I immediately became suspicious of the person meandering around just outside the truck.

As Sparky and I approached, the person got back into the truck and noisily darted down the adjacent side street that I knew ended in a dead-end cul-de-sac by the railroad. Did he see me approaching and was he trying to escape attention? I stared down the cul-de-sac for a full minute, and wondered what he was up to.

Soon, he got back in his truck and noisily darted back to Freeport, crossed the street, and parked. The fellow came out of the truck and placed a newspaper on a doorstep. Aha! Suspicious indeed! He was delivering the morning paper!

Then he got back into the truck and erratically drove down the next cul-de-sac. Faster than a black-shrouded ninja, a passing vehicle belonging to the Sacramento Police turned off Freeport and darted into the cul-de-sac in pursuit. Apparently the cops' suspicions had been aroused as well.

In a minute, the police car came back out of the cul-de-sac and headed back down Freeport. In two minutes, the truck chugged out of the cul-de-sac and parked again on my side of the street.

I told the awkward, bundle-carrying carrier when he emerged, "So, I guess the cop was suspicious." He grinned and said, "Yeah, I guess he thought I was doing something wrong."