Nobody does detective work like I do

If you read either my angry Twitter or Facebook update, then you know that some A-hole hit my car in the parking lot and drove off without owning up to it. I have no idea who it was. Or rather, I have some clues. Let me tell you the whole story. Because the deputy on the other end of the phone from the police department didn't want to hear it all...

At 4:50 on Thursday I go out to the school parking lot. My jaw drops as I see that the passenger side of my car has been dented in. I think, what the hell? The parking spot next to mine is empty. I think, really, did that person back out, hit me, and just drive off? A teacher from this school? But thieving type things have been known to happen at my place of work, such as people putting Chinook Winds casino chips into the vending machine, and people stealing the Bath and Body scented soap out of the women's bathroom, and people ripping the janitor's clock right out of the wall. So it was possible.

There was a black car next to the empty spot. I couldn't remember who I had parked next to that day, but I figured maybe whoever drove the black car might remember who they had parked next to. And then I'd nab the culprit. So what I did was ask around, and I found out the black car belonged to K. So I asked K who she had parked next to. She told me J. had been parked in the spot between us. So I planned on talking to J. in the morning (today) and we would have the awkward conversation of "Hey, what time did you leave yesterday? Do you think it's possible that you maybe backed into my car on accident?" So after questioning K, I leave the building, but I am sure to interrogate a skateboarder nearby, asking him if he saw anything. He didn't.

It's Thursday night, I'm at home feeling pissed. I write some angry status updates. I try not to use a lot of curse words. Then I think. I think, wait a minute, what if it didn't happen at work? Because it could have happened the last time I drove my car, and I just didn't notice it, because how often do I do a full 10 point inspection on my car? I didn't go anywhere on Wednesday, so it didn't happen then. So I think about Tuesday. I was at home sick in the morning, but I went to work after lunch. After leaving work at the grand hour of 7:30pm, I went to Walgreens to buy some Sudafed, because I was still sick and I fully planned on not going to work on Wednesday. So if the hit didn't happen while I was at work on Thursday, then it must have happened in the Walgreen's parking lot on Tuesday night.

I think, who did I park next to? I return to the scene of the maybe-crime, to see if Walgreens has cameras in their parking lot, because that would make things a whole lot easier. They don't. While I am in that parking lot again, I begin to remember. I parked next to a white pick up truck. It had orange on the side. And lights on the top of the cab.

I go to work today and have the awkward conversation with J. She didn't hit my car. Then I think about the truck from Walgreens some more. I remember River something. The truck looked like a service truck or something. Definitely a company truck. So what I do is I go to Dex Online, type in my city, and look for construction companies. Because it was probably a construction company truck. It just seemed like one. I know that if I see the name of the company, I'll remember what it was. I scan. I look. Nothing is familiar. And then I see it.

Knife River Construction. That's it. That was the truck I parked next to in the Walgreen's parking lot. I dial the number. I'm like "Hi, I have a weird question. How many company trucks do you have in the area? They are white with orange, right?" The man on the other end of the line confirms my description. I tell him how I parked next to one at Walgreens at 7:45 on Tuesday, and how I think maybe it hit me, but I'm not sure. I ask him if there is anyway he can track down who it was. The guy tries to be helpful. But what he does is transfer me. When I get transferred, I tell them my story. It's a lady this time, and she tells me that unless it was a delivery truck, there's really no way to find out who was driving it. Unless I have the truck's numbers, which I don't. Defeated, I hang up.

And then I think. I can track this guy down. What I'll do is call Walgreens, find out who the cashier was who was working the front register at 7:45 on Tuesday night, and ask her is she remembers seeing a construction worker type. And does she remember what he bought? And did he pay with a debit card or credit card? And can we track down his name? Because then I'll have him. And okay, maybe he didn't actually hit me, but at least I could ask.

So I call Walgreens. I talk to the manager. The cashier from Tuesday night isn't working, so I leave him my name and number, and the manager tells me he'll tell the employee when she works again. But probably by that time her memory will be pudding and she won't remember anyone she saw on Tuesday night. But I guess if I were a police officer and had some clout, I could get them to look up all the transactions that happened between 7:30 and 8:00 that night. Here is where the problem lies: nobody does detective work like I do. No officer is going to get on board with this just so I can save $300. Honestly though, $300 is a lot to fix something that you didn't break. Someone ruins my car, and now I have to pay. So not fair.

Since calling Walgreens, I had to file a police report so that I could get a case number for my insurance agency. I didn't tell them all my theories and ideas. They wouldn't want to hear it. But Deputy Wagner was nice enough on the phone.

What I'm wondering is this: when will the girl from Walgreens call me? I'm about to go dig through my trash and find my receipt so I can look up her name. And will Walgreens release any info about their customers and transactions to me? Probably not. And who the hell hit my car?

If you know anyone who is good at getting dents out for cheap, please let me know. I could do some detective work in exchange for them.

I'm such a victim.