Double Whammy!

As told by JDS...

I've heard a few versions of the following — each with its own spin, of course, but basically the same story. Sometimes the hapless victim is a friend, sometimes even a relative...

A man driving home from work decides to stop at a 7-11 for cigarettes. Since he'll only be in the store for a few minutes, he decides there would be no harm in leaving the engine running. As the man enters the store he notices that there are a few people in line, but thinks nothing of the delay.

After buying his cigarettes, the man returns to the parking lot to find his car stolen. He had left his wallet in the glove box. Devastated, he notifies the police, files a report and eventually returns home to explain to his wife what happened.

A day or so later, the man comes home from work (in a rented car) only to find his car sitting in the driveway! He quickly assesses that there is no visible damage, and there is an envelope sitting on the driver's seat. He opens the envelope and reads a note which was inside:

"Sir, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for stealing your car, but I had a medical emergency and had no choice. To make up for any inconvenience to you, I've left you four tickets to this weekend's Double Header at Shea Stadium. These are excellent seats and I hope that it can make up for any trouble I may have caused you or your family."

Being a big Mets fan, the man is very excited and runs into the house to tell his wife and two sons they all have tickets to the big game.

The day arrives and the man packs up his family and heads to the ball game. After the game ends (several hours later) the man and his family return home to find that they have been robbed. The entire house is virtually empty!

As it turns out, this was the car thief's plan all along — to get the man's home address, keys, and to get him out of the house for a few hours. The thief got his address from the registration in the glove box and had assumed he was a baseball fan from the Mets bumper sticker on his car. Pictures in the man's wallet gave away the fact that he had two sons and would need four tickets in order for the house to be empty.

This seems fairly plausible, but there are a few things that don't add up:

1. How often do you leave your wallet in a running car? (Okay, maybe.)
2. The police would probably suggest that the locks be changed on your house, since the car thief would now have those keys as well.
3. Burglars cleaned out the whole house with no neighbors noticing or being suspicious? (Seems unlikely.)
4. I've heard this story from one too many people for it to be true!

More:

Legends of Crime and Criminals
Dumb robbers, botched suicides, bungled abductions, murdering madmen

Current Netlore
Urban legends, hoaxes and chain letters in your inbox

Have you heard an outlandish story you'd like to share in your own words? Just click here to contribute a Legend of the Week (or compose it in an email with "Legend" in the subject line). All submissions are welcome!

Discuss in my forum