“That’s interesting.”
“Yes.”
“You didn't lead with this?”
“I didn't know whether it mattered.”
“It matters.”
She took copies.
Two weeks passed.
No theft.
Then another unsolicited package arrived.
This one was different.
It came through a private delivery service.
No branded truck.
Driver wore plain clothes.
Small white van.
The driver carried a medium cardboard box to the porch, photographed it, and left.
The homeowner watched from inside.
He had intentionally worked from home that day.
The box label carried his address but a different name.
D. WATKINS.
He did not know anyone by that name.
He called Detective Martinez immediately.
“Don't touch it.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
“Stay inside.”
“Done.”
“Anyone outside?”
“No.”
Martinez arrived with another detective.
They photographed the package.
Ran the shipping information.
The label was false.
The return address belonged to an abandoned warehouse.
The tracking number corresponded to nothing.
Martinez looked at the homeowner.
“Someone is using your address.”
“For what?”
“We don't know yet.”
The package was removed under warrant procedure.
The homeowner was not told what it contained.
Not immediately.
That frustrated him.
He understood why.
Still frustrating.
Three days later, Martinez called.
“I need you to come to the station.”
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“That's what people say before meetings where someone is in trouble.”
“You’re not.”
He went.
Inside the interview room sat Martinez and a man in a dark suit.
The suit introduced himself as Special Agent Daniel Park.
FBI.
The homeowner’s expression changed.
“Okay.”
Park said:
“The package delivered to your house contained controlled substances.”
The homeowner sat back.
“How much?”
Park did not give operational detail.
Enough to matter.
Enough that the delivery was not recreational.
Enough to suggest distribution.
The homeowner stared.
“And somebody used my address.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We’re investigating.”
“Does this connect to the woman taking packages?”
“We don't know yet.”
The homeowner looked at Martinez.
“She removed two unsolicited boxes before this one.”
“We know.”
Park folded his hands.
“We want you to continue normal routines.”
The homeowner laughed once.
“Normal.”
“Within reason.”
“You want me to keep accepting mystery drug packages?”
“No.”
“We want you to avoid changing visible behavior while we determine whether your address is being used intentionally.”
The homeowner thought.