The apartment looked spotless. The tenant had even left the keys behind. Then a mover picked up a detergent bottle and heard something that detergent bottles aren't supposed to do.
Some evictions are complicated.
Others seem too easy.
This one fell into the second category.
The tenant had already moved out. The keys were waiting. The apartment was clean, organized, and appeared ready to turn over without any surprises. It looked like the easiest eviction of the month.
Then one of the movers picked up a detergent bottle.
Something rattled.
That was odd.
Curiosity took over, and the bottle was opened. Instead of laundry detergent, it contained something entirely different. A second bottle revealed the same thing. Then a third.
Three containers.
Not a drop of detergent.
The movers weren't surprised at all.
Apparently, they had seen this trick before.
Alan had not.
The bottles were set aside, the eviction continued, and another lesson was added to the long list of things nobody teaches you when you first enter the profession.
Because people can hide valuables in the strangest places.
And sometimes the cleanest apartment still has a surprise waiting inside.
The Constable Files – Episode 35: The Detergent Bottles is a true story about an apparently routine eviction, experienced movers, and three containers that weren't holding what their labels advertised.
