The Mystery of the Well-Traveled Wallet (Or Was It?)
We all got into the car after a couple hours spent at the gym, and Kyle groped for his wallet. He came up empty-handed.
He twisted around in his seat to retrieve his gym bag and dug through it, twice. He checked all the pockets of his jacket, the console in the car, and the glove compartment. No wallet.
By then, Oliver had begun to whimper, being strapped into his car seat in a motionless car. Kyle turned to me and said, “I’m going back inside to see if I can find it,” so I got Oliver out of his seat and brought him up with me while we sat in the parking lot, vainly hoping that perhaps someone had turned in the wallet.
The minutes dragged by, and finally Kyle came back to the car, still empty-handed. “They said they’ll check the tapes,” he told me.
I shook my head. “If you’re lucky, someone will turn it in. Minus the cash, of course.”
“Yeah. Not likely.” He shook his head too. “I haven’t lost my wallet since I was in college.’
At home, he was uncharacteristically down and went to bed early. I stayed up working, even later than usual, and was still awake when the phone rang at eleven o’clock.
Naturally, I assumed the worst and said a breathless hello, expecting to hear my parents or his parents on the other end.
“Have I reached Kyle (middle name) Marsh?” a man asked.
“This is his wife,” I replied. “Who’s calling please?”
“Did he lose his wallet?”
“Yes, just today. Do you have it?”
“My girlfriend does. She found it. In Georgia.”
“In GEORGIA?!”
He told me that his name was Patrick Buchanan, that he was traveling and would mail it when he returned home the following week, and that Kyle’s credit cards and driver’s license were still in the wallet, but the cash was gone.
I didn’t press him for more information; it was late, I was tired, and if he really did have the wallet – or have access to it anyway – I didn’t want to piss him off. I did hit *69 after hanging up, to no avail.
So we waited.
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The next morning, Kyle called the credit card companies – two VISA cards only, which in itself is a good reason not to carry a bunch of credit cards – to place a hold on his accounts. “I don’t want to cancel the cards,” he told them, “because I may get them back.”
That afternoon, someone attempted to use one of his cards at an east coast golf outlet store and was denied.
After two weeks, we gave up. Kyle canceled his cards, obtained a new bank card, and went to get a new driver’s license. I went to Nordstrom and bought him a replacement wallet.
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The following afternoon, I found a package in the mailbox addressed to Kyle (middle name) Marsh with a return address here in Denver. It was a business address – looked like a law firm.
He was sitting at the computer. I took the package to him and went back to the kitchen.
A minute later, he came into the kitchen, holding his old wallet.
My eyebrows shot up. “What’s in it?” I asked.
“My driver’s license, my military ID, the gift card I got at work, my bank card. No cash.” He shook his head. “What the hell took him so long to send it?”
“And why was it sent from here in Denver?” I asked. “I thought it was in Georgia.”
He shrugged.
Hours later, it occurred to me to ask specifically about the credit cards, namely the one that someone had tried to use. “Were your credit cards in there?” I asked.
He checked his old wallet again. “Actually, no. Neither VISA card is still in there,” he replied.
“I wonder if the guy who called works for this law firm. And if he traveled to the east coast that Monday. And if he really has a girlfriend in Georgia, or whether your wallet was ever even IN Georgia,” I mused.
“Maybe we’ll find out when I call the firm on Monday.”
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He called the firm and explained the story to the receptionist, telling her that all he really wanted was to thank whomever had returned his wallet. She promised to email the entire office with that message, along with Kyle’s name and phone number, and hopefully someone would call him.
We’re still waiting.
Patrick Buchanan, if that’s really your name, thank you. But when you get a chance, give Kyle a call. Perhaps you two can chat over a bucket of golf balls.
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Because the denouement of this story is so unsatisfying, I wasn’t going to post it. But then I read Rita’s posts about her lost wedding ring and her interactions – both good and bad – with the store where she lost it, not to mention the amazing ability of Twitter to grab the attention of people who might be able to help.
I don’t know what I’m hoping for, especially since I’m not going to post the name of the law firm on the return address label of the package containing the wallet. Who knows if the man who called our house that night even works there?
I suppose my intent is only to go on public record with what happened, to note that even though someone might escape the law, they can’t escape the Internet.
March 18th, 2009 at 8:54 am
If you were a clever thief, you’d simply call the person whose wallet you’d stolen and tell them you were returning it SIMPLY so they wouldn’t cancel their cards and you could still use them. I think it’s always better to cancel the cards FIRST and worry about getting your wallet back SECOND. (Also – sometimes you can actually have gift cards canceled too if you have a record of the balance and can call the company before it gets spent – Nordstrom does this).
Yesterday I had this thought – if I were a thief, the BEST PLACE ON EARTH would be the parking lot of the local preschool at pick up time. I always leave my purse in the car and looking around I noticed that everyone else does too. Why bring it in when you won’t need it and you’ll only be gone for 5 minutes? From now on I think I’ll be leaving it at home instead.
Glad you got at least SOMETHING back. Sorry it was such a pain in the ass!
Amandas last blog post..Oh Brother
March 18th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Wow, I just read the entire wedding ring story on her website and in Twitter. Ugh. I hope that one nice guy is able to track down her ring for her!
As for Kyle’s wallet, I just…I don’t even know where to start. It all sounds so peculiar and so bizarre…
Sarah @ BecomingSarah.coms last blog post..A brilliant idea gone horribly awry.
March 18th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I was a silly 5 year old, stuck my gold ID bracelet in my bible in Sunday School and it fell out.
About 10 years later, my old SS teacher found me and returned it. GOt sucked in the vacuum, she found it and kept it.
Motherhood Uncensoreds last blog post..Hearing voices
March 18th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Amanda, one time both Julie and I got our wallets stolen from our strollers at drop-off time at our old day care!
J, that is just on wacko story. Hope you get some kind of answer.
mayberrys last blog post..Shamrock shred*
March 18th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
How bizarre! That is quite a story he concocted if it’s not at all true. At least he got some of his things back…that’s more than I would have expected.
I lost my brand-new cell phone in the parking lot at Target a few months back (didn’t know where I’d lost it at the time) and was big and pregnant and having a hard time with my kids so I was pretty much furious that I’d lost it. About 2 hours later someone called and said her grandson had picked it up and she didn’t realize what it was until they were home. She even brought it to my house. I gave her $20 for her trouble (all the cash I had on me at the time.)
I didn’t think I’d see that phone again.
Heathers last blog post..Just Me and My (Very Cute) Shadow
March 18th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I had the same thought as Amanda – odd ploy to keep the cards open maybe? My mind is reeling with possibilities. The law firm better get back to you. For my sake.
Mom101s last blog post..The annual post about why I hate the term mommyblog
March 20th, 2009 at 6:35 am
As you know, I’ve been really shocked by the popularity of the wedding ring story. I thought my friends would care, but people I’ve never met before have been e-mailing me, wanting to know how it ended. It hasn’t ended, unfortunately, still going. But the one nice guy did call me yesterday and said it would be 30 days to get the phone records. At this point — crazy. I’m glad your man got back his IDs, though — it always makes me nervous to have ID cards floating around the matrix, you know?
March 21st, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I’m sorry that people aren’t all completely honest. When I worked at a movie theater, my BF (who worked there too) found a wallet with $1200 in it. He turned it all in. He made $3.65 an hour at the time.