Officers came to Sharon’s door that same evening. She tried telling them the packages had all been delivered to her by accident. The detective simply held up my doorbell footage and the tracker’s location history. Sharon and her nephew were both charged with mail theft and receiving stolen property. A few neighbors came out onto their porches to watch. When they led her past my porch in handcuffs, she didn’t laugh this time.

Over the next month, the police returned items to families all over town. Mrs. Alvarez got back her late husband’s watch, which had been sent out for repair. I got my granddaughter’s birthday gift, a little late but still wrapped. The neighborhood association started a package watch program and asked me to run it. These days, I’m the busiest eighty-two-year-old on our street, and nobody calls cardboard boxes a small thing anymore.