Just got in from taking Baxter on his nightly walk. Yes, it is 11:30 pm but I normally take him out sometime between 11pm and 2 am for a short walk. Tonight we went early because I wanted to go farther.
As we passed through the narrow alley a few streets from my house, I heard a noise behind me. I paused, trying to make out what was in the shadows I had just passed through. Nothing moved so we kept going.
Baxter started looking over his shoulder a lot, something he doesn’t do unless someone is behind us. By this time we were in the dark parking lot a block from the condo. Again I paused to look behind us. This time I could make out the man standing there cloaked in the shadows. It gave me a shiver and immediately a vision of Jack the Ripper jumped into my head. Not a productive thought, to say the least.
I pulled out my trusty cell phone and held it in my hand as we bustled down the next narrow alley that led home. I could hear the man now – he was no longer trying to be as quiet since I knew he was there. Hitting the street, illuminated by the streetlight, I felt a hell of a lot safer.
We hurried over to the condo which has a fairly well lit parking lot. Baxter hadn’t finished going potty so we couldn’t go inside – something I would have preferred to do. I watched the guy come out of the alley and walk across the street from where Baxter and I stood. He glared at me – probably a little disappointed he wasn’t able to rob me. Like a person walking their dog that late at night would carry their wallet anyway…even robbers down here leave something to be desired.
This is the third time I’ve been followed in the past month. It rather gives me the creeps. I know my neighborhood is in a high crime-rate zone…I work for the police for heaven’s sake. But I can’t not walk Baxter earlier when I don’t get off work till 11pm. At least I’ve quit walking him into the dark park. I try to vary my route and time I take Baxter out – and know that it hasn’t been the same man each time anyway.
It is another reason I look forward to moving back to Iowa. I could walk around Iowa City or Hills pretty much anytime of the night I wanted and never had to worry about being mugged…or worse. {sigh}
