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I had dreams of an investigative prize in my first police reporting job when a lawyer whispered the police repair shop was fixing cars for private citizens for free.
I staked a position on the roof across the street from the shop and recorded license plates of the cars for three days. I thought I was so sneaky. The next day, the police chief called me into his office.
“How long were you going to stand up there before you just asked me for the records?” he said. Lesson learned – in a small town, everyone knows what you’re “up to.”