Concerned Citizen, or Law & Order Fan?

He's back. Whoever he is.

Two weeks ago, as I wrote then, Stella and I were outside on our 3 a.m. pee break and heard something being thrown into a dumpster and the dumpster lid slamming shut. I looked over and saw a man (I'm pretty sure it was a man -- the person had a mannish build) with shaggy blonde hair. I couldn't see a face. Stella started barking, and I hustled her inside. Whoever the guy was and whatever he was dumping, I didn't want any part of it.

I was definitely a little uneasy about it, but simply being outside at 3 a.m. is not a crime -- heck, I was. I figured he was just a night-shifter taking out his garbage or something.

But this morning, I saw him again. Stella and I were outside at 3 a.m., I heard the dumpster lid, looked over, and saw his silhouette and the blonde hair (there are lights over that way, so while I couldn't see his face, I definitely saw that the hair was light). Once again, I didn't want to be alone in the dark with a stranger, so Stel and I went inside. My unit is on the wrong side of the building for me to be able to see the area from my window, so I couldn't keep an eye on him from inside and see what exactly he was doing.

When I took Stel out right before I left for work, I realized that standing where I had been overnight, and two weeks ago, I wouldn't have been able to see the guy if he had been in the residential dumpsters. However, just behind them are dumpsters for a medical center which is directly behind my building. From where I was standing, I could (and would) have seen someone standing by those dumpsters.

It is possible that the mystery guy was just part of a cleaning crew throwing out garbage. However...of all of the possible reasons I can imagine for someone to be in a dumpster at 3 a.m., that is the only one that doesn't cause me concern. If he wasn't part of a cleaning crew, he was either dumping something illegally or looking for something he shouldn't be looking for.

I called the police department's non-emergency number today, to see if I could talk to an officer, but the person who answered the phone told me that they won't take reports over the phone and won't even talk to you unless you come in.

So I will pay the cops a visit this evening. I feel kind of weird about it; I don't have much to go on except "guy was outside at 3 a.m." And I kind of worry about coming across as someone who watches too much TV. But I would rather have the police think I'm a sensationalist than be afraid to take my dog outside.