Goodreads asked Peter Derk:

What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?

Peter Derk Is this question seriously being asked by "goodreads"? Does goodreads have a Goodreads profile? How does that even work?

My biggest mystery is a sort of revenge story.

See, in about...2007 I got a new car. The car was 7, but it was new to me.

This was a pretty big deal because the year up to then I had a car that barely worked, and I mostly rode my bike everywhere. Finally I could have not only a car, but one that could go just about anywhere! I could actually leave town.

While my new car was parked in the parking lot of my apartment, this woman, who was backing out, hit it and dented it pretty badly.

She left a note and offered to pay, and I accepted this offer because I figured I could get the bodywork done for about what she was offering.

This was a mistake.

What happened is that she gave me a check, and I waited a couple weeks to cash it, at which point it had been cancelled (so I also accrued a $25 fee from my bank).

I called her, and she said that because I waited so long to cash it, she assumed I didn't need the money, and she decided to cancel the check.

This is obviously bullshit, and double-obviously bullshit because shortly after this she changed her phone number.

I made a few attempts to find her since then, mostly to tell her "Hey, remember that car you dented? It's STILL dented, and I STILL drive it." But I haven't succeeded.

I'd love to find her and send her a letter about being a bad person. If I could solve the mystery of why she sucks so hard, that'd be pretty solid.

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