Culprit Caught!

The past 9 months I've been living here, there's been a criminal on the loose.

Somebody in my building, causing havoc.

A rule-breaker.

Taking the lives of the residents of building number 13 into their own hands.

They say that 13 is an unlucky number.

I noticed it one day when I stepped into the elevator, many months ago. Something wasn't right. Something didn't smell right.

Surely it was just my imagination. My nose has been a bit confused due to the exorbitant amount of second hand smoke I breathe on a daily basis.

Maybe some excessive smoker left their stench lingering in the lift. Most people over the age of 11 in this country are chain smokers - it could be anybody.

But surely nobody would smoke in the elevator. Not with a sign saying "NO FUMAR" and a logo of a cigarette with the circle/slash that means "prohibited".

And yet, at least once a week, upon entering the elevator I was overwhelmed with the reek of tobacco.

It was a mystery left unsolved for nearly 9 months, until...

This evening the elevator reached floor zero just as I entered the building.

The door opened.

A wrinkly hand belonging to a wrinkly old woman with a raspy voice appeared with none other than a freshly lit Camel Joe.

I knew immediately that she was my culprit.

She's old, so she thinks rules don't apply to her.

She has a cigarette in her hand every time I see her.

She never takes the stairs (like I said, she's old).

The tobacco smell today was the same smell as all the other previous infractions - she probably has her favorite brand that she always smokes.

The culprit has been caught.

Now what am I going to do about?

Absolutely nothing. In case you're weren't sure, she's quite old. I figure, if she wants to smoke on the elevator, she's earned it simply by living this long. That and the fact she kind of scares me.