Gable’s Greenhouses

Do not support this business! Take a minute to hear me out. But if you don’t have time to do that — just don’t support this business, as it’s run by a dishonest cheat.
Anyway, about three years ago I had ridden my bike to the train station, where I would lock it up before leaving for Philadelphia that day. My heart sank when I got off later that night to see that my favorite and only bike had been stolen. My sadness quickly turned to a boiling anger.
I filed a police report immediately, prompting a short investigation that yielded no suspects or signs of my new, expensive bike. My bike getting stolen even triggered some turmoil within my family, as the bike was a recent gift.
I remembered hearing rumors growing up that Gable’s was where a lot of stolen bicycles ended up. A lot of kids in middle school and high school would report this guy coming by bus stops in the middle of the day and throwing bikes in the back of his van, or alternately sending people out to do it for him.
While I was at work about two days after the theft, I sent my brother over to Gable’s to see if he couldn’t find my bike there. Sure enough — he did, with a price tag on it. In a justified fit of rage, my brother asked Gable where he had gotten the bike, and demanding that he return it. Gable then proceeded to say that he’s had it for weeks, and that we couldn’t prove that it was, in fact, my bicycle without serial numbers.
Fortunately, my mother is something of a pack-​rat, always saving files and receipts. All it took was a short drive over to her house to pick up the paperwork from the original purchase to prove with certainty that this man had either stolen the bike or had someone do it for him. Obviously, the serial numbers matched. The bike was mine.
The police were brought over to the store while I was still at work to investigate the matter. Defeated and ashamed, Gable changed his story, saying that someone did bring the bike in just a few days ago — alleging that it was some high school druggie looking for some quick cash. Unfortunately, there was no way to prove or disprove this, so they couldn’t arrest Gable on the spot for theft.
I still have my bike today, thanks to my remembering all of the rumors about this guy being slimy. All I can say now is that this dude runs a dirty, dirty business, and is lucky for his own sake that my brother went there to find my bike instead of me.
In short, don’t even give Gable the time of day.