Rain tapped against the shop windows as the bell above the front door jingled.
Mr. Fix I.T. looked up from his workbench to see a frantic customer carrying a gaming PC under one arm and an empty mouse box under the other.
"I've been robbed."
Mr. Fix I.T. raised an eyebrow.
"Tell me what happened."
"The mouse was right here on my desk yesterday. This morning it's gone. Keyboard's still there. Headset's still there. Monitor's still there."
He slid the empty box onto the counter.
"Just... gone."
Most people would've called it absentmindedness.
Mr. Fix I.T. had learned long ago that customers rarely came in because of the obvious problem.
They came in because something didn't make sense.
He loaded the computer onto the bench.
Nothing unusual.
Windows booted normally.
No malware.
No suspicious USB devices.
Then he noticed something odd.
The wireless receiver was still plugged into the rear USB port.
Who steals the mouse...
...but leaves the receiver?
He smiled.
"This wasn't theft."
The customer blinked.
"It wasn't?"
"No."
Mr. Fix I.T. unplugged the receiver and turned it over.
Tiny scratches.
Fresh ones.
As if someone had repeatedly plugged it into different computers.
He opened Device Manager.
Four different Logitech wireless devices had been paired with the receiver over the past month.
Then he asked the question no one else had thought to ask.
"Do you have more than one computer?"
The customer laughed nervously.
"Well... I do have a work laptop."
"And a docking station?"
"...Yeah."
"And another wireless mouse?"
"...Maybe."
Mr. Fix I.T. stood up.
"I think your mouse isn't missing."
"It's just employed elsewhere."
Twenty minutes later the customer returned from his truck carrying a laptop bag.
Inside it...
...was the missing mouse.
Still happily connected to the work laptop.
The customer buried his face in his hands.
"I've spent two days accusing my kids."
Mr. Fix I.T. couldn't help but laugh.
"It happens more often than you'd think."
As the customer left, relieved and slightly embarrassed, Mr. Fix I.T. made one final note in the repair log.
Diagnosis: Case of mistaken identity.
Repair: One memory refresh.
Parts Required: None.
From his perch on a shelf overlooking the workshop, a small rubber duck silently watched the customer leave.
If ducks could smile...
...this one probably was.
Case Closed.
Lesson from the Workshop: Before replacing wireless peripherals, always check where the USB receiver is connected and whether the device has been paired with another computer. Sometimes the mystery isn't hardware failure—it's simply the last place you used it.
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