Mall Security Guard: All right. You can go
ahead and sit right there.
Shoplifter: Am I being arrested?
Mall Security Guard: I’m not the police, so I
can’t arrest people. My co-worker has already called them, though. This
isn’t exactly an emergency, so it may take them a little while to get here,
but I’m sure it won’t be any longer than thirty minutes.
Shoplifter: Are you allowed to hold me here
then?
Mall Security Guard: I am, yes. I caught you
breaking the law, so I can keep you in here until the police arrive. Are you
okay? Do you need some water?
Shoplifter: You seem a little too nice for
someone who’s just been robbed.
Mall Security Guard: Well, I’m concerned. You
were stealing medical supplies. None of it was particularly expensive, but
based on my limited training, I can presume that someone you know is hurt.
Shoplifter: I don’t know what you’re talking
about. I just stole that stuff so I can sell it.
Mall Security Guard: That’s not a very
believable answer. Gauze and hydrogen peroxide doesn’t go for much on the
black market. Well, I think that second one can be used to make drugs, but
you weren’t stealing a case of it; you took one bottle. Tell me what
happened.
Shoplifter: Nothing happened. I needed that
stuff, so I took it. I’m just trying to keep my house stocked, but I don’t
have enough money for it.
Mall Security Guard: That’s a different story
than the one you told me just before.
Shoplifter: What can I say? You caught me in
a lie, so now I’m telling the truth.
Mall Security Guard: No, I don’t think you
are.
Shoplifter: Please, just let it go. I’ll wait
for the cops to get here.
Mall Security Guard: I can help if you’re
honest with me. You look scared, and not in the way I’ve seen people in your
position look. They’re scared of going to jail, of their parents finding out
what they did, or of this impacting their chances of finding a job. You’re
scared of a person. Who were you stealing these for?
Shoplifter: No one. Myself.
Mall Security Guard: I don’t believe that
either. Like I said, you look scared. But you don’t look worried. What
happens when you don’t go back to wherever you came from with what you were
supposed to take? Does someone come looking for you, or do they just come to
replace you?
Shoplifter: Well, it’s like
I said; I don’t know what you’re talking
about.
Mall Security Guard: I may not be a cop, but
I’m pretty good at judging people’s responses. I’m going to start making
some guesses, and you’ll tell me if they’re true, or not. You won’t have to
say anything out loud. It’ll be written all over your face.
Shoplifter: Do what ya gotta do. It’s a free
country.
Mall Security Guard: Are the medical supplies
for someone you care about? Is it for someone you don’t?—Someone you hate?
Yeah, that’s it.—Is this person a threat to your wellbeing? Only a little.
But maybe that’s because you’re here right now.—Are they holding someone you
do care about against their will? Bingo.—Do
you know the threat personally? Did you see something you weren’t supposed
to? Were you just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Okay.—How many
people are threatening your loved one? One, two, three...? Three.
Shoplifter: Stop doing that.
Mall Security Guard: I can’t stop until we
get answers. I really do want to help.
Shoplifter: You’re just a mall cop.
Mall Security Guard: I can get you out of
here before they show up.
Shoplifter: No, you can’t. You already called
them.
Mall Security Guard: [into radio] Other Mall
Security Guard, have you contacted the police yet?
Other Mall Security Guard: [through radio]
They’re looking for someone who has the time to come down here.
Mall Security Guard: [into radio] Cancel the
request. We worked something out.
Other Mall Security Guard: [through radio]
Are you trading her freedom for sexual favors?
Mall Security Guard: [into radio] God no,
Other. She’s just agreed to never do it again, and I believe her. This is
her first offense, and I see no reason to involve law enforcement.
Other Mall Security Guard: [through radio]
All right, Mall. Fine. I’ll cancel it. I’m sure they’ll be relieved they
don’t have to come all the way down here.
Mall Security Guard: There, it’s done. Now
tell me everything.
Shoplifter: Not here. He has eyes everywhere.
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