Cara was in love.
Most 18 year old girls fall in love with people, and it's often a fleeting thing. Love is intense and magical, but also heartbreaking and painful. Jewelry though...jewelry never hurts you. Necklaces never break your heart. Rings don't lie to you. A bracelet will never cheat on you. A pair of earrings can only make you feel better about yourself. For Cara, her jewelry collection was the only thing worthy of her love. And she loved the little emerald pendant in the glass display case more than she had ever loved anything in her life.
She imagined what it would look like around her neck. The silver trim and chain would make her pale, slightly freckled skin sparkle. The gemstone was almost the exact color of her green eyes, and would contrast beautifully with her long red hair. It would rest on her neck above her breasts, which were medium-sized, perky, and in Cara's opinion her best feature. This pendant was a part of her - she needed it more than she needed to breath! She had to have it, no matter the cost!
She looked at the little paper pricetag attached to it and sighed with deep regret and longing. $1,500! That's how much it would cost to fill the gaping hole in her heart that only the pendant would heal. $1,500 dollars, and her love wouldn't be unrequited. Technically she would need $1,550, since her bank account was currently overdrawn by $50. But she would pay every penny if she could. But she couldn't, so she'd have to just take it. It already belonged to her anyway, from the second she saw it she knew that it was hers.
The problem was that she had already shoplifted from the little clothing and jewelry boutique. Twice in fact. The first time was a 2 months ago, when she claimed a lovely vintage-looking green and yellow sundress. Even shoplifting here a second time was a risk, but she absolutely needed it she could get her classmate, Mark, to notice her. Mark was long gone from her life now, but she still loved the dress. The second time was only been two weeks ago, when she claimed the emerald and silver earrings from this same display case. That had been easy - her friend, Lana, had distracted the shopkeeper for her. And she loves those earrings! They were just as beautiful as the pendant, she almost never took them off. She was wearing them right now. They would look so good with the pendant...she had to have the set.
She'd take the necklace and make a quick getaway if she could, but the stupid shoplifter kept staring at her. She didn't think he was just keeping an eye on her...he was checking her out, his eyes often focused on her butt or breasts. He was actually quite good looking, in a DILF kind of way. He was a well built man in his early forties, with dark eyes, black neatly trimmed hair with a few strands of grey at his temples, and a charming smile that he never stopped wearing. She could probably flirt with him and distract him enough so she could grab the pendant. She'd suck his cock if it meant getting what belonged to her!! But the store closed at 4:00 P.M., only 5 minutes from now. And she was already 25 minutes late for her probation meeting. She already knew that flirting with her probation officer - a mean woman in her 50s named Karen Anderson - wouldn't work. She could always come back tomorrow, but the cashier might think it sus if she did. No, she needed to do this now.
That just left the toilet maneuver.
Cara put on her best smile and played with her hair while she walked up to the cash register. The shopkeeper stared at her breasts, obvious hunger in his eyes.
"Hi!" She said sweetly, "Do you mind if I use your restroom?"
The shopkeeper looked almost amused as he smiled and replied, as if she had said something hilarious.
"Of course I don't mind! It's right over there. But just so you know, I'm closing up shop in a few minutes."
"Okay!' Cara said. "I won't be long, I promise."
It only took a minute to find some tampons in her purse, wad them up with almost an entire roll's worth of toilet paper, and flush the papery ball. Water immediately began overflowing, and she ran out of the tiny bathroom in a panic.
"Sir? Sir, I'm really sorry, but something is wrong with your toilet! There's water everywhere!"
It was strange how calm the shopkeeper's reaction was. He still wore the same calm smile, and it almost looked like he was holding back from laughing. Water was beginning to flow out to the main room now, so Cara didn't think it was funny.
"Don't worry," The shopkeeper said, "It happens all the time. I'll fix it."
He turned his back on her and swished his way to the bathroom, whistling happily as he walked. It weirded Cara out a little bit, but the plan was working, and that was all that mattered. She ran to the display case, lifted the glass top, and finally claimed her prize. She felt a surge of adrenaline and happiness surge through her as she held the pendant in her fist. She almost wanted to jump for joy, but there was no time. She skipped to the front door, the necklace still in her hand. As she pressed her hand against it the glass, she randomly decided to bid the cashier farewell. She could do that much at least.
"Thank you sir, good luck with the toi..."
The door wasn't opening. Why wasn't the door opening?! Cara's feeling of joy was immediately replaced with fear, and her adrenaline amped up tenfold.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" The man asked calmly, suddenly appearing behind her by the cash register.
"What are you doing?" Cara asked, nearly screaming. "Let me OOOUUT!"
The man reached under the counter, pressing something that made a loud click sound. Steel grates fell down over the windows and door, so thick that Cara couldn't even see through them. Really scared now, she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. No signal. Not even a stray wifi signal, which was weird for this area of town.
"Answer me. Do you think I'm stupid?"
"N-no..." Cara stammered. "Please, you can have the necklace back. Just let me go!"
"I'm going to call the police. You can beg them to let you go. Maybe they will."
But Cara knew they wouldn't. Not with her long record of shoplifting. Not when she had just been released from jail for stealing earlier this year. Not while she was on probation. They'd probably ly lick her up for years.
"No, please! My little brother is sick, he needs meds. I was going to pawn it, for him..." Cara said.
"Your brother?"
"Yes!" Cara said, clinging to her lie like a liferaft in a tsunami. "I'm sorry... He has cancer, and my parents can't afford treatment. I'm sorry... Please just let me go home."
The man frowned and let out a deep sigh. He looked resigned and sad. Cara's father had given her that same look the last time she had been arrested. She hated that look, but at least it probably meant sympathy.
"Alright..." The man said. "Follow me to my office and you can tell me about it. If I believe you we can work something out."
"Thank you so much!" Cara said happily. "And I'll clean up the toilet too, if you want!"
"No, no, that's alright." The man said kindly while opening a door on the back wall. "Just wait in here for a minute while I take care of it."
"Okay." She said. This guy was nice! She wondered if she could talk him out of the pendant somehow. Maybe he'd really buy into the sick brother story and let her keep it...
"I'll be right back. Stay put!"
Cara entered the office and looked around. It was a lot bigger than she thought it would be, at least the size of a master bedroom: There was a large oak desk to one side of the room, with safes and file cabinets against the wall. The opposite end of the room looked almost like a small loft. It had a twin sized bed, a mini fridge and bar, and a small leather couch. Cara wondered if the man slept in here sometimes. It was neat and tidy, and didn't look lived in. But there must be some reason for the bed.
There was an audible click as the door closed behind her, and she instinctively reached for the doorknob. It didn't budge. He had locked her in. She couldn't blame him for wanting to keep an eye on her, but it seemed a little rude. The desk didn't have a landline phone on it. No computer either. The room didn't even have a window. And her cell phone still wasn't picking up a signal. The realization that she really was trapped hit her like a brick wall, and all she could do was hope that the man's kindness held out. She was sure it would - he seemed like a nice guy. He probably had a family waiting for him to get home, and would want to get through this quickly.
Cara sat down in front of the desk and spent the next 5 minutes trying to come up with details for her 'lttile brother with cancer' story. The time went by too quickly to flesh out her lie as well as she would have liked, but it was a start. She was well practiced in improvising lies.
The man returned wearing a kind smile, and oddly enough, different clothes. He had been dressed in a nice black suit of the type that boutique store owners sometimes wore. Now he was dressed in faded jeans, a plain black T-shirt, and Nikes.
"Would you like a soda?" The man asked.
"Umm, sure. Diet Coke if you have it."
The man went to the mini fridge, prepared a glass of ice, and poured a Diet Coke into it. Cara watched him carefully...you never knew what men might put into your drink. But he never tried to hide anything, it was obviously just ice and soda.
