This is a complete story. All chapters are included.
...
Shoplifting has always been a considerable expense for most businesses, and the resulting costs from loss and the attempts to prevent theft always get passed on to the consumers in the end.
For some shoplifters, stealing is a way to stay alive, and while it is still a crime, an homeless old man swiping a can of tuna is more sad than criminal.
The kleptomaniacs, those people for whom stealing is a persistent neurotic habit, are something else altogether, and businesses have learned that prosecution is the best deterrent.
But then there's the Real Value Pharmacy in Clinton, New York...
*****
Chapter One: Always at closing time.
"Girl, you got to be kidding!"
Rufus stared at the screen while the brazen blonde yanked the security tab off of the package of lipstick before dropping it in her purse and sauntering down the aisle.
"Always got to be at closing time too," the security guard said in disgust while flying out the door to intercept the thief, who was waltzing out to the mall just as he caught up with her.
"Excuse me miss," Rufus said as he planted his burly six-foot frame in front of the skinny little blonde, who couldn't have been more than 5'2" and 100 pounds soaking wet. "I'm going to have to ask you to step back in the store."
"I don't have time for this," the girl pouted.
"Neither do I girlie," Rufus said, herding her back toward the store while making sure he didn't touch her in the process."
"But I don't know what this is about."
"It's about the Cover Girl lipstick you've got in your purse, and it's about the security tab you tore off of it, and it's about the camera that caught it all," Rufus said as they inched back into the store entrance. "You want to do this easy or hard?"
"Hate to embarrass you in public," Rufus said, while the stragglers began to exit the mall. "Your choice."
"I'll go in with you, but you're making a big mistake."
The little blonde marched back in the store with a bounce in her step and attitude galore, while Rufus calmly followed.
"Cover Girl here has a bit of a shopping problem," Rufus explained to the manager, who was up front helping the cashiers close down for the night. "We'll use the service entrance, so you can lock up."
The manager nodded while the blonde stood there waiting with her arms crossed in front of her chest, acting like she was offended by having to wait for him.
"Straight back girlie," Rufus said, walking with her to the back of the store, pausing to grab the little tab that the girl had flipped behind the display and holding it up for her to see. "Remember this?"
The girl made a face as she kept walking with Rufus, all the way back to the plain door in the back of the store, which led to the room with the security cameras. Opening the door for the blonde, she looked around at the various screens while losing none of her snotty attitude.
"They prosecute here, just so you know," Rufus said. "You need to take the lipstick out of your purse, along with anything else you got during your shopping spree."
The blonde kept her chin up and her attitude defiant as she stared back at the security guard, but after a minute of this she made a little huffing noise and reached into her purse, pulling out the lipstick and tossing it on the table.
"Happy?" she snorted.
"No, I would have been a hell of a lot happier if you stole somewhere else tonight instead of coming in here," Rufus replied. "Now, if you've got anything else in there, why don't you give it up now. If the police find it, that will make it worse for you."
"Police?" the blonde snapped. "Why are you making a big deal out of this. It's a fucking eight dollar lipstick."
"That is the big deal! It's the fucking eight dollar lipstick you stole," Rufus said. "That's the big deal. You know how much extra all the honest people pay for stuff just because you're a thief? Now I'll ask you again. Do you have anything else that you didn't pay for?"
The blonde shook her head and rolled her eyes while looking up to the ceiling, and then went back into the purse and pulled out a tube of Teen Spirit deodorant, throwing it down on the counter.
"Pick it up, please," Rufus said after it skidded to the ground, and that pissed the blonde off even more.
Rufus looked at the girl's butt as she bent over; a tiny ass that was packed tightly into a pair of denim shorts that looked painted on. Her legs were shapely but skinny, and the tiny calf muscles swelled as she bent over to pick the deodorant up.
"Happy?" the blonde snorted.
"That all?" Rufus asked, raising an eyebrow while kicking himself for missing her stealing the Teen Spirit. "Anything stuck up under your blouse, between your legs or wedged up under your arms?"
"What do you think I am?" the blonde snorted.
"We both know what you are," Rufus chuckled. "You know, I know and the camera knows."
"Well, you've had your fun. Embarrassing the white girl. Let's just cut to the chase here."
"What's the color of your skin got to do with it?" Rufus asked. "And we are cutting to the chase. Give your snotty attitude to the cops when they haul your ass down to the station. Matrons will find anything else you've got on you. They dig deep too."
"Do you know who I am?" the blonde said with her nose in the air.
"Besides a thief?" Rufus snapped.
"Ever hear of Truman Wilson?"
Rufus picked up the phone receiver as he looked at the blonde who had lost none of her impudence and was apparently expecting him to start genuflecting at the mention of the name of the county's district attorney.
"You don't look anything like the picture on your campaign stuff," Rufus laughed.
"He's my father," the blonde snorted. "Get it?"
Rufus got the picture alright, and he knew what was probably going to happen. He would call the police, they would take her to the station, and her old man would get her off after playing footsie with the corporation that owned the drug store.
All neat and clean, and this little thief would waltz off without a criminal record, like she had done in the past most likely. Set free to steal from somebody else. Rufus realized, but this girl's attitude needed some bringing down.