“Don’t.”
Both employees froze.
She walked toward them.
“You don’t have to stop talking because I’m here.”
One woman swallowed.
“We were just—”
“I know.”
The chairwoman looked around the boutique.
“Everyone close the doors.”
The general manager nodded.
“To customers?”
“Yes.”
“For the day?”
“For two hours.”
He hesitated.
Saturday afternoon revenue mattered.
The chairwoman saw the calculation on his face.
She almost smiled.
“Two hours.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The front doors were locked.
A small sign was placed outside explaining an unexpected private event.
No mention of police.
No mention of the chairwoman.
No mention of the woman in white.
When the last customer left, the staff gathered around the central seating area.
Seventeen people.
Sales associates.
Security.
Stockroom staff.
Assistant managers.
Alterations.
A housekeeper.
The chairwoman remained standing.
The young associate looked nervous.
The chairwoman noticed.
“Before anyone thinks this is a disciplinary meeting, it isn’t.”
Several shoulders relaxed.
The general manager remained tense.
She continued.
“Something serious happened here.”
“Nobody gets to turn it into a story about one crazy customer.”
The room became still.
“That would be convenient.”
She looked toward the fitting rooms.
“It would also be false.”
The security supervisor shifted.
The chairwoman noticed.
“You had cameras.”
“Yes.”
“How quickly could that footage have been reviewed after the accusation?”
“About three minutes.”
“How long before police arrived?”
“Twelve.”
He looked down.
The chairwoman asked:
“Why wasn’t it reviewed?”
Silence.
The manager answered.
“I was with a private client.”
“That is why you personally didn’t review it.”
“Yes.”
“That does not answer why nobody else did.”
The assistant manager spoke.
“We have no written procedure saying staff should access footage before police arrive.”
The chairwoman nodded.
“Good.”
The woman looked surprised.
“Good?”
“That’s useful.”
She took a notebook from her handbag.
“The problem is not that you failed to follow a rule.”
“The problem is that the rule did not exist.”
She wrote something.
Then looked toward the young associate.
“You challenged her accusation.”
The associate nodded carefully.
“Why?”
“Because I saw you return the bracelet.”
“You didn’t know who I was.”
“No.”
“Would you have done the same thing for anyone?”
The associate hesitated.
That hesitation interested the chairwoman more than an easy yes.
“I hope so.”