Business was slow at the Antique Mall. Gul sat at the cash register and checked the large lobby clock for perhaps the tenth time that afternoon. Then she checked the monitors, one reporting the activity in each of the six long aisles of dealer display cases. It was only by accident, by the glint of light from a high window, that she saw that the glass top on one of the cases was open.
Gul threw aside her magazine and raced down aisle four. Like all the other display cases, the one from Antique Coins and Medals was always kept locked. Except for now. Gul examined the broken hasp and the dangling lock. Had it been an accident? Or had the hasp already been loose, inviting a curious shopper to lift the glass and get a closer look? Or had it been a robbery? Just from looking at the display, it was impossible to tell if one of the pricey coins or Civil War medals was missing.
Gul kept cool. She refastened the lock as best she could, then returned to the front. The dealer who owned the broken case was out of town. Gul had no option but to call the police.
An officer arrived on the scene to find Gul at the front desk. Three shoppers were in the lobby, looking inconvenienced but cooperative.
"They were the only people in here," Gul whispered. "The only customers I've had all afternoon. After I called you, all three of them tried to leave. I explained that there might have been a robbery and that they had to stay here until you came. Since then, no one has left the lobby. I've done my best to keep my eye on them, just in case there was a thief and he tried to ditch the stolen object."
"Good work." The officer was impressed by her resourcefulness. "What have they been doing for the past few minutes?" Gul pointed to the nearest suspect, an elderly man sitting in a chair, reading a book. "That's Kishori Lal. He's a local collector, in here once a week looking for Civil War memorabilia. Lal wasn't upset at all when I told him he had to stick around. I watched as he borrowed a book from "Lightly Used Classics" and sat right down. He hasn't moved."
The second customer was a stranger. "He says he's a businessman, here in town to see a client. I don't know about that. For one thing, he's not wearing a watch. Right away the guy argued, said he'd be late for an important meeting. Then he went over to the lobby pay phone, looked up a number and dialed. I stood nearby. He didn't say anything, but I was near enough to hear the other end. He called up the number that gives out the time. After the call, he started pacing, never sat down."
The third customer was another local. "Manoj Mistry," Gul explained. "He's a neighbor. As far as I know, Manoj's never been in here before. The guy has a bad leg and is on welfare. From what his wife tells me, finances are pretty thin. I don't know why he'd be shopping, except maybe to pass the time. After I stopped him from leaving, Manoj took a seat on that old pew." The officer looked over to the pew and saw Manoj, his left pant leg rolled up. He was applying a bottle of lineament to the kneecap. The officer talked to all three customers. With their permission, he searched them, then performed a careful inspection of the entire lobby area.
"You did right," he said to Gul. "But it must be a false alarm. All three of them are clean and so is the lobby. The hasp on the case must've just been loose. I'm going to let them go."
"No," Gul insisted. "I've been thinking it over. One of them did steal something and I know who it is.
- Can you catch the thief ?
- The Old Man
- The Businessman
- The Neighbor
- Gul Herself
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