The Watchman: The Notebook

“I went to the back room for a moment and when I returned, the engagement ring was gone,” said Muriel, an elderly, sales clerk.

“That is an expensive ring,” replied the jewelry store manager. “Who took it?”

“Not us,” said Spike, a tall, thin, teenager. He had just shown the engagement ring to Suzy, his girlfriend. Both of them were dressed like hard rock punks. He pointed to a small man in uniform, standing in the mall.

“That man has to be the one who took it, because he was the only one in here.”

“You sure?” asked Suzy, his girlfriend. “He is a watchman, one of the security guards.”

The man looked, and spoke like a watchman. No one suspected that he was anything but a watchman, because he acted like one. His cap and uniform were perfect, his shoes shiny, his comportment no different than any of the other security guards. 

“The sales lady gave us a moment to talk about whether we could afford it. I set it on the counter; but we did not steal it.” 

The manager looked at the officer and then scrutinized the watchman.

Little did anyone know he was playing the role of a watchman, but not watching the store for intruders. Instead, he focused on the activity of the employees, when they came, when they left and when they took their breaks. 

He knew that Muriel, the elderly clerk, took brief catnaps at two o’clock, every afternoon. Teddy, the accountant, carried donuts in his briefcase for an afternoon snack. The manager made a phone call to his wife almost every afternoon. Everything he learned about anyone, the watchman penned in his notebook.

He met his demise shortly thereafter, when several children found his notebook and handed it to the store manager. Sure enough, it had been just after two o’clock in the afternoon. Muriel was taking a catnap. The accountant was at his desk, enjoying coffee and donuts. The manager was on the phone to his wife. 

“Those young folks turned their backs and left the engagement ring on the counter,” the watchman told the police officer, as he pulled the engagement ring out of his pocket. “I was worried that someone might steal it.”