Headline of short item on page 3 of local paper: “Slick Eludes Police Again” The item stated in part, “Police response to tips by citizens proved to be too slow…..”

Police may have considered the tips a hoax, or maybe they were on a coffee break, but it was no hoax. A warrant had been issued for the perpetrator.

For months Ms. Slick made small purchases at Kat’s Little Shop of Treasures, usually paying cash but with checks for larger purchases. Kat noticed that Slick carried a large purse that was always open. Was Slick buying a little and stealing a lot? Evidence that Slick was a shoplifter came from a fellow shop owner who got a picture of Slick dropping merchandise into the big purse. She turned over the evidence to the district attorney. Slick failed to show up for a court subpoena, resulting in a warrant for her arrest. 

Meanwhile Slick’s checks were returned unpaid. Both Kat and Mouse, her assistant, made several phone calls to Slick asking her to come in and redeem the checks. She promised to come in, but she never showed up.

“We’re going to get Slick put in jail where she belongs,” Kat said to Mouse. “If we can get her to come in to pay off these checks we’ll have the cops pick her up here. You call her and see if you can get her to come in,”

Mouse called and said, “Can you come in and pay off the checks?”

“Will Kat be there?” said Slick.

“No,” said Mouse.

“Then I’ll come in this morning,” she said.

Mid afternoon came and no show. Kat pressed a number on her cell phone. A man answered.

“Your wife wrote us a check that bounced. It has your name on it and she signed it with your name.

“I don’t have an account at that bank,” he said.

“Well, I’m going to the DA with it in the morning,” said Kat.

“You close at six? Could you stay open a few minutes longer? It’ll take a while to get there”, he said before hanging up.

“She’s coming a six o’clock. Let’s be ready,” Kat said to Mouse. “I’ll be in back of the shop when she comes in. Keep her busy as long as you can”

Kat called the police to inform them that Ms. Slick would be coming to the shop later in the day. She reminded them of the warrant and that they could pick her up there. Kat and Mouse continued their work running the shop as usual until closing time, when Mouse exclaimed, “Here she comes!”

Kat called the police to inform them. Then she got into her car and drove around to the parking lot in front of the shop where she could watch for the police. She was still on her cell phone with the police dispatcher.

“She’s in the shop now,” she said. “we’ll keep her as long as we can.”

Inside the shop Mouse was attending Slick slowly, ringing up numbers on the cash register, rooting around for the pencil she “lost”, misplacing a stapler, dropping and picking up a piece of paper, examining each piece of currency given her, and a multitude of other things to delay the transaction. After ten minutes or so a man whom Mouse assumed to be a policeman walked toward the shop door. Slick turned toward the door and Mouse reacted by pointing toward her, hoping the “policeman” would get her signal. The man was evidently Slick’s husband, for he came in and hustled her out the door and into his car parked nearby.

“Hello, this is Kat again. The police are not here yet. Slick just came out of the shop with her husband and got into a gray Honda minivan. I can’t see the license plate.

“The car just pulled out! It’s turning right and moving down the street. 

“I can still see the car. It’s turning in at the gas station half a block from here. I’ll drive down there where I can see the car better.

“I’m at the Pier One store. The man is filling up his tank. The man is back in his car now. A police car just pulled into the station. Now the Honda just pulled out and turned right on to the street!

“The police car is turning around to leave the station, but the gray Honda is out of sight!” Hopping mad and out of breath through excitement, Kat drove back to the shop.

“Did they arrest her? Mouse asked with great anticipation.

“(expletive deleted) NO! A cop showed up just as they were leaving. He didn’t even recognize the car as it left. The police worked at a snail’s pace. They could have had her if they’d wanted her,” Kat said. “Did you get our money back?”

“Yeah, and I gave her a receipt, but I forgot to stamp the shop name on it. She left in a hurry,” Mouse said, “I don’t think she’ll be back to get the receipt stamped.”

“Looks like we’ve lost a customer,” Kat said.