Something Fishy
When the trio entered the store, Harry got a funny feeling. There was something eye-catching about the shoppers, even though he rarely paid attention to them.
It wasn't that he judged, but he felt like something was wrong. His gut instinct was right, but the cashier didn't know it. When they tried to pay, alarm bells rang in his head.
Suspicious
Watching them carefully, he narrowed his eyes. It was the man from the couple who took the lead, despite the homeless man accompanying them. Why were they doing that?
His experience with modest shopping was definitely different from this one. Most people would consider these items luxury items, but the man loaded them into the cart anyway.
Expensive Goods
Observing the security camera, he watched the man place prawns, lobster, and other expensive items that weren't available all the time. There was something amiss. They were playing a game, but what was it?
While ringing up other customers, he kept an eye on the trio. As they walked down the aisles, his eyes lingered on the monitor, not slowing as the carts were loaded.
Minute By Minute
He noticed their route would put them right in front of his counter. By the minute, they were getting closer to the front door and his counter.
Would they try to escape with the items? He knew something was wrong, but that didn't make sense. With an overloaded cart, they would never make it very far. Their motives were different.
Would They Get Away?
It didn't take long for the couple to get to his counter. There was no more stuff to add to the cart, which appeared stacked like a Jenga tower. While the homeless man stood on the other side of the cart, the couple stood on one side.
When they paid, things took a turn for the worse. What were their chances of getting away with it?
He Saw It
While Harry was scanning the items on the counter and unpacking their cart, he noticed something that made his hair stand on end. There was one item in particular that seemed out of place.
There was just no sense in it. Before he could do anything else, he was interrupted by the man, who said, "Hi there, we're buying all of this for a homeless man. Certainly, he deserves it." But Harry did not agree.
Time To Pay
Increasingly suspicious, Harry's eyes narrowed. Their decision to pay was the final nail in the coffin. They used a method that would make him weak at the knees and almost fall.
It was clear to him what he needed to do. In order to do what he had to do, he reached under the counter. If they hadn't done that, they would have gotten away with it.
The Passion
Throughout his life, Harry Olsen lived in Pennsylvania. He studied television and film at night, pursuing his passion. One day he dreamed of directing a film.
However, his dream wouldn't pay the bills in the meantime. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect. As a student, he had to balance living expenses and school fees.
Creating A Balance
Despite the difficulties, Harry always did his best to make things work. It was at least convenient to live alone with only one cat. There was only one thing he had to worry about: himself. In Philadelphia's dingier side, he lived in a tiny flat.
To get to his job, he walked five blocks every day. As a cashier, he earned a modest living. Despite his lack of money, he needed every penny to survive.
He Had Seen It All
With over a year of experience at the company, Harry thought he had seen it all. Among these interactions were all the strange customer interactions. In the past, he'd seen people try to shoplift whole turkeys on Thanksgiving. He'd seen a blind man buy carrots to "help his blindness."
However, the man had not seen everything. Soon enough, he would experience another odd interaction. However, this one would put him in a dangerous position.
A Normal Day
It started out like any other normal day. Harry woke up and saw that his shift started in an hour. He got out of bed and got ready for the day. He showered, brushed his teeth, and drank some coffee.
He ate a small breakfast and got dressed before heading out the door. But the man was oblivious to what was going to happen at work that day.
Starting His Shift
Harry got to work just on time and quickly got behind the counter. He greeted his coworkers and got ready for another boring day. He didn’t see his boss, but he wasn’t surprised.
Harry’s boss was rarely seen in the front of the store. He would be in the back, or he wouldn’t even be there and rather out somewhere else.
Alone
This meant that he was largely alone. His coworkers were generally tending to their own jobs, like taking stock or packing the shelves. That meant that at the front of the store, he had to deal with problems personally.
Whenever there was a problem, he would have to solve it himself. He had no one else to rely on. Today would be no different.
The Trio Arrive
Harry was staring into space, daydreaming of filming an epic modern-day Shakespeare tragedy when he noticed movement by the front door. It opened, and three people walked through the door.
He snapped out of his daydream and looked at the prospective customers. But he immediately felt like something was off.
Strange Match
It seemed like a strange match. There was a man and a woman, clearly a couple from the way they were holding hands when they walked through the door. But the third man looked ragged.
He was clearly homeless. But why was he with them? He followed right behind them. Was he bothering them? Had he followed them in from the street? He had no idea.
Not Wanting To Judge
Harry didn’t want to judge the homeless man too harshly. When the man from the couple turned around and spoke to him in a friendly manner, it was clear that they were together.
But what was the arrangement? Harry decided to keep a closer eye on all of them as they made their way through the store. He watched as they took the biggest shopping cart that they had.
Going Through The Store
The couple started at the produce section. He watched them pile all sorts of fresh fruit and vegetables in the cart. He saw them gesture to the homeless man. Then it clicked. They must have been buying him groceries.
His heart warmed, thinking that there were still good people in the world. But his elation would be short-lived.
Changing His Mind
Harry was smiling at the prospect that one man wouldn’t go hungry today because of the kindness of strangers. But the further they went, the more taken aback he was.
He expected them to get the essentials for the homeless man. But they only started to make Harry doubt their intentions as they started packing things he didn’t expect.
Something Wrong
Maybe they were also shopping for themselves? This didn’t seem too weird. They could have just been people well off enough to shop for themselves and a man in need.
But after watching the way they shopped, he felt like he was wrong to think that they were good people. He felt like there was something wrong going on. Could he get to the bottom of it?
The Way They Shopped
It was the way they shopped that made him feel weird. They weren’t carefully picking out items. They were careless, knocking anything they saw into the cart without a second thought.
It was as if the items were free. They didn’t care what they got, just as long as they packed their cart full. But the real kicker would come when he noticed what was in their cart.
Something Wrong
Harry had a funny feeling since the trio walked into the store. He didn’t normally pay much attention to shoppers, but there was something eye-catching about them.
He didn’t want to judge, but he just felt like something was off. The cashier had no idea that his gut was right. Alarm bells would go off in his head when they tried to pay.
Loading All Sorts Of Things
His eyes narrowed as he watched them carefully. Even though the homeless man had accompanied them, he saw the man from the couple take the lead. What were they doing?
He’d seen modest shopping before, and this definitely wasn’t that. The man loaded all sorts of things into the cart that most people considered a luxury.
Going Down The Aisles
He watched on the security camera as the man put prawns, lobster, and other expensive items that the cashier only had every few months. Something didn’t add up, what were they playing at?
He kept a keen interest in the trio as he helped to ring up other customers. But his eyes would linger on the monitor as they made their way down the aisles, not slowing down with the cart loading.
Coming To The Counter
Harry noticed that the route they were taking would put them right by his counter. They were getting closer by the minute and would eventually be by the front door and his counter.
Were they going to try and dash out with the items? That didn’t make much sense, but he knew something was up. They’d never make it very far, burdened with an overloaded cart. No, they had other motives.
Stacked Cart
Eventually, the couple made it to his counter. It seemed that they had finally run out of things to put in the cart, which was stacked like a Jenga tower. The couple stood on one side of the cart while the homeless man stood on the other.
But things were about to take a turn for the worse when they decided to pay. Would they get away with it?
Seeing Something
Just as they started unpacking their cart onto the counter and Harry scanned the items, he noticed something that made his hair stand on end. One item in particular seemed out of place.
It just didn’t make any sense. But before he could do anything else, the man spoke to him, “Hi there, we’re buying all of this for this homeless man. He deserves it.” But Harry didn’t buy it.
More Suspicious Than Ever
Harry’s eyes narrowed, more suspicious than ever. But the nail in the coffin was when they decided to pay. The method they used would have him weak at the knees and nearly falling over.
He knew what he had to do. He reached under the counter and did what he had to. Otherwise, they would have gotten away with it.
One Item Didn’t Make Sense
Harry noticed one of the items. If they really were all for a homeless man, then why would he need a pool cleaner? But then the man tried paying. That was what really set Harry off.
They stepped forward and paid with a normal debit card, but that’s when Harry finally realized why something felt off. The homeless man recognized him. He had a GoFundMe.
Calling The Cops
Harry had seen the homeless man on a GoFundMe page. He asked the couple if they were paying using the money from that. They nodded but insisted they the groceries were his, and they were using their card because he didn’t have one.
Harry had heard enough. He didn’t believe them. He reached underneath the counter and pushed the panic button. It automatically dispatched a police officer to the store.
An Investigation
The police arrived shortly after and detained the couple. They released them temporarily and launched an investigation. They were found to have been using the GoFundMe money they raised for the homeless man on themselves. But there was a happy ending.
The homeless man, whose name was Eric Whittaker, ended up getting the remaining money. As for the couple, they had to pay a hefty fine and were sentenced to five years in prison on conspiracy charges.