Brian and Ben looked at each other accusingly, their mouths wide open. The two boys looked guilty and about to cry, but both claimed innocence. The manager remained calm and told Mrs Johnston not to worry, false alarms sometimes occurred if and when items were not properly scanned. He asked that everyone move back, past the check point, and exit again – one cart, and one person at a time.
Mrs Johnston exited first, followed by the twins — the alarm remained quiet. Next followed two grocery carts — again the alarm remained silent.
Josh, knew he was in trouble, his heart and mind were racing, his stomach was doing flip-flops. He wanted to slip the film out of his coat pocket but the store manager hovered about, like a hawk, watching his every move.