I bought that coat for a little more n'
twenty dollars, she said.

He looked up and clenched his jaw, coat in hand. Ma'am, you were seen stealing this here jacket.

She protested and the man was going to call for security when the police cruiser arrived outside, silent but lights flashing

Your secret is safe with me, said the officer, and he took the jacket and the man perished, and the woman opened her palm to find a little more n' twenty dollars.

It was the middle of winter and the store was closed, and the corpse of a dead clerk stained the ground for the weekend before it was discovered by the night watch. There was no coat and no woman and the police officer's name was concealed.