I expected relief.

Instead, she opened the ledger and showed me the store’s loss records, including dates, item numbers, and the corrections employees had made after each incident.

“Two thousand sixty-four dollars and forty cents,” she said.

“That’s the documented amount.

We can’t prove every missing item was his, and I won’t pretend we can.”

“We can raise that.”

“I hope so.

But I want you to understand something.” She turned the ledger toward me.