Sounds Like Exactly What Someone Stealing Would Say

I worked as a manager of a liquor store for about three years. I live in rural southeast Michigan, so it’s a small area. In this store, there was only one person working 90% of the time, so there were no “scheduled” breaks.

This night was super slow, so at around 6:30 pm, I went to use the bathroom. I heard our door buzzer go off.

Me: “I’ll be right there!”

I hurried up and got back out front. I saw a guy walking toward the door FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER with like six bottles of liquor and a few cartons of smokes.

Me: *Loudly* “CAN I HELP YOU?”

Guy: “I’M NOT STEALING!”

He threw everything he had in his hands at me before continuing to run out the door. If he wasn’t stealing, why didn’t he buy the stuff? Why did he tell me he wasn’t stealing? This interaction haunts me at night sometimes because I have so many questions.