At The Toy Store

This happened when I was 4 or 5 years old. I was at a rather large toy store with my dad and sister, who is two years older than me, so that I could pick out a birthday present for a friend of mine. My dad and I were looking at the LEGO they had available, while my sister was shuffling around, bored out of her mind. At some point she wandered away.

I was looking at the box of a castle set, wishing that it was my birthday coming up, when my sister returned and tugged on my dad's arm. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asked without looking away from the box he was holding. I think he also wished it was his birthday coming up. "There's a man- oh never mind, he's gone now." My dad looked at her, putting the box back on the shelf. "What man?" He asked. "There was a man who asked if I wanted to come see his puppy, and I said that I'd have to ask you first, but I don't know where he went." My dad took the box out of my hands and put it back on the shelf, then took my hand in his and put his other hand around my sister's shoulders. "Well, let's go find him!" My dad exclaimed, and began leading us toward the checkouts/exit.

Now like I said, this toy store was rather large, and we were walking very fast. When we got near the checkouts, my sister pointed at a man who was just about to leave the store and said "That's him!" I could see how she recognized him from behind, as he had very long hair. It went halfway down his back. I remember him having a black winter coat on, which was strange because it was a pretty warm day. We walked even faster until we were at the nearest checkout, and my dad said to us "Stay here with this nice lady for a sec," referring to the cashier. He then ran up behind the man, who was now almost out the door, and threw his hand on his shoulder so hard I could hear it. My dad spun him around to face him, then began yelling. "WHERE'S THE PUPPY?! WHERE'S THIS PUPPY YOU WANTED TO SHOW MY DAUGHTER?!"

People around started looking over at the commotion, and my dad continued. "YOU WANTED TO TAKE MY DAUGHTER TO SEE YOUR PUPPY! WHERE IS IT?! I WANT TO SEE THE PUPPY TOO!" The man was stammering and stuttering, and trying to get away, but my dad had a firm grasp on the guy's shoulder. Turning his head to where we were standing, my dad yelled to my sister "IS THIS THE GUY WHO ASKED YOU TO COME SEE HIS PUPPY?!" My sister silently nodded her head, then looked at her shoes. I think she thought she was in trouble. I didn't blame her, our dad was yelling really loudly. "IS THE PUPPY IN YOUR CAR?! WHERE'S YOUR CAR?! IS THAT IT OVER THERE?!" He pointed out the glass door into the parking lot. "OR IS THAT YOUR CAR?! IS THAT WHERE THE PUPPY YOU WANTED TO SHOW MY SIX YEAR OLD DAUGHTER IS?!" I remember thinking that if he just let go of the guy, he could lead us to the puppy.

Before I knew it, three men in yellow jackets had come. There was a word on their jackets, which I couldn't read, though I knew all of the letters. S-E-C-U-R-I-T-Y. My dad let go of the man, and the yellow fellows held him instead. My sister was crying by this point. My dad walked back to us, once again taking my hand in one of his own, and putting the other around my sister's shoulders. He asked the cashier if she had a phone he could use, and she took us to the office. He called our mom to come pick us up, then assured my sister that she was not in trouble. In fact, she was in the least amount of trouble anyone has ever been in in the history of the world, simply by coming and asking for his permission to see the puppy. I asked him if we were still going to see it, and he just looked at me and said "Sorry son. The puppy ran away."

Our mom came in just a few minutes, and as we were leaving there were police cars pulling up. "Are they going to help find the puppy?" my sister asked my mom, but she said "No, they're here for something else." ...............................................................

The other day, after reading through a lot of the stories here, I remembered this incident and asked my dad about it. Apparently when the cops searched his car, they found rope, duct tape, a knife, pliers, and a hacksaw. At the guy's apartment they found a whole shitload of child porn. My dad and sister testified at his trial, and the guy got 20 years. Which means, barring other circumstances, he's out now. (I also asked my dad if my sister knows about the stuff in his car. He said no, and to keep it that way.)