Derek repeated the familiar themes: brand standards, a challenging guest, a companion who refused direction, and security concerns. When Helen asked what merchandise was missing, he could not name an item. When she asked whether Willa had threatened him physically, he said that the woman's tone had become defiant. When she asked whether he had touched her hand, he called it a misunderstanding involving personal space. Helen wrote down his answers and moved to the next witness.
Patricia's interview lasted longer. At first she repeated that she had followed instructions. Helen asked her to distinguish instructions from observations, and the distinction began to expose the gaps in her story. Patricia had not seen Nadine steal anything.
She had not checked inventory. She had made the police call using language Derek preferred, even though she had seen no violence by Willa or her aide. At one point she put her face in her hands and admitted that she had told Derek what she believed would please him.
"Why?" Helen asked.
"Because he punishes people who disagree," Patricia answered. "He cuts their hours. He sends them to the least profitable departments. He tells them they don't understand how real luxury works."
"Have you reported that?"
"No. I thought I could manage him. I thought it was easier to stay on his good side."
Helen made another note. The explanation gave context to Patricia's choices, but it did not erase them. She had been harmed by a bullying environment and had also helped sustain it. Both facts would have to be considered honestly.
Curtis was interviewed next. He had already given the police his statement and did not try to change it for the company. He described the instruction to follow the wheelchair and the moment Derek threatened his job for questioning it. He acknowledged watching the bag search and hesitating when the manager began to use force. He then described stepping in after the kick, even though by then much of the harm had occurred.
"What stopped you earlier?" Helen asked.
"I needed the work," Curtis said. "My mother depends on some of what I earn. I thought if I challenged him, I'd be out on the street before lunch. And I told myself maybe I was misreading it."
"When did you know you weren't?"
He looked at his hands. "When he pulled her bag off the chair. Maybe before. I just didn't want to be right."
Helen appreciated the answer because it did not disguise cowardice as uncertainty. She asked whether other guards had been directed to profile customers. Curtis said he had heard the language of brand fit several times since joining but had no records to prove how often it affected people's treatment. Helen assured him that the review would examine those practices and that retaliation against a witness would be separately investigated.
Leah gave the simplest statement of all. She described dropping the earrings and Willa retrieving one from the floor. She remembered Willa's words almost exactly, including the gentle assurance that everybody made mistakes. Then she explained that Derek's attitude toward Willa had turned hostile after the exchange. The detail mattered because it showed how his behavior began before any supposed suspicion of theft.