“Did you get him to confess?” The ADA asked the detective.

“No, not yet,” admitted Larry, “But I’m chipping away at him. And once we confirm that his alibi is bogus, he’ll fold like a guy with a bad poker hand.”

“We need a confession, Larry,” said the ADA. “Otherwise, it’s all circumstantial and hearsay. My boss will kick it.”

“Fine,” said Larry, “I’ll get him to squeal like a pig.” With that, Larry went back into the interrogation room.

“We got the goods on you, Jake,” Larry said. “You might as well give it up, cause you’re going to the Big House one way or another.”

“I want a lawyer,” Jake said.

“You know what kind of guy ask for a lawyer?” Larry asked. “A guilty one, that’s who asks for a lawyer.”

“I ain’t saying nothing until I have a lawyer,” Jake insisted.

“Confess, Jake,” Larry said. “Make it easy on yourself. The ADA said he might consider time served plus probation rather than jail time if you just fess up.”

“Fine,” Jake finally said. “I did it, okay.”

“You gotta tell me exactly what you did, Jake. That’s the way it works around here.”

“Okay,” Jake said, drops of perspiration beading up on his forehead. “I said ‘happy holidays’ to the woman I was checking out at the register. I know her. She shops at our store all the time. It didn’t feel right to say ‘merry Christmas’ to woman wearing a hijab.”

“You did the right thing by confessing, Jake,” Larry said. “This will make it a lot easier on you. And you really need to remember that we’re living in Trump’s America now. You must say ‘merry Christmas’ if you wish to avoid arrest and incarceration.”

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Written for today’s one-word prompt, “confess.”