funding for crossroads cafe was provided in part... by the dartments of education of the states of... california florida, illinois... and new york and by the united states department of education... and the united states immigration & naturalization service.

listen to this: "crime up 12 percent." "ten die in hurricane." it's no wonder people feel depressed. - maybe you shouldn't read the newspaper every day. - ust read the comics. - here. - for the police officers at that table. - they don't look like policemen. - detectives. i met them here last week. i just wanted to welcome them to the neighborhood. good idea. when is that due by ? wednesday, i think. wednesday ? here you go. i'm sorry, we didn't order this. they're from mr. brashov. rosa's famous coffee cake, on the

house. that's very nice of you, but i'm afraid we can't accept it. oh, please, i insist. sorry, it's against department policy. oh. i can understand that. put it on our bill. i think my partner hasn't eaten in about a month. as you wish. i hope you will visit us often. mmm. you've got a deal. - hi, everybody. - aren't you supposed to be in school ? - i'm showing my grandparents where the bus stop is. - where are they going ? - to the senior citizens' center for flu shots. - that's a long bus ride. i know. my mother wanted me to go with them before school. i overslept. i don't have time. - do you think they'll be all right ? - yeah, i think so. - i'm giving them directions. - you're giving them directions ? yeah. plus, they've got a map. - nice to meet you. - hello. they don't speak much english. excuse me. i would like you to meet

henry chang. you'll probably see him on his bicycle riding around making deliveries. henry, this is detective anderson. police. nice to meet you. - thanks for the coffeecake. - my pleasure. was there a problem, henry ? my grandparents are afraid of the police. why ? in china the police weren't very nice to them. from the stories i've heard, they're not so nice here either. that is not fair. not all policemen are alike. it's the way i feel. anyway, i better get going. see you later. - don't be late for school, henry. - am i ever late ? katherine, why isn't there any coffee ? - oh, no. the power switch must be broken again. - rosa, is jamal back there ? - he hasn't come in yet. - oh, i just remembered. jamal called last night to say he might be a little late getting in this morning.

excuse me. yes ? police. what have you got there ? tools. what do you use them for ? i fix things. do you have identification, sir ? identification ? is there some problem ? - can we see identification ? - all right. my driver's license is in my wallet. i always carry it in my back pocket. it should be here. i was so tired this morning, i forgot to take it with me. our baby kept us up most of the night. - what's your name, pal ? - jamal al-jibali. where were you last night around 11:30 ? home with my wife and daughter. as i told you, my baby was sick. i don't understand. is it against the law to not have identification ? let me ask the questions, okay where

were you going in such a hurry ? i am late for work. and you use this to fix things ? there is a cabinet that we are having problems with. the key is lost. i have to break the lock. maybe we should call his wife, verify his story. what's your phone number ? she is not at home. she is out of town on a business trip today. - is there some problem ? - step over to the car, please. don't worry. i'm not going anywhere. i'm telling you, i haven't done anything. he's clean. put your hands behind your back. but i haven't done anything. put your hands behind your back... now. am i under arrest ? no. you're under investigation. i have done nothing wrong. then you have nothing to worry about. if everything checks out you'll be free to go.

i have done nothing wrong ! my car is stolen. where was the vehicle at ? i've been a policeman for 25 years. the biggest influence-- reason i became a policeman... is that i enjoy working with the public. my name is tony. i'm with the riverside police department. i live at riverside. you live in riverside ? i think it's important that the police who work with children come in contact. i think it's got to be on the positive, not with the negative;

making class presentations on a positive note. and what color is the police car ? white and black. right. working with merchants is very important, because they're the ones that see... the influx of people that come into that type of community. how is the wife ? she's doing great. nice to have you in the area. i appreciate it very much. oh, thank you. there's a large community of spanish-speaking in this city. it is an asset that you be able to speak spanish. i need a c.d.l. on adam. fighting crime is interpreted as arresting people and writing tickets. but i think the main role is to deter crime, in other words, to see if we can keep society moving without taking people to jail. how much you use of that today ?

a little bit of coke. a little bit of coke ? well, be careful not to be around here anymore, okay ? take care. in my beat, there's a lot of people that know me by name. - what's up ? - hey, how you doing ? yeah, i've arrived. oh ! i would like to be considered in the community... as an officer they can look up to and say if you tell tony he'll be able to help you. if you want to hear the truth, he'll tell it like it is. he's the fairest liceman in town... that i met in my 35 years of being in riverside. it's a pleasure to come here. they treat me as an individual instead of as a policeman. as you notice, they're not calling me officer or policeman. they call me mr. garcia. that's where it stands. we're on equal ground. this is hopeless. where is jamal ? i don't know. but i have a couple

at table four who are begging for caffeine. i'm no good at this. crossroads cafe. ah ! jamal, finally ! where are you ? the coffee machine is broken again. jamal, slow down. i can't understand you. what ? how could that be ? all right, jamal. yes, of course, i'll be there as soon as i can. - what's the matter ? - don't tell me i've got to drink tea all day. - the police took jamal to the station. - why ? - to question him. - about what ? i couldn't understand everything, he spoke so fast. something about burglaries. wait a minute. i read something in the metro section. here it is: "wanted in a string of recent burglaries. "eyewitnesses describe the suspect as being male medium build late twenties, possibly of middle-eastern origin."

don't tell me the police think jamal's involved. they are saying he fits the description of the burglar. that's ridiculous. there are millions of men who fit that description. but jamal's innocent. he has nothing to worry about. wouldn't be the first time an innocent man was found guilty. i am going to the station. katherine, see if you can get hold of jamal's wife. so let me get this straight. you got a box full of tools... with a crowbar. you have no i.d. you claim you spent last night with your wife, but nobody seems to be able to find her. does that about cover it ? i have done nothing wrong. yeah ? what have you got ? not much. i have told you everything. can i go back to work now ? benton's still on the computer trying to get information. keep trying. i don't understand why you're doing this to me. just doing my job, pal. all i want is to do my job. did you locate my wife ? no.

yeah ? this just came in fromhe immigration service. what's the story ? they still can't identify him. that's impossible. may i take a look ? be my guest. may i borrow your pen, please ? my last name is al-jibali. you have "jihali." oh. okay, i'll try it again. you see ? you've got the wrong man. really ? it says here, the suspect is male, medium build, mid-twenties dark hair, dark complexion. sounds a little like you. you must be joking. do i look like a criminal ? do i look like i'm joking ? all right. let's try it again from the beginning.

like i told you before i was home last night. i did not go anywhere. all right, you guys are right here. what you want to do is cross the street right here, over to fish and chips. then cross right back again. you'll be fine all right ? okay. fine. yeah, i'll hold. come on, kid. you've been on the phone for 15 minutes. lady, give me a break. sit down.

yes, i understand. i understand he's in the middle of-- yes, i'm sure it is. but this is important too. - help us to locate her-- - i'm here to see jamal al-jibali. - take a seat. i'll be with you in a minute. - has jamal been arrested ? - just take a seat ! - fine. fine. i understand. could you please hold on ? i carry different tools for different jobs. why do you keep asking the same questions again and again ? i was just on the phone with someone who claims to work with mrs. jibali. - el-bially. - what ? - we have different last names. - whatever. anyway, they're trying to find her now.

can i see jamal now ? who ? i'm here to see jamal al-jibali. i'm victor brashov his employer. he is being questioned. why ? he's a possible suspect. you do not know jamal. i would swear my life on his good name. i appreciate what you are saying. have a seat and relax. jamal is not a criminal. have a seat, or you'll have to wait outside. who is still booking for us ? thanks. good-bye. henry, that's the fifth call you've made in the past half hour. - what is going on ? - new girlfriend ? - my grandparents are missing. - what ? - they never made it to the senior center. - oh, no ! - this is all my fault. - it's not your fault. - i'm sure they'll turn up. - they'd better. i told my mother they would be here. - henry ! - i know. i know.

i'm going to try to find them. hold on a minute, henry. i'll drive you. - i couldn't ask you to do that. - you're not asking. - i'm volunteering. - thanks. - henry, don't worry. i'm sure we'll find them. - they could be anywhere lost, scared maybe even hurt. if someone asked you to describe me, what would you say ?

professor smith is tall, dark and handsome ? or short, gray and rumpled ? well, at least you're honest. describing people is the focus of this episode.

now let's see if i can describe what you look like, after the story, of course. should i call a lawyer for my friend ? are you allowed to keep him like this ? we're not forgetting anyone's rights. we just want to catch the bad guys. that's all. - jamal is not one of them. - then he's got nothing to worry about. i know you.

the restaurant with the coffee cake. right. what are you doing here ? one of my employees is here, but i can't get any information. come back here. he wouldn't happen to be... jamal al-jibali ? yes. tell me what's happened. he fits the description of a suspect. and so far, we can't confirm who he is or where he was at the time of the burglary. - you know this man ? - yeah. he owns crossroads cafe. didn't the suspect say he worked there ? rosa, you're giving me a headache. - finally. any luck ? - no. we've been all over town. - oh, this is terrible. - you're telling me. how am i supposed to explain to my mother that i lost her parents ? - you didn't lose them. they got lost. - the same thing. maybe you should call 911.

unless your grandparents are in some kind of danger, this isn't considered an emergency. - it will be when my mother gets here. - wait a minute, henry. you know where that bus stop is you took your grandparents to ? - yeah. - there are only so many places they could have gone. - we need a map. - what about the map you use for your deliveries ? i gave it to my grandparents. - what are you doing ? - we don't need a map. i'm gonna make one. what do you mean ? this is crossroads cafe. the senior center will be about here. the bus stop should be about there. depending on the direction the bus was going-- rosa, hand me that bottle of ketchup. coming right up. good, thanks. this bottle represents the bus route. if we connect both ends to all the other points-- you're right. we're going to need a map. oh, no. we'll get one at the newsstand. please don't tell her.

don't tell who ? - hi, mom. - [ katherine ] mrs. chang. - how nice to see you. - oh, thank you. henry, where are your grandparents ? your father's parked outside. - my grandparents ? - yes. you mean grandma and grandpa. yes, henry. that's who i mean. where are they ? they... just stepped out. where exactly did they go ? they didn't exactly tell me. do you know when they'll be back ? soon, i think. i told you i would be here to pick them up. well-- - mrs. chang i'm jess washington. - how do you do. i'm going to be leaving in a little while. let me drive henry's grandparents home. no, that would be a terrible imposition. not at all. please, i insist. well, all right, then. thank you very much.

henry, what did she say ? something about staying in my room for the rest of my life. mr. brashov ! sit down. this has all been a big mistake, but no one believes me. you're the owner of the cafe. and jamal is a valued employee of mine. you know where he was last night ? wherever jamal says he was, he was. i'm sorry, but that's not good enough. yeah ? "jamal al-jibali. occupation, engineer. wife, jihan el-bially." it's all here.

- it doesn't mean a thing. he could've done the burglary. - but i was home last night. right now, all we have is your word for that. - that's just not good enough. - wait a minute. jamal called me last night. - what time ? - it must have been around 11:30. i remember because i just finished watching the news. - so he called. he could have placed the call from anywhere. - no, he was home. - what makes you so sure ? - my ear hurts from listening to jamal's baby crying. sorry, mr. brashov. i told you she was sick. okay, buddy, looks like your story checks out. you're free to go. - that's it ? - yeah. i just needed to know who he is and where he was. i am jamal al-jibali. not "buddy." not "pal."

jamal al-jibali. please, jamal. let's just go. sorry, officer. thank you very much. we are just leaving. mr. al-jibali. sorry for the inconvenience. thank you. - i'm sorry, rosa. i'm not very hungry. - what happened, jamal ? - i don't know where to begin. - what did they do ? - he should file a complaint. - he should put it behind him and forget about it. i think-- i just want to pretend this whole day never happened. you're just going to forget about the whole thing ? i don't believe it. at least now i know what it's like to be treated badly because of the way you look. i hear you.

i'm looking for henry chang. that's me. i know. i know. i'm just glad you're both okay. how are you able to understand them ? i went to chinese language school as a kid. i remember enough to get by. i found them wandering out in the street. they knew you worked around here. we've been making a search. henry. my grandfather wants to thank this kind gentleman. are you sure there isn't something we can get for you before you leave ? thanks. i should really get back to work. what about a blueberry muffin or a piece of coffee cake ? actually, coffee cake sounds great. here, have a seat. thanks.

okay. i'll give you that ride i promised. henry, what were your grandparents saying ? they think you should give me a raise. officer, are you all right ? fine. i guess my chinese is worse than i thought. closed-captioned by captions, inc. los angeles

crossroads cafe is a series that teaches english... to speakers of other languages. for more information call toll-free: 1-800-375-2988.