Deception 5 steps
Joseph's Ranch Hand Deception
Joseph passes as an ordinary ranch worker at the dairy farm by withholding his identity on arrival, arranging through Leo to extend his stay and sideline the original hire, and paying Manny to pretend to work while covering his lifestyle with a story about his truck needing repairs.
Read the 5 steps as text
- 1
Joseph hides his identity at arrival
Joseph Van Aston · Hannah · Callie
What it looked like: Callie takes him for a typical ranch worker and assumes he is out to make an easy buck while putting forth minimal effort.
Arriving at the dairy farm earlier than expected, Joseph is enlisted by Hannah to help pull out a newborn calf, and he chooses not to reveal his identity.
- 2
Joseph arranges a longer stay through Leo
Joseph Van Aston · Leo · Manny
Recognizing that persuading Callie will be a challenge, Joseph contacts Leo to say the job might take longer than anticipated and asks him to inform Manny that the position is no longer available.
- 3
Joseph pays Manny to keep up appearances
Joseph Van Aston · Manny · Wendy · Callie
What it looked like: Manny appears to be a working farm hand, while he is actually pretending in exchange for Joseph's payment.
With Wendy adamant about keeping Manny on despite Callie's reservations, Joseph pays Manny, who now intends to assist Joseph in maintaining his ruse by pretending to work on the farm.
- 4
Joseph invents a truck repair story
Joseph Van Aston
What it looked like: His truck appears to have needed repairs, making the new truck purchase seem like a practical necessity.
Joseph claims his truck needs repairs and justifies purchasing a new one, giving himself a cover explanation for his vehicle situation on the farm.
- 5
Joseph keeps the ranch-hand position
Joseph Van Aston · Callie
Callie assigns Joseph a multitude of tasks and, despite his missteps such as neglecting to feed the animals, her criticism targets his work ethic rather than his identity, so his position on the farm is maintained.
