The Shamus Austin Shopping Complex

"Yes, much appreciated," Jacky responded with a slow nod. Again, Jacky was both pleased and wary that Chris seemed so eager to help them put a check in this box of their search. She hadn't thought she'd be given such an easy way to investigate the cleaning staff, but, again, she didn't have a lot of confidence they were involved. And even if they were involved, she certainly didn't think Sierra would have left something so conspicuous and valuable as Damson's swiped vibrator with the rest of her things. Still, with the two of them there, Jacky figured she would be able to keep Jocelyn's naturally giving nature in check... furthermore, she didn't really think Chris had serious intentions towards herself in the first place.

After her run-in with Rude earlier in the day, Jacky was convinced things wouldn't get more perilous and couldn't get any worse. Therefore, she continued without fear into Chris's storage room, eager to get this part of the search out of the way. She would very much like this hot, product-scented room to be a small footnote on her day's proceedings.

Once the two of them were inside, Jacky figured she would pawn Jocelyn's attention off on Chris and do the searching herself. She didn't see much way this could go wrong, in such a small space and in such a short time frame. "Ms. Jocelyn, I'll take a look at Sierra's things. Why don't you and Chris talk in the meantime? This shouldn't take long." Jacky was going to refrain from any questions of her own until she'd taken a moment to look around. If she happened to get very lucky, or if there were items that gave some hint as to Sierra's nature, it might be good to take stock first.

The operator moved over to the high shelf and stood on her toes to peer over it. She stood there a while with her back turned to the two, making sure not to miss any details. Assuming she didn't find anything there, and nothing else happened that required her attention in the meantime, Jacky would move on to quickly but diligently sweeping the rest of the shelves. She didn't really think that would offer any special insight, but she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she missed an important clue here.

"Yes, please," Jocelyn nodded in quick response to Chris, happy that he'd agreed to her request. She was about to offer him a ride, but she remembered something Jacky had told her... well, sort of. She couldn't recall the exact words, but something about how she shouldn't be so quick to ride with men on her segway. For now, she'd go with what that and ride alone, especially since Chris was keeping his trolley in motion as well; it wouldn't be easy for him to move that while also riding the segway. She supposed he could drag it along behind the segway... "Hm! I'll file that idea way for later," she chuckled internally, thinking it was rather crackerjack as a way to maximize efficiency.

The trip would give her a little bit of to think, but more importantly, she ought to check in on what her navi was up to. She had nearly flipped the visual on before she gasped and stopped herself, her finger resting on the button. "Whoops! That was close. I remember Sleuth was involved in something rather serious last I looked," she muttered to herself. "I'll communicate with her through audio instead!" That turned out to be just as bad (actually, probably worse) of an idea; as soon as Jocelyn had flipped the switch, the sounds of a woman's carnal moaning and shuddering poured out of the PET, along with a lot of wet slapping noises and muffled cries. "Gah!" she cried, switching it back off. "I-I suppose Sleuth is still busy," she spoke more loudly now, to assure the others that they shouldn't worry and that she'd check in with her navi again some other time.

Once they were in the room, Jacky busied herself with the shelf (a bit of a challenge, as it turned out, given her short stature) while leaving Jocelyn to occupy Chris. That worked fine with Jocelyn, who had many questions to direct towards the little-known acquaintance. "I hardly know where to begin, Mister Chris! For starters... what does Sierra normally wear when she's on the job?" she asked, starting off with an odd-ball question. "Is it something a bit like my visiting security uniform? Would you say that she's the type of person who inspires happiness in mall-goers when she dons her uniform? Oh, and tell me a little about her personality, too! I'm oh so curious," she rattled on, wanting to create a vivid mental image so that she could have a connection with her one peer in gender from the Shamus Austin work force. "Also, feel free to ask me anything! As a visitor from the Gloria Scott, I'm certain there are all kinds of things I can share that would be useful for you to know about. Learning is the ongoing responsibility of every employee at a shopping center or mall, after all! For instance, just the other day, Jacky here gave me the most interesting lesson in 'Mama's Method,' a medical technique of which I was quite unaware. Would you like to know more about it?" Jocelyn tilted her head and smiled innocently, having forgotten that it was Hyde that showed her that cutting edge practice, not Jacky.

While the momentary check on her PET caused highly embarrassing noises for all to hear around Jocelyn, and drew more eyes than just those of her present company, her quick reassurance and shushing of the channel set people back to what they were doing... eventually. things were back to something approximating normal.. at least as normal as it was possible to get given current circumstances, by the time they were in the supply room, but chances were Chris wasn't going to forget that it sounded like Jocelyn's navi was well ahead of her in terms of getting to the naughty business.

Chris was far too busy enjoying being 'cornered' by Jocelyn to pay much attention to Jacky as she looked through the small shelf of personal effects. Amongst the small collection of daily bits and pieces, Jacky would find a black felt marker, two pens; one red, one blue, three black hair bands wrapped around a sheet of hair pins, two receipts for a few different cleaning products, with a line dragged through them each and dated yesterday afternoon, a folded claim ticket for 'Tickets Please', dated for nine this morning (expiry one month from date stamp), two ten percent discount vouchers for 'Clean and Sparkling', a cleaning and maintenance store in the complex, one lay-by docket for a few items of clothing, for the department store housed in the Shamus and a small light pink pouch with an all-around zip, about the size of one's palm, on a small hand.

Looking anywhere else wouldn't reveal too much; the normal supplies one would expect to find in a janitorial store room, really. Nearby to where Sierra's things were, a second space held a few other personal effects, presumably belonging to Chris; a folded jacket, a phone, a man's wallet and a set of house keys, all of which were likely things that he simply wasn't supposed to take out onto the work floor.

While Jacky was snooping, Chris leaned back against the wall, waiting to see just where Jacky was going with her 'questioning'. It was an odd game, but he was willing enough to run the risk that the woman's innocence and naivety were still somehow being directed towards the kind of sauciness things were pointing at.

"Nah, she dresses much more reserved than the visitor uniform." He still had a hard time saying that with a straight face, but mostly managed it. "But I'm pretty sure she doesn't inspire nearly as much happiness in her day to day as you do..." This was accompanied by a small side tilt of his head as his eyes travelled to a variety of places that weren't her face. "She's friendly, likes to do favours for folks, even if it takes her out of her way... Pretty down to earth and casual, too, laid back, I might even say." He had been about to suggest that she could take an example and maybe help a guy out, but Jocelyn went on to mention something that sounded... well it sounded like she was trying to suggest something, rather coquettishly, in her own way... but he wasn't really sure.

"Sure miss," he offered instead. "Why don't you show it to me then?" Really, given her dress, their being closed into a small room, and her suddenly talking about 'medical procedures' what else could she be offering, if not something racy?

Jacky was only listening to Chris and Jocelyn with half a mind, devoting the rest to making her search as thorough as possible. She didn't think Chris was paying her much attention, so she thought she could probably even get away with taking some things if she wanted... then again, she didn't see any need for that. She did think she could afford to get as snoopy as she wanted, though. As such, she even unfolded and read claim ticket she found, and carefully unzipped and peeked inside the small pouch. Such things might be seen as an invasion of privacy, of course. Jacky justified her position internally: first, she didn't intend to actually take anything or misuse any knowledge she gained, but secondly, she didn't see what she owed this mall in terms of privacy in the first place. Taking her frustrations with Rude out on the mall staff as a collective was hardly fair, but she was still upset about the things she'd discovered.

The operator had only been half-listening, but she certainly whirled her entire attention back on the unexpected re-appearance of "Mama's Method," which Jacky had intended to be buried at the bottom of the deepest pit, never to be heard from again. She thought she had even specifically clarified to Jocelyn how she'd been misled in that particular situation... and now Jocelyn thought she was responsible for it?!

Chris would probably be too busy to notice, but Jacky had initially swept herself around with fire and alarm in her eyes, looking half as though she wanted to leap across the space between her partner and herself to strangle the other. Realizing the interesting portions of her investigation here could already be over, short as they may have been, Jacky was interested in moving on as quickly as possible. There was no point in giving Chris any more of a show, or anything else to get curious about. As such, she tried to reign in her tone, keeping it as even as one possibly can when talking about what was in the running for the most traumatic event of her recent life.

"Jocelyn, I don't think that's appropriate right now, do you? If you recall, besides the wide array of research and knowledge that discredits that method, it is distinctly suited for application when a party is injured. As you are well aware, all of us here are in perfect health!" That was a bold statement, considering her own opinions on Jocelyn's mental health and her own apparently poor physical condition, but it was true, at least, that none of them were injured. "I would say there's no need to go any further into the particulars. Wouldn't you? You would," she finished for her partner, as though finishing that thought for Jocelyn would forcibly wrangle her back onto the path of common sense. "I-isn't there something else you'd like to discuss with Chris? Or, perhaps, do you feel it's time we continue with our investigation elsewhere?"

Jocelyn smiled at Chris' compliment; she crossed both hands behind her lower back and shuffled one foot sheepishly. "Aw, that's nice of you to say! I'm sure Miss Sierra does her part to keep people happy, though! Her responsibilities probably just don't put her as close to the public as mine do," she chuckled modestly, hoping not to dish on Sierra, who was not here to defend her role in making mall-goers happy. "She sounds like a fine worker, to me!" The topic changed as Chris suggested that he would indeed be curious to learn more about Mama's Method. "Certainly! To start-" she began, puckering her mouth into a kissing motion and raising the tip of one finger to her lips, intending to put it inside and lick so as to gather saliva for the ridiculous practice. Fortunately for all (questionably for Chris), Jacky stepped in again.

The busty blond cast her eyes downward and folded her gloved hands back in front of her lap. "I'm sorry, Miss Jacky! Sorry, Mister Chris, but my friend has a point. It would be inappropriate, or at least a bit wasteful, to demonstrate the technique here, where nobody is injured. You don't have any injuries, do you?" she asked, although Jacky probably wished she hadn't. "Whatever the case, it is probably best that we continue elsewhere, now that we've learned what we can about your coworker. You know, we've been saying where we'd like to go, but we'd probably do best to follow the teacher himself, wouldn't we? Is there anywhere you'd like to take us?" she asked. There was probably an honest answer to that question, but they would almost certainly get an answer that was less so. "Anything you think we ought to look at? We might even be able to help out, between my authority as a visiting officer and hers as a brainy girl!"

Sleuth, who was listening now, realized that Jocelyn was probably doing very little to solve the mystery and probably inhibiting Jacky from working as well; it didn't sound like any leads were coming up good. She'd probably need to intervene soon to help out... whenever she had her wits free to do so.

Going through the small collection of personal effects didn't really reveal much for Jacky, and it would be safe to assume she'd probably learned everything of note that she could; the claim ticket for Tickets Please, as with most pawn shop claim tickets, bore only an ID number along with the date, and no actual item description: if Jacky wanted to find out what it was for, she'd probably need to pocket the ticket, or else find a way to ask Sierra herself about it. The former would actually be very easy to do; Chris was, in no way whatsoever, even remotely paying attention to Jacky, and there didn't appear to be any camera bubbles in this tiny supply room. The latter, on the other hand, most likely wasn't going to happen if Sierra wasn't on duty today, but at the same time, the date did read as though the ticket had been printed at nine sharp this morning.

The little pink case contained, as Jacky must probably have guessed it to, a small supply of emergency women's essentials; a sheet of liquid cap pain-killers, with four missing from one end, and three sealed and wrapped tampons. Nothing to see here.

It was fortunate that this searching didn't take too long, because the rapid down-spiral of the situation between Jocelyn and Chris demanded immediate attention. Chris was content to let Jocelny make her moves up until Jacky intervened and got the other woman under control, but the combination of extreme naivety and and eager male wasn't quite so easy to get back on track. Chris spared a glance for Jacky, raising an eyebrow that almost challenged her to stop him messing with Jocelen, before he turned his eyes back to her...chest.

"Ah well, now that you mention it, I do have this very uncomfortable pain at the moment, Jocelyn. Maybe you cold demonstrate there? Here, give me your hand, I'll show you where it hurts..." Unless either woman stopped him, the cleaner took hold of one of Jocelyn's hands and placed it casually over the groin of his overalls, where she would undoubtedly be able to feel some firm pressure though not heat, since there were too many layers in between. If Jacky, against all reason, didn't stop this from continuing and Jocelyn wanted better access, his overalls were snap-front in design and it would be easy for her to pop a single snap and get a hand inside them in the right place... or pull something out in the same way; he was wearing jeans underneath, and simply silky boxers below that, just in case such details were to become important.

"There's no rush to go anywhere, ladies. We're perfectly safe right here, don't you worry." It seemed like 'teacher' wasn't too interested in taking the party elsewhere, so much as he was in enjoying Jocelyn's sights and maybe even some of her... 'medical procedures'. If they wanted to move on, chances were they'd have to do it on their own, sooner or later.

Jacky thought in the back of her mind that she it was odd Sierra would have a claim ticket for a day she wasn't working... except, that wasn't so strange. Maybe Sierra was here, somewhere, just as an ordinary mall-goer? She was curious, but she certainly didn't want to go taking any of the custodian's things, especially based on their extremely tangential and unverified relationship to her unsavory case. Still, she thought she might file the thought away and come back to it later.

That aside, she had far more important things to worry about now. She didn't actually make a physical move to stop Chris, her jaw hanging slack as she watched. She did, however, realize that seemingly no amount of speaking to Jocelyn was going to actually get them out of this sticky situation. She wasn't ordinarily one to put herself into conflict situations, so she recognized she was leaving her comfort zone... if there was ever a time to do so, though, she felt this was it.

"See here, sir! I believe you are getting quite carried away!" she squeaked, shifting her glasses to catch a glare and eliminate the need for eye contact if possible. "It appears you've gotten quite the wrong impression about our intentions for being here. We are most certainly not here to aid in your p-perverse entertainment! Ms. Jocelyn, unless there's anything else urgent you need from Mr. Chris, I advise we take our leave immediately." The student locked her lips defiantly, but couldn't make herself continue straight on. She hoped Jocelyn would get the message and withdraw.

"Oh... I wonder if you aren't mistaking that stiffness for pain, though?" Jocelyn remarked absent-mindedly as Chris assisted her along by placing one of her gloved hands onto the groin of his suit. "But I can understand why you might be worried." Before anyone could learn whether Jocelyn was really going to go through with helping Chris out with his pain, which may or may not just be an erection, Jacky intervened in the spirit of decency, as she often did. Although she didn't understand the sense of urgency the same way Jacky did, she did acknowledge that they probably weren't going to get anything else useful, mystery or job-related, from Chris here... and, despite teaching it to Jocelyn, Jacky had pretty much disowned Mama's Method as a useful medical tool by now. Jocelyn would attempt to free her hand and go with Jacky now. "Well, maybe some other time! Oh, but so you know, it uses saliva... it's more potent if mixed, but perhaps you can do it on your own? Just stick your fingers into your mouth so they're wet, then stroke the affected spot, like this!" she explained, cupping her hand into a circle and stroking back and forth, in a motion that looked humorously like she was telling him that, in lieu of her service, he ought to try jacking himself off. Well, it'd be humorous to most people. It probably wouldn't be so much to him.

The only question remaining was whether he was going to actually let them leave. Spying a light on her PET that indicated that Sleuth wanted to talk, Jocelyn now had a reason to want to get some privacy from him, so she was ready to leave, if possible.

With her snooping done, and deciding not to pocket any of the more interesting artefacts, Jacky was able to quickly prevent the situation with Jocelyn and Chris from getting any more worrisome than it already was. The cleaner held his hands up defensively as Jacky scolded him, though his grin didn't falter.

"Don't blame me, just going with the flow here, after all." He held his hands back and up, leaning against the wall while the ladies backed off from him. Given Jocelyn's follow up comments, he was settling on the decision that the woman literally was clueless, and not actually offering what it looked like at all, and as fun as it might be to exploit that, there were lines... Lines that apparently Rude was willing to cross, and which Chris might have been swept along with free of any personal responsibility... but not not on his own. Fortunately for the girls, this meant that he was content to let them go unmolested, and though the door was closed, it certainly wasn't locked.

Outside again, they had a number of choices, if they were still feeling case-minded. They were still close to Greener Gardens, where a woman of mostly average proportions was just turning the sign back and raising the store's shutter front again. She was wearing overalls and a straw sun hat, from which red hair peeked out in erratic places.

Of course, if they wanted to give Casey more time to cool off, there were always the other people and places of interest in the mall for them to check; Janette, FleetFoot's operator, would likely still be working her shop, Pedi-joy, upstairs not far from Damson's own store. they also might want to talk to Teresse, operator of BoneMan, at some point. If they looked for it on one of the mall's directories, they'd find that the physical version of Petaffection was located on the opposite side and a little further down, but in the same wing of the mall as Casey's garden store, in the home and garden section. they could also take a peek over in the miscellaneous section of the mall shops, to the south, where they'd find the physical version of the pawn shop that Sierra's ticket was for. Many paths were open to the two, now that they were free of other hindrances, and it would give them both plenty of opportunity to talk business or catch up with their navis, if they needed it.

"Yes, well," Jacky responded to Chris, raising an eyebrow. "Ms. Jocelyn and I will be taking your leave, but please, feel free to finish up whatever it is you feel you have to here." She didn't feel any need to clear up the officer's statements to Chris: if he took any insult with it, that was just as well with her. With that, Jacky took Jocelyn's hand and quickly led her out of the closet. She had never found herself in this sort of position before, and thus, was relieved to find that the door was still unlocked. Even assuming there was no untoward meaning in the locking of it, it would have slowed down their exit.

The student frowned, stepping out of the corridor and into the mall proper. She let out a sigh, crossing her arms below her chest. "Ugh... what a mess. At least, now, we're finally free to get on with our business. If Sleuth is indeed in a position to talk, Ms. Jocelyn, it'd be nice if we could find a quiet place and compare notes. Jacky also thought it would be nice to talk about what just happened and use it as a teaching moment for some of what she'd told Jocelyn earlier, but that would have to wait.

Assuming she could get a hold of Sleuth, and assuming she was finally free of revel and debauchery to the point where she could talk freely, Jacky would begin laying out the facts and hunches she'd gathered throughout the investigation. She would recount the footage she'd seen via Wallfly's camera feeds earlier. "Of course, I'm no detective, but based on that footage, my first feeling was that the cat-outfitted woman and the athletic one were the most suspicious. Unlike the others, neither of them had any apparent reason to be going into the store. I don't have names to match to those faces, but I suspect we could probably take a stab at the mall directory to find their places of employment, or else ask Damson... unless you already have an idea. There's also..." she began, recognizing Casey from across her current position and lowering her voice conspiratorially. "I also recognize the woman at that Greener Garden's store. She was the one who brought Damson baked goods... As I mentioned, I don't think it's particularly likely she's the culprit. Still, we are right here, if you think she's worth investigating." Of course, knowing what she did, Sleuth would probably agree investigating Casey wasn't a priority.

Jacky paused a moment, putting a finger to her lower lip. "I think that's all the important information... unless there's some twist, the culprit should be one of those caught on camera. Was there anything...? Oh, right! In the custodian closet Jocelyn and I just left, I saw what appeared to be a claim ticket for the one called Sierra, dated for early this morning... That seems strange, since she should be off duty, but she might just be here on her own. I'm sorry, I didn't believe it wise to take it." She didn't really think that was anything to apologize for: after all, it wasn't hers to take. Apologizing for such a thing was natural for her, though. "If you think it's worth investigating, we might try visiting the pawn shop, or we may want to go to Rude and see if we can find a way to get Wallfly to show us the camera feed from that store at the time in question..."

Finally seeming to remember Jocelyn herself, Jacky started. "Ah! That's right! You and I dearly need to make a visit there, in the first place! We really need to recover your uniform before we go about any other business."

"Sorry for taking up so much of your time, Mister Chris!" Jocelyn finished, still having no ill-will towards her new acquaintance as she left with Jocelyn. Back outside, Jacky indicated that she'd like a chance to talk to Sleuth again and maybe go over some of the details of their case. "Oh... Well, let me ask Miss Sleuth and see what she says. Hello? Miss Sleuth?" she asked, keeping her PET close to her ear. "Oh, yes. She says she has just a thing or two to finish up, but no video!" Presumably, that was code for "I'm still naked and/or busy."

Even once Sleuth finally did join the conversation, she had a lot of catching up to do, making her wish that she'd been privy to all of the details much sooner. "My dear Miss Jacky! I must say, I ought to be paying you for doing my work for me! Here I am, sitting around in the buff and sipping some tea, while you lay everything that is needed at my feet," she joked, although Jacky might notice there was a bag full of kernels of truth to this particular joke. "I'd say your observations check out. I wish I'd had the benefit of meeting a security camera operator! Casey seems quite above suspicion at this point, as I must say, she has quite enough perverse material to occupy her, to the point that stealing someone's pleasure tool would be perfectly blase. I also just... interviewed... her navi rather intimately, and during that time, came up with very little to incriminate Casey using the questions I peppered in." She'd say all of this through a secure channel, as this was clearly not the sort of thing she wanted LushLady or her operator hearing.

"As for the remaining suspects, I have briefly spoken to FleetFoot, the navi of the shoe-store worker. She didn't come off as immediately suspicious, although she also failed to clear the air of those I had against her. As a matter of fact, she seems somewhat defensive of her relationship with Miss Curly, as does she her operator's friendship with Miss Damson. I'd venture to say that would be the most riveting outcome; friends pitted against one another in crime and victim always makes for the most compelling case!" she mused. "As for the pet store lady, we have briefly interviewed her navi as well, but that came up relatively inconclusive. No telling, there. It's interesting that you mention the cleaning lady... She had no navi online to speak of, so we were not able to investigate her from our side. Look at you, sneaking a peek at such an interesting hidden clue! Perhaps you should dress back into the old Holmes-ian attire and I should steer more towards Jocelyn's style?"

"Oh, well, I'm afraid I'm actually about to go change out of this, myself. It's been quite a hullabaloo and I've begun to suspect that this may not be an official uniform at all. Mister Rude may have been trying to exploit me, per Miss Jacky, or, as I'm now theorizing, he may have just become confused when I mentioned the way that Rodney often has me dress," she offered, which would probably raise Jacky's ire again. "Regardless, we both agree it's probably best if I simply get back into my usual attire."

Sleuth nodded along, as that seemed to be a fair assessment. "You and I both, Miss Jocelyn. As for your recommended courses of action, Miss Jacky, it seems to me that heading back, reclaiming Jocelyn's clothes, and perhaps interrogating Mister Wallfly further for the use of his security footage would be the best course of action. That said, I hardly see how you can just ask Rude to let you see it, without raising some suspicion. You are good friends with Wallfly now and you are... close acquaintances... with Rude now, but none of you has supposedly been introduced to the two as a unit, as far as Rude knows. Asking to see specific footage could easily tip him off, as I cannot personally assume to guess how you plan to have Jocelyn make that a function of her study as a visiting mall security professional," she added. "Then again, there's a chance Rude will still be out of his office, in which case, it would be perfectly simple to ask Wallfly before Rude returns. But either way, investigating that footage will be a better option than asking the pawn shop owner. You could get into some trouble if you were to reveal you'd snooped through someone elses purchases, as beautiful of a maneuver as it was."

"Well, if you're both so certain, I'll take the time to go dress back," Jocelyn finally agreed, hopping back on her segway. "Are you certain you don't care to ride, Miss Jacky? It's quite simple to fit two," she offered again. In the likely case that Jacky did not agree, the two would continue back to Rude's office, her on segway and Jacky on foot, where they would then ascend the staircase and look for Jocelyn's clothes, as well as scoping the place out for signs of Rude.

With most of the mystery-solving team finally in a position to share information with one another again, many important and relevant titbits of investigatory fruit were exchanged and decisions made. The first priority, was to get Jocelyn dressed into something approaching the suitable-for-public-viewing spectrum, so the duo made heir way back towards the staff offices.

The stairs were, as one might expect, still stairs, but with any luck sensible minds could prevail upon Jocelyn to leave her much adored transportation at the bottom, just for now. Upstairs, the offices seemed to be deserted; but whatever luck they were flying, Rude wasn't here, though the mall security PET had moved; they would find it now in Rude's office, on the corner of his desk, though most everything else seemed largely unchanged. the other main difference appeared to be that Rude had moved Jocelyn's original outer garments from the break room to a neatly folded pile on another corner of his desk, thought the clothes were just the ones that Jocelyn had herself left in the break room; her old underwear were not with the small pile.

"Back so soon, Jacky-love?" Jacky would likely recognise WallFly's voice from the PET within a few moments of them entering the office, or even passing the doorway if they loitered outside. "Thought you'd want to be off and talk to all Damson's visitors, or did you need something else from old Wallfly here?" Of note, he didn't directly address Jocelyn, only Jacky, and it was possible that the security navi had written the other woman off as a strange form of only quasi-sentient eye candy. "If you're worried about Rude, don't be... git's gone off on break, and I don't reckon he'll be back for another twenty. Slacker's supposed to take me with him, in case of emergencies, but he never does."

For now, it seemed like their luck was in: Jocelyn would be able to change back into her original uniform, Rude was away, and WallFly still seemed happy to help with any camera related matters.

Jacky remained quiet and impassive as she and her partner managed to touch base with Sleuth again. She didn't see the need to say anything, but internally, she couldn't help but agree that she'd done most of the heavy investigative lifting herself. "I don't have any desire to change my outfit, and I feel it would be for the best if we don't lend any more credence to Jocelyn's 'outfit' than it has already been given." She continued to frown at Sleuth's mixture of complimenting and teasing her nosier detective work. "I'm simply interested in bring about a favorable end for this as quickly as possible for Ms. Damson, if there is such an ending to be had... Unfortunately, it still feels as though there's quite a bit of ground to cover."

Speaking of ground to cover, the two had apparently agreed heading back to Rude and reclaiming Jocelyn's outfit would be the best course of action. Jacky looked at the segway, licking her lips and trying to brainstorm if there was any course of action by which she could end up riding it and not sacrificing either her manners or her dignity...

Sighing as she came up empty, Jacky shook her head. "I'm fine, Ms. Jocelyn. I should mention, perhaps your duties as a mall cop should include a more thorough review of the owner's manual for that device, at some point in the future?" The student would be very surprised if there wasn't something in there about a one-occupant limit. "But for now, let's head to the security office and see what we find."

---

Jacky kept as much strength as she could during her walk by avoiding any unnecessary conversation. Even so, she was daunted by the sight of the stairs ahead of her. She began making her way up, hoping against all probability that Rude would either be on break, or at least shut up in his office with his PET still in the break room...

As it turned out, her luck was even better than that. She was easily able to locate the PET in Rude's very office, with the man himself nowhere in sight. It would be enough to make Jacky start believing in something, if she'd prayed beforehand.

Remaining cautious, Jacky motioned towards the clothes on the corner of the desk, then picked up the PET, herself. "Hello, Wallfly. As it so happens, we ran into another lead I'd like your help investigating. You already heard the details of our operation, so I won't bother explaining again. What I'd like to get access to is camera footage that might have been taken in the mall's pawn shop, Tickets Please, at 9 AM. I found some evidence that doesn't add up... seeing that footage will enable me to cross off another suspect, who is probably tangential to the investigation at large." Jacky didn't offer anything in return for the information, as she'd been prone to do before. It seemed to her that Wallfly was enough to give these things away in return for the company and conversation. "Ah, yes... Jocelyn is with me this time, if you'd like to meet her. Jocelyn, this is Wallfly, the Navi who helped me out before."

"Oh! I can see the twinkle in your eye! You're ready to embrace the future of ground transportation, I can see it!" Jocelyn exclaimed, watching Jacky's expression with a hopeful smile as she gave a gentle pat-pat to the console of her beloved segway, with great hope that Jacky would join her upon it. Unfortunately, Jacky declined, causing her to deflate (as much as she was capable of deflating) and sigh. "Well, if you're quite sure. Oh, how I wish this wonderful machine had come with a manual! I would read it ever so often," she murmured, punctuated by another long sigh. "Unfortunately, I've never seen so much as a page of it. Such a tragedy."

"The real mystery is why Rodney invested in one for you to begin with if he's not even going to use one as the head of security," Sleuth murmured. "Or try to hitch a ride himself..." she thought, privately.

"He's probably underestimating my leg strength!" Jocelyn chuckled. The legs looked soft and distractingly shapely, but did not necessary look all that tough. "I can't blame him, though. He's just trying to be a gentleman." Be that true or false, Jacky didn't seem one much for further conversation, so the rest of their conversation would be mostly Jocelyn talking to herself.

--------------------------

After a bit of trouble, Jacky managed to convince Jocelyn to leave behind her segway again. When they returned back upstairs, Jocelyn was puzzled to find that her underwear was not with the rest of her clothes. "Oh, right. Mister Rude is probably still holding on to them," she reminded herself in a quiet whisper, feeling content that he was keeping them safe, when really, he'd probably stashed them away somewhere. It would be interesting to see whether he gave them back later or "misplaced" them. Regardless, the rest of her outfit was there, so Jocelyn took the time while Jacky was getting reacquainted with Wallfly to dress back into her original uniform. "We should remember that, from here on out, I won't have my authority as a visiting security officer any more," she reminded Jacky, although that point was so negligible, it wouldn't be surprising if Jacky ignored it entirely.

Jocelyn rejoined Jacky just in time to hear the introductions. "Pleased to meet you, Mister Wallfly!" she greeted him, sunny and accommodating, even if he wasn't personally interested in speaking to her. "In addition, could you let us know what Miss Janette and or Miss Teresse are up to at this point in time, would you? I'm of a mind to visit them if our current leads turn up empty. Or just to say hi! I feel a bit silly, my navi having met theirs and introduced herself while I remain unknown to them," she giggled.

Once introductions were made and Jocelyn had slipped into something more comfortable, at least to those concerned about public decency, Jacky got straight to the questions. The spare-parts navi in the security PET nodded then looked up at her, his lens zooming in as he tilted his head slightly.

"Another lead is it, huh? Isn't this getting all exciting? Far more fun than my usual day, Jacky-love... I can bring you a quick look at both of them, but first it was the pawn shop at nine, huh? Lessee... I remember that, think it might surprise you... here, have a look..." He spun about on his chair, back to the array of screens, before the display switched to a camera recording a moment later.

The view was a room-corner feed from the main store security bubble, and it showed the entrance in one corner of the screen, with a sweeping view that covered the majority of the shop, including the counter and the locked cases behind. the layout was, once again, remarkably similar to the design of the net equivalent shop that sleuth and Hyde had peeked in briefly, though more cluttered with physical items. At the counter, a short man in an old, patched suit was looking more asleep than awake, and was slowly sipping from a coffee.

The tape had barely started when a woman entered the store with a green shopping back over one shoulder. she was tall and solidly built, with pale skin and a very light sandy-brown hair colour, tied back in a small plait, and Jacky might recognise her as the same woman who had been doing the cleaning in the footage she watched earlier; presumably Sierra. The expression she wore as she walked to the counter was one mixed with impatience and a look that said she'd really rather be somewhere else. More interesting by far, however, was the package she pulled out of her shoulder bag and placed on the counter.

At first glance it was a simple, nondescript brown cardboard box, marked with shipping and handling details. The top was open, however, and the store clerk pulled out a smaller box that bore white and purple colouration, and a stylishly reserved picture of a product on it; though Jacky and Jocelyn hadn't seen the massager themselves, it was clearly just such a device. The inner box bore the Dame.Vice branding and logo, discretely, and there was really little question that it was the object of their hunt. The clerk looked between it and Sierra, and said something, to which the woman gave a very impatient and unimpressed response, judging from the body language.

They spoke briefly, Sierra growing exasperated at the pawn merchant's amusement, though a few times she waved a hand through the air as though not caring about whatever warnings or caveats the clerk was making. Eventually they nodded and he printed her a claim ticket, stamped it and handed it to her along with what looked like a very small denomination of money. Sierra put the cardboard box back into her shoulder bag and left, while the shop keeper took the box and placed it into one of the glass cases behind the counter, where other items under current bond were kept. WallFly cut the feed once the interesting parts were done with.

"Interesting stuff, right Jacky-love? What do you make of it?" He spun about on his office chair once, then turned it so he could kneel up on the seat with his arms folded over the back and watch Jacky and Jocelyn, his gossamer wings flickering and flitting. The odd-looking navi seemed quite pleased to be divulging an important clue, from his perspective, and was excited to see what impact it had. One thing was certain: the footage might very well answer one of the cases most important questions... but at the same time it posed a great many more.

After a break for whatever reactions this revelation caused, WallFly was happy to continue on with Jocelyn's request, once they were ready. His camera-head nodded.

"Anyhow... you also wanted to know what some others are up to... Teresse and Janette... Since this is all about Damson, I'm guessing you mean Teresse Ensarine and Janette Fitzgerald... the other ones what paid her a visit yesterday, right? Lessee now...." He turned back to the bank of screens and his lens adjusted and telescoped a few times.

"They're both in their own stores at the moment, just working, by the look of it although... oh-ho, you might like this..." The view switched again, showing the interior security camera for a shop that matched the floor plan of the virtual Pedi-joy that sleuth and Hyde had caused a scene in. There were two people in the shop, currently: Sierra, and Janette. Janette was holding her PET out towards the cleaner with her other hand on her hip. As it had been previously, her lithe, sporty frame was covered in running clothes and her lips were twisted into a frown that said she'd rather whatever was going on, wasn't.

Opposite her, Sierra seemed to be having a disagreement with someone through the PET, presumably a navi. She made a helpless gesture, palmed her face once, and pointed quite forcefully at the screen in between what looked like sharp words. All in all it made for quite a complicated picture, alongside everything else the ladies had managed to put together so far. The real question at this stage was... what did they want to do about it?

Jacky kept her head turned to Jocelyn as she introduced herself, forcing herself to internalize the scream that came at knowing that everything she'd tried to teach Jocelyn about her circumstances earlier seemed to have vanished like water through an unplugged drain. She wanted to compliment Jocelyn for her inspired question, but she didn't even need to ask if it was a stroke of good thinking towards the end of finishing their mission: it was plain to hear that Jocelyn was only asking in the interest of courtesy. "Oh right, Jocelyn... if you can, please make sure Sleuth is privy to the discussion that's about to take place."

While her partner's statements might not have led to any surprises, she had high hopes that Wallfly's would. "Yes, Wallfly... there's been quite a bit more excitement for me than my usual day offers, as well." Hoping she didn't need to qualify that, Jacky watched the screen with rapt attention. It appeared that her good luck was continuing.

"This video... appears to lay plain the evidence that Sierra, the cleaner, stole Damson's tool and successfully pawned it. Damson's was a custom tool. I find the timing far too apt to assume that there was a second device. I can't tell for how much, but for the small sum she received, my guess would be she took a loan rather than making a sale." She said all of this to Jocelyn as deliberately as possible, trying to make sure there couldn't be any confusion. "If she's placed the item under loan... well, things aren't going to be as simple as walking in and buying it back. Ideally, we would simply have Damson walk in and present the original receipt, proving the item was her property, then work things out with the owner, who would in turn alter her arrangement with Sierra... however, I suspect Damson isn't going to willingly walk into a pawn shop and walk out with a vibrator, having presented evidence that it was her own purchase. I anticipate that she would believe doing so could spread a rumor among the other stores."

Having spilled her initial thoughts, Jacky remained quiet and watched the second bit of footage. "Janette... it seems that there is some commotion going on with her Navi. Sierra is involved... Now that is quite interesting. My previous theory would have been that Sierra worked independently to acquire the device and make a profit as the sole perpetrator. But should we assume this argument had something to do with the investigation? I don't know of any other reason for Janette and Sierra to be having a spat... but I don't understand how it's all tied together."

Jacky rubbed her chin, leaning against the desk (having forgotten her revulsion of it in the midst of her mystery). "Ms. Jocelyn, we should discuss our next course of action. I believe there are two approaches we might consider, and that we may want to have input from Damson before we proceed. The first would be to propose Damson either enters the shop herself to present the receipt, or... really, let's call this option two: we have Damson give us the receipt, along with... perhaps her signature on a letter allowing us to claim it for her... and then we may be able to pick it up ourselves. That might get tricky, though. I'd say it's a coin toss on whether or not the owner of the establishment will entertain those terms. The third possibility is that we confront Sierra directly. A theft is a theft, after all. Damson has the receipt, and Sierra now has a bond on a stolen item. We should have sufficient grounds to press Sierra into rescinding the transaction herself."

The operator thought for a bit longer, crossing her arms and shifting her legs. "I believe the wisest course of action may be for us to report to Damson. In the meantime, perhaps our Navis can head back to Fleetfoot's location and see if it's possible to discreetly listen in on her conversation? If the argument is taking place in Janette's PET, it seems reasonable to assume her Navi is involved. What do you think? Sleuth? ...Jocelyn?"

Speaking Jocelyn's name triggered a "dummy check" for Jacky, by which she began reviewing her plan to see if she'd made any errors or oversights. "Ah... now that I think about it, Wallfly, can you quickly report if you saw any other movement of that particular item Sierra placed a bond on? I'd like to save ourselves a hike-" she gasped slightly, blushing at her overstatement. "Er, a walk, that is... heading to the pawn shop only to find it was no longer there, that is."

"Of course, Miss Jacky-Love! Oh, sorry... I think Mister Wallfly is rubbing off on me," Jocelyn giggled, while she busied herself with getting her navi in on the conversation. "We're discussing the case, Miss Sleuth, so please, listen closely!"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, my dear," Sleuth responded, although she was, in reality, multi-tasking; she still had a lot of details of Hyde's condition to mull over.

Jocelyn rejoined the replay in progress, watching Sierra's suspicious transaction from earlier in the morning. "Ah ha! That must be the lock-jingler!" she cried, perhaps more loudly than any sensible person ought to. "Look! You can clearly see her selling it to the pawn shop caretaker! Oh my!" she gasped. "Or loaning it," she corrected herself, as Jacky pointed out that possibility.

"It would seem our cleaner is not so clean herself," the detective joked from Jocelyn's PET. "My, my... It certainly helps to have an eye-witness to a crime for a case like this. A few questions still remain, however... Most importantly, how to retrieve the item..." she mused, although a few other strands of thought were still dangling within sight of her mind's eye as well. She kept quiet about them as Wallfly produced a bit of bonus evidence, in the form of Sierra having a heated conversation with Janette. "Hm hm hm... Ho ho ho! I'll have to thank Miss Hyde! It seems our riling up of Miss FleetFoot may have been productive after all! We shook the contents of the beaker and, wouldn't you know it? All of the particulate matter rose to the top, leaving a new image for us... A possible association between Janette and our perpetrator!"

"That could be! Or... Miss Sierra could be unhappy about the shoes that her navi ordered for her!" Jocelyn posited.

"... They do say that the most unlikely explanation cannot be discounted, but er... they also say that possibilities are infinite, and we have not the time to devote to an infinite number of possibilities. So, with that in mind, let us toil over only the most likely ones first," Sleuth commented, trying to let her operator down easy, since she could sympathize with forming great theories through wild conjecture. "Well, looking at it in another light, their discussion might not be relevant to our case, but it does present us with a useful opportunity: namely, that Sierra is currently distracted. That lessens the chance that we will be spotted while we take measures to get Damson her item back."

"I see! Well, we'll need the money then... Let's see... I can see use some of the purse that my Papa gave me! He said the only rule was that I had to keep a receipt for whatever I buy and submit them through my bodyguards. So-" Jocelyn began, but her navi again interrupted.

"I don't think that one-quantity-one 'lock-jingler' is the kind of thing that your dear old dad wants to see presented on your expenses," Sleuth lectured her operator. "No, let's not do that. Besides: if we buy the item back, it's almost like admitting defeat! After all, why should we or the defendant buy the item back, when it properly belongs to Miss Damson? I won't admit defeat in this case, or any!" she argued, flourishing her shoulder cape on the net where none of them could properly the dramatic, dashing gesture. "Well, Miss Jacky, I can't be one-hundred percent certain why the two are arguing, but I will tell me that your navi and I made a little scene in the net parallel of Miss Janette's shop earlier. I theorize it may have something to do with that... It is even possible, although this is just conjecture, that Janette knows about why Sierra did and is frustrated that her shop was made the site of our heathen revelry earlier. Though... if Janette really is friends with Damson, as I can only imagine she would be, based on her navi... then it would not make sense for her to allow Sierra to steal that item. This also makes me curious about what Sierra's navi is like... can you tell us, Mister Wallfly? Though I understand you probably actually see more of the real world than the net world here in the mall."

Jacky offered her thoughts about what ought to be their next course of action; Jocelyn pressed one hand thoughtfully to her chin, then offered her own opinion with a surprisingly strong voice. "If you see someone steal something, the right course of action is to alert local authorities. Seeing as I'm a practiced security officer myself, I'm well qualified to confront Miss Sierra about her crime!"

"Ha... No, it's right that we be patient, for just a little longer," Sleuth encouraged her operator. "If we jump the gun now, we could put all of our efforts so far in jeopardy. When confronting a criminal, one must come armed with all of the evidence one can get! That way, not only do you stand a better chance of cornering them, but also, you get to behave much, much more smugly, which is a persistent objective of mine," she pitched in. "I'd be more than happy to pay another unwelcome visit to Miss FleetFoot and see what the kids are up to."

"And I would be more than happy to pay a visit to Damson! I'm sure she'll be happy to see us," Jocelyn added.

"I think she'll be more happy to see that you're dressed again," Sleuth agreed, offering her own amendment. "And one last question for Mister Wallfly... Where is Rude, at this moment? I don't want the two to be here when he walks back in... Nor do I particularly want him to be bothering Miss Damson when Miss Jacky and Miss Jocelyn go to meet her. As much as it would regularly be regrettable, it would actually be quite a blessing right now if that crusty gentleman was unleashing his glaze upon the inside of a tube sock in some dank mall bathroom right now. If he is, though... you don't have to put that one on screen for us."

WallFly swivelled back and forth on his chair, gossamer wings flicking and flittering excitedly as he listened to the intrigue and mystery being discussed. Hard as it was to tell with a navi constructed mostly out of spare parts and camera pieces, he seemed quite enthusiastic to be involved in this little bit of unusual excitement, especially as it grew more complicated by the minute. His lens twitched back and forth between them as they discussed their options.

At length, they needed a little more input from the security navi, and he shook his head softly, lifting one hand to wave it dismissively.

"Well, first up, don't you worry about rude, ladies. There's a place over the way, at the Gloria, where he likes to go for his morning break. If it's like any other day, the git won't be back for at least another twenty minutes, I'd reckon." His lens telescoped in on Jacky for a moment before he continued. "For the rest, lemme think... Eh, Don't really know Sierra to have a navi, though she must surely, right? Everyone does... Never seems to bring her PET to work, though, so I couldn't tell you. Doesn't look like she's got one on her today, either. Probably just a normal navi that she leaves at home, maybe? Dunno, sorry. Going to guess that she's having her argument with Janette's navi, though, by the look of things, and not Janette herself. Makes you wonder what's goin' on there though, doesn't it, Jacky-love?" He spun about on his chair again before recalling that there had been one other important question for him.

"Oh right... lemme check, just a tic..." his camera lens shuttered a few times and he turned back to the wall of screens, though this time the ladies weren't treated to any extra viewable footage. It only took a few seconds before he nodded and turned back. "Yep, still there, by the look of things, Jacky-love. Good luck finding your answers, ladies, I'll be watching."

Since time was of the essence, it seemed that that was all the time Jacky and Jocelyn wanted to spend in the upstairs office for now, though as they made their way back down the stairs and towards Damson's shop, the coincidence of proximity would be taking them quite close to Pedi-joy as well; they could pass by inconspicuously, if they were in a hurry, though it might provide an opportunity to listen in, if they were careful about not getting marked.

"Please, Ms. Jocelyn, don't let the 'love' suffix stick," she whispered to her partner, massaging her own temples. She didn't know why, but she had the mysterious feeling that her life would continue to get harder if she allowed it.

She didn't know the details of what Hyde and Sleuth had been up to, and she didn't care to. What was important was it sounded as though at least the whispers of recognition and reputation had begun to spread for them. They'd need to be careful moving forward, ensuring that they didn't leave certain parties room to lock out their investigation.

It sounded as though they had plenty more investigating to do, but Wallfly had offered up a good tidbit of information. "Could it really be that Sierra doesn't even have a normal Navi with her?" Jacky hadn't been carrying a custom with her until recently, but she thought it was only common sense to at least have a normal Navi on one's person at all times. It made her take a second to reflect on all of the convenience features they offered in conjunction with the PET, and wonder again at how humanity had been getting on before that period of technological advancement. "Then again... having one has certainly made my life more difficult, recently," she admitted with a frown. Realizing that Wallfly might be looking for a verbal response rather than internal musings alone, she added, "Yes, it most certainly does..."

"It sounds as though we're all in agreement to go see Ms. Damson," she decided. "Once again, we must thank you, Wallfly, for going to such lengths to aid in the resolution of this case. As I've mentioned before, I don't think it's an overstatement to say that you have acted as the most valuable source of information in this case." She didn't add that she really thought it ought to be the basic function of such a Navi to help in cases such as these, but she decided stroking the Navi's ego would probably be a wiser course of action... and of course, it wasn't Wallfly's fault that his operator didn't seem to have much interest in solving the mall's problems on a timely schedule.

"Well, let's keep moving, Ms. Jocelyn. Now that you're in your proper attire once more, I'm starting to feel like we're finally on track to tying up this whole business. Farewell, Wallfly. With any luck, we won't have to return for your services again on this matter... but naturally, feel free to keep an eye on us."

With that, Jacky set the PET back on the desk where she'd found it, then turned and left the office. She kept her eye out for a water fountain, giving herself some refreshment again once she found the opportunity.

Making her way down the stairs once again, Jacky remained quiet for a while longer before coughing and speaking up. "Ms. Jocelyn, suspecting the behaviors of Mr. Rude that you and I both do, is it really okay for you to leave the matter of your missing undergarment unaddressed? I can't believe that there's any savory reason for them to remain unaccounted for..." Jacky didn't expect to get a reasonable or resolute response from her partner, and she didn't intend to continue the conversation when they were back in public earshot downstairs, so she was mostly just mentioning it to try and get Jocelyn thinking if possible.

Back downstairs, with the end seeming closer now, Jacky was able to more easily dismiss the possibility of using Jocelyn's transportation. "Why, at this rate, there's still a chance I can get out of this with my personal dignity intact..." Feeling like that was a jinx statement if there ever was one, Jacky tried to wipe it from her mind and continue onward.

Although Jacky had initially intended to make her way straight to Damson's, she paused as she saw the Pedi-joy storefront come into view. She held a hand out to indicate for Jocelyn to halt. "One moment. That's Janette's store. I suspect Sierra is at least keeping an eye out for our Navis now, but she may be looking for us as well. We're... not exactly low profile," she added, although she was thinking more about Jocelyn than herself. "If we're going to move past, we ought to do so quickly... but perhaps now would be a good time to scout out what's going on inside?"

Jacky had to think about that, briefly. She wasn't keen on the idea of stalking around ninja-like as she had before: doing that in the security area above was one thing, but doing it out in the general public of the mall was a bit much. So, if they wanted to listen in, it wouldn't be safe to do it in person. Was there someone else they could get to perform the task?

Well, that was a question that seemed as though it would have an easy answer. She was certain that between Jocelyn's money, charming personality, and... charming assets, she wouldn't have any trouble convincing someone. "Ms. Jocelyn, perhaps you could persuade a mallgoer to listen in and report back to us? If Hyde and Sleuth are listening in on the Net side, and we're able to get a report from our end, we ought to have a complete picture of the exchange. Then again, if you think that's a poor idea, or if you... have moral objections..." she considered, unsure of whether Jocelyn's mall-cop rule book had a page on this, "We can just continue straight on to Damson's." She'd continue with whichever decision Jocelyn felt best. If Jocelyn was going to ask someone, she planned to stay out of the way, not feeling very persuasive in either characteristic or disposition at the moment.

"He regularly goes to the Gloria Scott Mall? Ah ha ha, well, gosh," Jocelyn chuckled, pressing one palm to her cheek and smiling wistfully, seeming to blush with personal pride that Rude enjoyed her place of jurisdiction so much that he'd cross the apparent dividing lines that separated those patriotic to each of their malls. There were much more important things to talk about, though, and talk Wallfly did. "No navi? I can't remember a time I was without a navi... Although, I didn't have a custom navi until Miss Sleuth. It seems odd that Miss Sierra would be without one entirely, though."

Jocelyn thanked Wallfly again, then it was off to meet Damson. Jacky had another well-intentioned question to test Jocelyn's lack of understanding of right and wrong, which Jocelyn again failed with flying colors. "I'll hardly miss a pair, Miss Jacky! Rodney often sets aside money for me to buy new ones, so I won't have any difficulty replacing them. Although I hate to brag when it comes to my employment benefits, it is quite a nice perk," Jocelyn laughed. "When next I see Mister Rude, I will see if he can return them to me." With that matter swept under the rug and Jacky's quest to edify Jocelyn towards those who might misuse her trust in them once again a bust, Jocelyn proceeded downstairs to reunite with her precious Segway.

When the two girls reached Pedi-Joy, Jacky presented Jocelyn with an opportunity to flex her mall security muscle. "You needn't even ask, Miss Jacky! This is exactly the sort of situation we mall cops dream about: a chance to serve the citizenry with judicious use of our authority!" she announced proudly. She leaned over her Segway in ready position, smiling in an unfitting, bad-girl way. "They'll never see me coming!" she boasted, although that was highly doubtable, given the speed of her transportation, among other factors. Of course, once Jocelyn let her friend finished, it became apparent that she was on the wrong track. "Oh... Oh, you want me to convince someone else. Certainly, there's nothing wrong with asking a respectful citizen to assist in a little 'surveillance!" she agreed, making finger quotes in a way that spoiled whatever legitimacy her argument had.

After taking a moment to tip her bell cap to a jaunty angle, Jocelyn surveyed her surroundings, looking for someone who'd be willing to help them out. The ideal candidate would be someone who was already attentive to her, due to her uniform, perhaps even staring at the mall security badge on her chest to show their interest in aiding the law (she was still leaning over her Segway, making them extra-pronounced). Whoever was staring the most would be her choice. "Excuse me, good citizen! I noticed your interest just now and hoping that you might act as my proxy for a moment! I'm acting in the public good and feel that there may be something of interest going on in that Pedi-Joy establishment. Could you go inside and listen to them for a bit, then come back out and let me know what they're talking about? If so, I'll be very appreciative, and for your efforts, will hold you deeply, right here!" she'd claim enthusiastically, gesturing to her heart, which was hidden behind her more immediately noteworthy assets.