The Shamus Austin Shopping Complex

The questionable matter of Jocelyn's switched undies aside, the mystery-solvers pressed onwards. On the bright side, the mall cop had technically acquired a very high quality set of brand new undergarments in their place, and Rude hadn't seemed interested in asking for them back, so in some ways she was actually coming out on top, in the scale of things. chances were any sane or sensible person wouldn't really think so, but those qualities weren't is as abundant a supply as they probably should be. Oh well.

Loitering a short way from Janette's store, well out of sight, the cautious couple decided that the best way to eaves-drop on the goings on inside was, perhaps wisely, to not get involved in doing so themselves. Jocelyn was making herself as, erm, authoritative as she reasonably could, but even so there were a few misfires when people she caught the attention of brushed her off once they worked out that she wanted them to actually do something. Third time a charm, however, she managed to hook a fairly weedy-looking man who seemed to have been a few years late in growing out of his acne. He seemed helpful enough, though, and for a wonder schooled his eyes away from staring at the security officer's bust after only a brief glance.

He nodded to her briefly; chances were he'd seen her asking and being brushed off by at least one other person as he approached the area she was fishing in and was simply the kind of helpful sort who didn't mind taking a minute or two out of his day. In a fortunate turn for Jacky's nerves, Jocelyn's incidental emphasis didn't actually seem to draw his attention any more than was proper.

"I can do that. Bit of cross-checking is it? Just listen to what they say then? Alright." Without any further ado, he turned and wandered over over to the store and passed through the entry way.

Inside, out of Jacky and Jocelyn's immediate sight, Sierra hushed down when a customer entered the shop, and Janette caught his eye to ask if he was after anything or needed help. The hired help raised a small wave of his hand and told her he was browsing, then headed behind one of the shoe racks towards the running trainers. He pulled a pair off the rack at random and sat at one of the small benches as though to try it on. After a few moments the two women had more or less forgotten about him.

"Look it doesn't matter now, I'm done with this, alright." Sierra was talking towards Janette's PET while the other woman held it out to her. The answering voice was female, but between being quiet through the PET and the shelf in between, the stealthy shoe-tester wasn't able to hear what the navigator was saying in response.
"No, I'm done. It wasn't supposed to go this far, why did you even let it?" She paused, for another response in the muffled female voice.
"Ugh... this isn't my headache. Only now it is, because there's officials involved. A prank stops being a prank when it's a crime, you know." This was accompanied by another fierce finger-jab at the screen which the temporary spy did not, in fact, see.
"Oh yes, well, you can bet your digital little rump that I'm not going to be the one to explain this to Damson. That's your job now, I'm out." Sierra had folded her arms now, and her voice sounded equal part irritated, put out and just plain done with the whole situation. The female voice on the other side changed tone subtly but the cleaner wasn't having any of it.
"Oh don't even try it. You can't try to blackmail me when you know you still need a pair of hands out here to fix your mess." Now the navi voice sounded more like it was pleading again, though the words were still indistinct.
"What if I just stroll over now to give her the claim ticket and tell her to go get it herself, and just spill the whole story while I'm there. Would you like that?" There was no answer, but a long pause of silence.
"No. Didn't think so. Ok, look, what do you want me to do. The original plan is a bit out the window now, so, what?" The navi voice was answering again but that that point Janette set the PET down on the counter and took a stroll around the store. She seemed to have realised that the young man hadn't moved from the bench he was sitting on for a couple of minutes, despite having changed shoes and she came over to ask him if she could help.

It took him a few more minutes to disengage from the situation and get out of the shop without raising any suspicion, but once he did, their temporary friend walked on to pass by Jacky and Jocelyn slightly, leaning on one of the guard rails at the edge of the walkway.

"So... Uhh, listened in like you said. The lady was talking to the store owner's PET, and there was a navi talking back to her, but I couldn't hear when she was saying. It sounded like the woman was having some kind of disagreement though. Like they'd organised a trick to play on a friend, or something, but it was a bit shady, and now one of them might get in trouble for it, so she wanted to call it off. Didn't catch any names... Oh wait, yeah, the woman mentioned someone called 'Damson', I think. Ah, the woman in the shop said something about going and giving her a claim ticket and explaining things, and I don't think the navi sounded very happy about that idea. That was about all I could get before the store owner chased me out." He paused again to look over Jocelyn's mall security uniform.

"Eh, sounded like some hijinks between friends went a bit too far, or something. If you're looking into a crime, and that matches up, then it might be nothing in the end, just the way it sounded. Was there anything else you needed before I head off, ma'am?" He seemed relaxed enough, though it probably wouldn't do to impose upon the good will of the shopping complexes innocent civilians any longer.

Jacky continued to hang back out of sight as Jocelyn did her scouting, preparing to step in if she got a hint someone was going to get fresh. Mostly, it seemed to be a depressing exercise. She couldn't tell why Jocelyn was starting with the candidates she was, but she wasn't surprised to see they generally weren't the most helpful helpers. Thankfully, though, it seemed Jocelyn did finally manage to hook a winner. Jacky couldn't help but think the good Samaritan must be going out of his way to be helpful, since he didn't fit the profile of the previous men Jocelyn had petitioned. Of course, she wasn't complaining.

Seeing him head into the store, she made her way back over to Jocelyn. "So, I assume you convinced the man to act as our ear on the inside. Good work, Ms. Jocelyn." Taking a brief aside to check her PET, she was surprised to find Hyde looking distraught, but in a more reasonable state of mind than she'd been seeing. "Hyde, are you feeling yourself?"

"As ever..." the doctor answered ambiguously, rubbing her forehead. "I'm afraid I'm under quite a lot of stress at the moment."

Jacky frowned, understanding perhaps better than her Navi did what she might be referring to. "I'm sure. Are you in a position to scout out a store for us, and listen in on a conversation?"

"I'd... really rather not," she returned, looking exhausted. "I'm in the middle of a conversation of some import with Ms. Sleuth."

"I see," Jacky responded, sighing as she again found herself grappling with the concept of a Navi who didn't perform the function they were ordered to. She was about to try harder to convince her Navi, before their plant made his way back out of the store. She turned her full attention to the man. If Jacky had been a more generous giver of hugs, she might have joined in with Jocelyn on what she'd ostensibly been promising. Instead, she simply smiled in gratitude, pressing a hand to her neckline. "We are thankful for the information," she told the shopper, who might be surprised to see her, as she hadn't introduced herself along with Jocelyn earlier. "Please, go about your business."

Jacky regretted that she hadn't been able to count on the Navis to make their way to the store in a timely fashion so they could hear the full conversation. What she'd pieced together didn't constitute a full array of evidence, but it did paint a picture of a guilty culprit on the defensive. She wasn't optimistic about her ability to play hard-lining, aggressive cop to Jocelyn's naive, good-natured cop, but if she could do so, she could probably wrap this whole mission up before anything too terribly embarrassing happened to her. "Ms. Jocelyn, I think we should confront Sierra. Please, follow my lead."

With that, Jacky entered the shoe store, making her way straight to Sierra. She wasn't sure if she'd be recognized before she introduced herself, but she wasn't aiming to be discrete. "Ms. Sierra!" she called. For a nightmarish moment, she pictured Sierra turning and running, forcing a harrowing and exhausting action-comedy chase through the mall. "May we have a word?"

"Very good!" Jocelyn responded as the young man offered his help, giving a thumbs up. She'd been discouraged when others hadn't agreed to help her (perhaps because she didn't have her sterling reputation to help her here at this shopping center, as opposed to her own mall), but things had worked out in the end. "Thank you for the assistance! Know that you're doing the work of the common good," she reassured him, giving a quick salute before urging him to move quickly. Once he was on his way, Jocelyn returned a small but confident smile over to her friend. "I'm sure those others were just a bit busy, but this young man is devoting his youthful free time to the service of the same justice as us! I find that admirable, in a youth," she remarked, although there really wasn't the age gap there that she was imagining.

The two of them were unable to hear the full conversation, so Jocelyn passed the time talking with her navi. "How are things between you and Hyde? Are you making any progress on your side?" she asked, mostly as idle conversation.

Sleuth smile, although she had a guilty look in her eyes. "Oh, well, I'm afraid the two of us aren't on such great terms right now. I may have been a wee bit too... accommodating to the nature of her other side and now we're both paying the price for it," the detective remarked. "And no, I haven't been able to do a thing with the assigned case, as it were, since we last spoke. It sounds as though you and Miss Jacky have been swimming right along, though."

"Oh, absolutely! In fact, our informant is making his way back now," she announced, then cut communication with her navi. "Hello again! How did it go?" she questioned, looking enthusiastic as she leaned over her motorized standing transportation vehicle. She nodded along attentively, then shot a glance over to Jacky and smiled wide. "Oh, that is helpful! Most helpful! Seems we've got our perps!" she announced, with striking conviction. "Thank you once again for your help, sir!" She hadn't actually been offering to take anyone's head into her bosom; that was just an unfortunate interpretation of her words that some may have arrived at if their mind was in the gutter. That aside, caught up in the moment as she was, she did attempt to jump off and hug their new informant, which would place his face just a bit above that area if he allowed himself to be ensnared. "Now, you can go about your business with my thanks! It's time for Miss Jacky and myself to move in!"

Sleuth was still listening from the PET; her ears had suddenly perked up. "Wait, moving in on the perp?! Right now?!" she announced, feeling incredulous. She felt insulted that she was in no way involved in the scenario, seeing as she hadn't actually made it to the net area they'd planned to scope out yet, due to her detour with Hyde.

"Yes, ma'am! Let us be off, Miss Jacky!" she cheered once more, following behind Jacky perhaps a bit slower than the other girl would have liked, due to the built-in speed limitations of her means of transportation. Surprisingly, Jacky took the lead here, attempting to corner their person of interest. Jocelyn smiled confidently, showing her mall cop badge and identification... although, it was for the wrong mall, so it didn't actually mean anything in this situation. "Hold it right there, Miss Sierra! The two of us would like to have some words with you!" she called out. "We have reason to believe that you have behaved unscrupulously here at the shopping center, performing secretive transactions with a certain personal lock-jingling device!" she further announced, in a voice that was much too loud, with a message that was both easy to misinterpret and also perhaps moving further along in the conversation than Jacky had intended.

"Wait, wait," Sleuth groaned, realizing that her operator was very likely to blow this and turn it into a comedic chase scene. "I don't know if you two have pieced it all together yet, but the best way to proceed here is a mixture of blackmail and trade! You two demand that she reclaims the item herself using the ticket, then she hands it over to you, then you two take it to Damson with a cover story about how you found it. She's sure to accept those returns, and there's no upsetting Damson that way, since the only ones who will know about her massage device are those who already do. Understood?" the navi instructed.

"O-Oh, yes, of course," Jocelyn lied; she'd been planning to go over, grab Sierra by the wrist, and demand she surrender to the proper authorities (Rude), but she could concede that it might be better for everyone involved if this was handled at least a bit privately. "Ahem! Miss Sierra, we know what you did, and I'd like to extend this offer: you reclaim the item you pilfered using the receipt that we know is in your possession, then you give it to us, then we return it to Damson with a sufficient cover story, perhaps saying that it had..." she began confidently, but faltered when it came to the element of fabricating a believable ruse. Following orders was her strong point, not free-thinking.

"Say that an unknown thief had taken it and stashed it behind some soda machines to retrieve later," Sleuth sighed, thinking there were any number of workable cover stories for this instance.

"Perhaps saying that an unknown thief had taken it and stashed it behind some soda machines to retrieve later!" Jocelyn proclaimed, pointing one finger forward with a smile that said "Gotcha!" when it wasn't entirely deserved on her part.

Sleuth turned herself up enough to be audible at this point, though she did not display herself. "Does that sound right, Miss Sierra?" she inquired. "As it happens, we don't need to know the details about this crime, or prank, as the case may be, nor do we need to know about which accomplices you may have had or your motive. We simply need to get the item back and return it to Miss Damson with as little trouble as possible. That said..." she continued, smirking inside the hidden world of the net, "well, I'd be more cooperative to this plan and keeping your identities secret if I did know your motivation, your accomplices, and every detail about how and why you perpetrated the crime! Otherwise, I might get my cover story mixed up a bit when we return to Miss Damson, and that simply wouldn't do," she chuckled. The truth was what she'd said at first: she didn't need to know any of the specifics. That said, Sleuth was not the type to simply shut a case without knowing everything she could about it. She was analytical and professionally curious, but moreover, she was extremely nosy.

When her name was called, Sierra looked up from the tail end of her argument and turned towards the newcomers. At first her expression made a slow shift from her previous frustration into uncertainty at being addressed by name, by tow people she didn't know, however Jocelyn's over-zealous and over-loud follow up quickly clued her in and the cleaning lady's expression went flat and displeased. She glanced back to Janette's PET, offering it something of an 'I-told-you-so' expression, then sighed.

"Look, I'll handle this, but you owe me." Raising her eyes, she ducked her head apologetically to Janette herself. "Thanks Jan, sorry about that. I'll get out of your hair now."

In no hurry, Sierra then walked out to meet them, exiting the shop and taking a few steps away down the thoroughfare until she was no longer in the entryway, then leaned back against the railing and crossed her arms to hear Jocelyn out properly. She waited, one eyebrow raised, while the mall cop read her the riot act, though if either of the detectives were hoping to fluster the woman, it didn't appear to be working. When all was said and done she looked even less impressed than she had.

"Alright. And just who exactly are you two supposed to be then?" She had looked them both over while Jocleyn spoke, but being an employee of the shopping complex herself, Sierra didn't really need too close a look to be quite aware that Jocelyn's shiny badge and smart uniform didn't mean much here and now; Jocelyn wasn't part of this centre's security team, and the cleaner knew it. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two women, and Jocelyn's PET as well, doing her best to bring Sleuth's voice in on her glare.

"Whatever you were trying, it didn't sound very authoritative. You want to try again? You just sounded a bit desperate that time." With a small sigh she put a hand to her forehead. "I only hid it away as a favour to a friend, and little miss prim stockings is going to have her precious toy back by tomorrow anyway. Not like it was my idea in the first place. Honestly, I'm tempted just to go home again and let them both stew about it for another day." Her eyes flicked between the two, impatient.

"Tell me why I shouldn't? Look at you both... what are you going to do, chase me? Harass me? I could get you both arrested for that. You..." she flicked one finger towards Jacky, "look like you've already had your fill of exercise for the day... and you," now to Jocelyn. "Even if that get up is real, you're a freaking mall cop, and not even for this complex. You couldn't command your way out of a wet paper bag. I don't have to listen to either of you, so why don't you try again and tell me why I should, hmm? I'd wager you aren't even in possession of half the facts here, but if you're both good little girls and you ask like polite, friendly people, then maybe I'll feel like being helpful. Despite what you seem to think, you don't have the upper hand here, ladies. Count yourselves lucky I'm not walking away right now." She seemed put out in general about being treated like a criminal, especially by individuals she didn't choose to grant any authority to, but she hadn't denied anything, and had more or less confirmed some bits of their supposition already.

Jacky jumped a bit and generally remained frozen in place as Jocelyn began her classic fireside confrontation. The student watched her partner much as one watches a car crash about to happen in an intersection, unable to look away but helpless to do anything to stop it, either. She continued grimacing as her partner basically spilled the beans on the final strong-arm option that should have been the last part they touched on. What was even worse, in her mind: Sleuth had basically given Sierra the free tip that they didn't have anything close to all the facts in this case. Of course, that was true, and Jacky didn't even disagree on the bottom line of the message. They didn't need to know everything to wrap this up, they just needed an agreement...

Unfortunately, it looked like that was going to have to be done the hard way. She hadn't imagined she was going to have to play the good cop to the Jocelyn's... not necessarily bad cop, but at the very least, blunt cop. Now that she was in this situation, though, she gritted her teeth against the collective dressing-down Sierra was giving them, preparing herself to respond.

"Ms. Sierra, our goal isn't to bring any culprit to justice. We have been hired for the sole and explicit purpose of discretely returning this device to the concerned party... who is, I must reiterate, quite concerned. I think all three of us have been brought into circumstances that are very much beyond our usual means, for a prank that has clearly had consequences beyond those intended. It is not our intention to be unfriendly, Ms. Sierra, but I must ask you to be aware that we have been traversing this mall in search of this device for the better part of the morning, and we are here on official business as GNA-hosted help. The two of us would like nothing more than to wrap this up, in a non-confrontational manner."

Jacky had intentionally leveled her tone to attempt and re-frame Sierra. She pictured the conversation going much more smoothly if she could "buy-in" to Sierra's own apparent mental image of someone who had been dragged along in business she'd wanted no part in. "Now, Ms. Sierra, there are two ways Ms. Jocelyn and I can accomplish our GNA-sanctioned mission. The first, which would be my preference, is simply to have the device returned to us so that we can return it to Ms. Damson. The terms by which this can be accomplished are extremely flexible, and if all we're doing is talking, I can make all the time in the world to sit down and hash out a good plan. If necessary, it need not even be returned today, so long as we know it's coming. It need not come to light, either, where the device has been in the interim. We are under no obligation to explain any of this to our client."

Jacky adjusted her glasses, taking her own place leaning on the rail. "The second, less preferable method, is that you refuse to cooperate. As you are no doubt aware, by this point, we are not fully versed in the details of your accomplices. This is..." she paused, again trying to find a non-confrontational way to say what she was thinking. "Well, allow me to explain. Right now, the chain of responsibility begins and ends with you. In the original course of our investigation, we were pursuing a criminal responsible for a theft, not a prankster responsible for a prank. Since we are aware of an item taken from its original owner, and furthermore, put up as a loan by other than the original owner, until we are fully aware of the details that make this a harmless prank, we are still obligated to treat it as a theft."

Jacky coughed, wishing she had a glass of water, but continued. Public speaking under stress did dry her out, but she was still able to keep her thoughts together. "The important detail you need to be aware of, Sierra, is that in the course of our investigation, we have obtained time-stamped video evidence of your delivery of the device to a loan company. Furthermore, we have video evidence that frames a clear time-stamped window during which you might have taken the device. I mention this not to implicate you, but simply to warn you: if we must approach this as a theft with a criminal, our next step would be apparent."

The medical student sighed again, rubbing at her eyes a bit helplessly, but also to try and soften her image and make herself seem more "just ready to get this over with" than hard-lining, if at all possible. "So, I think we'd all be much happier and on about our business much more quickly if Jocelyn's original suggestion, if a bit over-zealous, is followed. Nobody needs to be concerned with how you ended up with a claims ticket for the concerned party's device. Rather, nobody needs to know that you did at all. Nobody needs to be concerned about how we went about re-claiming the device, either: if necessary, I am even prepared to declare secrecy on the account of the party I've reclaimed the device from, and withhold information from the concerned party. Finally, nobody needs to necessarily worry about our interference with future 'pranks' they might put into action, although I would ask that they properly weigh the distress it caused the concerned party in this case." She tried a weary smile again, wanting to drive home as much as possible the impression that this was just work for her and that she could be out of Sierra's hair as quickly as Sierra was willing to cooperate.

She wanted to add that Sierra should be aware just how much a prankster throwing their hands up and leaving a prank behind can look like a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime, but she held her tongue. If Sierra wouldn't listen to reason, Jacky wasn't making an empty threat. If worse came to worse, in her mind, she really would have solid footing to investigate this as a crime. She may have stretched the truth on actually having the time-stamped video evidence in her hands, but at the very least, she could take confidence that it was out there.

Jocelyn kept her smile up, leaning over her segway and staring into Sierra's eyes with a fiery, challenging expression, for a moment longer, before settling it back into standard upright position and speaking quietly into her PET. "Miss Sleuth... Why do I feel as though I'm the one who's committed a crime instead of the other way around?" she asked, as Jacky took the lead on laying things out for their suspect.

"Standard trick," Sleuth shrugged, clutching her hat to her head as she titled a cocky sneer up towards the frame of the PET monitor. She spoke quietly enough so that only her operator would hear. "There are three ways that the guilty act when they're pressed: the first, they collapse into pleading. Tidy and neat, this is great for making me feel superior and resolving the case early. It admits guilt and has no danger involved. Second, they might jump forward and retaliate, either out of impulse or legitimate belief that their case can die with you. While this is dangerous for you, it still admits guilt. The third way, which Miss Sierra is so aptly demonstrating now, is to put on a show of bravado and appeal to the detective's sense of shame. 'Look at me! I'm a decent person of good standing, a model citizen, and who are you to accuse me of something so grave with so precious little evidence, while you've been off shagging some lady on the net!' This defends their innocence and gives them one last chance to save themselves, begging the detective to consider that maybe they were wrong about all of it. Unfortunately for her, I've been through this little song and dance enough times to know what my partner is doing."

"What was that last part, about shagging?" Jocelyn asked, speaking with her palm cupped to one side of her mouth to stay secret.

"Never you mind that, Miss Jocelyn," Sleuth coughed. "You know, speaking of 'what my partner is doing,' Miss Jacky seems to be doing an excellent job of stating everything that I was going to say in a much more novel-ready, gentle-woman-ly form! Most excellent," the navi approved, nodding and feeling slightly jealous that she'd missed the opportunity, in spite of her praise. "Let's rejoin the action in progress."

Jocelyn rolled her Segway closer, in order to meet the others, then let the navi take over talking. "Everything she says is the truth, Miss Sierra. The fact of the matter is that, well, facts don't matter. What does matter is that we have collected a substantial amount of evidence that points towards you and only you as the sole culprit of this crime. Is it the whole narrative that we've constructed? Not likely. The truth is, clues are never presented to detectives on a silver platter, all nice and neat, in order and forming a complete picture. All one can do is arrive at a conclusion... and the only conclusion that we may draw is that you're guilty in this matter. Fortunately for you, we're not concerned with punishing you or anyone else for what happened! We simply want to give Miss Damson back what is hers, with as little emotional distress caused as possible... to her! I wouldn't mind seeing a little emotional distress otherwise, to be honest. It's kind of my thing, I get off on that a bit. I apologize," the detective chuckled grimly. "But this is not the time for that! Right now, I'd be pleased as punch if you would just retrieve the fancy diddler, we'll take it back to Miss Damson, we give her a cover story, and all is well. Although, Miss Sierra, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you to explain everything to us in excruciating detail!"

"Tell the truth, Miss Sierra! Lying is bad, you know! It should only be done in service of the law!" Jocelyn reminded their culprit.

The two ladies both seemed aware that coming on strong wasn't really working for them, and tactfully mad ea change in their angle. To their credit, Sierra listened and heard them both out, leaning on the upper floor railing while they spoke to her. She didn't look overly worried, and still seemed to be debating whether it was worth telling them more details just for the vindication of doing so. When they got to the part about having compelling video evidence against her, howev,er it caused a raised eyebrow before Sierra looked down at her nails.

"And of course, you came by something like that legally, didn't you. No trespassing into staff-only areas, or theft of private and confidential security footage to which civilians have no right, hmm? All completely by the book and admissible in court, right?" The latter half of her not-quite question was assuming they'd actually taken the footage with them when they hadn't, of course, but she seemed fairly confident that the answer was so obviously a 'no' that it wouldn't really need to be answered. She let them go on without further barbs. When they were done, the cleaning lady let out a sound that was something between a snort and an amused chuckle.

"Right, so let me get you straight... now you're not even really interested in fairness or answers at all, or anything like that, and you just want something that will do passably for letting you shut the book. Bastions of justice and due practice you are, the pair of you." She shook her head.

"Now, see... I can understand wanting to get a job done and move on. Personally, I'd rather see the due parties learn a lesson or two from this, and if I just go cash it back and give it to you to return, then she doesn't learn anything..." Here, Sierra sighed and put one hand to her forehead. "Yeah... but you don't drop your mates in the drink, and I promised her I wouldn't, so... you two are bright clever detectives, why don't you tell me who started this plan, and then I'm not ratting her out, how's that sound? I think damson deserves to know who engineered this... was debating going over and telling her the whole story myself, before I promised not to... And the way I see it, I only made that promise because I was in a rush, because of you two just now. So talk to me ladies... You both seem to know full well that it was never my idea; if you've been talking to folks here all morning I'm sure you must have put it together by now." She tilted her head to one side, waiting on them. It seemed as though sierra was perfectly happy to be the confirming account to their correct supposition without feeling like she was breaking her promise, but telling them outright who the instigator was, if they didn't already know, would. "Either way, it's like I said, she'd have had it back by tomorrow anyway, even if she hadn't panicked and called the GNA. You'd think she'd be more interested in keeping something like that secret... I mean, don't get me wrong, Damson's great fun in her way, but... she's a bit of a prim. I'm surprised she got any strangers involved at all."

Of course, if they weren't interested in Sierra's desire to see the true mastermind learn a lesson they could always keep pressing her directly, but it seemed like the cleaner was fairly confident that there was nothing, legally speaking, that they could actually do to her and her calm confidence never wavered. Then there was the option of nipping away, stealing the ticket, reclaiming the item themselves for a minor fee (which they could surely get Damson to reimburse them, probably), and wrapping up without Sierra's help or the answers to all the questions, but chances were neither woman would look favourably on that course of action... it was both a grave injustice... and a fair walking distance.

"Ho ho ho! Listen to this: the gentle-lady who pawned off her chum's diddler is lecturing me on obeying the law!" Sleuth giggled out loud. "Oh, my dear lady, you're speaking to me about laws and what not, but I am a detective, not a copper. Common misconception. We've both got our knees deep into the dirt, Miss Sierra, but the difference is that yours is a little deeper. I can produce those pieces of evidence against you whenever I choose, but you cannot prove that I have them!" the detective sang proudly, sounding annoyingly confident in herself. "Having the ability to produce the evidence whenever I choose is quite an advantage for me. We aren't taking this matter to court are we? That's even sillier than involving a policeman or, dare I say it, a detective! Or a mall cop!" she joked. "As such, I think it will matter little the legality of how I obtained the evidence. You're the one who said it yourself, aren't you? What's a little mall law, between those involved in a petty prank? That's all this is, right? A prank?"

"'Little mall law?' Miss Sleuth, I'll have you know, mall law is very serious! I'll have you read the Gloria Scott Manual of Mall Law when we get back!" Jocelyn defended, showing a rare instance or personal offense.

"Oh, there you go again, Miss Sierra! I am quite interested in answers, I simply mean to stress that they aren't needed here," Sleuth shrugged. "And fairness... Well, I've never been interested in that at all! Pish tosh! A detective, interested in fairness!" the navi guffawed, perhaps more amused than anyone in the room had heard her so far. "Oo-hoo-hoo! Justice comes in due time, Miss Sierra. Do you not know that detectives are often brought in when policemen are not an option? Due process was never the point here! I'd eat my gloves before I submitted to the rules and stuffiness of the police force. Why, I'd think you were a lawyer or a judge, if I didn't know you were a cleaning lady."

"Something tells me the police force wouldn't exactly suit your unique personality, Miss Sleuth," Jocelyn offered. "They're usually not so..."

"Randy?"

"No, erm..."

"Fashionable?"

"Well, I actually like the color blue..."

"Busty? Nosy? Prone to substance abuse? The list goes on. But that is besides the point," Sleuth dismissed her operator. "On that we agree, Miss Sierra: I too think it would be just crackerjack if the troublemakers in this case were forced to fess up to their mistake, or at least received a little karmic kick in the caboose. "And I understand loyalty as well. But what you do not understand yourself, my dear, is this: as bright and clever a detective as I am, I can only gather clues and make wild assumptions. The former is usually better for the latter stages of detective work, while the latter guides the investigation throughout. What you're asking me to do now is to make a truly absurd assumption: to assume that, in spite of video evidence that you have no alibi for the time of the theft, video evidence that you are the one who sold the stolen item, physical evidence that you did so as well, and words that incriminate you from a word-of-mouth testimony, you insist that there is someone else involved who is the true culprit. If I was the cold and rational type, I'd tell you this: everything we have points to you and only you. We can build the case against you, so you either cough up the name or we proceed with you as the sole culprit."

"However!" Sleuth announced, raising one finger on the unseen area of the net. "I am a warm and irrational type and I am quite, quite fond of wild assumptions. So... allow me to make a guess! From the fact that you are here, in Pedi-Joy, may I venture that the mystery girl is Miss Janette? We saw you conversing with her earlier on footage that I assure you was obtained in a fiendishly, creepingly illegal manner. Furthermore, I have, since early on, nurtured a fantasy that the proprietor fancies Miss Damson and that her navi, Miss Fleetfoot, fancies the other navi, Miss CurlGurl! See how my mind wanders? But I'd sort of been hoping they would be connected to the crime, just for the juicy intrigue of it all!" Sleuth sighed in a happy, contented way, grinning in the privacy of cyber space. "Okay, that's my guess. There are other options of course... the possibility of shy girl, Miss Teresse, being in on it is a truly amusing scenario and Miss Casey is the red herring, being fond of both Miss Damson and pranks, but not particularly fond of stealing. I questioned her rather at length on that point in, shall I say, a rather open environment."

"Did you?" Jocelyn asked, not remembering that conversation, since she hadn't been part of it.

"I did!" Sleuth responded, twirling her cane around four fingers by its head. "Oh, and Miss Sierra, might I say that it's a bit silly that you're so very concerned about both the long-term good of Miss Damson and that of the perp, and yet you consider not the tragedy that poor Miss Damson was going to go a whole day without her favorite new electronic masseuse? Even prim and proper ladies have needs!" All things considered, Sleuth now understood why Chris hadn't spared much of a horny thought towards his partner: she was the textbook definition of a tight-ass and probably didn't give him a lot of play. Sleuth was a fan of tight-asses, however, as they tended to be good for a verbal repartee.

Jacky clammed up a bit herself as Sierra continued to appear uninterested in negotiations. She had all kinds of things she wanted to say about the presumption of teasing them about a commitment to justice, or the strange "honor-among-thieves" approach Sierra was taking to a prank about stealing a personal masseuse, but she decided voicing them wouldn't do any good. She had only intended to approach Sierra in the first place because she had expected it would be easiest to collaborate with the perpetrator and bring things to a quick end. Now, she was beginning to wonder why she'd expected that degree of sensibility from someone who would pawn the vibrator of another woman, whom she worked with, and at the video-monitored pawn shop of a mall they both worked in, no less.

Sleuth was turning this conversation into her own rodeo, and Jacky, for her part, was happy to remain tight-lipped and let her. She was beginning to think this whole thing was going to simmer until both parties walked off, and she was also beginning to think that might be for the best. Right now, it seemed most likely to her that the best course of action was going to end up being walking back to Damson, giving her the situation and info, then hoping she'd understand why they couldn't personally reclaim her item.

There was that, and there was also the fact that... she really didn't know who was the true culprit in the theft. Sleuth appeared to be more than happy to venture an educated (or wishfully-motivated?) guess, but Jacky certainly wasn't that type of girl. There were still so many unknown factors: for all they knew, there could be another three or five or fifteen potential suspects in the mall that simply hadn't come up in conversation yet. What about the electronics department, or whatever it was, they hadn't even investigated yet, which apparently pulled pranks?

She had resolved herself to remain quiet, but finally broke composure at one point, letting out a gasp. "Sleuth! We have most certainly not obtained any video footage in an illegal manner, fiendishly, creepingly, or otherwise!" Jacky winced a bit, realizing that if Sleuth was actually successfully pressing an advantage, she might have just put a dent in it, but she certainly couldn't let that comment stand unchecked. Jacky had only kept herself sane by reassuring herself all of the spy-work she had done throughout the day was actually basically pretty much more or less legal.

The operator worked to reset her composure, allowing Sleuth to continue the speaking part. She had stopped herself short of admitting that they didn't actually have the video evidence, but she'd felt that she didn't have any other choice but to try and un-incriminate them from the saucy statement the Navi had made. She finally coughed, trying to change the subject and ride on Sleuth's last point. "Rather than the distress of not having access for her 'needs,' I'd be far more concerned at the emotional distress. For someone tightly strung as Damson appears to be, isn't it cruel to force her to suspect someone among those she trusts at the mall must be involved in the theft of so personal and so valuable of an item?"

As Sleuth worked on breaking through Sierra's deflecting calm, something seemed to work at last though it was perhaps not immediately what the detective had been aiming for. In the end, the thing that made the cleaning lady falter and hesitate was not the fact that they had evidence against her, legally obtained or not, but rather the admission from Sleuth that she was quite unconcerned about paying any real attention to the law. Sierra might have been confident and comfortable that, from a legal perspective, there was nothing two effective civilians could have fairly obtained that would help them... but with that hang up no longer hanging her expression shifted from bored and nonchalant to something more serious.

"Right... so long as we're on the same page." Which was apparently serious time voice code for Sierra agreeing that it would be best to settle this and sort it out without a fuss after all. She rolled her shoulders and refolded her arms, leaning on the railing alongside the other two women. When Sleuth pushed the buttons a little further to imply that Sierra could only really be their one and only, the cleaner rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Oh come on, I'm sure between the three of you you aren't that dense, so stop playing. If you're insisting that you're actually a really, really stupid detective and I've got to force feed you the crumbs one at a time, then you may as well sort this mess out without me. I don't have time for that. I'll co-operate but I won't break my promise and I won't do your job for you, so come on."

Sleuth made her prediction, but Sierra slowly shook her head.
"If you want girls who fancy Damson, you're barking up the wrong tree there... that's Casey, and everyone in the mall knows it. I was helping a friend because they needed me to do something they couldn't, obviously." She turned her head, looking slightly exasperated. "Hands and feet, you know. If it were a human friend, I'd have told her to do it herself." She looked between Jocelyn and Jacky, unsure quite where to rest her eyes while she spoke back to Sleuth. The woman seemed to be sticking to her guns about insisting that the ladies identify her requesting mastermind before she'd help out, but at the very least she'd subtly confirmed that the request came from a navi, rather than another human... which honestly made a lot of sense considering what they knew of the angry conversation she'd just stepped away from. She spared a second glance for Jacky though while she waited for a fresh deduction.

"If the lady gets that upset over being away from her dark and terrible secret for a day, then she's got deeper issues, miss. Or she's going to, once she knows who set this up." This brought about a small shake of her head and a worn sigh.

"Okay, okay, so maybe I was just a wee bit misleading with that joke," Sleuth chuckled, once Jacky protested the alleged illegality of her actions. "We actually did have the cooperation of mall security staff, as unlikely as you might find that! I won't name names," she continued, before quieting down so Sierra could get on with what she was trying to say. "Um... See, this is exactly the part where you're supposed to feed me crumbs, Miss Sierra. Miss Jacky and I have built an entire case against you with compelling evidence. So, er, we've done our footwork and yes, now you are more or less forced to tell us everything we want to know. Or that's how this would normally go, anyway," the detective responded. "How do you think detectives get clues, anyways? It's not like a jigsaw puzzle where all of the pieces come in the box and you have to stick them all together just right. A detective talks to people and at times pressures them! Think of revealing all of the details to us in that light: you're just another information source in a long line of sources! Sorry; you don't get special privileges just because you think you're above all of this, my dear."

"Well, it doesn't exactly take a detective of my esteem to realize that Miss Casey has the love-bug for Miss Damson, yes. So you're saying there's nothing between them? Phooey! Guilty until proven innocent!" Sleuth joked. "The real test is lock them in a room together with a queen-sized bed and some velvet sheets and see what happens when you turn the lights off!"

"Would we figure out who the criminal is if we did so?" Jocelyn asked, perking up again as she saw an opportunity to proceed with resolving the case.

"... No, that was just me working myself into a tizzy. Irrelevant to the case," Sleuth coughed. "So let me get this straight: you are now saying not only that you wish for me to consider another culprit beyond yourself, you being the only one that we have any real evidence against, but ALSO, you wish for me to consider that a navi was the chief mastermind behind all of this? One of us here truly must be dense; it's either me, for not being able to swallow the pill you're feeding me, or you, for fabricating such a bizarre story," she scoffed. "But I'll entertain the thought, because, well, it entertains me. Entertainment deserves to be rewarded in kind! So, logically, whoever the main culprit is, they must have known about the lock-jingling-aide, that much we've established. This leaves only a few possibilities, as it is ordinarily even more difficult for a navi to ascertain the specific location of a hidden outer world item than it is for a human to. Those possibilities: one, that Miss Damson or Miss CurlGurl opened up to someone about it... That would be odd for Damson, but likely for CurlGurl, who's a bit of a chatterer. We've all but ruled out the possibility that a security navi was involved at this point, since the camera was covered for most of the time and we've spent so much time investigating them, only to come up with so little to directly incriminate them. This leaves one other possibility... one that is especially strange, yet seems to fit your claim that Miss Damson would be upset if she found out. Namely: the possibility that Miss Curly herself is the one who orchestrated hiding the device," she finished.

"That seems improbable... Miss CurlGurl really liked the device! Why would she want to take away her operator's?" Jocelyn asked. "They seemed like good friends, to me."

"Well, as a prank. Which really makes our whole errand here feel a bit more ridiculous than even I dared imagine it, if it's true," Sleuth muttered, rubbing her chin with one glove thoughtfully. "How about it, old bean? Are you ready to finally loosen those lips of yours?" the navi questioned Sierra again. "Is that it? Did CurlGurl contact you to try to prank her own operator? I can hardly imagine that it was any of the other navis I've met to this point... they each have no motive, nor the correct personality, nor even an especially good way to know the item was hidden where it was unless Curly told them. So it's Curly then, isn't it? And if it was... why the bloody blazes have you two had us stomping all over the place, making twice or thrice the scene you would have if you'd simply reclaimed the item and placed it in Miss Damson's mail cubby?"

Jacky continued to keep quiet, seeing no need to get involved now that she felt they'd cleared the air of any potential criminal acts on their part (not realizing that it was, perhaps, that easy implication that had gotten Sierra to crack for them). The notion that it was a Navi involved in the theft, however, forced her mind to engage, at least a little bit. The idea that a Navi was commanding the hands of an Operator... well, technically not an Operator, but a human in the real world, anyway... it was an unusual case, for sure.

Jacky found it hard to believe that between Sierra and Sleuth, she couldn't get on the same wavelength as either. Wasn't there some way to approach this in a non-confrontational manner...? In that respect, she found herself feeling closer to Jocelyn's unknowing fumbling than any other voice in the room.

The medical student listened to the detective lay out her reasoning. She had to admit, she thought it took a certain amount of bravery to be a detective, at least in the sense Sleuth acted as one: she didn't seem to have any problem laying out whatever far-fetched theory seemed the most exciting for her. For Jacky, it was a bit hard to even take a step in that direction. There were just too many unknowns and variables in front of her to jump to a snap decision after a cursory investigation. She supposed it was a good thing Sleuth was there after all... that is, if she was indeed on to anything.

The idea of Damson's own Navi being the perpetrator would have been much harder for Jacky to believe a short while ago, when she still hadn't met Hyde. Now, she found herself agreeing with Sleuth's reasoning. It only made sense that whatever Navi Sierra was just speaking to in Janette's store was the culprit, and considering CurlGurl had met up with Janette's Navi previously, it seemed reasonable to assume one of those two were on the other side of Janette's PET.

Jacky wanted to agree, but the missing evidence was too much for her to settle on a conclusion so easily. For starters, they didn't really have a good motive for her involvement. Jacky could understand Sleuth's irritation: for a classic detective like her, the idea of a culprit's motive being "just for fun" or "for a laugh" was probably frustrating. It was such a poor motive that it certainly begged the mind to think up a better one. Sleuth and Hyde had hung out with CurlGurl for a good part of the morning, as well. Wouldn't they have noticed something off? Would CurlGurl really have so easily let them out of her sight instead of hanging around, misdirecting them? Then again, she couldn't imagine Sleuth and Hyde had done much to put CurlGurl on the defensive as a culprit in their time together...

And what of FleetFoot? Wasn't it entirely possible she was actually the culprit? Hyde and Sleuth had barely spent any time with her. Sleuth probably saw the lack of incriminating factors as a bore and had dismissed her as a suspect, but for Jacky, a lack of information made the question mark that much bigger. Surely, in the course of running her mouth, CurlGurl would have revealed the existence of the device to FleetFoot. FleetFoot would have had a far easier time arranging the theft then CurlGurl, who would have had to do scheme right beneath her operator's nose.

All things considered, she decided to simply stay silent and fold her bad hand. It was something to think about, but she was happy to let the detective be a detective, at least until they came to a dead end.

Sleuth took some effort to paint the scenario that Sierra was leading them towards in a particularly incredulous light, but the cleaning lady took it with her arms folded and a relaxed stance; she was beginning to understand the detectives dire need for showmanship, so she was about giving up on trying to get the other woman to just cut to it plainly. Eventually, Sleuth made her next prediction and Sierra nodded with a tired sigh. With a small smirk and an eye roll she threw up her hands in the most lack-lustre show of distress any of them had likely seen in a while.

"Oh dear, those terrible detectives had already worked it all out when they came to me! They already knew everything, and I couldn't just lie to them when they went and spelled it all out in front of me! What could I do? I didn't tell them anything that they hadn't already worked out!" She put her hands down and stopped waving them in the air lazily, then folded them over her chest again.

"Look, I really don't know the why of it. Curls is very changeable and impulsive, and sometimes she gets something into her head and acts on it, then regrets it later. You'll have to ask her about why she asked me to do this. All I know is this: She told me about Damson's package, and when it was due to arrive, and that she wanted it to disappear for a day, then have Damson have to go reclaim it herself from the bond shop. I don't know why." She shook her head and shrugged. "When Damson insisted on getting someone to investigate quietly, she wanted out and begged me to 'fix' things again. She's a grown woman but she ends up acting the child so often. I don't really care how you sort this out now, but if push comes to shove, we can honestly say there wasn't even a crime committed, since the 'theft' came at the behest of the owner's own navi, if you follow... I'd like that curly-haired little ditz to maybe learn something from this if possible. What do you want to do about it?"

Sierra was still idly leaning against the rail waiting for her two victorious detectives to decide how to handle things; it seemed at this point she'd be willing to nip down to her personal shelf, grab the claim ticket and return with the box of the hour, if they told her to, but of course they didn't necessarily need to do that if they' rather get Damson to do the walk of shame, or even invent some other more fitting solution. It seemed that the main reason why it wasn't solved more quietly, if Sierra was to be believed, was because curly couldn't get the item back herself, wasn't willing to tell anyone else about her involvement, and Sierra thought it served the bubbly navi right.

Sleuth, who had a policy of not becoming flustered, appeared to be allowing some irritation to sneak into her voice all the same. "Yes, quite. It would just make my day to hear you say those words, Miss Sierra" she responded dryly, her smile fixed on her face despite her annoyance. "Well, Miss Jackie, Miss Jocelyn, Miss Sierra, if you'll pardon my butting in, it sounds like it's time for Miss Hyde and myself to shine! That is to say: navis are best suited to speak to navis, after all, and I think that if she's going to learn from all of this, it is probably best if we resolve it face to face with her. We will commit to that. All you have to do, Miss Sierra, is go reclaim the item... which is best for you to do, since your name is on the ticket," she offered. "Oh, and also, tell us where Curly is at this time. I'm assuming you've been keeping an eye on her? I should have been but... eeeeeer, I didn't," Sleuth admitted.

The case had turned up to be a bit of a wash: Sleuth's legwork hadn't amounted to much and all that they'd learned could basically be accredited to Jacky and Sierra. That wasn't the kind of thing that would look good in her memoirs, nor was "sex toy stolen from operator by navi as a prank lol," so she thought she was probably going to omit this chapter altogether. On the other hand, her day spent with Hyde (and the time spent with LushLady) had been worth the trip, so it wouldn't be a day wasted, regardless. "I do hate to think of poor Curly squirming in her seat, but you're correct: probably best if she learns not to play these sorts of pranks... or, at least, to call them off when a detective gets involved," she shrugged, smirking boastfully in a way she hadn't really earned.

Jacky let out a sigh of relief, seeing that Sleuth's intuition had been on the money. Even though it didn't seem they'd earned Sierra's respect, she could at least feel confident they'd earned their pay on this mission. It was hard for her to accept that this was all a prank on CurlGurl's part, but she supposed Sleuth and Hyde might get to the bottom of it when they approached the Navi herself.

"I thank you for your cooperation up to this point," Jacky told the custodian. Really, that cooperation had been quite difficult to come by, but ultimately it had gotten them where they wanted to be. "As Sleuth mentions, it'd certainly help us out if you'd use the ticket to reclaim the item and deliver it to us. In the meantime, Sleuth and Hyde will make sure CurlGurl is appropriately reprimanded and find out whatever information is necessary to satisfy our own curiosity from the Navi herself. With any luck, if you reclaim that device, that'll be the last you see of us... unless, of course, you decide to stop by the Gloria Scott."

Jacky was hoping this could wrap up as quickly as possible at this point, but she had a feeling it might not be so simple. Sierra's pride could mean she wasn't going to run the errand of retrieving the device so easily and without complaint. Sierra's lack of a Navi might mean she'd have no way of telling them where CurlGurl was, even if she'd seen it on the PET screen. She supposed she'd have to wait and see.

Now that her end of the tale was out and aired Sierra nodded to the others. She seemed satisfied that they did mean to give those that deserved it, in her eyes, their due comeuppance. She arched an eyebrow, however on being asked for Curly's location.

"Anyone ever tell you that you seem to have this logical deduction thing completely backwards? You're asking the one woman here who doesn't have a PET on her, the location of someone else's navigator. Why'd you think I ended up having to talk to her through Janette's? Look, from what I saw the pair of them were in the food court, in the mall's local net. I told her to stay put while I fixed things, so she's probably still there, but I've really not got the faintest if that's accurate. Just... you two..." she flicked her eyes to Jacky and Jocelyn. "Wait here and I'll go get the silly thing back. Whatever you do with it after that, I couldn't care less at this point. Just hang tight." With a last shake of her head, the cleaner strode away to set things right.

It would take her a few minutes to retrieve her ticket from her things, then reclaim the prize from the pawn shop and return to them, but when all was said and done the crime-solving team had the V.I.D. in their possession at last. Whichever woman ended up actually holding the box would note that is wasn't completely weightless; as Curly had suggested, the physical toy might have almost all of the same features and abilities as the digital replica, but it paid for it by being fairly hefty, as far as such toys went. It was such a sophisticated and extravagant piece of personal pleasure technology that one couldn't help but wonder about the applications... but of course Jocelyn and Jacky were both well above contemplating the idea that such an expensive product might, terribly unfortunately, have disappeared beyond finding... weren't they?

While the two were not even contemplating such a moral question, there was ample time for Sleuth and Hyde to seek out and confront CurlGurl herself about the freshly unravelled plot; they'd been on their way towards the net's food court before stopping to have their far more necessary heart to heart, and it would only really take them a short while to head there and search her out. If they did so quickly, they would almost certainly find the curly-haired navi still sitting at a small open-air table with her friend.

"That is... a fair point. Perhaps you should ransom the diddler and use some of that money to purchase a new personal terminal and navi? As you've no doubt noticed from my delightful candor, Miss Hyde's charming personality, and Miss CurlGurl's affable jokes, net navigators are trustworthy companions that make life easier in all aspects," Sleuth chuckled, laughing at her own joke.

"Absolutely!" Jocelyn responded to Sierra's demand, giving a sharp salute. Obeying orders was her area of specialty, although only when they didn't conflict with other orders. "And Miss Sleuth, you will check the food court on the net, correct?"

"Yes, of course! Although I'm still a bit full from earlier," the detective replied, again giving a small, self-satisfied chortle.

"You had a snack earlier?" Jocelyn asked.

"Oh, in a sense," the net navigator responded, before heading off to do her job.

Jocelyn and Jackie were left in awkward silence as Sierra disappeared. "Oh, Miss Jacky, you don't know how happy this makes me!" Jocelyn sighed, wanting to break the quiet. "Together, we've solved the case! I feel like it helps me understand Miss Sleuth just a little better, you know? Don't you feel like you've taken a stroll in her shoes?" she asked. "And don't you feel happy to help others?"

It would be only a short conversation between the two, as Sierra would return in short order. Jocelyn accepted the device... she had a sense Jacky wouldn't want it, and besides, it was her duty as the official authority between the two to handle the stolen item. Naturally, she had no inkling that she might walk off with the item herself; it could be said that her loyalty to the ethics of mall cops was her most endearing feature (excluding physical ones). "Thank you ever so much... I can't wait to see Miss Damson's face light up when we bring this back to her!" she exclaimed, examining the box with an expression of curiosity. She'd never held such a device before, let alone such a fancy one. "... It looks a bit like a night stick," she thought out loud, making a childish correlation, but one befitting a security officer.

Lacking much in the way of modesty or rational behavior, she stood holding the device without attempting to hide or cover it in any way. "We should take this to Miss Damson now," she finished, before waving goodbye to Sierra. "Thank you for your assistance, good citizen!" she smiled, seeming to have forgotten that Sierra's work as an accomplice was what had facilitated the whole issue to begin with. With that done, she returned to her segway and motioned for Jacky to follow. Together, the two would head back to How-do-you-Doo and see if they could meet up with their employer.

"Thanks," Jacky responded succinctly. She wasn't crazy about the continued berating, but at least they were receiving cooperation now. At this rate, they might actually be able to complete their work soon. That spirit fell a bit as it dawned on her that the final confrontation would be mostly up to Sleuth and Hyde... but then again, it was true that they had been excellent at making people uncomfortable so far. Perhaps they'd demonstrate that same talent in putting the screws to CurlGurl.

She crossed her arms and propped herself against the nearest wall or rail as she waited for Sierra's return. "Yes, I can see you're quite pleased," Jacky agreed. Jocelyn wasn't the type who could keep those types of emotions to herself if she wanted to, in Jacky's opinion. "Naturally, I'm happy to have completed our task competently and that everything worked out in the end. As for 'understanding' Miss Sleuth... I'm sorry to say that if this is the regular work of a detective, I'll be happy to stay far from it." She could see the profession took a certain amount of nosiness and thick skin against the disapproval of others. In that sense, she didn't know whether to compliment or chastise the Navi for being such a consummate professional.

The operator let another sigh of relief escape as Sierra appeared with the goods, as promised. She cringed a bit as Jocelyn examined the case with little furtiveness. She made a point to step in and push it to Jocelyn's bosom. "Please, protect that from sight as we go... do remember that this is a confidential item for our client. I think we should avoid unnecessary conversation on the subject... and any unnecessary flaunting of the article itself." She couldn't say she wasn't, in all honesty, curious to examine the thing they'd spent so long hunting herself... but she didn't want to set up the opportunity for Jocelyn to get into any further hijinks.

With that, the medical student followed alongside Jocelyn, as keeping pace behind her trusty vehicle would be more trouble than it was worth. "I do think I'll be happier knowing Ms. Damson has peace of mind, but I think I'll be just as happy to put this business behind me and get some sleep."

Under normal circumstances, it was clear that Sierra was the type to want to give due answer to the snarky comments of others, but with the way her morning had turned out so far, she let the comment about getting a navigator slide without response. Chances were that even if the cleaner didn't already have a home navi that she simply never brought to work with her, interactions with individuals like Sleuth, and Hyde probably weren't selling her on the idea of keeping one about her twenty-four seven.

Upon her return, she was clearly unimpressed with the two women gawking at the neatly sealed box and all its pretty diagrams on the info side, complete with small, catchy phrases advertising all the wonderful ways that it could be used and instead nodded briefly to the confirmation that they'd be heading straight back to Damson, while their navis cornered CurlGurl. Satisfied, the cleaning lady took her leave of the two without a backward glance, and the more perceptive mission-goers present might get the distinct feeling that Sierra would be happy never to meet either of them again. They'd only really spent the first part of the morning pursing the case, after all, but no-one could fault poor Jacky for feeling worn out already.

Fortunately, then, it was a simple and uneventful trek back to 'How-do-you-Doo?' with their prize. Damson herself was taking care of a client when they arrived and didn't see them at first; neither did the customer getting her hair done, but it was to be hoped that Jocelyn had the presence of mind to obscure the box in some way that wouldn't give away its nature at a glance. It would be a few more seconds of their being in the shop before Damson glanced up, saw them, let her eyes flick immediately to what was being carried, and had her cheeks flush bright pink. She hesitated, then held up one finger in a 'hang on' gesture, and returned to her work. After a few more foils were neatly positioned, she nodded once.

"There, now we just have to let that sit for ten minutes. There's magazines there if you want, I'm just going to talk to these other customers quickly while you wait, alright?" Her voice was quiet and soothing, but she wasted no more time in darting over to Jocelyn and Jacky and ushering them swiftly into her back office as efficiently as she could. Once they were all inside she closed the door behind them, still blushing.

"Oh, you found it! I'm so relieved. This is all so mortifying, I hope you didn't need to talk to to many other people to track it down, did you? Did you catch the scoundrel that took it in the first place?" Her hands clasped into small fists as she spoke, but only for a moment; after that they were busy reclaiming the very important package and depositing it safely back away in her bottom desk drawer.

"Perhaps so. It's definitely not a job for everyone... However, I can certainly see how someone could enjoy such free-spirited business! It's quite different from the rules and rigor of the mall cop life," Jocelyn giggled in response to Jacky, amazingly implying that her ridiculous version of the mall cop position was somehow more stressful than Sleuth's running around and metaphorically charlie horsing people until they surrendered tightly guarded answers, ideally deflecting insult and injury like some sort of kung-fu movie protagonist swatting bullets. "Ah, well. I'm happy that she likes the work. Her name would be pretty unfortunate if she didn't, wouldn't it?"

While Jacky perhaps contemplated the answer to that philosophical question, Jacky hid the device as discretely as she could, tucking the object into a small glovebox-like compartment hidden in the console of her segway. The hiding place wouldn't close like that, but if she pressed her belly to it while riding, it wouldn't fall out. "All ready!" she announced, saluting Jacky again before heading off to her objective point, with the usual low, mechanical hum that accompanied her preferred method of transportation.

The two reached Damson's shop; thankfully, before Jocelyn could execute whatever method she thought best to get Damson's attention, the hair-dresser noticed them and took charge, managing to corral the mall cop and student into the back room. As usual, the segway was a tight fit, but Jocelyn didn't seem like she'd considered leaving it behind. This time around, that was actually a good decision; it helped to discretely get the object to Damson without anyone seeing... although, the camera would still be an issue. Jocelyn simply coughed and discretely handed over the object, giving a wink and a thumbs up after it was taken, seeming to revel in the sneaky business despite her regular employment as a mall cop. Damson's question caused her to freeze up a bit, still mid-thumbs-up. "Er... Yes... We went only through the channels we needed to!" she replied, hoping she could leave it at that and not reveal that they'd basically asked questions throughout the entire mall, discrete or otherwise, with at least one security navi having a pretty clear idea of all of the ridiculousness that had happened. "As for the thief... Um..." she murmured, trying to formulate in her head what the best way to break the news would be, or whether they really needed to break the news at all.

"The thief should be turning herself in shortly. I was very clear to her that it was important she do so and I think it's best that the two of you talk it out," Sleuth spoke up in a short reassurance from Jocelyn's PET, which was now mounted onto her segway. "If she doesn't want to, well, I'll offer some insight using my intuition as a detective."

"My, your intuition's acting up a lot today, isn't it, Miss Sleuth?" Jocelyn observed blankly.

"Always, my dear. It always does," Sleuth agreed.