Soon after setting foot in the amphitheatre, Adela stopped in her tracks as she suddenly had a bad feeling.
She couldn't explain why, but something was telling the mother to not leave the Riverbanks Center just yet, as if leaving the center was a decision she would soon regret.
Adela turned and looked at the ferris wheel overlooking the entirety of the Riverbanks Center from the carnival.
Desire and intuition war within her. But eventually, the mother set aside her intuition and decided to follow what she desired;
To meet her daughter.
Adela started walking once more as she headed for the mall, to one of its entrances and head straight for the parking space.
* * *
Meanwhile, desire and responsibility war within Callisto's mind.
She knew Adela was there, so close and yet so far. A part of herself wanted to go and see her mother, even though she was well aware that she couldn't show herself before Adela or it wouldn't end well otherwise.
Just a glance. She didn't have to actually show herself. That was all she ever wanted.
However, she didn't want to betray the officers and the family after coming out of nowhere and giving them hope to catch the criminal either.
The criminal was inside the mall somewhere. If she could help catch that thief, it would give one family a peace of mind, it would lessen their worries for their child with diabetes.
"Hey, Kid," the commanding officer called one more time, his tone serious and commanding. "I don't have time for pranks right now. Do you know where the criminal is or not?"
Callisto's cat ears were flattened to the side, hands clenching into fists, arm pressing tighter around her big stuffed toy as her internal struggle continued.
Eventually, she forced herself to look away from where the trail of Adela's scent was stretching out and followed the thief's.
"He's in the mall," she informed the commanding officer as she started running. "Hurry!"
The commanding officer quickly followed suit, turning on his radio once more with urgency. "The eyewitness says the criminal is inside the mall! Those who can move, converge in the mall. Over."
He tucked the radio away upon receiving affirmatives from his colleagues. Only then did the commanding police realized the widening gap between him and Callisto as they traversed through the crowd closer and closer to the mall.
"She's fast even while holding that big stuffed toy with just one arm," he muttered to himself, trying to pick up the pace.
* * *
While trying to get around the crowded amphitheatre toward the Riverbanks mall, Adela overheard the radio of one of the two officers close by.
"The eyewitness says the criminal is inside the mall! Those who can move, converge in the mall! Over."
"Roger that," the officer holdin his radio responded. "Let's go."
"Yeah," the other officer followed suit.
Adela watched the officers rush through the crowd ahead of her, a glint of worry in her eyes. "There's a criminal in the mall?"
* * *
Once stepping foot inside the mall, the commanding officer immediately lost sight of Callisto.
"Up here!"
Hearing Callisto's voice, the commanding officer turned to the escalator and there the young lady was, relief washed over him.
Upon reaching the second floor of the mall, Callisto continued to speak to the police while moving. "He's close! Hurry!"
The commanding officer tried his best to catch up to the young lady. When he did, they were standing right in front of a restroom.
Trying to catch his breath, he kept his gaze at the restroom entrance as he asked, "How do you know he's here?"
For a couple seconds, Callisto remained silent, only fixing the white cat mask covering her face and keeping the stuffed toy tucked between her side and her arm.
"It doesn't matter right now, is it?"
The commanding officer found himself agreeing with the masked girl's response, refocusing on the situation at hand. He asked the girl one more time;
"Which side is he in?"
Callisto pointed at the female side of the restrom.
The police nodded and took his radio next to his mouth. "I need back up on the second floor. The criminal is inside the restroom, most likely changing attire. I'm waiting for him to make his exit."
"I'll tell you when he comes out, Officer," Callisto interjected, receiving a thank you from the police.
Inside one of the stalls in the females' restroom, a fair-skinned, classy lady, or at least that was what he looked like on the outside, came out.
Before exiting the restroom, he looked at the mirror and fixed the foundation on his face next to a real woman, unaware of the true identity of the classy lady next to her.
As soon as he stepped foot outside, his shaded eyes immediately locked on to an officer seemingly waiting for someone from the same restroom he just came out of.
Judging by how it seemed like he was guarding the restroom, it was clear that the officer had caught wind of him hiding in the said restroom.
The question was how.
The thief made sure no officer nor anyone else in the mall saw him enter the females' restroom. He even brought another shoulder bag just to hide the one he brought with him earlier in the carnival so that he could completely conceal himself and ride the crowd out of the Riverbanks center.
No, there was no use asking himself how they figured out he would be coming here in the restroom out of every other restrooms in the mall.
With his incredble skill with make-up, he had completely transformed himself as if he was a woman.
There was no way for that officer or for anyone else to figure out that he was the one they were looking for. If he could just get out of the Riverbanks Center, it would be his win.
But...
"Wait."
Just as he was heading for the escalator, he felt a strong hand gripping his shoulder with a bit of force from behind him.
"You have a rather broad shoulder for a fair lady, dude," the commanding officer's voice echoed in the thief's ears, coaxing a surprised gasp out of the criminal as he aimed his taser on his back. "Hands on your back, you bastard."
The thief did not speak, but he obeyed the commanding officer's command and put his hands behind him.
Meanwhile, Callisto was watching everything unfold from the sidelines, her golden eyes remained intact.
"Hm?"
Callisto's cat ears twitched above her head. The thief had been obedient with the commanding officer so far, but the young lady sensed that something wasn't right with the thief.
The young lady watched as the commanding officer put his taser back in its holster and let go of the thief's shoulder to get his handcuffs hanging on his waist.
But before he could do so, the thief immediately swung and landed a punch right at the unsuspecting officer's face.