The following morning, Maria was back in her office with a cup of coffee that had barely been touched. Sunlight slipped through the gap between the curtains and fell across her desk, illuminating the file on the black-clad pickpocket she had received the night before. Several photographs taken from surveillance cameras were spread across the desk, each showing the same figure from a different angle.
Maria did not rush through the report. Instead, she studied the photographs one by one, allowing her eyes to trace every small detail that others might have overlooked.
In some of the images, the figure appeared to be walking through a crowd. In others, the figure stood several meters away from a victim, looking like nothing more than an ordinary passerby who happened to be in the same place. After a theft occurred, the figure was never seen running away. The figure always disappeared gradually, blending into the flow of people before anyone had time to realize that a crime had just taken place.
Not a single photograph showed the figure's face clearly.
Yet the longer Maria studied the images, the clearer the pattern became in her mind.
The thief did not choose victims at random. First, the thief observed the surroundings, waiting until the crowd shifted into a favorable position before selecting someone who was distracted. After taking the target's belongings, the thief did not immediately run. Instead, the thief remained part of the crowd for several seconds, as though nothing had happened, before finally disappearing among the people.
That was what made the thief so difficult to catch.
It was not because the thief was always faster than the police, but because the thief knew when to be visible and when to disappear. The thief understood crowds in an unusual way, as though every person, table, vehicle, and narrow alley nearby were pieces of a map already stored inside the thief's mind.
The door opened.
A male officer in his forties entered carrying several documents. His face looked tired, but his eyes remained sharp, like those of someone accustomed to demanding answers.
"Maria."
Maria lifted her gaze from the photographs.
"Yes, sir?"
The officer placed the documents on her desk, then remained standing beside it as he waited for her assessment.
"How's your analysis?"
Maria looked at the photographs again before answering.
"I believe the thief is still somewhere around the same area."
The officer raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you say that?"
"There's no indication that the thief uses a vehicle or has a hideout far from the places where the thefts occurred." Maria pointed to one of the photographs. "The thief relies too heavily on crowds. If the thief had a vehicle, it would be much easier to leave the area without taking the risk of moving through large groups of people. But based on the pattern, the thief consistently chooses places where it's possible to blend in and move quickly."
The officer nodded slowly, though uncertainty remained on his face.
"So you think the thief will steal again?"
"If the pattern hasn't changed, yes."
"And you intend to wait?"
Maria shook her head.
"No. I intend to make the thief come to us."
The officer fell silent for a moment. He picked up one of the photographs, examined it briefly, then placed it back on the desk.
"How?"
Maria opened her desk drawer and took out a small box.
"I need Rania and Aline."
Not long afterward, Rania and Aline arrived at Maria's office. Rania carried a small notebook whose cover was already beginning to peel, while Aline walked in carrying two cups of coffee she had just bought from the shop downstairs.
"I didn't know we were having a meeting this early," Aline said as she placed one of the cups in front of Maria. "If I'd known, I would've brought breakfast too."
Maria accepted the coffee and gave a brief nod.
"Thanks."
Rania sat in the chair opposite Maria and opened her notebook.
"So, what's the plan?"
Maria slid several photographs toward the center of the desk so both women could see them clearly.
"We're not going to search for the thief at random."
Aline blew across the surface of her coffee before looking at the photographs.
"Then?"
"We make the thief come to us."
Rania began to understand. She closed her notebook and leaned back in her chair.
"Bait?"
Maria nodded.
"Bait."
She took a simple bracelet from the small box. It looked ordinary, made from nothing expensive and decorated with nothing particularly noticeable. However, a tiny device was hidden inside the clasp, almost impossible to spot without looking closely.
"There's a tracker in here."
Aline took the bracelet and examined it up close.
"What if the thief takes it?"
"That is exactly what we want."
Rania gave a faint smile.
"So you're going to be the victim?"
"For the time being."
Aline shook her head, half impressed and half disapproving.
"That's brave."
Maria slipped the bracelet around her wrist and made sure the tiny device was concealed beneath the metal clasp.
"If we want to understand how the thief operates, we have to give the thief a chance to show us. We won't catch them by guessing from camera footage alone."
Rania stared at the bracelet, then looked at Maria.
"And what if the thief realizes it's a trap?"
"Then we have to make sure the thief doesn't realize it."
---------------------
Night fell beneath a sky still heavy with clouds. The rain had only just stopped when the night market began filling with people. The wet streets reflected the lights from shops, billboards, and vehicles crawling through the traffic. The smell of food, damp earth, and exhaust mixed together, filling the air with an aroma unique to a place so crowded.
The location was perfect.
Busy, noisy, and filled with people more concerned with their shopping bags and phones than with those moving around them.
Maria, Rania, and Aline had already taken their positions.
Rania was on the eastern side of the market, disguised as an ordinary shopper in casual clothes with a cloth bag slung over her shoulder. Aline was positioned on the western side, wearing a light jacket and long pants so she would not look like a police officer on an operation.
Meanwhile, Maria stood in the middle of the crowd with the bracelet deliberately left visible.
They avoided using obvious communication. If they spoke directly about the target over the phone, someone nearby might overhear them. Instead, they used several predetermined phrases.
"How's it going?" Maria asked over the phone, pretending to examine a row of clothes hanging outside a shop.
Rania answered casually.
"I still haven't found the food I'm looking for."
Maria glanced around without moving her head too much.
"I haven't found anything that fits me either."
Aline joined the call.
"Then let's just wait."
To anyone else, the conversation sounded like three women talking about shopping. But to them, every sentence carried a different meaning: there was still no sign of the target, no suspicious movement, and the operation was proceeding as planned.
Time passed slowly.
Thirty minutes.
Then an hour.
Nothing.
Maria began walking with the flow of pedestrians. Every now and then, she stopped in front of a shop, looked at the merchandise, asked a vendor for the price, and continued moving. She did not want to look like someone waiting for a target.
If Arlan truly observed his surroundings before stealing, suspicious movements would only make him avoid them. Maria had to appear careless without actually becoming careless. She needed to look like an easy target while remaining prepared for whatever happened.
Another hour passed.
Still nothing.
Maria began wondering whether her prediction had been wrong. Perhaps Arlan had changed his habits. Perhaps he had realized that his recent thefts had drawn the police's attention. Or perhaps he simply was not in the night market at all.
But just as Maria was about to call off the operation, a woman's voice came from several meters behind her.
"Wait... my wallet is gone!"
Maria turned immediately.
A woman was frantically searching through her bag, panic spreading across her face. Her hands moved quickly as she checked every compartment, while several nearby people turned toward her after hearing the commotion.
"Are you sure it's gone?" someone asked.
"Yes. I had it just a moment ago," the woman answered, her voice trembling.
Maria did not move. She simply observed the crowd, watching for anyone who looked too calm, too nervous, or too eager to leave the area.
A few seconds later, a man standing not far from the woman suddenly checked his own pocket.
"My wallet is gone too."
Maria studied the crowd more carefully.
Two victims. Almost simultaneously.
That was no coincidence.
She immediately raised her phone and called Rania.
"Rania."
Rania's voice came through the line.
"I see it."
"Where?"
"Not sure yet, but the theft happened around the northern side. I'm trying to get a better view from higher ground."
Aline immediately cut in.
"I'm heading there."
Maria moved at once.
She did not run. Instead, she walked quickly while studying the faces around her. The CCTV footage had given her an idea of how Arlan moved, but experiencing the same environment firsthand felt completely different.
Everyone moved unpredictably. Every body could become an obstacle. At any second, someone could appear from an unseen angle and disappear before they could be identified.
Then Maria suddenly realized something.
If Arlan was here, there was a chance the child was watching them too.
She slowed her pace. Her eyes moved left, then right. She studied reflections in shop windows, the gaps between people's shoulders, and the shadows moving beneath the market lights.
Nothing.
Then, a few seconds later, Maria felt something strange around her wrist.
Her bracelet was gone.
Maria froze in the middle of the crowd.
"Rania."
"What?"
"My bracelet."
Rania fell silent for a moment.
"Did he take it?"
Maria stared at her now-empty wrist.
"Yes."
Aline immediately asked,
"Is the tracker moving?"
Maria opened the tracking application on her phone. A tiny dot appeared on the screen, slowly moving away from her position.
"It's moving."
A faint smile crossed Maria's lips, though her heartbeat had already begun to quicken.
"Got you."
Maria followed the signal without running. She moved quickly, but kept enough distance to avoid looking suspicious. Every now and then, she stopped behind the crowd to make sure the dot on the screen was still moving in the same direction.
The tracker continued through the crowd, winding along narrow paths between stalls before moving toward the denser part of the market. After a while, the dot stopped.
Maria lifted her head.
Several meters ahead, a small child dressed in black stood between two groups of people. A hood covered the child's head, leaving part of the face hidden in shadow. One hand appeared to be holding something that glimmered faintly beneath the market lights.
Maria recognized the child immediately.
But this time, she did not rush forward. She slowed and observed.
The child remained still, as though simply standing there like any other visitor. There was no visible nervousness, no indication that the child knew someone was following.
Then a man standing in front of the child slipped a hand into his trouser pocket.
Arlan moved.
The motion was so fast and smooth that it was almost impossible to see. His hand moved toward the man's pocket while his body shifted slightly, shielding the movement from the people around him.
Maria stepped forward immediately.
"Don't move."
Arlan stopped.
His hand remained several centimeters from the victim's pocket. Slowly, he turned his head.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, the noise around them seemed to disappear. Vendors calling out, engines roaring, and people talking became nothing more than a distant hum.
Maria could finally see the figure more clearly.
The body was indeed small, even smaller than Maria had imagined from the surveillance footage. Black clothing covered nearly the entire body, while the hood kept part of the face hidden in shadow.
But what drew Maria's attention most were the eyes.
Calm.
Sharp.
They were not the eyes of a child caught in the middle of doing something wrong. Arlan looked at Maria as though assessing whether the woman standing before him was a threat to be avoided or an opponent he could still handle.
Maria narrowed her eyes.
"So it's you."
Arlan did not answer. His face remained expressionless, but his eyes moved quickly, studying Maria's position, the distance between them, and the openings that might offer a way to escape.
Several people were beginning to notice them.
Maria took another step.
"Don't run."
Arlan remained silent.
Maria was already preparing to grab his arm.
But at that exact moment, Arlan moved.
He turned and ran.
"He's running!"
Maria immediately gave chase.
Rania and Aline moved in from opposite sides to cut off his route. Arlan tore through the crowd at a startling speed. His small frame allowed him to slip through gaps that Maria could not pass through as quickly. He squeezed between two people, darted past a vendor's table, then vaulted over a chair in his path without losing his balance.
"Don't let him leave the market!" Maria shouted.
Rania appeared from the right.
"He's heading north!"
Aline ran from the opposite direction.
"Cut him off from the front!"
Arlan saw them.
Without hesitation, he changed direction. Maria realized that the child was reading their positions with remarkable speed, as though he had already anticipated the possibility of being surrounded.
"He knows we're trying to box him in!"
Arlan ran toward an even denser section of the crowd. Maria continued after him, keeping enough distance to avoid losing sight of him. The gap between them narrowed.
Five meters.
Four meters.
Three.
Maria reached out. Her fingertips nearly touched Arlan's clothing, but the child ducked and suddenly changed direction. Maria lost a step, while Arlan pulled away again.
Maria immediately pursued.
"Stop!"
Arlan did not answer.
He passed a table covered with food, then leapt to the other side. Several glasses fell and shattered when his body clipped the table.
"Sorry!" Maria shouted to the vendor without slowing down.
Arlan kept running.
He did not attack anyone. He simply used the crowd as an obstacle, exploiting the panic and confusion that arose whenever his small body slipped between people.
It matched everything Maria had learned from the CCTV footage.
The child did not fight unless necessary. He evaded, moved, disappeared, then reappeared somewhere unexpected.
Maria was beginning to understand why the police had struggled to catch him all this time. Arlan was not simply running faster. He knew how to make other people lose their sense of direction.
Arlan suddenly turned into a narrow passage between two buildings. Maria followed without hesitation, while Rania and Aline ran several meters behind.
"He went into the alley!" Rania shouted.
Maria kept running. The alley was not a dead end. Arlan reached the far end and immediately climbed a metal fence separating the alley from the rear yard of a building.
Maria stopped for a fraction of a second when she saw the child already standing on top of the fence.
Arlan jumped down on the other side.
Maria clenched her teeth.
"Not this time."
She climbed over the fence as well. The wet metal caused her hand to slip slightly, but she managed to reach the other side and landed with one knee nearly buckling beneath her.
As soon as she regained her footing, Maria saw Arlan running toward a low wall. The child climbed it with such effortless movement that his body seemed almost weightless. He used a small protrusion in the wall as a foothold, pulled himself up, and continued without stopping.
Maria began to realize something.
The child was not merely fast.
He was accustomed to using his environment as part of his movement. Arlan did not search for paths that already existed. He created his own, using anything that could help him move farther.
Maria chased after him.
But when they passed the corner of the building, Arlan suddenly disappeared from sight.
Maria stopped. Her breathing was heavy as her eyes swept left and right.
Nothing.
Rania and Aline finally caught up.
"Where is he?" Rania asked, bending over as she tried to catch her breath.
Maria looked up.
A tall wall stood before them. On the other side were several low buildings packed closely together, their rooftops forming a possible escape route for anyone accustomed to moving through tight spaces.
Maria understood.
"He went up."
Aline looked upward as well.
"Up there?"
Maria nodded.
They tried to find a way around to the other side, but Arlan was already gone. A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps came from the rooftops above.
Maria looked up.
For a brief moment, a small silhouette appeared against the light, moving across the rooftop before disappearing behind another building.
Maria clenched her fist.
"He got away."
-------------------------
They eventually returned to the vehicle some time later. Maria sat in the back seat, trying to steady her breathing. Her eyes stung from the long exposure to the night air, while sweat still ran down her forehead and dampened the collar of her shirt.
Rania sat beside her.
"We almost had him."
"Almost," Maria replied.
Aline sat in the front and turned toward them.
"But now we know he's really out there."
Maria looked at her empty wrist.
"And he took our bait."
Rania nodded.
"So the plan worked."
Maria slowly shook her head.
"Partly."
She stared at the screen of her phone. The tracker still displayed the last known location before the signal disappeared, a dot that was no longer moving.
"He knows we're looking for him."
Aline turned farther around.
"Do you think he knew we were police from the beginning?"
Maria fell silent.
The question brought her back to Arlan's expression when they had met. That look had not belonged to someone panicking after being caught. There had been no obvious fear, not even the confusion Maria would normally expect from a child his age.
It had been the look of someone assessing an opponent.
"I don't know."
Maria stared at Arlan's photograph displayed on her phone.
"But from now on, he'll be much more careful."
Rania nodded.
"So what's our next move?"
Maria did not answer immediately. She stared out at the streets beginning to empty, the shop lights being switched off one by one, and puddles reflecting the glow of passing vehicles.
"We find out who he is."
That night, Maria returned to the station.
She opened every report connected to the pickpocketing cases, then began comparing times, locations, and movement patterns. She recorded every place where a theft had occurred, studied the distances between the areas, and searched for any possible connection between the victims.
Yet her thoughts kept returning to one thing.
Arlan's face.
When his hood had shifted slightly while he was running, Maria had caught a clearer glimpse of his features. His face was too soft, too young, and showed none of the harshness people usually associated with a criminal.
Long black hair had slipped from beneath the hood, moving with every step he took.
Maria could still picture it.
"A little girl?"
She whispered the words, almost as though speaking to herself.
But she quickly shook her head. It did not matter whether the thief was a boy or a girl. One thing was certain—the child was very young. And if the child really was around thirteen years old, Maria's questions only became more troubling.
How could a child that age become such a skilled pickpocket?
Who had taught him?
Where did he live?
Why did he have to steal?
Maria closed the file in front of her. She did not have an answer to a single one of those questions.
But one thing had changed.
She was no longer hunting a faceless shadow. She had seen the person behind it, if only for a few seconds. She had seen how the child moved, how he read his surroundings, and how he looked at someone trying to catch him.
Their first encounter had ended with one unsettling conclusion—
The little thief was far more difficult to catch than they had imagined.
To Be Continued...