Chapter Twenty-Four

Remorse, hunger, and depression. Those were the three things I felt as I was sitting here in the waiting area at the police station. Though we were able to bring the thief to the police, I still feel remorseful. My phone is still somewhere out there in the hands of the two thieves who got away.

I want to kick myself for not setting up the anti-theft system on my phone. The police could have tracked it and could have recovered it. On the bright side, at least I have not synced in my files yet. So, there's no need to worry about having my data stolen.

I groaned inwardly as I covered my face with my hands. I can't believe my new phone got stolen. Of all things! I saved up to buy that phone which I had been eyeing for a while. I was so happy when I finally got it... only to lose it the following day.

Arggh!!!

I hope the police can get some information from that thief. They are in the interrogation room now. I hope the thief can, at least, spill where the other thieves are. Maybe there's still a chance we can retrieve my phone.

While I was trying to calm myself down, I felt something hot lightly hitting me on my arms. I looked up to see a paper bag with the logo of a famous fast-food restaurant printed on it. Then, I raised my head to see the person holding it.

"Your lunch," she said. I took the bag from her hand. She also handed me a bottle of water.

"Thanks," I said in almost a whisper.

She took a seat beside me. She took a sip of the drink she was holding as I was opening the bag. I took out each item and examined the contents. She bought a lot. There were two pieces of fried chicken and rice, mashed potato, a chicken sandwich, fries, and a brownie. This is too much for me. Maybe some of these are hers.

"Have you eaten? Which of these are yours?" I asked.

"I already ate while waiting for the orders. Those are all yours." She said without even sparing me a glance.

"No wonder you took a long while to get back," I commented.

She left to get our cars at the park along with two policemen. Earlier, I noticed she took a long time to get back. It turned out she bought food for me. We were supposed to have lunch after all. Then, the robbery happened.

"Your order was fast. Theirs took a while," she explained pointing to a policeman carrying a box.

Two policemen were handing out burgers, fries, and drinks to everyone. They were the ones who accompanied her to get our cars.

"Thank you so much, Ma'am J. Claire!" the police at the reception said as he received his food.

Soon, a chorus of thanks was heard. Praises and gratitude were showered upon her. She bought food for the whole police station! I take back what I said about her being a rich snob. She's not only hospitable but very generous.

"You're welcome. Enjoy your snacks!" she said with her rare happy smile.

I found myself smiling as I ate the meal she gave me. I felt a bit better now. Plus, I finally got to silence my aching stomach. I devoured the delicious food. Soon enough, I was full and satisfied.

I decided to save the chicken sandwich and brownies for later. While I was munching on the fries, the detective came out of the interrogation room. He talked a bit to a police officer before heading towards us.

"So, how was it, Detective Lagron?" Claire stood up and spoke to the inspector.

"Well, Miss Justine Claire... I did get him to talk." he began.

He, then, went on to explain to us what he had discovered. The thief is affiliated with a notorious gang of robbers here in Manila. The police had been tracking them for months. Unfortunately, the guy we caught was new to the gang. The robbery he did on me was, in fact, a gang initiation. If he succeeds, he will then become officially part of the gang.

Because of his current status, there are still a lot of things he doesn't know. He was never brought to their headquarters. Nor he had been introduced to the masterminds. It will take a while before they are able to hunt down the gang.

"I'm sorry, Mister Justin Cyrus. We will still do our best to hunt them down. But by the time we reach that point, they might have already sold your phone somewhere."

In short, my phone is as good as gone. Once again, the remorse I felt beforehand amplified.

"I understand. I guess I will have to be careful from now on." I was able to say.

"Thank you so much for your work, Detective Lagron. We hope you succeed in finding these criminals."

"We'll do our very best. We'll contact you if we are able to find them or if we get some useful information for you. We only hope it's soon."

She exchanged a few more words with the detective but I was no longer listening. I excused myself as I walked away with a heavy heart. I continued my slow pace until I got out of the police station. I continued my pace towards the parking lot. Eventually, I spotted my car parked beside hers.

As I was nearing my car, I patted my pants for my keys. I realized she still had my car keys. I turned around to walk back only to see her already walking her way to where I was.

"Here," she said. Then, she tossed the keys to me.

"Thanks," I said when I caught my keys. Oh, that reminds me.

"Also thanks for stopping the robber earlier," I said.

I was too shocked by the earlier events to even think about thanking her. Now that I have calmed down, I decided to say it. Well, like what they say, better late than sorry.

She looked at me with a mildly sad face then said.

"There's no need to thank me for that. It didn't do much help anyway... with your case, that is."

She's right. But still, she did what she could to help me. And that is why I'm grateful.

"I'm still grateful," I said. I was about to put in my key to unlock my car when...

"By the way, do you have plans for the rest of the afternoon?"

I stopped to turn to her. Is she still talking to me?

"I need to go somewhere work-related but I can't go alone. So if you're not busy, maybe you could join me."

To say I was surprised would be a major understatement. Did she just ask me to accompany her? After what she did for me today, I didn't have the heart to turn her down. Besides, I'll probably just go home, lie down on my bed, and continue my wallowing in depression for my lost phone.

"Okay," I replied.

"Good. Follow me then," she said.

She got in her car and I also went in mine. I waited for her to get out of the parking lot before I followed her out.

After ten minutes of driving, we finally arrived at her "somewhere work-related" destination. I couldn't believe my eyes when she entered the parking lot of the establishment.

I wanted to call her to make sure this is the location. Then, I realized... I don't have a phone! Damn!

Parking my car beside hers, I get out to meet her. She was standing by her car. She was on her phone when I reached her.

"This is the place?" I asked hoping she'd say "no" and that she was just messing with me.

"Yup!"

Well, that's the opposite of "no".

"Are you sure about this?" I asked again.

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"I don't understand why you're asking me that. I brought you here because this is our destination."

Okay. That rules out my assumption that this is just a joke.

"Is it safe to assume that you are attempting to cheer me up? I don't honestly think you're this kind." I asked testing the waters.

She looked at me in a momentary shock and then she smirked.

"Oh? That was surprising. I didn't think you'd even categorize me as a kind person. Like I said earlier, this is work-related. I just brought you as a second opinion."

That is when I realized what this is all about.

"Oh! So we're doing like a review of this place or something?"

"Yes... somewhat like that." She confirms.

Well, that explains it.

"Does this involve interviews again?" I asked just to make sure.

She laughed at my remark before replying.

"No, we're just going to make observations and test out their services."

I let out a sigh of relief. With that out of the way, I will definitely enjoy this.

"Come on, let's go," she said as she began walking.

"Okay."

We walked together, with me a step behind, towards the entrance of the amusement park.