To Catch A Thief

Bianca Barclay, a deceitful, conniving, 22-year-old waitress looked furtively around the empty cafe, a devious expression on her face. The cafe had closed half an hour ago and all the other staff had left. It was her turn to clean up the last few things and lock up.

This was generally an unpopular task, because it meant a longer workday, but Bianca relished her turn coming around, as she'd been regularly stealing from the takings, and this was the only time when she could guarantee that she wasn't being watched. She sighed. It had been a long, tiring day, and it was a hot, humid evening, especially now that she'd turned the air conditioning off for the night.

Bianca was 5'7, tall and slim, but busty - 34C - and with shortish auburn hair, which was immaculately (and expensively) styled, and held in place with hair clips. She was dressed in her usual waitress uniform: a frilly, short-sleeved, white collared shirt; a dark blue skirt several inches above the knee - "the shorter the skirt, the bigger the tips" was a saying every waitress knew; and flat black ballet pumps.

Bianca's waitressing job at the cafe was a part-time one. She was in her final year at college. The earnings from her part-time waitressing job helped with her college fees and rent, but she spent a lot on clothes, shoes, and nights out. So, lured by what she thought was easy money, instead of curbing her expenditure, she'd started stealing, to help finance her increasingly extravagant spending habits.

At first, Bianca had taken small amounts, but nothing had been said about any missing money, so she began to take more and more, amounting to several hundreds dollars over recent months. She didn't steal every time it was her turn to lock up, as she thought that might be noticed - the devious waitress thought she'd been clever and had covered her tracks. It was typical of her conniving personality.

She didn't feel remotely guilty either, and didn't once think that her selfish actions were harming anyone. It was typical of her thoughtlessness, but she didn't care, and thought that nobody had noticed. But she was wrong. Someone had noticed. And that particular someone had Bianca firmly in her sights.

Unbeknownst to Bianca, the cafe owner's 18-year old daughter, Skyler Swift, was watching Bianca closely at that very moment. Skyler had heard her exasperated and deeply-worried father talk about some recent and unexpected business losses that were causing the small, family-owned business real problems in these tough economic times. Profit margins were small at the best of times in the cafe and restaurant business, but these recent dips were potentially disastrous, especially as nobody seemed to have any idea what was going wrong.

Skyler was a real daddy's girl and had started helping her father with the accounts recently. On her own initiative she'd conducted a detailed check of the books: stock levels and expenditure, wages, takings, tips, rent and utilities, and much more besides. But then, on a hunch, she'd cross-referenced the losses with the shift records. Most of the wait staff and other workers were part-time, and there was a lot of last-minute shift-swapping, so it was a complex and fiddly task, but Skyler thought it might turn up an efficiency problem somewhere.

After hours of careful, painstaking work, Skyler thought she noticed a pattern: figures were compiled on a weekly basis, so a daily analysis wasn't possible, but all the weeks where losses had occurred were weeks when it had been Bianca's turn to lock up on at least one day.

The waitresses and other staff took turns locking up, but by checking the other staff, she could eliminate them, because while some had locked up on some of the weeks where losses had occurred, Bianca was the only one who'd locked up every single week that the losses had occurred. Skyler's detective work had paid off - she wondered if Bianca could be stealing.

The realization had hit Skyler like a ton of bricks. Her first thought was that she should share her analysis and her suspicions with her father. But she was kind and fair-minded, and reasoned that this might be unfair to Bianca, and that even if nothing was proven, even voicing the suspicion might count against the waitress in the future. So Skyler decided to play detective and find out for herself.

As the owner's daughter, Skyler was a familiar presence in the cafe, often popping in to help out with various chores. She'd made sure to be in and out all evening, but towards closing time had slipped into the back storeroom and hidden behind a large stack of cardboard boxes that she'd carefully positioned at the back of the room.

She'd waited until the cafe was closed, watching through a glass panel in the door, ready to hide behind the boxes if anyone looked like they might come in. But they didn't, and now Bianca was the only person left, doing her final clean up of various items, making sure everything was properly put away. Skyler was watching Bianca like a hawk.

Skyler was younger - she'd turned 18 just two weeks ago - and smaller than Bianca. Standing at just 5'1, the slim, sporty teen had long blonde hair, some of which was tied in a thick ponytail that was braided, and came down to her waist. Given the heat and the humidity that evening, the petite blonde was dressed in light blue denim short shorts (that her protective father constantly said were way too provocative), a sleeveless, tight, low-cut pink top that showed off her ample breasts - again, her father gently disapproved - and flat white ballet pumps.

With the chores completed, Bianca still hadn't left. Skyler peered intently through the glass panel in the storeroom door and watched the waitress closely. Bianca was looking around the room slyly and then walked over to the cash register, opening it. Skyler quickly pulled her smartphone out of the back pocket of her shorts, selected video mode, and started recording.

Skyler watched in silent fury as Bianca slipped a large handful of loose banknotes into her purse, along with some small envelopes of cash which the duty manager had hand addressed to waitresses who wouldn't be back until next month. It was some as-yet unpaid tip money, but Bianca figured that by the time the loss was noticed - if it ever was - it would be assumed the money had been misplaced. Even if theft was suspected, Bianca reasoned that nothing would point to her. Satisfied with her haul, Bianca closed the cash register and her purse, a smug and self-satisfied expression on her face. Then she walked into the kitchen, to make a final check that everything had been put away.

Skyler wasted no time and immediately called the police, giving her name and location, saying who she was, and briefly explaining that one of the waitresses had just stolen a significant amount of money, and was still in the cafe. The dispatcher told Skyler to wait where she was and said that she'd send a couple of officers, but warned it could take 20 or 30 minutes for them to arrive, because of manpower shortages due to a major incident elsewhere. She cautioned Skyler not to take any action herself, but the feisty teenager was furious and was determined to confront Bianca herself.

Skyler told the dispatcher she'd make sure Bianca didn't leave, then ended the call, put her phone back into her back pocket, and stepped out of the storeroom. She headed for the front door, which was locked, and unlocked it so that the police would be able to gain access. Then she walked back across the wooden floor of the cafe and towards the kitchen, just as the door opened and Bianca emerged, purse in hand, clearly about to leave.

Bianca jumped with fright at the sight of Skyler, having thought she was alone in the cafe.

"S-Skyler", the flustered waitress gasped, shocked by the teen's sudden and unexpected appearance. "Wh-what are you doing here? I-I thought you'd left ages ago."

Skyler eyed Bianca with a look of anger and contempt, glancing at Bianca's expensive, designer purse.

"OK Bianca," she snapped, "I figured you were the thief. I was watching from the storeroom and saw you steal. I've called the police, and they're on their way."

Bianca's expression betrayed a mix of shock, fear and panic. She glanced at her purse, then at Skyler, and finally at the door. Bianca's purse was full of stolen money - around a hundred dollars, in a mix of tens, fives and ones.

Worse still, the envelopes of cash had the duty manager's handwriting on them, so could only have come from the cash register. She figured that if she left before the police arrived, she could dispose of it all. Skyler would tell her father, of course; he'd believe her, and she'd be fired. But it would essentially be Skyler's word against hers, meaning that the police wouldn't be able to do anything.

But if the police arrived now, not only would she be fired, but she'd be arrested and prosecuted. She'd almost certainly be convicted, and while jail was unlikely, she'd probably face probation, a hefty fine and community service, which could jeopardize her college place and her ability to keep up the rent on her apartment. And she'd have a criminal record, with dire consequences for her future employment prospects.

There was a whole pile of potentially disastrous consequences if she was still in the cafe when the police arrived. She had to get away. And fast. All this went through Bianca's mind in a few seconds, and realizing she needed to leave immediately, the panicking waitress shoved Skyler hard, pushed her out of the way, and headed for the door.

Skyler reacted in an instant, out of a mix of instinct and anger, not caring for a moment that Bianca was older and taller than her. She grabbed Bianca as she pushed past, throwing her arms around the fleeing waitress's waist and tackling her down, both girls ending up on the wood floor.

With a cry of shock, Bianca lost her grip on her purse, which dropped onto the floor and burst open, with some of the stolen money spilling out. Bianca scooped up her purse and scrambled across the floor, but Skyler thrust out her arm and caught Bianca's ankle, pulling the older girl back across the floor, with Bianca losing hold of her purse.

"Let go, Skyler," Bianca hissed, kicking back at the blonde teen, catching her hard on the shoulder with her shoe, causing Skyler to yelp in pain and let go of Bianca's ankle.

Again, Bianca picked up her purse, got to her feet and headed for the door, only for Skyler to hurl herself at her, diving, wrapping her arms tightly around Bianca's bare legs, bringing the fleeing waitress down hard on the wood floor. Again Bianca lost her grip on her purse, which slid across the floor, with more of the stolen money spilling out, alongside keys, makeup and some of its other contents.

"Oh no you don't, Bianca," Skyler gasped, surprised at what she'd done, but not regretting it for a moment. "You're not getting away".

Skyler scrambled astride Bianca, pinning her, face down, but Bianca twisted her body and rolled Skyler off, both girls coming to a kneeling position on the floor, facing each other, just a couple of feet apart, breathing hard from the exertion, staring daggers at each other.

"D-don't be stupid, Skyler," Bianca stammered, shocked at having been tackled down so hard by the blonde teen, and desperate to get away.

Skyler stared resolutely at Bianca and shook her head. "You're not leaving".

Before Bianca could react, Skyler thrust out her arms, hands gripping Bianca's shirt - a couple of buttons coming off as she did so - in an attempt to restrain the older girl. Bianca shoved hard at Skyler, trying to push her away, then reached for Skyler's long ponytail, gripping it hard in one hand and pulling savagely.

"Oww, owwww, my haaiiiiiiir," Skyler yelped, letting go of Bianca's shirt and grabbing the waitress's wrist. "Let go!"

When that failed to dislodge the waitress's tight grip on her ponytail, Skyler let go of Bianca's wrist and decided to pay her back in kind, thrusting both her hands into Bianca's carefully-styled auburn hair and pulling savagely, pulling Bianca's head from side to side, the hair clips coming out of Bianca's hair and falling on the floor.

"Oww, let go," Bianca gasped, still not quite believing that the cafe owner's teenage daughter was physically trying to prevent her from leaving. She was increasingly panicked about the dire consequences that would befall her if she couldn't escape. She had to get away, but to get away, she had to get the better of Skyler.

The girls let go of each other's hair at the same time, and started slapping and scratching at each other, still facing each other in a kneeling position on the floor. Insults were exchanged, and the two girls clawed and raked at each other wildly. Neither girl had particularly long nails, so while their upper arms and faces had a few scratches, no serious damage was done.

The same wasn't true of the girls' tops. Bianca's white shirt was badly torn and was hanging open, the remainder of the buttons having been torn off at a point when Skyler had a particularly firm grip on the garment, with Bianca struggling wildly to break free of her grip. Skyler's top had fared little better, and was badly torn too.

Given their exertions, the fact that the air conditioning had been turned off, and the hot, humid evening, both girls were soaked with perspiration from their struggle, and breathing hard with exertion. Neither had been in a serious fight before, but Bianca was desperate to get away and Skyler was determined to stop her, so the struggle continued.

In a fresh attempt to restrain the thieving waitress, Skyler threw her arms around Bianca's body and tried to wrestle her down to a supine position. She succeeded, but Bianca had simultaneously thrown her arms around Skyler's midriff and responded in kind, so both girls ended up lying on the floor, held tight in each other's grip. They rolled over and over on the wood floor, hands clawing and scratching at each other, Bianca's skirt riding up to her waist, her bare legs tangled with Skyler's, first one girl on top and then the other.

The two fighting girls rolled slowly back and forth across the hardwood floor, one on top, then the other, occasionally knocking over a chair, and sometimes rolling over the dropped purse and spilled contents - including the stolen money. There were gasps, groans and grunts of effort as the struggle continued, as well as squeals and cries as they pushed, slapped and scratched at each other, occasionally landing a blow, grabbing and tearing at each other's already ruined tops, or grabbing a wrist in an attempt to subdue each other.

The girls' bare legs - damp with perspiration - were locked and tangled together like coiled pythons as the catfight continued, Skyler on top, then Bianca, then Skyler again, as they rolled back and forth across the hardwood floor. With legs tangled and feet kicking, both girls' ballet pumps came off, leaving them barefoot, their perspiration-soaked bodies still locked together in each other's grips as they struggled.

At one point Skyler was on top of Bianca, virtually lying on top of the older girl, before Bianca once again caught hold of Skyler's long, thick, braided ponytail and tugged savagely, toppling the teen girl sideways off of her, a squeal of pain escaping Skyler lips as she was hauled aside.

Seeing Skyler on her back, Bianca moved to pin her, hoping to end their struggle, though panicking so much that she had no real plan. Sitting astride the momentarily stunned blonde she unleashed two hard slaps in quick succession, palm and then backhand, rocking Skyler's head first to one side and then the other.

"OK, Skyler," Bianca gasped, "th-that'll do. G-give it up". Trying to regain her own breath, she stayed astride Skyler, looking down at the teen girl who she now assumed was beaten and had given up the struggle.

But Skyler wasn't done and had no intention of letting the girl who'd stolen from her father get away with it, and rob her of the chance of some personal payback. With Bianca confidently assuming the supine blonde was hors de combat, Skyler planned her move.

Bianca's overconfidence was her downfall - literally - as Skyler arched her back, raised her supple legs, wrapped them tightly around Bianca's shoulders and brought her legs back down again sharply, toppling the waitress backwards, off of her. With a cry of shock and frustration, Bianca found herself on the floor, on her back, her overconfidence having caused her to miss a potential opportunity to press home her advantage and end the struggle in her favor.

Bianca backed away, still on the floor, freeing herself from Skyler's legs, and scooping up one of her ballet pumps from the floor. She swung it angrily at Skyler, having had what she thought was victory snatched from her grasp. She caught the feisty teen on her arm and shoulder with a few blows before Skyler powered into her, grabbing her wrist, twisting hard, and making Bianca yelp in pain before losing her grip on the shoe.

Bianca was getting increasingly frustrated by her inability to get away from the determined blonde girl, and increasingly panicked by the realization that time was running out if she wanted to escape before the police arrived. Coupled with this, she was embarrassed at having been outsmarted by the feisty teen, and humiliated by the fact that in their struggle so far, Skyler had at least held her own, if not begun to get the better of her.

As a result of all this, Bianca's nerve began to go. Again she tried to crawl away across the wood floor, heading for the door, but again Skyler pounced on her, driving the wind out of the older girl as she landed on top of her, before rolling the thieving waitress onto her back and scrambling astride her.

Flat on her back and with Skyler straddling her, Bianca slapped and then pushed at Skyler's thighs, but they were too slippery with perspiration for her to get any purchase. Desperate to dislodge the teen girl, Bianca reached up, clawing at the blonde with her hands, pulling her already-torn top, tugging the thin, perspiration-soaked fabric, and then inadvertently finding her hands on Skyler's ample breasts.

More by accident than by design, the increasingly panicked and desperate waitress mauled and squeezed them, her hands scrabbling at the flimsy material of Skyler's thin top, before Skyler unleashed a savage slap, her palm impacting Bianca's cheek so hard it that rocked her head sharply to one side and left a red mark.

"Ugh, you dyke", Skyler gasped, causing Bianca to flush red with embarrassment.

Bianca reached up again, but this time Skyler seized the waitress's wrists and leaned forward, pinning them hard and tight in her hands, forcing Bianca's arms down on the floor, above her head. Bianca bucked, kicked and writhed furiously, trying to dislodge the younger girl, but Skyler was sitting firmly astride Bianca, straddling and pinning her tightly, pressing down and leaning forward, to keep the struggling waitress down.

"G-get off of me, Skyler," Bianca gasped, looking up angrily but fearfully at the blonde teen. "L-let go of my wrists, you little brat."

Skyler shook her head, staring down at the thieving waitress, breathing hard from the exertion. "N-no way, Bianca. S-stay down. I'm holding you here until the police arrive."

Bianca continued to struggle, legs kicking, her bare feet slipping uselessly on the wood floor. She even tried raising her legs as Skyler had done, in an attempt to wrap them around the teen girl's shoulders and topple her backwards, but Skyler was wise to the danger and was leaning forward and pressing down, so she was out of range of Bianca's legs.

Worse still for Bianca, when Skyler leaned forward and pressed down, their respective positions meant that Skyler's breasts came into contact with Bianca's, separated only by the thin, perspiration-soaked fabric of their torn tops, and the bras underneath.