It began at Ingela's Interiors, 999 Lincoln Ave., where Ingela Butters' shoulder bag was stolen. A few hours later, a young man walked into Hyland Family Bicycle, 1515 Meridian Ave., and purchased a $500 Nirve Street King Black three-speed custom cruiser with Butters' stolen credit card.

"We have never had anything stolen in the two years we have been over here," Karin Butters said. "My mom was in business for 26 years next to Dick's Bakery and nothing like this ever happened. Maybe we are in a more vulnerable area."

Inside the purse was a Daytimer that contained the clients' billable hours, keys to the car, shop and home, along with customer checks, cash and a cell phone. The store owners have rekeyed everything and Butters is realistic about never seeing the cash or other items again, but the women are hoping to recover the Daytimer.

"We lost a significant amount of income, but the most valuable item is the Daytimer; it has all our client information, dates, numbers and vendor cards," Butters said. "We are offering a $100 reward for the return of the Daytimer, no questions asked."

The women said that they are upset about the theft, but are also angry with the lack of police response.

"My mom and I were out there canvassing the area looking for the stuff after it happened," she said. "And Bill [Hyland] was out there looking for the guy that stole the bike. But we are not the police. They might have caught the guy if they responded to our calls."

Butters said she called 911, turned in a phone report and faxed a report. Then she waited 24 hours, but the police did not call or come to the store.

"I was really mad, " she said. "The police told me there are thousands of thefts and that it would take three weeks before we could get a full report. No one even came to get a description."

The women believe the theft of the purse may have been by a woman who was in the shop while Butters and her daughter were in the other room unpacking items.

"We just can't be watching everything at once," Butter said. "Now we are going to get nanny cams."

Hyland said Butters called him several hours after the fraudulent purchase. Her credit card company had informed her of the transaction, as she was canceling the card. Hyland said the man who purchased the bike entered his store around 1:30 p.m.

"He acted like he knew what he was talking about," Hyland said.

After Butters called Hyland, he sent three employees out looking for the man, whom he described as a Hispanic male between the ages of 18 and 22, about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a shaved head. He was wearing black jeans and a tan beret-style hat.

"I should have trusted my instincts," said Hyland, who sensed something wasn't right about the purchase. "I'll know not to do that next time."

Hyland also plans to be scrupulous about checking identification.

Ingela's Interior, 999 Lincoln Ave., is offering a $100 reward for the return of the Daytimer with its contents, no questioned asked. The Daytimer can also be anonymously dropped off at Silicon Valley Community Newspapers offices, 1095 The Alameda.