Weird People and Women's Intuition

So I need some opinions here...and rather than take up space on Skyepuppy's blog (go check it out, it's good!) I thought I'd post the whole story here.

Today, Skye posted about a book that basically tells women to trust their intuition in situations where they feel uncomfortable. I think I'll probably check out the book when I get a chance, but it immediately brought to mind a particular person that I've run into in our local mall too many times to count. So here's the whole story:

Emily and I frequent the mall, especially in the winter, because there's really not much else to do in town, and because the play area there has always been a good place for her to socialize. We haven't been going as often now that Em has preschool and plenty of friends with which to play, but we still occasionally go just to let her run around and play.

So starting either last winter or spring, I began to notice a frequent visitor to the play area. Now, and I know this is prejudicial but if it means keeping my kid safe, I will profile, if this person had been a man, I'd have reported him in a flash, but instead, I noticed the same woman hanging around inside the play area, with no children of her own. Ordinarily, this wouldn't bother me because there are rows of padded benches and lots of older people in particular like to sit and watch the kids play, but something just didn't feel right with this woman. She looks a little odd...hard to explain, just odd, and most importantly, she didn't just sit there and watch, she was usually standing right where the kids were playing and often trying to engage them.

Now, this wouldn't be so unusual, but she seems to pick Emily out every time we go. Sometimes she will go over and sit beside her on one of the benches and read books to her or other times talk to her, but it started to bother me a lot that she was always around. Even when we would leave the play area, I would notice that she would suddenly be in the same store we were in, and again, she would try to engage Emily.

Now for those who don't know my little darling, she is not shy. She will talk...and talk...and talk...to anyone and most of the time, knows no strangers. So at first, it was easy to believe that she might have initiated the contact with this woman, but time and again, it started to bug me. At this point let me say that Em was never, even for a moment out of my sight, so nothing could happen, and I always block the entrance to wherever we are so no one can snatch her and run without me seeing.

The day that put me over the edge was more recently. We were shopping in the Gymboree store. They have a kids tv area in the back of the store where kids can sit and play and watch videos while mom is shopping. I let Emily go back there because again, she can't get out without me knowing. Well, apparently while I was shopping, this woman must have either been in the store already and I missed her (she's very short) or she came in while I was turned away from the entrance, but when I went back to check on Em (I could still hear her with no problem....she's very loud) there was this same woman talking to her. Frankly, it just freaked me out. She had no reason to be in the store...and why is she always around?

So after this, as soon as we were out of the store, I pulled Emily aside and asked her what the lady was talking about. Of course, I got the usual, I don't know answer. So I point blank told her that if she saw that lady again, she should come find me and that if the lady ever tried to get Em to come with her, she should come get me immediately or scream as loud as she could. I didn't want to scare her, but this lady really gets under my skin.

Does this sound odd to anyone else? She just raises my radar, even from the first time I noticed her. I know it could be totally innocent, but I don't like the feeling I get. I think the next time I see her around Em, it's going to get reported. I don't want to make her life miserable, especially if she's just someone's mom or grandma who loves/misses her kids, but I will not put Emily in a dangerous situation either.

Thoughts? Am I just overprotective and nuts?