Evelyn looked back at Dana.
“There’s your investigation.”
Dana did not move.
Rosa continued.
“I gave her change.”
“How much?”
Nia sniffed.
“Six dollars and fifty cents.”
Rosa nodded.
“Exactly.”
The man filming laughed softly.
Someone else said, “There you go.”
Dana’s face flushed.
Most people would have ended the encounter there.
A simple apology.
A misunderstanding.
Maybe an awkward joke.
But embarrassment can become dangerous when someone values authority more than accuracy.
Dana looked at Rosa.
“We received a report about a theft.”
Rosa shook her head.
“Not from me.”
“Someone from this business called.”
“No.”
“Dispatch said Harbor Creamery.”
Rosa pointed toward a teenage employee behind the service window.
“Ask anybody.”
Dana looked around.
The crowd had become a courtroom without walls.
Every face seemed to be waiting for her next decision.
Nia noticed the officer’s hand move toward her belt.
Not toward her weapon.
Toward her radio.
Still, Nia flinched.
Evelyn felt it.
That was enough.
“We’re leaving.”
Dana lifted one hand.
“No.”
Evelyn stared.
“No?”
“I haven’t finished documenting this.”
“You have the witness.”
“I need identification.”
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Evelyn’s face became still.
“For what lawful purpose?”
Dana stepped forward.
“You involved yourself in an active investigation.”
“I walked toward my crying granddaughter.”
“You interfered with my detention.”
“Nia was detained?”
Dana hesitated.
“She was not free to leave.”
Nia looked up at Evelyn.
The grandmother’s jaw tightened.
“What reasonable suspicion did you have that this specific child had committed a crime?”
Dana pointed toward the shop.
“Reported theft.”
“Description?”
“I’m not doing this.”
“You detained her. State the description.”
“I said step back.”
“You released her.”
“Because you interfered.”
“No. You released her because the store owner confirmed she paid.”
Dana’s voice rose.
“Back up.”
Evelyn did not.
She was close enough now to see the tiny pulse moving beside Dana’s temple.
Nia tugged at her blouse.
“Grandma, can we go?”
Evelyn looked down.
“Yes.”
She turned.
Dana reached forward.
Her hand landed on Evelyn’s upper arm.
Several people shouted.
Evelyn spun instinctively.
“Take your hand off me.”
Nia screamed.
Dana moved forward.