The officer stared at her for a moment, clearly irritated, before turning his attention back to Malik. "You still got that candy in your hand?"

"I was going to pay for it."

"You were about to walk out with it."

"He was standing here," Ariel replied.

Hensley ignored her again. His tone had shifted from questioning to accusing. "You kids always say that. Act like you don't know what you're doing."

Ariel looked directly at him. "My son understands perfectly well what he's doing."

Hensley glanced at her briefly, and the expression on his face carried a mix of irritation and dismissal. "Ma'am, I've dealt with this a thousand times."

"Then you should know the difference between suspicion and evidence."

That comment seemed to bother him. Hensley straightened up slightly and looked around the store as if deciding what to do next. "You know what? We can clear this up real quick."

He reached for his radio. "Dispatch, I might need another unit over at Lakeview Market."

Darren Pike stepped forward again. "Officer, there really isn't—"

Hensley turned sharply toward him. "I said I'm handling it."

Darren stopped talking. The officer lowered the radio and looked back at Malik. "You're coming with me to the front."

"Why?" Malik asked.

"So we can figure out exactly what you took."

Ariel spoke immediately. "He didn't take anything."

"Ma'am," Hensley said, his patience clearly running thin. "I've already told you how this works."

The officer started guiding Malik toward the front of the store, still holding the boy's arm. The movement was rough enough that Malik stumbled trying to keep up.

"Hey," Ariel said sharply now. "Watch how you're grabbing him."

Hensley stopped near the checkout counter. Darren Pike was already standing there, looking increasingly uncomfortable. Hensley turned toward him.

"Did you see him grab that candy?"

Darren hesitated. "Well, he was just standing in the aisle."

"So you didn't see him take it?"

"No."

Hensley exhaled slowly as though he did not like the answer. "People don't always see everything."

Talia Brooks moved a little closer with her phone still raised. The camera caught the officer still gripping Malik's arm.

"You're still holding a kid who hasn't done anything," she said.

Hensley turned toward her again. "You need to mind your business."

"This is my business if you're grabbing a child."

The officer looked ready to snap back, but instead he focused again on Malik. "You got a backpack?"

"No."

"Then where were you planning to hide the rest?"

Malik blinked. "There isn't anything else."

The accusation was starting to sound less like an investigation and more like a decision the officer had already made. Ariel folded her arms.

"Officer Hensley," she said calmly.

He paused. It was the first time she had used his name.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"I can see it on your badge."

The officer looked down briefly, then back up. "Well, then you know I'm doing my job."

Ariel's voice stayed steady. "No. What you're doing is detaining an eight-year-old without any evidence."

Hensley laughed quietly under his breath. "You lawyers always like to throw words around."

Several people in the store exchanged looks. The officer leaned slightly closer to Malik. "You're lucky I'm being patient."

The tone suggested he believed he was showing restraint. Ariel looked directly at him.

"Officer, before this goes any further, I'm going to ask you something simple."

Hensley tilted his head slightly. "What?"

"Give me your full name and badge number."

The question caught him off guard for half a second, then his expression shifted back to confidence. "You planning to file a complaint?"

"I asked for your name and badge number."

Hensley tapped the badge on his chest. "Grant Hensley, badge 6147."

Talia's phone camera caught the moment clearly. Hensley leaned slightly closer to Ariel.

"You done?" he asked.

Ariel looked directly at him. "No."

The way she said it made Darren Pike glance between the two of them, because suddenly the situation did not feel the way it had a few minutes earlier. But Officer Grant Hensley had not realized that yet.