Malik immediately pulled out his phone.
“I'll call him.”
Keller pointed.
“Put the phone down.”
“What?”
“Phone down.”
“I’m calling my dad.”
“I said put it down.”
Malik stared.
Monroe said, “Let him call.”
Keller turned.
“I've got it.”
That sentence changed the tone.
Malik lowered the phone but did not put it away.
Keller walked toward the pool.
He looked at the children.
“Whose parents know you're here?”
Several hands went up.
Keller seemed irritated.
“What about you?”
He pointed at Sophie.
The nine-year-old looked frightened.
“My mommy knows.”
“Phone number?”
She looked toward Malik.
“I don't know it.”
Keller scoffed.
“Great.”
Sophie’s eyes filled.
Ava said, “She's nine.”
“Stay out of it.”
The water dripping from the children had made the patio slick.
Monroe suggested everyone sit on the lounge chairs while they contacted Marcus and verified the gathering.
That would have been reasonable.
Keller kept escalating.
He saw Caleb edging toward a towel near the pool.
“I told you stay over there.”
“I’m cold.”
“Then you should've thought of that before getting back in.”
“I wasn't—”
“Move!”
Caleb backed away.
Noah whispered something to him.
Both boys giggled nervously.
Keller interpreted the laughter as disrespect.
“What’s funny?”
Neither answered.
“I asked you a question.”
Malik stepped forward.
“They’re kids. They're nervous.”
Keller turned.
“And you're responsible for this?”
“Yes.”
“Then control them.”
“They were controlled before you walked in.”
Monroe closed his eyes briefly.
He could see where this was heading.
Keller said, “Everybody against the far wall until we figure out what we're dealing with.”
Ava protested.
“We didn't do anything.”
Keller looked at her.
“Move.”
She did not.
Then two younger children remained near the shallow end because their sandals were beside the chairs.
Keller saw the garden hose.
He picked it up.
Monroe stared.
“Wade.”
Keller twisted the nozzle.
“Last warning. Move away from the pool.”
Malik could not believe what he was seeing.
“You're not going to spray them.”
Keller aimed toward the deck.
“Move.”
Ava looked at him.
“No.”
Cold water hit her across the legs and stomach.
She screamed.
Keller swept the stream.
It struck Maya in the shoulder and Noah directly across the face.
Noah cried instantly.
Sophie turned away, slipped against a lounge chair, and began sobbing.
“What the hell are you doing?” Malik shouted.
“Language!”
“They’re children!”
Keller turned the stream toward Malik.
The water hit him full in the chest.
Monroe grabbed the hose.
“Enough.”
Keller jerked it away.
“Get off me.”
“No one is threatening us.”
“They won't follow commands.”
“They’re wet kids standing in their own backyard.”
Keller dropped the hose.
For one second Malik thought the confrontation was over.
Then Keller walked toward the food table.
The children had gathered there earlier.
Watermelon.
Strawberries.
Cupcakes.
Cookies.
Brownies.
Bowls of candy.
Three large pizzas.
Lemonade.
Juice.
Paper plates decorated with little blue waves because Ava insisted pool food needed a theme.
Keller pointed.
“Whose mess is this?”
Ava wiped water from her face.
“Our food.”
“You've got broken rules all over this place.”
“What rules?”
“Don't get smart.”
Malik said, “There isn't alcohol. There aren't drugs. Nobody's hurt. What are you looking for?”
Keller turned toward him.
“You don't decide when this check is finished.”
Then he pushed the folding table.
Perhaps he meant only to move it.
That was what he later claimed.
Body camera suggested otherwise.
Both hands went against the edge.
The table tipped violently.
The fruit trays slid.
A cupcake stand fell.
One drink dispenser shattered.
Candy rolled across wet concrete.
The children screamed again.
Ava looked at the destroyed food.
Her face collapsed.
“Why did you do that?”
Keller pointed toward the back door.
“Inside.”
Malik immediately stepped between him and the door.
“No.”
Keller’s expression hardened.
“Excuse me?”
“You're not going inside.”
“I need to check the residence.”
“There’s nothing wrong inside.”
“That isn't your decision.”
“Yes, it is. It's our house.”
Keller stepped closer.
“Your father isn't here, your mother isn't here, and right now I’m the adult in charge.”
Monroe stared at him.
His body camera captured every word.
Malik’s hands curled into fists.
Not to hit him.
From anger.
Monroe saw it.
“Malik, relax your hands.”
Malik looked at him.
“They sprayed my brother.”
“I know.”
“They knocked our stuff down.”
“I know.”
“You're just standing there.”
That hurt because it was true.
Monroe said, “I'm trying to stop this from getting worse.”
Malik laughed bitterly.
“You're police.”
Keller reached toward the sliding glass door.
Malik blocked him.
Keller put one hand against Malik’s shoulder.
“Move.”
“No.”
“You want cuffs?”
“For not letting you search our house?”
“For obstructing.”
Monroe stepped between them.
“Wade, stop.”
Keller looked at him.
“We're not entering.”
“I’m your senior officer.”
“And we have no emergency.”
“Move.”
“No.”
The two officers stood face-to-face.
That was when a dark gray Ford Expedition turned into the driveway.
Marcus Reed saw the police cruiser first.
Then the open side gate.
Then a child standing barefoot near the front lawn wrapped in a pool towel.
The girl was Maya.
She had come around the side of the house looking for help.
Marcus stopped so hard the grocery bags on the passenger seat fell to the floor.
He opened the door.
“Maya?”
She ran toward him.
“Mr. Reed!”
Her face was wet.
Not pool wet.
Crying.
Marcus’s entire body changed.
“What happened?”
“The police came in.”
“Where are Malik and Ava?”
“Back there.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“Noah fell. They sprayed us.”
Marcus stared.
“Sprayed you with what?”
“The hose.”
For half a second, Marcus thought he had misunderstood.
Then he heard Keller shouting from the backyard.
Marcus handed Maya his phone.
“Stay by the car. Call your mom. Tell her you're safe.”
Then he walked through his own side gate.
The first thing he saw was fruit floating in pool water near the drain.
The second was broken glass.
The third was Ava crying beside Caleb.
The fourth was Malik standing between two officers and the back door.
“Dad.”
Everyone turned.
Marcus looked at his children.
“Anybody injured?”
Malik shook his head.
“Not bad.”
Ava pointed.
“He sprayed us.”
Marcus looked at Keller.
Then at the hose.
Then the overturned table.
“What happened here?”
Keller stepped forward.
“We received a welfare complaint concerning unsupervised minors around a pool.”
Marcus looked toward Malik.
“You were here?”
“Yes.”
“How many kids?”
“Eight guests.”
“Any alcohol?”
“No.”