Cops Have No Idea Family BBQ PARTY Is Full of FBI — Cuff Black Man, Instantly Regret It
Chapter 5
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Ellis turned the notebook so Evelyn could see the heading:Evelyn Avery, homeowner. Evelyn read it before continuing.Dana gave Ellis the guests' names and contact information, identifying which had seen the beginning. The captain asked them to give their accounts individually.Malcolm untied his apron. The knot resisted, and he had to use his fingertips carefully. Tessa reached toward it, then waited. "Please," he said. She loosened the fabric and folded it over the chair.Ellis spoke with him next. When she asked what Harlan had said while closing the cuffs, Malcolm answered without looking toward the gate. Then she asked what he had heard over the radio. He opened his mouth. His mother's question came back to him, clear as the transmission:You mean what he was cooking with?"Could we pause?" he asked.Ellis closed her notebook. Malcolm pressed his palms against his thighs until the feeling in his fingers settled. Tessa stayed beside him. Nobody offered an explanation for the silence.At the front of the house, Harlan gave his account beside Ellis's car: "The male advanced while holding metal tongs. I gave repeated commands. He refused to comply.""When did he put them down?""During the contact.""Before you took his arm?""I was focused on his hands, Captain. It happened fast."Ellis asked him to write the sequence while it was fresh.Voss described a temporary detention to control a threatening situation. He said the homeowner had been upset and several guests had approached."Did you direct Harlan to apply cuffs?""He was handling the contact. I supported his decision.""Was that before or after the tongs were put down?"Voss looked toward the side gate. "You'll need to watch the footage.""I intend to."A neighbor who had no connection to Malcolm's office waited by the driveway. "I was putting ice in the cooler," she told Ellis. "He set the utensil down. I remember because it slid against the lid.""Could you see his feet?""Yes."Ellis took her number. Harlan watched from the curb as the woman signed her statement.By evening, the remaining food was in containers. Guests left their numbers before leaving. Malcolm's colleagues had offered to stay, but Evelyn wanted the house quiet. She watched him fold the checked tablecloth."Next time we can go to your place.""You don't have to decide that tonight.""There's more room.""There's room here."She took one end of the cloth from him and lined up the corners. He let the subject rest.