Another officer approached Caleb. "Sir, I need you to keep your hands where I can see them."
"They are."
"Did you place your hands on Officer Kellen?"
"Yes."
Brett looked satisfied; Caleb continued before the officer could respond: "She told him to release her several times. He did not. I created enough separation for her to step away, then I stopped."
Brett interrupted. "He interfered with a detention."
The officer looked at him. "Was she under arrest?"
"No."
"Was she detained?"
"Yes."
"For what?"
Brett paused; Maya watched him carefully.
He answered, "Possible possession of department property."
"Did you tell her that before you restrained her?"
Brett's expression hardened. "I gave her repeated opportunities to cooperate."
"That wasn't the question," Maya said.
Brett turned toward her. "Stay out of this."
"You made me the subject of it."
One of the officers moved between them. "Enough. Everyone stays separate until a supervisor gets here."
Brett adjusted his uniform belt and looked around the diner. The room had changed again: Caleb was no longer just an old customer who had stepped between two people; Maya was no longer simply a waitress refusing to empty her pockets; Daniel and Eli were no longer passive customers. Every person in Magnolia Road Diner had become part of an official account that Brett was already trying to shape—and his version had reached the police before anyone else's.
Sergeant Helen Price entered Magnolia Road Diner and stopped just inside the front door. She was in her mid-50s, with gray beginning to show at her temples; her uniform was neat, and her manner was controlled. She looked first at the officers already inside, then at Brett, Maya, Caleb, Ruth, Daniel, and Eli.
"Who requested a supervisor?"
One of the patrol officers answered, "Officer Kellen. Possible department property, interference with a detention, and physical contact with an officer."
Price looked at Brett. "You injured?"
"No."
"Need medical attention?"
"No."
She turned toward Maya. "You?"
Maya took a careful breath. "No medical attention right now."
Price nodded without asking further. "Anybody else injured?"
No one answered.
"Good, then nobody needs to rush."
Brett stepped toward her. "Sergeant, I received information that department property was brought here. Williams refused to cooperate. I detained her while trying to recover it, and Ross physically interfered."
Price raised one hand. "I heard the summary. I need you to understand: you'll get your turn."
Brett stopped.
Price looked at the other officers. "Has anyone searched the diner?"
"No, Sergeant."
"Anyone searched Williams?"
"No."
"Ross?"
"No."
"Good. Keep it that way."
Brett frowned. "The property may still be inside."
Price looked at him. "And if it is, it will still require a lawful reason before somebody starts opening drawers."
Ruth's posture relaxed slightly.
Price walked to the center of the diner. "Here's how this is going to work: nobody tells me what somebody else meant to do. Nobody tells me what another person was thinking. I want what you personally saw, what you personally heard, and what you personally did. If you don't know something, say you don't know."
Daniel nodded. Eli sat back down.
Price pointed toward one of the patrol officers. "Keep everyone separated enough that they aren't comparing statements. Nobody leaves without giving us contact information, but nobody is being detained just because they happen to be eating dinner."