"To do what? Hand it over before your name ends up attached to something you can't undo?"
Maya folded her arms. "You still haven't identified what I'm supposed to hand over."
"You know."
"Then say it."
"I'm not discussing internal evidence in front of these people."
"You discussed enough to threaten them."
Brett lowered his voice. "Give it to me, Maya. I walk out. Ruth keeps her diner out of a report. Daniel gets back on the road. Eli goes home. Your shift ends. That can still happen."
Maya studied him. It was the first time Brett had offered a clean exit, and no one in the room believed it was free.
"If I give you something," she said, "what happens to the report?"
"There doesn't have to be one."
Daniel looked sharply toward Brett. Ruth's expression changed. Maya did not.
"A police officer walked into a private business, displayed his badge, threatened customers with being named as suspects, and tried to get behind the counter. Now you're offering to make the whole thing disappear if I hand you something you refuse to identify."
Brett's face tightened.
Maya continued. "That doesn't sound like recovering department property."
"Be careful."
"What does it sound like to you, Officer Kellen?"
Brett did not answer. He moved closer to the counter and looked at the register, the receipt boxes, the shelves beneath the coffee station, and the cabinet near the pie case: he was no longer pretending not to search with his eyes.
Ruth stepped beside the opening again. "You're not going back there."
Brett ignored her and looked at Maya. "Who gave it to you?"
Maya stayed silent.
"Was it someone from the department?"
No answer.
"Did they contact you directly?"
Maya's eyes stayed on him.
Brett took another step. "Did they tell you where to hide it?"
Maya finally spoke. "You're asking very specific questions for a man who refuses to say what he's looking for."
Brett stopped. For the first time, the issue was no longer whether something existed inside Magnolia Road Diner; it was how much Maya knew about it, and whether Brett could make her reveal the rest.
Brett remained near the counter, studying Maya as if he expected her to make another mistake. "Who contacted you?"
Maya did not answer.
"Was it someone inside the department?"
She kept her arms folded.
"Did they tell you to bring something here?"
Maya looked at the badge on the counter. "You still haven't identified what you claim is missing."
"I'm asking the questions."
"You're asking questions you don't want anyone else to understand."
Brett stepped closer. "You think you're controlling this conversation?"
"No. I think you're trying very hard to."
Ruth stayed beside the opening behind the counter. Daniel and Eli watched without speaking.
Brett lowered his voice. "If someone inside the department gave you protected material, that person has already put you in a serious position."
"Then call your supervisor."
"I don't need my supervisor to recover department property."
"You might, if you want to search private property without consent."
"I haven't searched anything."
"Then stop looking through Ruth's counter like you plan to."
Brett glanced at the register and the storage area beneath it; Maya noticed.
"So that's what this is now?" Brett asked. "You're going to explain police work to me?"
"No, I'm asking you to explain your own."
Brett moved around the end of the counter. Ruth immediately stepped in front of him.