Keller looked surprised. "You're voluntarily stepping out of direct evidence control?"
"Yes."
Harland spoke quickly. "That doesn't erase what's already happened."
"No," Maya said. "And it doesn't erase what you did, either."
Ruiz watched the exchange in silence. Paul lowered his voice. "You know what he's doing?"
"Yes."
"Then why give him what he wants?"
Maya looked toward Isaiah's room before answering. "Because justice that only works when I control the room isn't justice. It's leverage."
Paul held her gaze for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I'll take it."
Keller made a note. "That should be documented immediately."
"It will be," Paul said.
Harland had succeeded in limiting Maya's direct authority, but the victory did not look the way he expected: she had removed the easiest argument he could make against the evidence before he had time to build anything else around it.
A nurse approached from the treatment corridor. "Mr. Reeves?"
Paul turned.
"Nurse Reed would like to speak with the investigators."
Maya's attention shifted instantly. Paul asked, "About Isaiah?"
She said, "It's about Officer Mercer."
Harland's eyes moved toward the nurse; Maya noticed.
"Take the statement somewhere private," she told Paul, then corrected herself immediately: "Your call."
Paul almost smiled. "Good correction."
He followed the nurse toward a small family consultation room. Maya remained outside: she had deliberately stepped away from direct witness handling, and she was not going to undermine that decision five minutes later.
Inside, Evelyn Reed sat across from Paul with both hands folded on the table. "I want to be clear before I say anything," she began. "I'm not interested in guessing."
"That's exactly what I want," Paul said. "Tell me only what you know."
Evelyn nodded. "When they brought Mr. Williams in, his belongings were separated. I saw Officer Mercer near the counter where some of those belongings were being handled."
"Did you see her searching them?"
"Not all of them."
"What did you see?"
Evelyn took her time. "She picked up something small, black, about the size of a thumb."
"A flash drive?"