“For what?”
Granger did not hesitate.
“I’ll choose the charge before the report.”
Alicia’s expression did not change.
That sentence alone was worth months of testimony.
Derek took her wrist.
“You’re under investigation.”
“For what crime?”
He shrugged.
“Interference.”
“With what?”
“Police business.”
“I was standing on a public sidewalk.”
Granger laughed.
“See how annoying this gets?”
Alicia looked toward him.
“Every word matters.”
“For who?”
“You’ll find out.”
Something about the answer unsettled him.
Not enough.
Across the street, Mason had Devin by the jacket.
Devin looked toward Alicia.
“They’re breaking the law.”
Mason laughed.
“No.”
He shoved him against a utility pole.
“We’re writing the law.”
Alicia felt that sentence settle into memory.
Inside the convenience store, Sharon copied her security recordings onto a flash drive.
Every angle.
Every timestamp.
Devin helping the elderly woman.
Granger approaching.
The destroyed book.
The photograph.
Alicia filming.
The confrontation.
She pulled the drive from the computer.
Someone pounded on the front door.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Sharon froze.
Derek shouted through the glass.
“Open up.”
She backed away.
Another pounding.
“We know you’re in there.”
Sharon looked toward the rear storeroom.
The old delivery exit led into an alley.
She grabbed her purse.
Flash drive.
Phone.
Then ran.
Derek kicked the front door open less than thirty seconds later.
The bell crashed against the tile.
“Sharon!”
Nothing.
He searched the aisles.
Office.
Bathroom.
Storage area.
Gone.
When he returned outside, Granger looked furious.
“Where is she?”
“She ran.”
For the first time, genuine anxiety crossed Granger’s face.
Witnesses could be threatened.
Complaints could disappear.
Body cameras could malfunction.
But uncontrolled evidence moving beyond the department was different.
He looked toward Alicia.
She remained calm.
Too calm.
That frightened him.
“You know her?”
“No.”
“You told her to run?”
“No.”
“You planned this.”
Alicia said nothing.
Granger grabbed the front of her sweatshirt.
“You think you’re smarter than us?”
She looked down at his fist.
Then back at him.
“I think you keep making choices.”
Derek laughed.
“She thinks she’s giving warnings.”
Mason joined in.