“Would he have reported that I was aggressive? Would his partner have challenged that version? Would anybody have believed me?”
My voice began shaking.
Helena reached toward my hand.
“Camille.”
I looked at her.
For a moment, the professional composure I'd maintained all afternoon cracked.
“I was standing beside my roses.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
“I was watering flowers.”
Her eyes filled.
“I know.”
I swallowed.
“And he laughed while he sprayed me.”
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Helena pulled me into a hug.
I held on.
Not as her boss.
Not as the city's newest police chief.
As a woman who had just experienced something frightening and humiliating.
When we stepped apart, Helena wiped her eyes.
Then her expression changed.
“There may be another issue.”
I looked toward her.
“What?”
She opened the dispatch summary.
“The complaint didn't originate through an ordinary emergency call from a witness on the street.”
I frowned.
“Then how?”
“It was submitted through a private security liaison arrangement.”
I looked toward the screen.
A company name appeared.
CRESTWATCH COMMUNITY SECURITY.
I recognized it.
CrestWatch provided gate staffing, vehicle patrols, and certain administrative security services for Silver Crest Estates.
Its employees weren't police officers.
They didn't have general law-enforcement authority.
But they maintained a contractual relationship with several gated neighborhoods and communicated with the department about incidents requiring police response.
That arrangement could be useful.
Private guards occasionally witnessed genuine crimes.
They could identify emergencies.
They could help provide accurate locations and contact information.
But the system depended upon truthful reporting and careful handling by dispatchers and officers.
Helena pointed toward the entry.
“CrestWatch submitted a suspicious-person report identifying a Black female at your address.”
I stared.
“Who made the original complaint?”
She looked toward the record.
“That's not clear from the initial summary.”
I frowned.
“And the repeat-subject flag?”
Helena sighed.
“That's even more concerning.”
She opened the underlying information.
The notation appeared to be attached to a property profile maintained by the private security company.
Several prior entries referred to alleged access concerns at the same address.
I stared.
“My address?”
“Yes.”
I leaned forward.
“When?”
She showed me the dates.