He kept spraying.
Water soaked my white blouse and skirt, splashed across my handbag, and scattered dirt from the flower beds onto my sandals.
I turned my face away.
“TURN IT OFF!”
The officer laughed.
“Now you understand!”
For several seconds, I could barely see.
Water ran into my eyes and down my neck. My handbag slipped from my arm, struck the stone walkway, and fell open.
A lipstick rolled across the pavement.
My keys landed beside the flowers.
And a black leather identification wallet slid halfway out of the bag.
The second officer had been standing near the patrol car.
He was a little older than Cole, with sandy-blond hair and a serious expression. He hadn't been the one shouting, but he hadn't stopped the confrontation either.
Now he looked down at the open handbag.
His eyes fixed on the badge.
I heard him gasp.
“Cole.”
The first officer kept spraying.
His partner stepped forward.
“COLE! STOP!”
The water struck my shoulder again.
I shielded my face.
Then the second officer grabbed his partner's forearm and pushed the nozzle downward.
The stream splashed across the grass.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
Cole turned furiously.
“Get your hands off me!”
His partner pointed toward the walkway.
“Look!”
Cole glanced down.
For a moment, he didn't seem to understand.
Then he saw the black leather wallet.
A gold badge gleamed inside it.
Above the badge was an official photograph.
My photograph.
The identification card carried the city seal and the words:
CHIEF OF POLICE.
Cole stared.
His mouth opened.
Then closed.
His partner looked toward me, his face nearly colorless.
“Chief?”
I slowly lowered my arm.
Water dripped from my curls, my chin, and the soaked sleeves of my blouse.
For several seconds, I looked at the two officers without speaking.
Then I bent carefully, retrieved the identification wallet, and opened it fully.
“My name is Camille Brooks.”
My voice was quiet.
“I was sworn in as Scottsdale's police chief at nine o'clock this morning.”
The second officer took a step backward.
Cole stared at the badge.
Then at my face.
Then at the badge again.