She read statement.
Then laughed.
“That’s their defense?”
“It’s predictable.”
“It’s terrible.”
“Maybe not legally.”
She stared at me.
“You are impossible.”
“I’m realistic.”
“You were assaulted.”
“Allegedly.”
Denise pointed at my cheek.
“I can see allegation.”
I smiled despite myself.
She became serious.
“What do you want?”
“Investigation.”
“Beyond obvious.”
“Review prior complaints.”
“Done.”
“Preserve video.”
“Done.”
“Identify defendant he claimed to mistake me for.”
“Already requested.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Maya Reynolds is twenty-nine.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“Height?”
“Five-four.”
I stared.
“Miller said description fortyish, five-six to five-nine.”
Denise nodded.
“Hair?”
“Short natural curls.”
Mine had been a smooth shoulder-length bob that morning.
“Clothing?”
“Gray county-issued transport jumpsuit.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Maya Reynolds had been in custody overnight.”
My skin prickled.
“Then why was he looking for her in public hallway?”
“Exactly.”
Denise leaned back.
“She wasn’t a defendant ‘trying to sneak away.’”
“She had been brought from jail.”
“Transport deputy took her to wrong floor during elevator delay.”
“She was located eleven minutes before Miller approached you.”
I stared at Denise.
“Did Miller know?”
“That is question.”
“If radio went out—”
“We requested dispatch.”
My anger changed.
This was no longer simple misidentification.
Maybe Miller had been looking for Maya initially.
Maybe not.
But the facts available to him did not match me.
And if Maya had already been found, then his explanation became something else entirely.
“What was Maya charged with?”
Denise hesitated.
“Shoplifting.”
“Prior?”
“No felony.”
“Why custody overnight?”
“Missed previous court date.”
I thought of Maya Reynolds.
Twenty-nine.
Five-four.
Gray transport clothes.
Short curls.
Somewhere in the same building while Miller slapped me because he said I was her.
“Does she know?”
“Know what?”
“That I was mistaken for her.”
“Probably media.”
I stood.
“Can I contact her?”
Denise shook her head immediately.
“Absolutely not.”
“Why?”
“You are witness in investigation.”
“So is she potentially.”
“Exactly.”
I hated legal ethics again.
Denise continued:
“Let her lawyer handle.”
“Does she have one?”
“Public defender.”