“Why does that matter?”
He looked toward the robe again.
“I asked you a question.”
“And I asked one first.”
His face hardened instinctively.
Then he seemed to remember the garment behind her.
His voice softened a fraction.
“Are you an attorney?”
The Black woman almost smiled.
“No.”
“Court employee?”
“No.”
He stared.
Before he could ask again, a black sedan turned onto the street.
Not a police vehicle.
Government plates.
It slowed sharply after the driver saw the patrol SUV.
The rear door opened before the car had fully settled against the curb.
A Black American courthouse marshal in a dark suit stepped out.
He looked first at the police car.
Then at the Black woman.
Then at the shattered taillight.
His face changed.
He crossed the street quickly.
“Your Honor.”
The patrol officer froze.
The woman did not look away from him.
The marshal stopped beside her.
“We’ve been trying to reach you.”
The officer’s eyes moved from the marshal to the woman.
Then to the robe.
Then back.
The marshal looked at the citation in the officer’s hand.
“What happened?”
The Black woman finally took the registration back because the officer still had not accepted it.
She answered quietly.
“He broke my taillight and wrote me a ticket for it.”
The officer’s head snapped toward her.
“That is not what happened.”
The marshal stared.
The Black woman reached into her handbag.
The officer’s posture changed instantly.
“Keep your hands visible.”
The marshal looked at him.
She stopped.
Very slowly.
Then said:
“I’m retrieving my phone.”
The officer hesitated.
The marshal’s eyes narrowed.
“Officer.”
The Black woman removed the phone.
Unlocked it.
Tapped twice.
Then turned the screen toward both men.
The sedan had a factory-installed 360-degree security recording system.
The recording had been activated automatically when the vehicle detected impact while stationary.
The screen showed the rear quarter panel.
The officer approaching.
The flashlight in his hand.
The impact.
Red plastic scattering.
Clear.
Unmistakable.
The officer stared.
The woman let the clip play only once.
Then locked the phone.
The marshal looked toward him.
“Did your body camera capture that?”