The landscaping crew slowed.
Mercer stopped approximately six feet from Simone.
“Where are you headed?”
No greeting.
No explanation.
Simone looked at him for a moment.
“Is there a reason you’re stopping me, Officer?”
His expression changed slightly.
Not anger yet.
Annoyance.
“I asked where you’re headed.”
“And I asked why I’m being stopped.”
Mercer glanced past her toward the houses.
Then back.
“We’ve had concerns about people walking around here who don’t live here.”
Simone heard the sentence exactly as one complainant had described it.
Almost word for word.
That alone did not prove anything.
But it mattered.
“People?” she asked.
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
Her voice remained calm.
“I’d like you to explain what you mean.”
Mercer shifted his weight.
His body camera sat centered on his chest.
Red light visible.
Recording.
Good.
He stepped closer.
“Do you live in this neighborhood?”
“No.”
“Visiting somebody?”
Simone did not answer.
“Working here?”
Again she remained silent.
Mercer exhaled through his nose.
“Ma’am, people around here pay attention.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
“Somebody who doesn’t belong walking around taking notes is going to raise questions.”
Simone looked down briefly at the small notebook visible through the opening of her handbag.
Then at him.
“Am I suspected of committing a crime?”
“I’m conducting an investigation.”
“Into what crime?”
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
There it was.
Another phrase.
Complaint number seven.
The college student.
You’re making this harder than it needs to be.
Simone did not react outwardly.
Inside, the investigation shifted.
Not conclusion.
Never conclusion from a single interaction.
But relevance.
She asked, “What specifically are you investigating?”
Mercer’s eyes narrowed.
“You were reported walking slowly past several homes and writing things down.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t have to provide the caller’s identity.”
“I didn’t ask for a name.”
“Then what are you asking?”
“Whether anyone reported a crime.”
Mercer’s jaw tightened.
“I’m trying to determine that.”
Simone nodded once.
“Then determine it.”
For half a second, he looked surprised.
People usually reacted to police authority in predictable ways.
They apologized.
Explained.
Produced identification.
Overexplained.
Sometimes became angry.
Simone offered none of those.
She remained controlled.
Professional.
That made Mercer more uncomfortable, not less.
He pointed toward her handbag.
“Identification.”
Simone looked at him.
“Is that a request or an order?”
“Ma’am.”
“Which?”
He gave a short laugh.
“Don’t play games with me.”
“I’m asking you to clarify what you’re directing me to do.”
“You’re being lawfully detained while I investigate suspicious activity.”
Simone felt the case sharpen again.
“Suspicious activity meaning walking and taking notes?”
Mercer stared.
“You’ve already been told.”
“No.”
“I’ve been told residents are concerned.”
“Concern is not activity.”
His face reddened.
“Identification.”
“Request or order?”
“Order.”
Simone nodded.
“Understood.”
She slowly moved her hand toward the handbag.
Mercer’s posture changed immediately.
“Keep your hands where I can see them.”
Simone stopped.
Both hands visible.