His eyebrows lifted.
“It contains government material.”
“That’s exactly why I need to know what it is.”
“You can read the cover from where you’re standing.”
“I’m asking to inspect it.”
“I’m declining.”
His hand moved slightly.
Simone’s voice sharpened for the first time.
“Do not take my property.”
Mercer froze.
The red body-camera light blinked.
Simone looked directly at it.
Then back at him.
Something changed in Mercer’s expression.
He understood she was consciously preserving the encounter.
Not merely reacting.
He said, “You know, you’re acting very suspicious for someone who claims to be with the state.”
“I haven’t claimed anything.”
“You’re carrying state paperwork.”
“Yes.”
“That could belong to anyone.”
“Yes.”
“You could have printed it.”
“Yes.”
The agreement confused him.
Simone continued:
“That is why you were given multiple lawful options.”
“You could request identification.”
“You could verify my name.”
“You could call your supervisor.”
“You could contact the state bureau.”
“You could articulate the crime you believe occurred.”
“Instead, you keep asking where I belong.”
Mercer looked around.
The audience had grown.
Not a crowd.
Three residents.
Two landscapers.
A contractor.
Enough.
His radio crackled.
A dispatcher’s voice.
“Unit 4172, status?”
Mercer touched the microphone.
“Investigative detention, Ashford and Bellemont.”
Simone heard the dispatcher pause.
“Copy. Nature?”
Mercer glanced at Simone.
“Suspicious person.”
Another pause.
“Copy.”
Simone filed away the exact words.
Suspicious person.
No crime category.
No caller description.
Interesting.
Mercer released the radio.
Then looked toward her.
“Here’s what’s going to happen.”
Simone waited.
“You’re going to give me identification.”
“I’m going to verify who you are.”
“Then we decide whether you’re free to go.”
Simone nodded slowly.
“Based on what I’ve heard so far, Officer, you have no idea who you just stopped.”
The words were not loud.
Mercer reacted as though they were.
His mouth tightened.
“Is that supposed to intimidate me?”
“No.”
“Because flashing government paperwork and making threats is not going to help you.”
“I did not threaten you.”
“You just said I don’t know who I stopped.”
“That is a factual statement.”
Mercer laughed sharply.
“Everybody is somebody.”
Simone almost smiled.
“That’s true.”
The reply threw him off.
She continued:
“And everybody deserves a lawful reason before being detained.”
The radio crackled again.
This time another voice.
“4172, hold position. Command unit responding.”
Mercer frowned.
He touched the radio.
“Why is command responding?”
No immediate answer.
Then:
“Lieutenant Hale en route.”
Simone knew the name.
Rebecca Hale.
Patrol lieutenant.
One of the supervisors scheduled for interview the following week.
She had reviewed three years of Hale’s shift records.
No sustained complaints.
Two instances where Hale had overturned subordinate citations after reviewing body-camera footage.
One memo recommending clearer pedestrian-stop documentation.
Potentially important.
Mercer looked annoyed.
“What did you do?”
Simone stared.
“What?”
“You called somebody.”
“My phone has been in my bag since before you arrived.”
He looked toward it.
True.