“You have one wrist.”
“Give me the other.”
“You have not established probable cause for arrest.”
“Keep talking.”
“Body camera on?”
He hesitated.
Vanessa noticed.
“Is your body camera on?”
Colton’s expression flickered.
Then he reached toward it.
A tiny indicator activated.
Too late.
Vanessa memorized the time.
11:43 a.m.
A customer filming said loudly, “I've been recording since before that.”
Colton turned.
“Put the phone away.”
“No.”
The customer stepped backward.
Vanessa almost smiled.
Colton pulled Vanessa's second arm behind her.
Steel closed around one wrist.
Then the other.
The sound was small.
Click.
Click.
But something about hearing handcuffs close around her wrists after nineteen years in law enforcement affected Vanessa more than expected.
She did not panic.
She became extremely focused.
Every sensation sharpened.
The pressure around her wrists.
The marble beneath her hip.
The scent of perfume.
The sales associate breathing quickly.
A shopper whispering that the officer had lost his mind.
Colton leaning close behind her.
“Not so important now, are you?”
Vanessa closed her eyes for one second.
There it was.
The statement beneath the entire interaction.
Importance.
To Colton, treatment followed perceived status.
Vanessa opened her eyes.
“Arrest me if you want.”
He laughed.
She continued:
“But when we reach your station, your career will die before mine does.”
That made him laugh harder.
“You people always think you know somebody.”
Vanessa slowly turned her head as far as the position allowed.
“You people?”
Colton's smile faltered.
He recovered quickly.
“Professional thieves.”
The woman filming said:
“She didn't steal anything.”
Colton looked toward her.
“Ma’am, interfere again and you'll be removed.”
Vanessa said:
“Threatening witnesses now?”
“Shut up.”
Vanessa smiled.
That made him angrier.
“What's funny?”
“You're making my report very easy.”
Colton pulled her away from the counter.
The sales associate stepped between them and the exit.
“Officer, please.”
Colton stopped.
The woman was perhaps thirty.
Black hair pulled into a low bun.
Name tag: LEAH.
Her eyes were frightened, but she remained there.
“She did not steal.”
Colton said:
“Move.”
“No.”
Vanessa looked at her.
Leah swallowed.
Then continued:
“I’ve been with her since she entered this section.”
“She touched one tester strip.”
“She gave it back.”
“She has nothing.”
Colton stared.
“You want to obstruct?”
Leah's face went pale.
Vanessa spoke immediately.
“Do not threaten her.”
Colton turned.
“You don't give instructions.”
Vanessa’s voice hardened.
“She is a witness.”
“You’re a suspect.”
“Then preserve the witness.”
He pulled Vanessa toward the exit.
She walked.
Not because he controlled her.
Because she needed to see how far he would take it.
Outside Bellamy & Rowe, light rain had begun.