For a moment, Talia smiled through tears.
Then she opened her laptop.
She wasn't going to investigate her own case.
She understood the conflict of interest.
But she could formally refer the allegations to independent investigators and ensure that the relevant records were preserved.
She drafted the referral.
Attached the available documents.
And identified the possible connection to the ongoing review of municipal enforcement grants.
Then she paused.
Her mother's name appeared on the dispatch entry.
Talia stared at it.
For several seconds, she couldn't type.
Finally, she added one factual sentence.
The listed complainant died eleven months before the reported incident.
She read it twice.
Then submitted the referral through the proper channel.
And for the first time that day, she felt the anger giving way to determination.
The independent investigation began the following Monday.
A state-level special investigations team, working through the appropriate referral process, was assigned to examine the allegations involving Briar Glen's police officers and the disputed municipal enforcement program. The team coordinated with the local prosecutor and financial auditors where necessary, while Talia formally recused herself from decisions concerning her own detention and the matters directly connected to it.
The arrangement was uncomfortable.
She'd spent years leading investigations.
Now she was being interviewed as a witness.
The lead investigator was Nadia Ford, a forty-six-year-old woman with a background in criminal investigations and public corruption cases. She had a calm manner, sharp observational skills, and little patience for explanations unsupported by documents.
Nadia arrived at the Monroe house on Monday morning with another investigator.
Talia met them at the front door.
She wore a simple navy shirt and black trousers.
Her platinum-white hair was neatly styled.
But the marks around her wrists remained visible.
Nadia greeted her professionally.
"Ms. Monroe, thank you for agreeing to speak with us."
Talia nodded.
"Of course."
The investigator glanced toward the damaged garden.
For several seconds, she studied the broken rosebushes.
Then she looked back at Talia.
"Before we begin, I want to make something clear. We'll treat your account as evidence to evaluate, not as a conclusion simply because of your position."
Talia felt immediate respect for her.
"That's exactly what I want."
They entered the house.
The interview lasted nearly three hours.
Nadia asked Talia to describe the morning from the beginning.
The gardening.
Margaret's visit.
The arrival of the police SUV.
And the moment Mercer stepped through the gate.
Talia described the sergeant's statements as accurately as she could remember them.
She explained that she repeatedly offered to verify ownership and requested the removal order.
She also described Mercer's decision to kick the rosebushes.
Then the shove.
The handcuffs.
And the identification wallet falling from her handbag.