“Obstruction.”
Daniel stared.
“Obstruction of what?”
Keller grabbed his arm.
“Turn around.”
Daniel turned.
The officer pulled his wrists behind his back.
The handcuffs tightened.
Daniel winced.
“Those are too tight.”
Keller ignored him.
“Too tight,” Daniel repeated.
The officer pushed him against the rear of the sedan.
“Maybe you should've cooperated.”
Daniel's chest struck the trunk.
Pain spread through his shoulder.
The younger officer moved closer.
“Hey, we can adjust those.”
Keller looked at him.
“Stay out of it.”
The younger officer stopped.
Daniel turned his head slightly.
“Officer, I'm not resisting.”
Keller shoved him again.
“Then stop talking.”
One of Daniel's hands scraped against the vehicle's metal edge.
When Keller pulled him away, blood appeared across two knuckles.
Daniel looked down.
Then toward the younger officer.
“Please document that.”
Keller laughed.
“Document what?”
“The injury.”
“You're going to get yourself documented all right.”
Daniel was placed into the police SUV.
His phone was taken.
His wallet remained in his pocket.
His vehicle was searched after Keller claimed to have observed suspicious behavior and smelled an odor he later described in his report.
The officers found no contraband.
No weapons.
No drugs.
No stolen property.
But Keller had already decided to take Daniel to the station.
The stated reason was obstruction and suspected possession of fraudulent identification documents, though Keller had not yet discovered the badge.
The explanation would change more than once before the morning was over.
Daniel sat in the rear seat as the city passed outside the window.
He could see pedestrians walking to work.
A woman holding coffee.
A man pushing a stroller.
A bus pulling away from a stop.
Ordinary life continued only feet from the police vehicle.
He looked toward his injured hands.
Then toward the dash camera mounted near the windshield.
A small indicator light glowed.
He made himself remember everything.
The time of the stop.
The location.
The officer's badge number.
The statements.
The sequence of events.
The witnesses.
The arrival of the second unit.
He had spent months examining false reports written by other officers.
Now he understood the helplessness of sitting in a vehicle while someone else prepared to write the official version of your day.
At seven thirty-one, Keller drove into Riverside Central's secure parking lot.
The station was a sprawling municipal building constructed during the late 1980s.
Its main floor contained patrol administration, public reception, and central processing.
The upper levels housed investigative units, command offices, records, and specialized departments.
Daniel had entered the building dozens of times during the previous year.