Mallory had dismissed the appointment as political theater.
He hadn't attended the private swearing-in ceremony earlier that morning.
He hadn't bothered studying the announcement.
And he had no idea that the tall Black man he'd just shoved against a porch railing was the person now responsible for leading his department.
Marcus watched the recognition spread across his face.
Then he spoke quietly.
“Officer Mallory.”
The officer's mouth opened.
No words came.
Marcus continued.
“My name is Marcus Price.”
Mallory swallowed.
“Chief?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, the officer looked toward his body camera.
Then toward Alan Pierce.
Then back at Marcus.
His hands began trembling.
“Sir, I didn't realize—”
Marcus interrupted.
“Didn't realize what?”
The officer stared.
Marcus stepped away from the railing.
“Didn't realize I was the homeowner's son?”
Mallory shook his head.
“Sir, I was responding to a complaint—”
“Or didn't realize I was your chief?”
The officer went pale.
For several seconds, the entire yard remained silent.
Then Marcus said something nobody expected.
“Officer, I'm going to ask you one question.”
Mallory swallowed.
“Yes, Chief.”
Marcus looked directly into his eyes.
“If I weren't wearing an invisible title you suddenly respect, would you still be trying to handcuff me?”
The officer couldn't answer.
Behind him, Alan Pierce began moving toward the sidewalk.
Marcus noticed.
Then his eyes narrowed.
Because this wasn't simply a case of an officer mistaking a homeowner for a trespasser.
Alan had been standing beside the officer from the beginning.
And he seemed to know exactly why Mallory had come.
Four hours earlier, Marcus had been sitting at his mother's kitchen table, drinking coffee from a chipped blue mug that had belonged to his father.
The house smelled of fresh bread, coffee, and the basil growing near the kitchen window.
Evelyn was preparing lunch.
She had lived on Hawthorne Avenue for thirty-one years, long enough to remember when most of the neighboring houses were still under construction.
Her husband, Thomas Price, had purchased the property in 1995 after seventeen years of working as an electrical engineer.
The couple raised Marcus there.
They celebrated birthdays in the backyard.