Caroline sat upright.
"Name?"
"Simone Carter."
Her chair scraped backward.
"Where?"
"Riverside headquarters. She's under arrest."
For a moment, Caroline said nothing.
Then she asked, "Is she injured?"
"Possible facial injury. We're confirming."
Caroline closed her eyes.
The park visit had been approved as an ordinary activity, not an undercover operation.
Simone had been instructed to avoid direct contact with anyone connected to the case.
Matthews had apparently found her anyway.
Caroline reached for another phone.
"Activate the contact protocol."
Within minutes, federal supervisors were informed.
They did not immediately order everyone to storm the police station.
They first needed to determine what had happened, protect the witness, preserve evidence, and prevent the investigation from being compromised.
But the situation was urgent.
The protected witness had been arrested by an officer whose conduct was already under investigation.
The reported arrest involved possible narcotics evidence.
The witness was injured.
And the department's handling of records had long been a central concern in the federal case.
Caroline called the lead prosecutor.
Then she called the task force supervisor.
By the time the first federal vehicles left the field office, investigators were already obtaining available public video.
Ethan Brooks had uploaded a short segment of the confrontation.
A second witness had sent footage to a civil-rights attorney.
A third had contacted a local reporter.
The recording showing Matthews near the gym bag had not yet become public.
But it existed.
And Ethan had kept the original file.
Inside the station, Matthews tried to recover control.
"This is ridiculous," he said. "Protected witness or not, she still has to obey the law."
Bennett looked at him.
"Of course she does."
"Then what's the issue?"
"The issue is that we need to verify the circumstances before continuing."
He pointed toward Simone.
"She refused identification."
Simone spoke for the first time since the alert appeared.
"I asked whether I was legally required to provide it."
Matthews turned toward her.
"You see? She's doing it again."
Bennett looked at the booking report.
"Bradley, where's the original detention reason?"
"It's there."
"'Suspicious conduct.' What conduct?"
"She was hanging around the park."
"After running?"
"She could've been pretending."
Bennett stared at him.
"What evidence supports that?"
Matthews opened his mouth.
No answer came immediately.
Then he said, "The possession charge settles it."
Simone watched him carefully.