"Officer, did you find that packet in my bag?"
"Near your bag."
"Before or after you handcuffed me?"
Matthews stiffened.
"That's irrelevant."
"Did you photograph it before moving it?"
He looked toward Bennett.
"She's trying to interrogate me."
Bennett did not respond.
She continued reading.
Then she stopped.
"Where is the evidence?"
Matthews pointed toward a sealed container on the counter.
"There."
"Who collected it?"
"I did."
"Who witnessed the collection?"
He shrugged.
"People in the park."
"Names?"
"Not yet."
Bennett stared at the container.
Her voice lowered.
"Don't touch that again."
Matthews gave a short laugh.
"You're acting like I'm the suspect."
Bennett looked at him.
"I don't know what happened in the park. That's exactly why nobody is touching the evidence until the proper review begins."
Simone looked down at her cuffed hands.
The metal had left red marks around her wrists.
She was tired.
Her cheek hurt.
Her shoulder had begun to stiffen.
And despite everything she knew about the investigation, she felt something she had not expected.
Fear.
Not the immediate fear of physical violence.
Something colder.
The knowledge that, without the protected-person alert, she might have been moved into a holding cell with false charges already attached to her name.
She might have spent days trying to obtain counsel.
She might have faced prosecutors who saw only a police report.
She might have become another row in a spreadsheet.
The realization made her stomach tighten.
Her protection had not created her rights.
But it had forced people to look at what was happening.
And that difference would haunt her long after the case ended.
The first federal vehicle arrived shortly before four o'clock.
Caroline Hayes entered the station accompanied by two investigators and a federal attorney.
She wore a dark blazer, flat shoes, and an expression that made the desk officer straighten before she spoke.
"Where is Simone Carter?"
Bennett approached.
"Processing room."
"Has she received medical attention?"
"Not yet."
Caroline stopped.
"Why?"
Bennett looked toward Price.
The young officer lowered his eyes.