The younger woman nodded.
She knew the separation was necessary.
But it frustrated her.
For weeks, she'd been trying to identify what happened to ordinary residents whose vehicles were seized under questionable circumstances.
Now, because she owned an expensive car and was confronted by the same department, her case was attracting immediate attention.
She looked toward her supervisor.
"Please don't let my vehicle become the entire story."
The older woman studied her.
"What do you mean?"
"The elderly woman who lost her car. The families who paid storage fees they couldn't afford. The people who filed complaints and never received clear answers."
Her voice tightened.
"They matter too."
The supervisor nodded.
"They do."
The young investigator continued.
"I don't want the department to respond only because they found out I work for the state."
The supervisor leaned forward.
"Then we do what we've always been supposed to do."
"What?"
"Follow the evidence, regardless of whose name appears on the complaint."
The younger woman looked down.
After a moment, she nodded.
"All right."
The supervisor studied her for another second.
Then said quietly, "You handled a frightening situation with considerable restraint."
The young woman gave a tired smile.
"I didn't feel particularly restrained."
"You didn't have to feel calm to act carefully."
The younger woman looked toward the window again.
For the first time since the incident began, she allowed herself to recognize how close she'd come to losing control of the confrontation.
The deputies had frightened her.
Their conduct had been humiliating.
And beneath her anger, she had felt the sudden, terrible vulnerability of standing in front of armed officials who seemed unwilling to listen.
Her professional credentials hadn't protected her from that experience.
They had merely changed what happened once the captain arrived.
And that truth disturbed her more than the broken glass.
The first decisive evidence came from a dispatch recording.
An independent analyst reviewed the communications associated with the older deputy's unit.
The original entry identified a luxury vehicle matching the general description of a car the department wanted to locate.
But the underlying report was incomplete.