Mulligan gave an impatient sigh.
“Can we just get this done?”
The clerk didn't respond immediately.
She looked at Danielle's wrists.
“Are the cuffs too tight?”
“Yes.”
The clerk looked at Mulligan.
“You should loosen them before booking.”
“She was resisting.”
Danielle turned her head.
“I did not resist.”
“Don't start.”
The clerk's expression hardened slightly.
“Officer, I need to complete the booking procedure. If she has identification, we need to verify it.”
Mulligan took a step toward the desk.
“I'll handle it.”
The clerk hesitated.
Then she said, “Fine.”
She stood and moved toward a side office to retrieve the preliminary paperwork.
Mulligan leaned toward Danielle.
“You're making this more complicated than it needs to be.”
Danielle looked at him.
“No, Officer. I believe the complication is that you have arrested the wrong person.”
His jaw tightened.
“Keep talking.”
She said nothing more.
A few minutes later, the clerk returned with a supervisor, Sergeant Leonard Price.
Price was in his early fifties, with graying hair and a tired expression. He had worked in the department long enough to recognize the difference between an ordinary booking and a situation that might become a problem.
“What have we got?” he asked.
Mulligan gave a brief explanation.
“Suspicious vehicle. Caller reported possible theft. Subject couldn't immediately provide identification and became argumentative.”
Danielle looked at him.
“I offered to provide my identification before the arrest.”
Mulligan ignored her.
Price turned to the clerk.
“Did you find anything?”
“Yes. Her information matches a state employment record. I haven't verified her identification yet.”
Price looked at Danielle.
“Do you have a driver's license?”
“In my purse, inside the vehicle.”
“Registration?”
“Glove compartment.”
“Did the officer retrieve either document?”
Danielle paused.
“He opened the glove compartment and looked at the registration.”
Price turned toward Mulligan.
“Did you verify the registration?”
“I checked the vehicle.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Mulligan shifted his weight.
“I was securing the scene.”
Price stared at him for a moment.
Then he turned to the clerk.
“Run the plate and the vehicle identification number. Confirm the registered owner. Then check her identity.”
Mulligan frowned.
“Sergeant, the caller—”
“We can hear from the caller after we verify the information.”
Price's tone was firm enough to end the argument.
Danielle felt the pressure in her chest ease slightly.
Someone was finally asking the questions that should have been asked in the parking lot.
The clerk returned to her computer.
For the next several minutes, the room was filled with the sound of typing and the quiet murmur of voices from the reception area.
Then the clerk stopped.
“Sergeant?”
Price walked over.
“What is it?”
“The registration matches the name. The vehicle isn't listed as stolen.”
Price read the screen.
He looked at Danielle.
“Ms. Lawson, do you have any other identification with you?”
“My work identification is in my briefcase.”
“Is that inside the vehicle, too?”
“Yes.”
Price rubbed his forehead.
“Officer Mulligan, did you inspect the registration document?”
Mulligan didn't answer immediately.
“I looked at it.”
“And it matched her name?”
“I didn't examine it closely.”
Price stared at him.
“Why not?”
“I had a suspicious-person report.”
“And now we have a registered owner whose name matches the vehicle, who says she has identification in the car, and whose employment record matches the information she provided.”
Mulligan crossed his arms.
“People can steal vehicles from relatives. They can use someone else's registration.”
“That's possible,” Price said. “But possibility is not the same as evidence.”
The words hung in the room.
Danielle watched the officer's expression.
For the first time since the arrest, Mulligan seemed uncertain.
But he wasn't ready to admit he had made a mistake.
“I'm not saying she's guilty,” he replied. “I'm saying we need to investigate.”
Price nodded once.
“Then investigate. Properly.”
He turned to the clerk.
“Have someone retrieve the vehicle documents. And get those cuffs loosened.”
The clerk approached Danielle and unlocked the cuffs.
The moment the metal came away from her wrists, she felt a sharp pulse of pain.
She looked down.
Deep red marks circled both wrists.
The clerk noticed.
“Do you need medical attention?”
“I'd like the injuries documented.”
Price looked at her.
“That's reasonable.”
Mulligan muttered something under his breath.
Danielle raised her eyes.
“What was that, Officer?”
“Nothing.”
“Then let's continue with the verification.”
She spoke without raising her voice.
That seemed to irritate him more than shouting would have.
Price instructed another officer to retrieve the purse, registration, insurance card, and briefcase from the SUV.
Danielle sat in a chair near the reception desk.
She could hear officers moving through the hallway, radios crackling, and a printer producing forms.
The situation was becoming clearer.
Her vehicle wasn't stolen.
Her identity was consistent.
The caller's allegation had not been verified.
And yet she had been handcuffed, placed in a patrol car, and brought to the precinct.
She was not naïve enough to believe that the process would automatically correct itself.
A false assumption could survive even after the facts contradicted it.
All it needed was someone willing to protect it.
And Officer Mulligan seemed determined to do exactly that.
Chapter 3: The Badge and the Name
Sergeant Price returned with a thin folder.
“Ms. Lawson, we've verified your identity.”
Danielle stood.
“Thank you.”
“Your vehicle is registered to you. The plate and vehicle identification number match. There is no theft report associated with it.”
“Then I assume I am free to leave.”
Price hesitated.
“I'm still reviewing the circumstances of the initial call.”
Danielle looked at him.
“Sergeant, with respect, what circumstances remain unresolved?”
He glanced toward Mulligan.
“The original caller reported that someone appeared to be taking a vehicle without authorization.”
“Did the caller identify the vehicle's owner?”
“No.”
“Did the caller witness a theft?”
Price paused.