That was evidence worth examining, not a complete record worth pretending we possessed. Morgan sought the relevant communications and interviewed the coworker separately.
Simone said the caller mentioned her traffic matter. He told her court appearances could become complicated for people who attracted official attention, then insisted he was only offering friendly advice.
I put down my cup before Denise finished. The urge to call every supervisor I knew was immediate and fierce.
“They need to leave her alone.”
“She has reported it,” Denise said. “Let the outside team handle the contact. You should not become another powerful person directing what happens to a witness.”
I hated the instruction because it was correct. I wanted to protect Simone, but protection could become control if my gratitude made her responsible for following my wishes.
Denise asked whether she had independent counsel for her concerns. With Simone's consent, a local legal aid organization arranged advice about reporting unwanted contact and dealing with her employer.
I did not pay the lawyer or select her. Simone chose whether to accept the assistance, and nobody connected it to what she would say about the slap.
The caller turned out to be a patrol officer named Wesley Trent. He admitted making contact but described it as an attempt to prevent a misunderstanding from ruining a colleague's career.
His supervisor said he had no assignment to contact witnesses. Morgan obtained records showing he and Rourke discussed Simone's video shortly before the call, although the precise contents of their spoken conversation remained disputed.
Trent's conduct became a separate matter. I was glad of that distinction; one officer's attempt to interfere with a witness should be examined on its own evidence, not folded into a general cloud around anyone wearing the same uniform.
Meanwhile, my hearing appointment showed improvement but not a clean return to normal. The specialist explained the next steps and asked whether I still experienced dizziness when moving quickly.
“Only when I forget to be careful,” I said.
She looked at me over the chart. “You shouldn't have to remember an injury every second for it to count.”
I laughed, then unexpectedly cried. The tears embarrassed me until she handed me tissues without changing the ordinary tone of the appointment.
Aaron drove us home. I told him about Simone's call, and he gripped the steering wheel more tightly before asking what she wanted done.
The question mattered. We had both begun learning that the injured person's wishes should not disappear beneath everyone else's anger.
That night, the courthouse issued a notice directing personnel not to make unauthorized contact with witnesses and providing the outside investigators' number. It applied broadly, without identifying Simone or advertising where she worked.
It was a useful measure, but it arrived after the call. I thought about how many policies began as responses to a harm someone else had already absorbed.
Before bed, I opened the unsent thank-you note. I added a sentence saying that I understood if Simone wanted distance from me when the case ended, then closed the drawer again.
She had helped because of what she saw, not because she agreed to carry the rest of my recovery. I needed to remember that as clearly as I remembered her phone.
I also began turning down invitations that required me to describe the encounter as an inspiring lesson. One organization offered an award before the investigation had even ended. I thanked them and declined, uncertain how to explain that being publicly hurt was not an accomplishment. At home, Aaron put the invitation in the recycling without ceremony, and I was grateful that I did not have to find a more eloquent reason before we could finish our evening.
The next morning, Denise called with a new development. Rourke had submitted a supplemental account acknowledging that he heard me claim to be a judge, but saying he assumed I was impersonating one.
I looked toward the drawer containing my first corrections. The story had changed, just as I feared it would, and this time there was a dated record showing exactly when.
The supplemental report contained more polished language than the first. Rourke now said I had claimed judicial authority in an effort to avoid detention and that my refusal to display identification reinforced his suspicion.
He also said the briefcase might have contained a weapon. That concern had not appeared in his initial account, his radio traffic, or the words captured by Simone's phone.