“My personal bag?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Mercer’s expression changed slightly.
“Because I asked.”
Ava remained calm.
“That is not a reason.”
Several shoppers near the entrance slowed down.
A cashier leaving for a break noticed the conversation.
Mercer looked toward them.
Then back at Ava.
“Ma’am, don’t make this harder.”
“I’m not.”
She held the cart handle.
“I’m answering your questions.”
“Then open the bag.”
“No.”
Mercer blinked.
The answer was simple.
Direct.
No anger.
No shouting.
Just no.
“You refusing to cooperate?”
“I’m refusing a search of my personal belongings.”
Mercer gave a small laugh.
“You know how this works?”
Ava looked at him.
“Yes.”
The officer stepped closer.
“Then you know refusing makes you look suspicious.”
Ava shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“Refusing a search does not create evidence.”
The officer’s jaw tightened.
“You always talk like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re teaching a class.”
Ava looked at him carefully.
“No.”
She paused.
“I’m speaking clearly.”
The conversation changed.
Mercer was no longer casually asking questions.
He was trying to regain control.
He pointed toward the patrol car.
“Place the bag on the hood.”
Ava did not move.
“Am I being detained?”
Mercer hesitated.
The question mattered.
He knew it.
A nearby shopper noticed too.
A young man holding a drink quietly lifted his phone.
Ava saw it.
Mercer saw it.
“Put the bag down.”
“Am I being detained?”
The officer looked frustrated.
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“No.”
Ava’s voice remained steady.
“I’m asking the question you haven’t answered.”
Another officer approached from the passenger side of the cruiser.
Officer Lucas Reed was thirty-five years old and had only worked with Mercer for six months.
He looked between them.
“What’s going on?”
Mercer answered quickly.
“Possible shoplifting.”
Reed looked at Ava.
“What was taken?”
Mercer paused.
“We’re checking.”
“What was reported?”
“An employee concern.”
Reed frowned.
“That’s it?”
Mercer looked at him.
“Lucas.”
The younger officer stopped talking.
Ava noticed.
The dynamic was obvious.
One officer controlled the conversation.
The other was questioning quietly.
Mercer turned back.
“Bag.”
Ava sighed.
“Officer, you have not explained a lawful reason for searching my property.”
Mercer stepped toward the cart.
“I’ll explain after I check.”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
The crowd grew.
A woman near the store entrance whispered:
“She said no.”
Someone else said:
“She has a receipt.”
Mercer ignored them.
He reached toward the black handbag.
Ava stepped back.
“Do not take my bag.”
Mercer stopped.
For a moment, they stared at each other.
Then Mercer made his decision.
“Place it on the hood.”
Ava looked at his body camera.
Then at him.
“Your camera is recording this, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”