Inside, the station was busy. Employees moved between the reception desk and the corridors, telephones rang, and officers discussed reports near a noticeboard.
To everyone who saw her arrive, Camille appeared to be another detainee brought in for questioning.
Nobody in the reception area knew that she was a senior prosecutor. Nobody had witnessed the entire confrontation in the parking lot. And nobody yet understood that the officer who had detained her was about to face questions about the evidence behind his decision.
Harrison directed Camille toward an interview room at the end of the corridor.
She followed without resisting, keeping her posture straight despite the discomfort of the handcuffs. Before entering the room, she turned toward him once more.
CAMILLE BROOKS: "I have cooperated with every instruction you've given me. I want the record to reflect that I asked you to verify the registration before you brought me here."
OFFICER BRETT HARRISON: "You can explain everything inside."
CAMILLE BROOKS: "I intend to. But I also expect you to check my identity properly."
Harrison opened the door and motioned for her to enter.
Camille stepped inside and looked around the small room. A metal table stood beneath the fluorescent lights, and a security camera was mounted in the corner. The door closed behind her with a quiet click.
She was alone with the consequences of an officer's assumptions, unable to reach her phone or contact her colleagues.
But she was not prepared to accept that those assumptions would become the official version of events.
She had asked for the evidence to be checked before the situation escalated. She had offered her documents, answered the officer's questions, and remained composed even after being handcuffed.
Now she intended to make sure that the facts were heard.
Outside the room, Harrison began preparing the intake paperwork, confident that the station would support his decision. He had no idea how much scrutiny the case was about to receive, or how quickly his assumptions would be challenged by people who understood the legal system as well as he did.
For the moment, he still believed that he controlled the situation.
Camille sat at the table, her hands restrained behind her back, and waited for someone to ask the right questions.
The truth was already contained in the documents he had examined.
The only remaining question was whether the people responsible for reviewing the incident would be willing to acknowledge it.
The interview room was colder than Camille had expected. A metal table stood between her and the empty chair opposite, while the fluorescent lights cast a pale glow across the blue-gray walls. A small security camera watched from the upper corner, recording the room without revealing whether anyone was paying attention.
Camille sat upright, her hands still secured behind her back. The position was uncomfortable, but she refused to let the discomfort distract her from the facts. She had been brought to the station because an officer had decided that her presence beside her own vehicle looked suspicious. Now she needed to understand what he intended to do next.
Several minutes passed before the door opened.
Officer Brett Harrison entered carrying a thin folder. He placed it on the table, pulled out the opposite chair, and sat down. His expression remained stern, as though he expected Camille to become nervous simply because the conversation was taking place inside a police station.
OFFICER BRETT HARRISON: "Let's start with the vehicle. How long have you owned it?"
CAMILLE BROOKS: "For nearly three years. The purchase documents and registration can confirm that."
OFFICER BRETT HARRISON: "Where did you buy it?"
CAMILLE BROOKS: "Through a licensed dealership. Is there a particular reason you're asking?"
OFFICER BRETT HARRISON: "I'm conducting an investigation. You don't need to question every question I ask."
CAMILLE BROOKS: "I'm answering you. I'm also asking what evidence connects me to the alleged theft."
Harrison opened the folder and glanced at his notes. The report he had received described a dark-colored SUV that might have been connected to a theft, but it did not establish that Camille's vehicle was the one involved. Several details still needed to be checked.
Rather than explaining those limitations, Harrison returned to the circumstances in which he had first seen her.
OFFICER BRETT HARRISON: "I observed you reaching inside the vehicle and acting suspiciously."
CAMILLE BROOKS: "I was retrieving my work folder from the passenger seat."
OFFICER BRETT HARRISON: "That's your explanation."
CAMILLE BROOKS: "It's also what happened. You can review the parking lot footage if you want to confirm it."