"Because from where I'm standing, you sound as though you've already decided that this man is telling the truth."
Ethan took a breath.
"I haven't decided that, Lieutenant. I've decided we don't know yet."
The room fell quiet.
Vanessa looked at him as if he had deliberately insulted her.
"That's an interesting way to put it."
"It's the accurate way to put it."
"You're very confident all of a sudden."
"I'm trying to be precise."
"Then be precise about this: I am responsible for the situation. You are not."
Ethan lowered his chin slightly.
"Yes, ma'am. But responsibility includes making sure we have the right information."
Vanessa turned away before responding.
Daniel watched her move toward the window. The lieutenant seemed to be searching for a position from which she could regain control without admitting that her earlier approach had been flawed.
He had seen the same pattern in other settings. When people became invested in defending a conclusion, new information could feel less like help and more like a threat. They began protecting the conclusion rather than investigating the question.
Vanessa had not yet learned how to separate those two things.
Renee broke the silence.
"Lieutenant, may I ask something?"
Vanessa did not turn.
"Apparently, everyone has a question today. Go ahead."
"Did you see anything on the badge that specifically indicated it was fraudulent?"
Vanessa looked over her shoulder.
"I told you it didn't look right."
"Yes, ma'am. But was there a particular detail?"
"Something about the design."
"What detail?"
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
"Are you examining the badge now?"
"No. I'm asking what raised your concern."
"The markings didn't look familiar."
Renee nodded slowly.
"Could that be because it was issued by a federal agency rather than this department?"
Vanessa turned fully toward her.
"Are you suggesting I don't know what an official badge looks like?"
"I'm suggesting that a credential from another agency might have a design I'm unfamiliar with."
"So now I'm supposed to assume every badge is real?"
"No. I'm suggesting that we verify the ones we cannot authenticate ourselves."
Renee delivered the answer calmly, without sarcasm or hostility.
That made it harder for Vanessa to dismiss.
The lieutenant walked back to the desk.
"Let me explain something to both of you. We cannot allow someone to walk into this station, present a badge, and expect every officer to accept it without question."
Daniel nodded.
"I agree."
Vanessa looked at him suspiciously.
"You agree?"
"Of course."
"Then why are you arguing with me?"
"Because questioning a badge and refusing to verify it are not the same thing."
She opened her mouth, but Daniel continued.
"You should question it. You should ask where it came from. You should check the name and identification number. You should contact the issuing agency if necessary. I have no objection to any of that."
"Then you should have cooperated instead of telling me how to do my job."
"I cooperated. I answered your questions and gave you the information you requested."
"You questioned my authority."
"I questioned your conclusion."
Vanessa shook her head.
"That sounds like the same thing to me."
"It isn't."
"According to you."
"According to the difference between asking for evidence and demanding agreement."
Ethan glanced at Renee.
Neither officer spoke, but both understood why the conversation had become so difficult. Vanessa was treating Daniel's refusal to accept an unsupported accusation as an attempt to take power away from her.
Daniel was trying to establish that she could retain responsibility for the situation without pretending to know something she had not verified.
The two positions were fundamentally different.
Vanessa reached for a pen and tapped it against the desk.
"All right. Let's say I make the call. Let's say somebody on the other end tells me that your name appears in a database. What then?"
"Then you will have taken the first step toward verifying my identity."
"And if they tell me they cannot find you?"
"Then we determine why."
"And if they tell me the badge is fake?"
"Then you will have evidence that it is fake."
Vanessa leaned toward him.
"You make everything sound so simple."
"The verification process is straightforward. The situation has become complicated because we haven't used it."
Renee looked down at the floor for a moment.
Ethan rubbed his thumb against the edge of his notebook.
Vanessa stopped tapping the pen.
"You know what your problem is, Mr. Brooks?"
Daniel waited.
"You think you're the smartest person in this room."
"No."
"You act like it."
"I'm trying to answer your questions."