If he claimed that Marcus had been carrying the packet, the witness might contradict him. If he admitted that he had handled the packet, Brooks would ask why. If he changed the sequence, the recording could expose the inconsistency.
Every answer created another problem.
RYAN: "I observed it while conducting the stop."
BROOKS: "Did you search him?"
RYAN: "I recovered the packet."
BROOKS: "That's not what I asked. Did you search him?"
Ryan looked away.
RYAN: "I was attempting to establish what he had on him."
Brooks stopped writing.
BROOKS: "Did you search him, yes or no?"
RYAN: "I was trying to maintain control of the situation."
BROOKS: "Ryan, answer the question."
The officer swallowed.
RYAN: "I handled the packet."
BROOKS: "Where did you obtain it?"
Silence settled over the roadside.
The distant traffic seemed louder.
Ryan stared at the notebook in Brooks's hand, then glanced at the witnesses. The woman had resumed recording, holding her phone steadily at chest height.
Marcus stood beside the sedan without moving.
Ryan knew that an admission would be damaging.
A lie might be worse.
RYAN: "I found it during the encounter."
BROOKS: "That's not an answer."
RYAN: "What do you want me to say?"
BROOKS: "I want you to tell me what happened."
Ryan looked at Marcus again.
The investigator's expression remained calm.
That calmness made the situation more difficult for Ryan than any threat could have. Marcus was not offering him an excuse, arguing over minor details, or trying to force a confession.
He was simply allowing the facts to accumulate.
Brooks closed his notebook halfway.
BROOKS: "We'll continue this at the station. For now, nobody is leaving until we've documented the incident and made the appropriate arrangements."
Ryan's head lifted sharply.
RYAN: "You're treating me like a suspect?"
BROOKS: "I'm treating this as a serious incident involving a use of force and a disputed evidence recovery."
RYAN: "I'm a police officer."
BROOKS: "I know your position."
RYAN: "Then you should know I was doing my job."
BROOKS: "If you were, the review will establish that."
The words landed harder than Ryan expected.
He had counted on his rank within the department, his years of service, and his familiarity with local procedures to protect him from scrutiny.
But Brooks had not promised to support him.
He had not dismissed Marcus's account.
He had not told the witnesses to put their phones away.
Instead, he was documenting everything.
Marcus watched the exchange with a thoughtful expression.
He had met officers like Brooks before. Some were cautious because they feared making a mistake. Others were cautious because they understood that evidence mattered more than appearances.
He did not yet know which category Brooks belonged to.
He would find out soon enough.
A second vehicle arrived, this one an unmarked gray SUV.
It stopped behind the police cruiser, and a woman in a dark business suit stepped out carrying a slim document case.
She was in her early forties, with shoulder-length brown hair and an alert, professional manner.
Her name was Evelyn Price.
Evelyn worked with the regional oversight office and had been coordinating several sensitive inquiries involving misconduct complaints across the district.
When she saw Marcus, she walked directly toward him.
EVELYN: "Marcus."
MARCUS: "Evelyn."
She glanced at Ryan, then at the sergeant.
EVELYN: "I heard there was an incident."
MARCUS: "There was."
EVELYN: "Is this connected to the matter we discussed this morning?"
Marcus considered the question.
He did not want to assume that the roadside encounter was connected to any existing investigation. The facts had to be established first.
MARCUS: "I don't know yet."
Evelyn studied him.
EVELYN: "You think it might be?"
MARCUS: "I think we need to preserve the evidence before anyone decides what it means."
She nodded.
That was the kind of answer she had expected.
Evelyn turned toward Brooks and introduced herself, presenting her own credentials. The sergeant examined them, then explained the basic circumstances of the incident.
She listened carefully, asking only a few questions.
When he finished, she looked at Ryan.
EVELYN: "Officer Miller, do you have a body camera?"
Ryan's eyes flickered toward the camera mounted on the front of his uniform.
RYAN: "Yes."
EVELYN: "Was it activated during the stop?"
RYAN: "I believe so."
EVELYN: "You believe so?"
RYAN: "I'll have to check."
Evelyn exchanged a glance with Marcus.
MARCUS: "Please make sure the recording is preserved immediately."