Across the room, the small security monitor mounted on the wall flickered violently. The screen blue-screened for a fraction of a second before displaying a high-definition, split-screen feed.
On the left screen was the live 4K feed of Holding Room 4—showing Victoria, Croft, and Cricket.
On the right screen was the archived 4K video from the Central Atrium, timestamped 15:14:22 PM.
Victoria froze. Her attorney’s jaw dropped slightly.
"What did you do?" Croft demanded, opening his briefcase to check his phone.
"When Officer Vance brought me down here," Cricket explained smoothly, leaning back in her chair, "he used my custodial access badge to enter the security corridor. My badge wasn't just a keycard. It was an automated network bridge."
The audio from the atrium recording burst through the holding room’s small speaker:
“Get back right now! You stole that toy! I saw you take it!” Victoria’s recorded voice shrieked clearly on the recording.
Then, the video zoomed in with pristine clarity on the fountain basin.
The high-definition lens captured the exact moment: Victoria’s five-year-old grandson hadn't dropped the toy. Victoria herself had discreetly slipped the yellow duck out of her coat pocket and dropped it into the water filter basin, setting the trap to frame Cricket before the crowd.