BROOKS: "I understand."
VICTORIA: "You heard him demand money, didn't you?"
Brooks hesitated.
The pause was short, but Victoria noticed it.
BROOKS: "I heard part of the exchange. I heard the demand discussed at the window, and I saw the physical confrontation. I'll state exactly what I heard and saw."
Victoria nodded.
It was not the sweeping promise she might have wanted, but it was the answer she needed.
She did not want a witness to exaggerate in her favor.
She wanted a witness to tell the truth.
VICTORIA: "Then please make sure you do that."
BROOKS: "I will."
Victoria climbed into the medical vehicle, leaving her Mercedes secured at the roadside until she could arrange for it to be collected.
As the vehicle pulled away, she looked through the window at the two officers.
Sergeant Price was speaking with Brooks.
Miller stood farther away, separated from the conversation.
For the first time that afternoon, Victoria was no longer within his immediate reach.
Yet the sight of the patrol car following behind them made her stomach tighten.
She knew that leaving the roadside did not mean the incident was over.
The next stage would be quieter, more complicated, and perhaps more exhausting than the confrontation itself.
There would be forms to complete, statements to review, calls to make, and questions that might not have immediate answers.
There might be people who believed her, people who doubted her, and people who preferred not to become involved.
She would have to distinguish between what she knew, what she suspected, and what still needed to be proven.
But she had already made one decision.
She would not allow the demand for two thousand dollars to be reduced to a misunderstanding simply because the person who made it wore a uniform.
She would not allow the assault to disappear because another officer had eventually intervened.
And she would not abandon the complaint merely because the process might be difficult.
By the time Victoria arrived for her medical evaluation, her hands had stopped trembling quite so badly.
The pain in her neck remained, and every time she remembered Miller's grip, her body reacted before she could stop it.
The medical staff asked her to explain what had happened.
She gave the same account she had provided at the roadside, careful not to add anything she could not remember clearly.
They examined her, documented her reported symptoms, and advised her about signs that would require urgent medical attention.
Victoria listened carefully.
She wanted to protect her health first.
After the examination, she sat in a quiet room with her phone in her hand.
Claire had arrived and was waiting nearby.
When Victoria finally saw her, the effort she had made to remain composed began to collapse.
Claire crossed the room and embraced her gently.
CLAIRE: "I'm here. You don't have to explain everything at once."
Victoria closed her eyes.
VICTORIA: "I keep thinking about how quickly it happened. One minute I was driving home, and the next minute he had his hand around my throat."
CLAIRE: "I know. You must have been terrified."
VICTORIA: "I was. But I'm also angry. He looked at my car and my clothes and decided he could demand money from me. Then he acted as though I was the problem because I refused."
Claire pulled back enough to look at her.
CLAIRE: "You don't know for certain why he chose you, but what he did was serious. You deserve to have it investigated properly."
Victoria nodded.
She knew Claire was right about the distinction. She could describe Miller's behavior and the comments he had made, but she could not prove what had motivated him to select her vehicle.
What she could prove, or help establish, was the sequence of the encounter.
She could describe his words.
She could identify the officer who intervened.
She could request the recordings.
She could provide a formal statement and follow the complaint process.
Those were the steps within her control.
Later that evening, Victoria sat at her dining table with a glass of water and a notebook.
Her apartment was quiet.
The city lights glowed through the windows, and her white Mercedes was no longer parked in the building's garage because it had been left secured while arrangements were made to retrieve it.
She had changed out of the black dress and into comfortable clothes, but the day still felt unreal.
Claire had offered to stay overnight.
Victoria accepted.