Footsteps approached.
A voice spoke quietly through the door.
Then another voice answered.
Emily recognized Daniel's tone, but he was not speaking to the person who had delivered the paperwork. His voice was lower, strained, and urgent.
"I told you, she's asking too many questions."
A pause.
"No, she hasn't given me a name."
Another pause.
"I don't know if she recorded anything."
Emily's attention sharpened.
Daniel continued.
"The camera is on, but I can handle that."
She felt her jaw tighten.
He was discussing the recording with someone else.
The person on the other end replied too quietly for her to understand, and Daniel lowered his voice even further.
Then she heard one sentence clearly.
"Just tell me whether I'm supposed to keep her here."
Emily went completely still.
The question suggested that Daniel was waiting for permission to decide what happened to her next. He was not merely reporting the arrest to a supervisor. He was asking someone outside the room to determine how far he should go.
A long silence followed.
Finally, Daniel spoke again.
"Understood."
The footsteps moved away from the door.
Emily listened until the corridor became quiet.
She no longer had any doubt that the encounter was connected to something larger than an individual officer's misconduct.
Someone had identified her.
Someone had directed Daniel to approach her.
Someone was now deciding whether she should remain inside the station.
And that person appeared to have enough influence over Daniel to make him nervous about refusing instructions.
Emily straightened in her chair.
She had come to Westbridge expecting to uncover evidence of corruption. She had anticipated false reports, missing recordings, and officers who might attempt to intimidate witnesses.
She had not expected to find herself at the center of an operation whose participants seemed prepared to act before they even knew who their target was.
That mistake could become their undoing.
But first, she needed to leave the interview room without giving Daniel another opportunity to control the situation.
She moved her wrists carefully, locating the narrow hairpin with her fingertips. The metal edge pressed against her skin through the fabric of her pocket.
Emily took a slow breath and listened.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No immediate movement outside the door.
She drew the hairpin free with a small, controlled motion, keeping her hands behind her body and her shoulders relaxed. The object was tiny, ordinary, and almost invisible in the dim space between her wrists and the back of the chair.
She had not planned to use it that afternoon.
But Daniel had made his choice.
And now Emily was preparing to make hers.
The sound of a key turning in the outer lock interrupted her thoughts.
She slipped the hairpin into her palm and lowered her hands again.
The door began to open.
Daniel entered first, followed by a second man in plain clothes. The newcomer was tall, in his early fifties, with graying hair, a charcoal suit, and a department identification card clipped to his belt. His expression was calm, but his eyes moved immediately toward Emily's hands and then toward the camera in the corner.
Daniel closed the door.
"Emily," he said, as though they were meeting under entirely ordinary circumstances, "this is Captain Harris."
The older man pulled out the chair beside Daniel and sat down.
"Miss Parker," he began, "I understand there has been some confusion about the circumstances of your arrest."
Emily looked at him.
"Has there?"
Captain Harris folded his hands on the table.
"Officer Reed has informed me that you have made several allegations concerning the discovery of suspected narcotics."
"That's correct."
"And you maintain that the packet was placed in your pocket by the officer himself?"
"Yes."
Harris nodded slowly, as though considering her answer.
"That is a serious accusation."
"So is a false arrest."
Daniel shifted in his chair.
Harris glanced at him briefly before returning his attention to Emily.
"Let's try to establish what happened without making this more difficult than necessary. If there has been a misunderstanding, we can address it through the proper channels."
Emily looked at the captain's identification card.
Then she looked at the camera.
"I would appreciate that. I'd also like the complete body-camera recording preserved, along with the station security footage and any communications relating to the decision to stop me."
Harris's expression did not change, but his fingers tightened slightly.
"Communications?"
"Officer Reed received a message before approaching me. He then took me to a private parking lot, questioned me about the department, and asked who I was working for."
Daniel interrupted.
"That's not what happened."
Emily turned toward him.
"Then the recording should clear everything up."