“Truth doesn't move as fast as anger,” he said.
Maya smiled.
“You sound like Dad.”
“Dad was usually right.”
“Usually.”
Meanwhile, Daniel was having his own difficult weeks.
He had never expected the report to be challenged so thoroughly.
He had written it quickly.
He had assumed his memory was sufficient.
But now investigators were asking questions.
Why had he described Maya as refusing instructions?
Why hadn't he included the camera footage?
Why had he characterized her behavior as aggressive?
Each question forced him to revisit the incident.
At first, he became defensive.
Then frustrated.
Then exhausted.
One evening, he sat alone in his car outside the station.
He remembered something from the day of the stop.
Maya had said, “I did use my signal.”
He had ignored her.
At the time, he had believed she was arguing.
Now he wondered whether she had simply been telling the truth.
Daniel closed his eyes.
He thought about his years on the job.
He had always believed that authority meant confidence.
But perhaps he had confused confidence with certainty.
And certainty with correctness.
The next morning, he returned to the station early.
He walked into Lieutenant Harris's office.
“I need to amend my report.”
Harris looked up.
“Why?”
“Because some of it isn't accurate.”
The words were difficult to say.
Harris leaned back.
“What specifically?”
Daniel placed a document on the desk.
“I want to correct the parts I got wrong.”
Harris studied him.
“This isn't about what the investigation wants.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Daniel looked down.
“Because it's my name on the report.”
That answer surprised even him.
For years, he had thought protecting his reputation meant defending every decision.
Now he understood something different.
Sometimes protecting your reputation meant admitting when you were wrong.
Maya was asked to return to the station.
She almost didn't go.
Marcus encouraged her.
“You wanted the record corrected.”
“Yes.”
“Then go see what they have to say.”
Maya entered the building.
Daniel was waiting.
He stood when she approached.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Daniel said, “I owe you an apology.”
Maya didn't respond immediately.
Daniel continued.
“My report wasn't accurate.”