CHAPTER 1 — THE WOMAN BESIDE THE SUV
The handcuffs clicked around Danielle Lawson's wrists before Officer Patrick Mulligan had even checked who owned the vehicle.
That was the detail she would remember most.
Not the heat rising from the pharmacy parking lot.
Not the strangers slowing their shopping carts to stare.
Not even the humiliation of being pushed toward a patrol car beside the black SUV she had purchased three years earlier.
It was the speed with which Mulligan had decided who she was.
"You're under arrest," he said. "Suspicion of vehicle theft."
Danielle stared at him.
"I'm sorry?"
"You heard me."
She looked toward the SUV.
The driver's door was still open.
Her work jacket rested on the passenger seat. A stack of legal files lay in the back. Her purse had fallen somewhere near the center console when she'd leaned inside looking for a folder.
Everything necessary to settle the question was within twenty feet.
"Officer, that's my car."
Mulligan gave her a look that told her he'd already heard enough.
"Sure."
"My registration is in the glove compartment."
"Keep moving."
"My purse is inside. My license is in it."
He tightened his grip on her arm.
"Save it."
Danielle stopped walking.
Mulligan immediately turned.
"What?"
"Run the license plate."
He stared at her.
"It will come back to me."
"Get in the car."
"Officer, this can be resolved in thirty seconds."
"You're not in charge here."
Danielle's jaw tightened.
She was thirty-eight years old, a career prosecutor, and the elected Commonwealth's Attorney for the county. She had spent years working alongside investigators and police departments.
She knew what a lawful investigation looked like.
This wasn't one.
"Have you received a stolen-vehicle report matching this SUV?"
Mulligan stepped closer.
"Are you telling me how to do my job?"
"I'm asking what you're basing the arrest on."
"You're basing your future on how much you keep talking."
The threat was quiet.
Deliberate.
Danielle looked around.
A woman near the pharmacy entrance had stopped carrying her bags.
A man loading groceries into a pickup was watching.
Nobody intervened.
Danielle turned back to Mulligan.
"My name is Danielle Lawson."
"Congratulations."
"I am the Commonwealth's Attorney."
For the first time, Mulligan paused.
Then he laughed.
Not uncertainly.
Openly.
"You're the state attorney?"
"Yes."
He looked her up and down.
"Lady, come on."
Danielle felt something cold settle inside her.
"Run my name."
"No."
"Run the plate."
"No."
"Retrieve my identification."
"No."
"Then what exactly are you investigating?"