"Don't discuss anything else with them."
"I know."
"I'm leaving now."
"Mark?"
"Yeah?"
"Bring a notebook."
He understood.
"This isn't ending with your release."
"No," Danielle said.
"It isn't."
CHAPTER 5 — WHEN THE ROOM CHANGED
Mark arrived twenty-seven minutes later.
Charcoal suit.
Silver at the temples.
No wasted movement.
He entered the precinct conference room and immediately looked at Danielle's wrists.
"What happened there?"
"Cuffs."
"For how long?"
"Long enough."
Mark turned toward Briggs.
"I want Officer Mulligan's supervisor."
"I am his supervisor."
"Good."
Mark placed his briefcase on the table.
"Then explain why the county's elected prosecutor was arrested for stealing a vehicle registered in her own name without anyone performing a basic plate check."
Briggs didn't answer immediately.
Mulligan did.
"She couldn't produce identification."
Mark looked at him.
"Where was it?"
"She said inside the vehicle."
"Was it?"
Nobody answered.
Mark turned toward Danielle.
"Was it?"
"Yes."
"Did you tell him?"
"Repeatedly."
Mark looked back at Mulligan.
"And instead of retrieving the ID or checking registration, you arrested her?"
"She was acting suspicious."
Mark's expression remained calm.
"Define suspicious."
Mulligan hesitated.
"She was defensive."
"Define defensive."
"Questioning instructions."
Mark looked toward Briggs.
"Is asking why you're being arrested now probable cause?"
"No," Briggs said.
Mulligan's face reddened.
"This is easy after the fact."
Danielle finally spoke.
"No, Officer Mulligan. It was easy before the fact."
Everyone looked at her.
"Run the plate. Retrieve the purse. Verify the VIN. Call my office. Ask dispatch. You had at least five ways to check."
Mulligan said nothing.
Danielle continued.
"You chose none of them."
Mark opened his notebook.
"Did Officer Mulligan make any comments concerning Ms. Lawson's race?"
Briggs looked toward Danielle.
Mulligan stiffened.
Danielle answered.
"He said people like me don't get jobs like mine."
Mark stopped writing.