Daniel was standing outside with the project manager.
Two customers had stopped at the pumps.
A delivery truck was unloading supplies.
Margaret walked directly toward the front entrance.
“You need to shut this down.”
Daniel sighed.
“Margaret.”
“Today.”
“No.”
She raised her voice.
“You have no legal right to operate here.”
The project manager stepped back.
Daniel remained calm.
“I'm not discussing this again.”
She reached into her vehicle.
When she came back, she was holding a brick.
Daniel stared at it.
“Put that down.”
She didn't.
“Last warning.”
“Margaret.”
“You have ignored every lawful instruction.”
“This isn't lawful.”
She raised the brick.
One customer whispered:
“Oh my God.”
Daniel saw her arm move.
He thought she would stop.
She didn't.
The brick flew.
Glass exploded.
People screamed.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then the alarm began.
Daniel looked at Margaret.
“You just threw that.”
“I did what was necessary.”
“No.”
His voice was almost impossibly calm.
“You threw a brick through my window.”
She immediately pointed at him.
“He broke in!”
The customer near pump two lifted his phone.
Margaret saw him.
“Stop recording!”
He didn't.
Daniel looked at the camera.
Then at the customer.
“Keep recording.”
Margaret's confidence faltered.
Daniel called the police.
She tried to explain.
But this time, the story had already been recorded.
The brick had been thrown in plain sight.
The cameras had captured it.
The customer's phone had captured it.
The security alarm had recorded the time.
And the broken window had no opinion about who caused it.
The truth was visible.
The Police Arrive
Two patrol cars arrived.
Then another.
Margaret immediately approached the first officer.
“This man assaulted me.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I haven't touched you.”
“He threatened me.”
The officer looked toward the broken window.
“Who threw the brick?”
Margaret pointed at Daniel.
“He caused this.”
“Did you throw the brick?”
“No.”