Caroline let out a loud, theatrical gasp. "See! She's refusing! If she has nothing to hide, why won't she just show you what's inside?"
"Because the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens against unlawful searches and seizures," Simone replied smoothly, never breaking eye contact with Officer Hayes. "You have no warrant. You have no probable cause. You have no reasonable, articulable suspicion that a crime has been committed, given that the store manager herself has just confirmed that the missing item was accounted for on their own internal rack."
Officer Hayes stiffened, clearly unaccustomed to having constitutional law cited back to him with such icy precision by a civilian in a retail store. "Ma'am, I'm just trying to clear the scene quickly so everyone can go about their day," Hayes attempted to explain, his tone carrying a subtle edge of police authority. "If you cooperate and show us the inside of the bag, this whole thing ends right now."
"It ends right now regardless," Simone stated flatly. "My cooperation is not required to excuse a baseless allegation rooted entirely in this woman's personal biases. If you intend to search my property, Officer, you will need to place me under formal arrest and articulate your probable cause to a magistrate judge."
The younger officer standing behind Hayes leaned in slightly, whispering something low into his partner's ear. Hayes frowned, glancing from Simone's completely unbothered posture to Caroline's increasingly manic demeanor. "May I ask for your name and identification, ma'am?" Hayes asked, shifting his tactic.
Simone reached into her coat pocket, pulled out a sleek silver card case, and extracted a thick white card. She handed it directly to Officer Hayes. "My name is Dr. Simone Bennett. I am the Chief of Surgery at St. Jude Memorial Hospital, and I am the Chair of the Municipal Medical Ethics Board."
Officer Hayes looked down at the embossed text on the card. The breath seemed to leave his chest all at once. He looked up at Simone, taking in her refined posture, her sharp dot suit hanging on the valet rack behind her, and the utter lack of fear in her eyes. The younger officer swallowed hard, taking a small step back from the counter.
Before Hayes could utter another word, the heavy glass doors of the second-floor executive suite swung open. A tall man in a bespoke navy suit came striding across the marble floor at a near-sprint, flanked by two burly security guards in dark blazers. It was Arthur Vance, the Vice President of Regional Operations for Bellmont & Avery.
"What is going on here?" Vance demanded, his eyes darting frantically across the scene until they landed on Simone. His face instantly drained of color. "Dr. Bennett! Good afternoon! I... I was just informed that there was a situation on the floor."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Vance," Simone replied pleasantly, as if greeting an acquaintance at a charity dinner. "It seems one of your patrons felt that my presence in your store was suspicious enough to warrant a police response."