Doyle flipped it open.
On one side was a gold, eagle-topped shield. On the other was a laminated identification card bearing the seal of the State Attorney General.
DR. CAMILLE BENNETT
CHIEF INVESTIGATOR, CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
The color drained from Officer Doyle’s face as if a plug had been pulled at her feet. She stared at the gold shield, her mouth opening and closing silently.
Sergeant Miller stood up so fast his chair rolled backward and slammed into a filing cabinet.
"Officer Doyle," Miller barked, his voice suddenly frantic. "Take those cuffs off her. Right now."
"No," Camille said sharply.
Doyle froze, the handcuff key trembling in her hand.
"You do not get to undo an unlawful arrest simply because you realized you arrested the wrong person," Camille stated, turning her gaze on the desk sergeant. "Call your Watch Commander. Call your Chief of Police. And do not touch these cuffs until they are standing in this room to document exactly how their officers operate."
The silence in the precinct was deafening. The illusion of Hawthorne Ridge's untouchable utopia was entirely shattered, broken by a woman in a navy polo who had simply decided to go for a walk.
Follow-up Question: Would you like to explore the legal fallout and the Attorney General's subsequent press conference, or focus on Camille's highly anticipated meeting with Evelyn Price after her release?