Brookhaven passed by in fragments.
A bakery.
A bus stop.
A church.
A school.
People were beginning to appear on the sidewalks.
None of them knew that their mayor was sitting handcuffed in the back of a police car.
Isaiah wondered how many people had experienced something similar.
Not necessarily because they had done something wrong.
But because someone had already decided who they were.
At the station, Briggs entered through the rear garage.
He opened the door.
“Out.”
Isaiah stepped down.
His wrists hurt.
Briggs grabbed his arm.
“I can walk.”
“Then walk.”
They entered the booking area.
Several officers looked up.
Sergeant Harold Mercer was working behind the desk.
Mercer had been with the department for nearly three decades.
He had seen political administrations come and go.
He had seen good officers make mistakes.
He had also seen bad officers hide them.
Briggs approached.
“Got a vandalism suspect.”
Mercer looked at Isaiah.
“Name?”
“Refused.”
Mercer frowned.
The man looked familiar.
Very familiar.
“Full name?”
“He won't give one.”
Isaiah spoke calmly.
“My name is Isaiah Whitaker.”
Mercer froze.
The room seemed to become silent.
He looked at Isaiah again.
Then at Briggs.
Then back at Isaiah.
“Mayor Whitaker?”
Briggs laughed nervously.
“Apparently.”
Mercer's face changed.
“Nolan.”
“What?”
“You need to remove those cuffs.”
Briggs stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because that's the mayor.”
“I know who he claims to be.”
Mercer stood.
“No. You don't understand.”
He walked around the desk.
“That's Mayor Isaiah Whitaker.”
Briggs's confidence disappeared.
He looked at Isaiah.
Then at Mercer.
Then at the booking computer.
A photograph appeared beside the mayor's name.
There was no mistake.
Briggs swallowed.
“I didn't know.”
Isaiah answered quietly.
“That is exactly the problem.”
Mercer unlocked the cuffs.
Isaiah rubbed his wrists.
Briggs stood motionless.
“I can explain.”
Isaiah looked at him.
“You had every opportunity to ask.”
“I thought—”
“Yes.”
Isaiah nodded.
“You thought.”
Chief Marcus Bell entered the room moments later.
He had received a call from the department's internal communications system.
His face was already tense.
“What happened?”
Mercer answered.
“Officer Briggs arrested the mayor at Mason Park.”
Bell stared at Briggs.
“Why?”
“Possible vandalism.”
“Possible?”
Briggs nodded.
“Property interference.”
Bell looked at Isaiah.
“Are you hurt?”
Isaiah touched his wrist.
“I'll be fine.”
Bell looked at Briggs.
“Did you use force?”
Briggs hesitated.
“Minimal.”
Isaiah said nothing.
Bell noticed the hesitation.
“So that's a yes.”
Before Briggs could answer, the station doors opened.
Camille Whitaker walked in.
She moved quickly toward Isaiah.
“Are you okay?”
“I am now.”
She examined his wrists.
“What happened?”
Isaiah looked at Briggs.
“Ask him.”
Camille turned.
For several seconds, she simply stared.
Briggs looked younger now.
Much younger.
“Mrs. Whitaker,” he began.
“Don't.”
Her voice was quiet.
That made it more powerful.
“You don't get to explain before my husband has had a doctor examine him.”
Briggs lowered his eyes.
Chief Bell stepped between them.
“Camille is right.”
He looked at Briggs.
“Your body camera.”
Briggs stiffened.
“What about it?”
“Was it activated?”
Silence.
Mercer looked up from the computer.
“Officer?”
Briggs touched his vest.
The camera light was off.
Bell's expression became colder.
“Why wasn't it recording?”
“I forgot.”
Isaiah looked toward the chief.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Isaiah continued.
“He didn't forget.”
Briggs stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
“You deliberately didn't activate it.”
“That isn't true.”
“Then prove it.”
Bell immediately ordered the technical officer to recover the device's activity logs.
Briggs's face changed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
By noon, Brookhaven was buzzing.
Someone had seen the police cruiser at Mason Park.
Someone else had recognized the mayor.
Then Mrs. Alden, the elderly woman who had witnessed the arrest, called a local reporter.
“I saw everything,” she said.
Within hours, the story had spread.
Mayor arrested at city park.
Officer claims vandalism.
Mayor says officer used excessive force.
The city council called an emergency meeting.