DR. ADRIAN COLE
Then the second.
CITY OF RIVERSIDE
Then the third.
INCOMING CHIEF OF POLICE
Holloway stopped breathing.
For several seconds, the world seemed to tilt.
He looked at the man.
Then back at the card.
Then at the courthouse.
Then at the crowd.
One of the bystanders whispered:
"He's the new chief."
Another voice answered:
"That's him."
Holloway's face drained of color.
Adrian Cole said nothing.
He didn't need to.
The badge on Holloway's chest suddenly felt heavier than it had in fourteen years.
By 8:40 a.m., the video had been uploaded.
By 8:47, it had been shared hundreds of times.
By 9:05, every local television station had a reporter outside the police headquarters.
By 9:30, City Hall had called an emergency meeting.
And by 10:00, Officer Grant Holloway was sitting alone in an interview room.
His supervisor placed a paper cup of water on the table.
"Don't touch it," Holloway said.
Captain Miriam Shaw looked at him.
"You should drink."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
Holloway looked toward the wall.
"He wouldn't identify himself."
Miriam sat down.
"That's your defense?"
"He was acting suspicious."
"He wasn't breaking the law."
"I had reason to believe—"
"You slapped him."
Holloway said nothing.
Miriam leaned forward.
"Grant, there are thirty-seven witnesses."
"Not all of them saw what happened."
"There's video."
Holloway swallowed.
"How many?"
"At least six angles."
He rubbed his forehead.
"I lost my temper."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Miriam stared at him.
"That's not good enough."
Holloway finally looked at her.
"He kept questioning me."
"So?"
"So?"
Miriam's voice hardened.
"People are allowed to question police officers."
"Not when we're conducting an investigation."
"You weren't conducting an investigation."
"I was responding to a suspicious-person call."
"Then investigate."
She paused.
"Don't punish."
Holloway looked down at his hands.
"I didn't know who he was."
Miriam nodded slowly.
"And that's exactly why this is serious."
"What do you mean?"
"You treated him differently because you thought he had no power."
Holloway immediately shook his head.
"That's not true."
"Then tell me why you hit him."
He had no answer.
The door opened.
An assistant city manager stepped inside.
"Captain."
Miriam stood.
"What?"
"Chief-elect Cole is here."
Holloway's stomach dropped.
Miriam looked at him.
"He's asking for a private meeting."
Holloway swallowed.
"With me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Miriam's expression was unreadable.
"You'll have to ask him."
Adrian Cole sat in a conference room on the third floor.
His cheek was still red.
A thin mark crossed his skin where Holloway's ring had caught him.
He had refused ice.
He had refused pain medication.
He had refused every suggestion that he should go home.
Instead, he had asked for the department's policy manual.
He had read it cover to cover.
Not because he didn't know it.
Because he wanted to understand what kind of organization he was about to lead.
When Holloway entered, Adrian looked up.
For several seconds neither man spoke.
Holloway closed the door.
"I want to apologize."
Adrian nodded.
"Sit down."
Holloway sat.
"I'm sorry."
"I heard you the first time."
Holloway looked uncomfortable.
"I made a mistake."
"No."
Adrian's voice was quiet.
"You made a decision."
Holloway looked up.
"There's a difference."
Adrian folded his hands on the table.
"A mistake is forgetting someone's name."
He pointed toward his cheek.
"This was a choice."
Holloway stared at the floor.
"I lost my temper."
"Yes."
"I'm not proud of it."
"I hope not."
Silence.
Then Holloway said:
"I didn't know who you were."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"That's what concerns me."
Holloway looked confused.
"I didn't know you were the chief."
"You shouldn't have needed to."
The words landed harder than the slap.
Adrian continued.
"You didn't know I was a physician."
"You didn't know I was a former prosecutor."
"You didn't know I had been a police officer myself."