His eyes narrowed.
“You a lawyer?”
Naomi paused.
“Among other things.”
“What kind?”
“That's not relevant.”
He smiled.
It wasn't friendly.
“Everything is relevant right now.”
Naomi felt her stomach tighten.
She had encountered this tone before.
Not necessarily from police officers.
From people who believed authority meant never having to explain themselves.
She glanced toward the street.
A neighbor, Mrs. Alvarez, had opened her front door.
Another man was standing beside his parked car.
A teenager had stopped riding his bicycle.
People were watching.
Holloway noticed.
“Go inside,” he ordered.
Naomi looked at him.
“This is my yard.”
“I'm giving you an order.”
“You haven't explained the legal basis.”
Holloway stepped closer.
“You think because you live in a nice house, you can tell me how to do my job?”
Naomi said nothing.
There it was.
The sentence had nothing to do with the original report.
He wasn't investigating anymore.
He was challenging her.
And she knew better than to give him the emotional reaction he seemed to want.
“I am asking reasonable questions,” she said.
Holloway's face hardened.
“Put your hands where I can see them.”
“They already are.”
“Turn around.”
“Why?”
“Turn around.”
Cole stepped forward.
“Grant—”
“Stay out of it.”
Naomi looked at Cole.
For a moment, their eyes met.
She saw hesitation.
She also saw fear.
Not fear of her.
Fear of his partner.
Naomi slowly turned.
And then the garden hose moved beneath her shoe.
The nozzle twisted.
Water suddenly exploded across the lawn.
A powerful stream struck Holloway's uniform.
He jumped backward.
For half a second, everyone froze.
Naomi immediately stepped away.
“That was an accident.”
Holloway looked down at his soaked uniform.
Then he looked at her.
Something changed in his face.
And Naomi knew the situation had just become dangerous.
“You assaulted me.”
Naomi stared at him.
“No, I didn't.”
“You sprayed me.”
“The hose moved.”
“You deliberately sprayed me.”
“That is not what happened.”
Holloway grabbed the hose.
Cole immediately said, “Grant, don't.”
But Holloway had already made up his mind.
He squeezed the handle.
A violent stream of water struck Naomi in the chest.
She gasped.
The force pushed her backward.
“Stop!”
Holloway continued.
“Officer!”
Water soaked her shirt and hair.
Her glasses fell into the grass.
She raised one arm over her face.
“Turn it off!”
Cole stepped forward.
“Grant!”
Holloway finally released the handle.
Silence fell over the yard.
Naomi stood motionless.
Water dripped from her hair.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her hands trembled.
Not because she was weak.
Because she was furious.
Across the street, Mrs. Alvarez shouted, “I saw everything!”
Another neighbor held up a phone.
“I recorded it!”
Holloway turned toward him.
“Put that phone away.”
“No.”
“Sir, put it away.”
“I am on public property.”
Holloway took a step toward the sidewalk.
Cole caught his arm.
“Don't.”
Holloway pulled away.
Naomi picked up her glasses.
One lens was cracked.
She looked at them for several seconds.
Then she looked at Holloway.
“What is your name?”
“Mason Holloway.”
“Badge number?”
He hesitated.
“7824.”
She nodded.
“And your partner?”
Cole answered quietly.
“Ethan Cole. 6158.”
“Thank you.”
Holloway looked confused.
“For what?”
“For giving me accurate information.”
She walked toward the house.
“Stop.”
Naomi turned.
“I need to document this.”
“You're not leaving.”
“I am going inside my house.”
“You're being detained.”
“Why?”
Holloway didn't answer.
That was the moment Naomi understood.
There had never been a legitimate investigation.
The original report was either false, exaggerated, or being used as an excuse.
She looked directly at Ethan.
“Officer Cole.”
“Yes?”
“Did dispatch actually send you here?”
He swallowed.
“No.”
Holloway snapped his head toward him.
“Ethan.”
Naomi heard the answer.
And so did everyone else.
The man with the phone lowered it slightly.
Mrs. Alvarez stepped farther onto her porch.
Someone whispered, “Oh my God.”
Naomi looked at Holloway.
“Then why are you here?”
He had no answer.
Not one that could survive witnesses.
Naomi opened her front door.
“I'm going inside.”
Holloway didn't stop her.
For the first time that morning, he looked uncertain.
Naomi closed the door behind her.
Then she walked directly to her home office.
She opened a locked cabinet.
Inside was a black identification case.
She removed it.
And when she opened it, even she knew the rest of the day would never be ordinary again.
Naomi placed the identification case on her desk.
Inside was a federal credential.
A judicial commission.