PART 2
Cole immediately turned toward Harold.
“Mr. Benton, did you see the delivery driver?”
Harold rubbed his forehead.
“I thought he was with the restaurant.”
Peter went pale.
“He wasn’t.”
Silence settled over the diner.
Cole looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Peter hesitated.
“I wasn’t expecting a delivery.”
Melissa’s expression changed.
Cole asked:
“Then who was he?”
“I don’t know.”
Andre finally turned from the counter.
“Check the cameras.”
Peter looked toward the ceiling.
“We have cameras.”
Cole frowned.
“Why didn’t you say that?”
Peter looked embarrassed.
“No one asked.”
That sentence landed harder than it should have.
Cole stared at him.
Then at Andre.
Then at the ceiling.
“Get me the footage.”
Peter hurried toward the office.
Cole looked back at Andre.
“You’re still not free to leave.”
Andre nodded.
“I understand.”
Cole seemed disappointed that Andre wasn’t arguing.
Minutes later, Peter returned with a tablet.
The recording showed the diner entrance.
The delivery man entered at 9:17.
Harold left his booth at 9:19.
The delivery man walked toward the counter.
Then toward booth twelve.
He stopped.
Bent down.
His body blocked the camera for several seconds.
Then he walked out.
Andre appeared in the hallway at 9:21.
He passed the booth without stopping.
At 9:23, Harold returned.
The envelope was gone.
The room grew quiet.
Cole watched the footage twice.
Melissa crossed her arms.
“That’s pretty clear.”
Cole didn’t answer.
He looked at Andre.
“You recognize him?”
Andre shook his head.
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Cole seemed frustrated.
He turned toward Harold.
“Sir, did you actually see Mr. Walker near the envelope?”
Harold lowered his head.
“No.”
“Then why did you identify him?”
“I didn’t.”
Cole frowned.
Harold pointed toward the waitress.
“She told me she saw him.”
Chloe immediately shook her head.
“No. I said he walked past your table.”
Cole stared at her.
“That’s not what you told us.”
“I was nervous.”
“You told us he was near the envelope.”
“I said he walked past.”
The difference suddenly mattered.
A lot.
Cole looked back at Andre.
Andre remained still.
He wasn’t smiling.
He wasn’t angry.
He simply waited.
Then the diner door opened.
A man in a dark blue police uniform entered.
Mid-fifties.
Silver hair.
Broad shoulders.
Captain Daniel Reeves.
He had apparently been nearby when the officers requested a supervisor.
Cole straightened.
“Captain.”
Reeves nodded.
“What have we got?”
Cole began explaining.
“Possible theft. Six hundred dollars. Suspect was identified as being near the victim’s table.”
Reeves looked toward Andre.
Then toward Harold.
“Evidence?”
Cole gestured toward the tablet.
“We have footage showing an unidentified delivery driver taking something from the booth.”
Reeves frowned.
“And Mr. Walker?”
Cole hesitated.
“Still being detained.”
“Why?”
Cole looked irritated.
“He was near the scene.”
Reeves stared at him.
“Did he take anything?”
“No.”
“Was he seen taking anything?”
“No.”
“Was stolen property found on him?”
“No.”
“Then why is he still detained?”
Cole opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Reeves turned toward Andre.
“Mr. Walker, are you injured?”
“No.”
“Have you been mistreated?”
Andre considered the question.
Then said:
“I’m not injured.”
It wasn’t the same answer.
Reeves understood.
He looked at Cole.
“Remove his restraints.”
Andre hadn’t even realized Cole had been reaching for them.
Cole looked surprised.
“We haven’t handcuffed him.”
Reeves looked at the empty space around Andre’s wrists.
“Then why is he standing at the register like a prisoner?”
Cole said:
“Because he was uncooperative.”
Andre raised an eyebrow.
Reeves looked at him.
“Uncooperative how?”
“I answered every question.”
“He refused a search.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Reeves held Cole’s gaze.
“No. It isn’t.”
For the first time, Cole looked uncertain.
Then Reeves noticed the black briefcase.
“Mr. Walker, may I ask what you do for a living?”
Andre looked at him.
“I’m an attorney.”
Reeves nodded.
“Private practice?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
Andre’s eyes remained calm.
“Civil rights.”
The captain’s expression shifted slightly.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Then his eyes fell on the charcoal jacket.
“May I see your identification?”
Andre nodded toward the jacket.
“My driver’s license is inside.”
Reeves looked at Cole.
“Get it.”
Cole hesitated.
Andre said:
“I’ll retrieve it myself.”
Reeves nodded.
“Slowly.”
Andre walked back to the booth.
He picked up his jacket.
Reached into the inside pocket.
Pulled out his wallet.
Then stopped.
Something was tucked behind the driver’s license.
A black card.
Thick.
Matte.
With a gold seal.
Reeves saw it.
His face changed.
He stepped closer.
“Mr. Walker…”
Andre looked at him.
“Yes?”
“Where did you get that?”
Andre glanced down at the card.
Then back up.
“It was issued to me.”
Reeves stared at the seal.
His complexion drained.
Cole noticed.
“What is it?”
Reeves didn’t answer.
Melissa stepped closer.
“Captain?”
Reeves looked at Andre again.
Then carefully asked:
“Are you here on official business?”
Andre was silent for a moment.
Then he answered:
“I was supposed to be.”
Cole frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Andre held the card between two fingers.
“It means my meeting starts in twenty minutes.”
Reeves looked at the seal again.
Then at Andre.
Then at Cole.
The room seemed to shrink.
Finally, Reeves said:
“Officer Cole, do you know who you’re talking to?”
Cole’s jaw tightened.
“No, sir.”
Reeves swallowed.
“You should.”
He turned toward Andre.
“Mr. Walker is the new deputy inspector assigned to conduct the department’s constitutional-policing review.”
Silence.
The words seemed to travel through the diner one table at a time.
Andre said nothing.
Cole stared.
Melissa looked down.
Harold slowly sat back in his chair.
Reeves continued:
“He was scheduled to meet with our command staff this morning.”
Cole’s face lost its color.
Andre put his identification back into his wallet.
Then he looked directly at Cole.
The same calm expression remained.
No triumph.
No anger.
Only disappointment.
Reeves said quietly:
“Mr. Walker, I owe you an apology.”
Andre looked around the diner.
At the customers.
At Chloe.
At Harold.
Then back at Reeves.
“You don’t owe me one alone.”
Reeves understood.
He turned toward the room.
“I apologize to everyone who witnessed this.”
No one spoke.
Andre picked up his briefcase.
Then he paused.
He looked toward Harold.
“Did the money belong to your church?”
Harold nodded.
“Yes.”
Andre reached into his wallet.
Pulled out a business card.
Handed it to Harold.
“If the money isn’t recovered, call me.”
Harold stared at the card.
“Why?”
“Because you shouldn’t have to lose six hundred dollars because someone decided your generosity was easy to steal.”
Harold’s eyes filled.
“Thank you.”
Andre nodded.
Then walked toward the door.
He was almost outside when Chloe called after him.
“Mr. Walker?”
Andre turned.
