Davis stopped.
“What did you say?”
“I said no. We don’t have probable cause to put cuffs on him.”
“He’s the subject of a fraud complaint.”
“A complaint from a manager whose own system shows the account in the child’s name and the funds cleared.”
“He could still be impersonating the kid.”
“He has student ID matching the account name and photo. His mother’s custodial information is in the file. There is a signed authorization. We have a corporate licensing letter with a verification number. We have not checked a single one of those things.”
Davis stared at him.
Kim’s voice dropped. “Put the cuffs away.”
For several seconds, neither officer moved.
Then Davis pushed the handcuffs back into the holder with more force than necessary.
Kim turned to Jamal. “Mr. Williams, I’m going to verify this here. I’m not taking your phone or searching your laptop. I would like your permission to use the contact information in your documents and to speak with your mother. Is that okay?”
Jamal nodded quickly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you.”
Kim picked up the TechVision letter and dialed the number printed on the bottom.
A receptionist answered.
Kim identified himself, explained that he was verifying a licensing payment in connection with a banking dispute, and asked to be transferred to legal or finance. He put the phone on speaker only after asking Jamal if that was all right.
The waiting lasted less than two minutes.
It felt longer than the entire bus ride downtown.
A woman’s voice came through.
“This is Alicia Grant, associate general counsel for TechVision Learning. How can I help?”
Kim gave Jamal’s name.
There was a pause.
“Jamal Williams, creator of NumberBridge?”
Every person near the counter heard it.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Is he all right?”
Jamal looked down.
Kim looked at Bradley.
“We’re determining that.”
Alicia confirmed that TechVision had entered a licensing agreement for NumberBridge’s educational platform, that the initial payment was $2.4 million, and that the transfer had been made to the Sterling Trust custodial account established for Jamal with Denise Williams as custodian. She offered to send confirmation directly to the bank’s compliance department.
Bradley’s face lost color.
Kim was not finished.
He called Denise.
The emergency location alert had already reached her. She answered on the first ring.
“Jamal?”
“This is Officer Daniel Kim with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Your son is physically safe.”
The silence on the other end was immediate and frightening.
“Why are you with my son?”
Kim explained as carefully as he could.
He did not call it a misunderstanding.
He did not soften the fact that police had been summoned.
Denise’s voice changed as the explanation continued.
“My son has authorization for a twelve-thousand-five-hundred-dollar cashier’s check to Carter Roofing,” she said. “I signed it Friday in front of a Sterling Trust employee. The account is his. The funds are his. The bank verified all of it when we opened the account.”