Sam looked at her.
“Patricia.”
“What?”
“You lied to internal affairs?”
“I negotiated.”
Daniel laughed for the first time all afternoon.
Outside the station, news vans were already arriving.
Patricia’s brief social media post had done more than she expected.
Something is happening in Westbrook. Stand by.
Then a local reporter learned that Patricia Owens had entered police headquarters.
Someone else recognized the Lexus in Talia Brooks’s video.
The teenager’s original live clip had already been reposted thousands of times.
Viewers began identifying Sam.
Within minutes, speculation became confirmation.
OHIO SUPREME COURT JUSTICE DETAINED IN WESTBROOK.
By the time Sam reached the front entrance, the parking area beyond the glass doors was crowded.
Patricia opened her streaming application.
Sam looked at her.
“You sure?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
She pressed the button.
Live.
Ten thousand viewers.
Then twenty-five.
Then eighty.
They stepped outside.
Questions exploded.
“Justice Owens!”
“What happened?”
“Were you arrested?”
“Was the car reported stolen?”
“Was force used?”
Sam raised one hand.
The crowd gradually quieted.
“My name is Samuel Owens.”
Camera shutters snapped.
“I serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio.”