Nia laughed when she heard that, the first genuine laugh in days. Then the sound broke unexpectedly, and she began to cry. Alyssa was sitting across from her at the kitchen table. She did not rush over or offer the kind of reassurance that turns another person's grief into a problem to be solved. She moved a box of tissues within reach and stayed where she was.
“I hate that they made me afraid of my own street,” Nia said after a while. “I hate that I notice who looks away at the courthouse. I hate that I keep wondering whether a stranger's kindness is another trick.”
Alyssa's eyes shone. “You are allowed to hate it.”
“And I hate that I understand why people take bad pleas to make this stop.”
“Then remember that understanding when we get to the people who weren't able to fight.”
The following morning, Nia and Alyssa arrived at the courthouse shortly before nine to attend a scheduling conference in the criminal matter. A knot of reporters stood near the steps, unusually animated. Nia heard Meera's name in a shouted question and saw a phone raised toward her face displaying the false misconduct allegation. Alyssa kept them moving. Inside, the atmosphere felt wrong before anyone spoke. A court security officer stood near the elevators with two city detectives she did not recognize.
Evan Ror emerged from a side corridor accompanied by Lieutenant Marcus Walsh and Captain Steven Reeves. The young officer's expression was stripped of the earnest uncertainty he had worn in the cafeteria. He held a folded document and seemed intent on being overheard. Nia stopped when he began speaking.
“I need to report that Judge Whitaker attempted to influence my testimony during an active investigation,” Evan announced. “She approached me repeatedly, asked me to change my statement, and suggested professional consequences if I refused.”
Alyssa stepped forward. “That is false. Our conversation with Officer Ror was voluntary, brief, and witnessed. He approached us.”
Evan did not look at her. “I am prepared to provide a sworn statement.”
For one second Nia felt as though the floor had tilted. The cafeteria conversation replayed in her mind: the careful hands, the warning about Voss, the offer to provide information later. He had not only measured their reaction. He had apparently been preparing a claim that she had pressured him, using his access to senior officers to turn a manufactured accusation into an official act.
Two deputies approached, one carrying a copy of a warrant supported by Evan's affidavit. The sight of handcuffs made Nia's stomach contract so sharply she almost doubled over. She remained upright through force of habit. Alyssa asked to see the warrant and confirmed the identifying information. She told Nia to say nothing about the allegation and demanded prompt access to counsel. The deputies informed Nia that she was being arrested on suspicion of witness intimidation and attempted obstruction.
“I deny those allegations,” Nia said. “I will appear and respond through counsel.”