“You can make this easier,” Bellamy was saying. “Vanessa is a respected person. If you acknowledge you went too far, maybe everybody can move on.”
Marcus’s voice was tired but firm. “I asked to wait for counsel.”
“Officer Bellamy,” Nora said, “end this conversation and step outside.”
Bellamy rose, irritation flashing across his face. “We were talking.”
“My client invoked his right to counsel. You knew that. I’m asking the supervisor to preserve the recording of this interaction.”
“He’s accused of threatening somebody.”
“And the accusation can be investigated using evidence. It does not authorize you to pressure him into an admission while he waits for me.”
Bellamy moved toward the door. Nora stopped him with one final statement.
“The professional standards unit has been notified of your relationship with Ms. Hullbrook and your involvement in both incidents. Please do not contact her about this case or attempt to obtain the company’s confidential records outside proper channels.”
He turned pale, though his voice remained defiant. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Then the investigation will establish that,” Nora replied.
After the door closed, Nora sat across from Marcus. For a few seconds neither spoke. Then she asked whether he was injured. He said no.
She asked whether he had been threatened or denied necessary care. He described Bellamy’s attempt to question him and Reeves’s conduct in the patrol car. She took notes, not because she doubted him, but because careful records were the only language some institutions understood.
“I have requested review of the detention,” she said. “The company’s security director is preserving the footage from the executive floor. It covers the corridor where Vanessa claims the threat happened.”
“Can we see it?”
“We’ll obtain a certified copy. I’ve spoken to the prosecutor’s office. They know there may be evidence that directly contradicts the complaint.”
Marcus leaned back against the hard chair. “She said she owns people.”
“Evelyn recorded it. So did Sofia Martinez.”
He lowered his eyes for a moment. “How many times do I have to prove I belong in my own house?”
“You don’t,” Nora said. “That was never something you were required to prove to Vanessa. Now we make the system answer for why it acted as though you were.”
Before dawn, Nora arranged an urgent meeting with Eleanor Hullbrook at headquarters. The older woman was waiting alone in a small conference room when Nora arrived. Her coffee had gone cold. She looked as though she had aged years since the board meeting.
“Is Marcus still at the station?” Eleanor asked.
“For the moment. We expect an early review of the complaint.”
“My daughter says he threatened her.”
“There are security cameras outside the boardroom, meeting participants who saw their interactions, and records contradicting essential parts of her account. Your daughter is entitled to counsel and a fair review. Marcus is entitled to the same.”