The second cuff clicked shut.
"I'll check whatever I want when I want," Briggs said. He lifted her cuffed arms slightly, enough to make her gasp. "Right now, you're going in the back of my car. Move."
He grabbed her by the bicep and marched her through the side yard toward the street. Valerie stumbled once in her running shoes but forced herself to walk with her head held high.
As they emerged into the front yard, the flashing lights had already drawn an audience. Several neighbors, including Clara Jenkins, stood on their lawns or watched from their porches.
The humiliation burned in Valerie's chest. She was the new neighbor, a successful professional, being paraded in handcuffs in front of people she would have to live beside for years.
"Stand there," Briggs ordered, pushing her against the side of the cruiser.
The metal was cold against her cheek. Evans came jogging back from the side yard.
"Perimeter is clear, Briggs. No sign of a break-in, no broken glass. The front door has a broken key stuck in the deadbolt, exactly like she said." Evans looked toward Valerie, doubt clearly crossing his face. "Maybe we should run the address. She might actually live here."
"She's lying," Briggs said dismissively. "Burglars always have a story. She was probably casing the place, figuring out the alarm. I'm taking her in for trespassing, attempted breaking and entering, and resisting."
"I did not resist," Valerie said loudly enough for the neighbors to hear. "I complied with every order you gave me."
Briggs leaned close. His breath smelled of stale coffee and cigarettes.
"You're going to learn some respect today. I don't care how expensive your running gear is. You don't belong here."
The prejudice behind the words was unmistakable. Valerie looked him directly in the eye, and the last of her fear disappeared. In its place came the terrifying calm she felt just before dismantling a hostile witness on the stand.
"Under Section 14 of the Oakridge Police Department's field operational protocol," Valerie said, "I am entitled to contact legal counsel or a family member while detained prior to transport, provided I am not a flight risk or physical threat. I am restrained. I demand my phone call."
Briggs stared at her for a long moment. He was clearly unaccustomed to hearing anyone quote the department's own procedures back to him, and it only irritated him further.
He laughed loudly and looked toward Evans.
"Did you hear that? We've got a legal scholar here. She wants her phone call."
Evans shifted his weight, glancing at the growing crowd.
"Briggs, just let her make the call. If she is who she says she is—"
"She's nobody," Briggs snapped.
Then he turned back to Valerie with a smug smile.
"Fine. You want to make a call? Let's make a call. Let's see which one of your public-defender friends is awake at seven in the morning. Where's your phone?"
"Front pouch of my running belt," Valerie replied.
Briggs reached into the pouch and pulled out her phone. The screen lit up and requested authentication.
"Unlock it."