He held the phone toward her face. The phone recognized her and opened.
"I want it on speaker," Valerie said. "Since my hands are cuffed, you will have to hold it. Dial the contact labeled Husband."
Briggs rolled his eyes.
"Whatever you say, counselor."
He navigated to the contact, tapped it, activated the speaker, and held the phone between them. It rang once, twice, three times.
Briggs grinned at Evans.
"Looks like hubby is still asleep. Or maybe he's locked up too."
On the fourth ring, the call connected.
"Val? Everything okay?"
The voice through the speaker was deep and rough from sleep but instantly commanding. It was not the voice of a panicked civilian or sleepy accomplice. It carried an authority Briggs could not yet identify.
"David," Valerie said, her tone completely level. "I need you to come to the front yard."
"The front yard?" David's voice sharpened instantly. Bedsheets rustled through the speaker. "Why? What's going on? Are you hurt?"
"I'm physically fine," Valerie said. "But there are two police officers in our driveway. One of them has placed me in handcuffs and arrested me for attempting to break into our own home."
There was absolute silence on the other end of the line.
Briggs felt a sudden prickle of unease but leaned closer to the phone anyway.
"Listen here, buddy," he barked into the microphone. "I don't know what kind of story you two are running, but your wife was caught prowling on private property. If you want to see her, you can come down to the precinct and post bail."
The silence stretched another few seconds. When David spoke again, the concern in his voice had hardened into cold, controlled fury.
"Who am I speaking to?"
Briggs puffed out his chest despite Evans suddenly turning pale.
"Officer Thomas Briggs, badge 4492, Oakridge Police Department. And who exactly is this?"
"Officer Briggs," the voice said, enunciating every syllable with terrifying precision, "this is District Attorney David Mitchell, the chief law-enforcement officer of this county, and the man whose lawn you are currently standing on."
The world seemed to stop.
The blood drained from Briggs's face. His smug expression vanished, replaced by raw horror. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
The phone trembled in his hand. Evans took two steps backward, eyes darting between the house, the cruiser, and the handcuffed woman leaning against it.
District Attorney David Mitchell was known throughout the county as a relentless prosecutor who had campaigned on rooting out corruption and abuse of power. He had already brought cases against several corrupt detectives during his first weeks in office.