Julian did not answer.
Tanya looked back at Hayes.
"My ten-year-old sons came out of their own house to decorate their own front yard. What exactly was reported stolen?"
Hayes glanced toward Patricia.
Patricia said, "I reported what I observed."
Tanya's face remained still.
"You observed them come out of this house?"
Patricia did not answer.
Hayes cleared his throat.
"Ms. Davis, we're just trying to verify—"
"Are my sons being detained?"
"No, ma'am."
"Are they suspected of a crime?"
"At this point, no."
"Did either one threaten you, resist you, or refuse a lawful instruction?"
"No."
Tanya nodded once.
"Then the contact is over."
Hayes looked embarrassed.
"Yes, ma'am."
He returned toward his cruiser.
Tanya spoke before he reached it.
"Officer Hayes."
He stopped.
"Please preserve your body-camera recording and dispatch record for this call."
He looked back.
"Of course."
Patricia finally moved toward the sidewalk.
Tanya turned to her.
"Those lights belong to my children."
Patricia looked at the strand still in her hand as though she had forgotten it.
She dropped it onto the grass.
"You should supervise them better."
Tanya's voice remained quiet.
"Leave my property."
Patricia stared at her for a moment.
Then walked home.
She did not apologize.
The police cruiser pulled away.
Only after both were gone did Tanya kneel between her sons.
"Look at me."
Jordan did.
Julian kept staring at the broken bulb.
"Are you both okay?"
Jordan nodded automatically.
His hands were shaking.
Tanya saw it.
Julian whispered, "She said we couldn't live here."
Tanya closed her eyes for half a second.
Then she pulled both boys against her.
Across the street, someone quietly stopped recording on a phone.
Two houses away, Patricia closed her front door.
And next door, David Carter's doorbell camera kept saving everything.
Saturday evening, the Christmas decorations stayed exactly where they had fallen.
Tanya carried the broken strand into the garage and set it on top of a plastic storage bin. Jordan followed with the speaker under one arm. Julian carried nothing.
At dinner, Tanya made grilled cheese because it required almost no attention. The boys ate half their sandwiches, then asked to watch a movie. Tanya agreed, though neither chose one, and after twenty minutes they ended up sitting on opposite ends of the couch scrolling through the same streaming menu.