what it had been trained to do: sniffed the air, investigated ordinary surfaces, and eventually looked up at its handler. There was no credible indication of narcotics. Harlan felt anger rather than relief, as though the animal had refused to follow orders rather than accurately reported what was there.
He unclipped the leash and led Buster back toward the patrol car. The smart decision was obvious. He should have reported the negative result, left the property, and returned to explain why he had gone there at all. Instead, he stopped beside the Charger's open window with his heart pounding. The unlawful packet in his pocket had become the center of a plan he could no longer distinguish from desperation. He glanced toward the neighbors and moved his hand.
"Officer, keep your hands where the camera can see them." The warning came from the sidewalk, strong enough to stop him in place. Harrison Lang stood beside a Channel 5 camera operator, holding a phone and a folded notebook.
He had changed course on his drive to the station after receiving word that police had returned to the house without permission. Meredith Shaw stood a few feet away with a microphone lowered at her side. Their camera had been running since before Harlan approached the Charger. He froze, his fingers closing around the object he wished he had left behind.
"This is an active investigation," Harlan said, trying to regain his voice. "You need to move back." Harrison did not cross the property line.
"I'm counsel for the homeowner. He has not consented to a search, and I need the name of the officer who authorized it." Harlan began to answer with Thorn's title, then stopped. The camera's red recording light made him acutely aware of his hands. He had spent the afternoon using cameras as a threat against other people. Now he wanted every camera on the street to turn away.
Meredith asked him whether he had found anything. Harlan glanced at the ground. In his panic, he had dropped the packet near his boot. "That came out of the vehicle," he said, pointing down.
Meredith looked at the camera operator, who nodded almost imperceptibly. "We recorded what happened before it reached the ground," she replied. Harrison raised his phone. "Nobody touches that item until an independent evidence team arrives. I'm calling the district attorney's office and asking them to secure the scene."
Harlan attempted to step between the camera and the ground. Harrison told him to stop obscuring potential evidence, but he did not try to physically restrain an armed officer. A neighbor on the sidewalk called for a supervisor. Tyler, leaning from his open upstairs window, held his phone steady for the second time that day. Harlan felt surrounded by people who were no longer impressed by his uniform. He lifted his hands and said the discovery would be documented in his report, a claim that sounded hollow even to him.