Lena Ortiz met the delegation near the entrance and began checking names against her schedule. The mayor shook hands with the groundskeeper, thanked volunteers carrying boxes of water, and asked where Angela was. Lena looked toward the stage, then at her phone, which contained Angela's earlier message. She said Angela had arrived and was somewhere on the public side of the park, probably reviewing her notes. The mayor laughed softly and said that sounded exactly like her.
The mayor's chief of staff, Nora Ellis, checked the program. Angela was scheduled to speak at 9:15, with the first introduction beginning ten minutes earlier. Nora offered to send someone to search the guest seating, but the mayor said they could walk through the park and greet families as they looked. It was part of the event's stated purpose, after all. They set off across the lawn without any thought that their path would take them into a confrontation already underway.
Back beneath the oak tree, Ryan noticed a small movement of people near the main gate. He glanced over his shoulder and saw black vehicles, a few cameras turning, and volunteers moving toward the arrival area. He assumed the mayor had arrived and that his own role was to keep the path clear for the officials who would soon head to the stage. The assumption strengthened his resolve to move Angela, because he now imagined a deadline approaching for the situation he had created. He was no longer merely trying to establish authority; he wanted proof that he could restore order before someone important noticed.
"This is going to be my last request," he told her. "Please take your belongings and move farther down the path."
Angela looked at the open walkway. "Is there a security issue I'm not aware of?"
"I don't have to discuss every detail of event security with you."
"You would have to explain a restriction that applies to me," she said.
Ryan exhaled sharply. "You are making a very simple matter unnecessarily difficult."
"I'm sitting on a public bench, Officer. I have not tried to cross the staff entrance. I have answered your questions truthfully, and I have asked you for the rule you're applying. If you'd like to confirm my place in the program, the event coordinator can do that in a moment."
Ryan glanced at the portfolio on the bench. A gold embossed letter was visible near the corner, partly hidden by her hand, and he took it for the initials of a private business. He had no basis for that conclusion, but his mind was filling every gap with the story he had already chosen. A woman he did not know was sitting near an important event, speaking confidently, and refusing to move simply because he had suggested it. To him, those facts felt suspicious when joined together, even though none of them demonstrated wrongdoing.