Chapter 2 - The Woman in the Rain
Miriam reached the rear door seconds before Michael entered the locker aisle.
She pushed through it and stepped into heavy rain.
The parking lot behind the terminal had become a field of mud. Her car stood nearly fifty yards away.
Michael followed her outside.
“Miriam, stop.”
She continued moving.
He caught the edge of her coat, but the wet fabric slipped through his hand. Miriam stumbled against a metal railing, striking her forehead lightly before regaining her balance.
Dana appeared in the doorway.
“Michael, leave her alone.”
“She took something.”
“You do not know that.”
Michael looked at Miriam’s coat.
The outline of the folder was visible beneath it.
He moved forward again.
Dana stepped between them.
“She is hurt.”
“She has evidence belonging to my family.”
“No,” Dana said. “She has evidence you are afraid of.”
For one moment, Michael’s expression changed.
The charming public face disappeared.
He seized Dana’s wrist and pulled her aside. She lost her footing and struck her forehead against the edge of the doorframe. When she touched the spot, a thin line of blood appeared on her fingers.
Michael stared at it.
Then he looked at Miriam.
Something cold entered his eyes.
He took out his phone and called Captain Ross.
Miriam did not wait to hear the conversation.
She reached her car, locked the doors and started the engine.
As she drove away, she saw Michael kneeling beside Dana, pressing a handkerchief to her forehead while speaking urgently into his phone.
Miriam understood what he was doing before she reached the main road.
He was changing the story.
She drove directly to the Grayhaven Police Station.
Officer Jonah Reed was alone at the front desk.
He was in his early thirties, with tired eyes and the cautious manner of someone who had learned to notice more than he said. Miriam remembered his father, Paul Reed, a patrol officer who had once worked with Thomas.
Jonah stood when he saw the bruise on her forehead.
“Mrs. Hart, what happened?”
“I need to report a crime.”
She placed the plastic folder on the desk.
Jonah looked toward Captain Ross’s closed office.
“Is the captain involved?”
Miriam studied him. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because you did not ask for him.”
She lowered her voice.
“My husband left records in the old bus terminal. Michael Voss was removing evidence from a police box. Dana Cole was with him.”
Jonah looked at the first page.
His expression hardened when he saw the initials.
“Where is your phone?”
“In my pocket.”
“Did you record them?”
“Yes.”
“Do not give me the original.”
Miriam hesitated.
Jonah moved quickly, taking a blank property form from a drawer and writing an address on the back.
“Send a copy here. It is a protected server outside the station network.”
“Who controls it?”
“I do.”
Before Miriam could respond, the main doors opened.
Captain Ross entered with Michael and Dana.
Dana now wore a small bandage above her eyebrow.
Michael supported her by the arm.
Ross stopped when he saw Miriam beside Jonah.
“You got here quickly,” he said.
Miriam slipped her phone back into her coat.
Ross turned to Jonah. “Interview room. Now.”
“Captain, Mrs. Hart was making a report.”
“She is the subject of a report.”
Dana stared at the floor.
Michael spoke for her.
“Miriam attacked Dana at the terminal. She stole private documents and tried to escape.”
“That is not what happened,” Miriam said.
Michael’s voice remained calm.
“We have witnesses.”
“There were only three of us.”
Ross smiled faintly. “Then I suppose it is two against one.”
Jonah stepped away from the desk.
“Captain, I need to document Mrs. Hart’s injury before any interview.”
“You need to follow an order.”
Miriam saw Jonah glance at her phone.
She understood.
While Ross spoke to Michael, she sent the recording to the address Jonah had written.
The progress bar reached ninety percent.
Then the station lights flickered.
Her screen went black.
When the lights returned, Ross was standing directly in front of her.
“Give me the phone,” he said.
Miriam looked at Jonah.
His face revealed nothing.
She handed Ross the device.
He examined it, removed the memory card and placed the phone inside an evidence bag.
“Mrs. Hart,” he said, “you are being detained for assault, trespassing and theft.”
Dana finally looked at Miriam.
Her eyes were filled with shame.
Michael leaned close to her and whispered something.
Dana nodded.
Ross reached for his handcuffs.
Jonah stepped forward.
“She needs medical attention.”
“She needs a lesson,” Ross replied.
Miriam held out her wrists.
She did not resist.
She did not argue.
She watched Jonah return to the front desk, where one small green light continued blinking beneath his computer monitor.
May you like
The upload had not failed.
It was still moving.
