“There’s a severed purse in the foyer that matches this strap,” I continued. “And Richard Vance answered that door with fresh defensive scratches down his neck. His wife, Claire Vance, owns that wagon. Her phone is covered in wet blood in his flowerbed. ”
Miller didn’t look at the phone. He looked at the front door, then turned his gaze directly into my face.
“Did you witness an assault in progress, Harris? ”
“No, Sarge, but under exigent circumstances—”
“Don’t lecture me on exigent circumstances,” Miller cut in, his voice dropping into a harsh rasp. “Richard Vance’s brother chairs the county judicial oversight committee. He was on the phone with the Chief five minutes ago while you were trampling his landscaping. He claims you showed up aggressive, made threatening remarks, and refused to clear the porch when dismissed. He says he had a kitchen accident with a paring knife and you tried to twist it into a felony. ”
“He had fingernail gouges on his throat, Miller,” I said, refusing to back down. “A woman was dragged from this car into that house. ”
“Did you see her dragged? ” Miller stepped closer, chest nearly brushing my vest. “You don't have a victim, you don't have a witness, and you don't have a warrant. What you have is an unlawful search of a curtilage after a direct trespass warning. You walk back to your car right now and clear this call as an unfounded prowler. If Richard Vance files an official complaint with the oversight board in the morning, and this bodycam shows you prowling his yard without a warrant, I will personally sign the termination paperwork. You hear me? ”
Across the lawn, the second-story bedroom light flickered on behind heavy drapes, and the faint, muffled hum of a water pump began echoing from deep inside the basement walls. Waiting for the morning would mean giving Vance seven hours to scrub the floor, wash his neck, and bury whatever was left in the cellar.
I looked at the bloody phone in my hand, then straight into Miller’s weathered face.
“I’m not clearing this call, Sarge,” I said.
CHAPTER 2 CONTINUED
“You can relieve me from patrol, Sarge,” I said, keeping my boots planted on the concrete apron. “You cannot order me to suppress physical evidence of an active felony assault, and you cannot order me to leave a scene where exigent circumstances indicate a victim is incapacitated inside that residence. My body camera is broadcasting live to the county server. If I hand you this bagged phone without logging it into the CAD chain of custody, we are both committing evidence tampering. ”
Miller’s hand twitched toward his radio harness. Before he could speak, my shoulder unit chirped with a priority tone.
Dispatcher Judy’s voice broke across the open channel with clipped urgency.
“Dispatch to Four-Twelve and Unit Nine. Be advised, we have an incoming call from Attorney David Marcus on the county emergency line. Marcus reports representing Claire Vance. He states his client arrived at twelve-oh-eight Crestview Terrace at approximately eleven-forty-five PM pursuant to a chancery court consent order to collect personal passports and vital records from the home safe. Marcus states Mrs. Vance was scheduled to phone him upon departure no later than midnight. She has failed to report in, and her cellular device goes straight to voicemail. Marcus requests an immediate welfare check. ”
The silence that settled over the driveway was absolute.
The legal paperwork on the floorboards of the navy wagon was not discarded trash; it was a certified judicial schedule placing Claire Vance on this exact property thirty minutes ago.
“Judy,” I spoke into my mic, looking straight at Miller. “Four-Twelve. Confirm Unit Nine and Four-Twelve on scene. We have located Mrs. Vance’s registered Volvo in the driveway, driver’s door unlatched, fresh drag marks in the turf leading to the side entrance. Multiple personal items recovered, including her cracked mobile device bearing blood transfer. Homeowner Richard Vance is inside, refusing visual contact with his wife and denying her presence. ”
“Copy, Four-Twelve,” Judy replied, keys clattering across her terminal. “Logging priority domestic investigation. Watch Commander is notifying the Chancery emergency clerk. ”
Miller’s face went rigid. The safety buffer he had built around Richard Vance’s family influence had evaporated into an official recorded dispatch loop the Chief could not quietly erase.
“You just hung your own career out to dry, Harris,” Miller whispered, stepping past me toward the walkway. “Stay off this lawn. If you step onto this porch, I will charge you with official misconduct before the night is out. I’m speaking to Vance alone. ”
I didn’t follow him up the main stairs. Instead, I moved along the public paved sidewalk flanking the side property line, maintaining a direct line of sight to the driveway and side entrance.
Miller mounted the limestone risers and struck the heavy oak panel three times with his fist.