So had his confidence.
I slowly lifted my head.
“You already know.”
Across the street, Patricia was still recording, completely unaware that the situation had changed.
Brooks stepped closer.
“What did you find?”
Cole shoved the card into his pocket.
“Nothing.”
That single word changed everything.
Because an inexperienced deputy might misunderstand a credential.
He might even doubt it.
But he wouldn’t hide it from his partner.
Then Cole grabbed my arm and said, much too quickly, “We’re taking her in.”
Brooks frowned. “For what?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he reached for his radio, switched it off, and looked toward Patricia’s house.
Not at Patricia.
At the upstairs window behind her.
A curtain moved.
Cole went completely pale.
Then he leaned close enough that only I could hear him.
“You were never supposed to move into this house.”
That was when I finally understood the 911 call had nothing to do with my sweatpants.
What happened next…? Part 2:…..
Cole’s fingers tightened around my arm, but I didn’t pull away.
“Turn your radio back on,” I said quietly.
He looked at me as if I had confirmed something he’d been hoping wasn’t true.
Brooks stepped closer. “Mason, what is going on?”
“Get her in the car.”
“We don’t have a charge.”
“I said get her in the car.”
Brooks didn’t move. Her eyes shifted from Cole to me, then toward Patricia’s house. The upstairs curtain had fallen still again.
I kept my voice level. “Deputy Brooks, he took a federal credential from my wallet and put it in his pocket. I’d like that noted before anyone goes anywhere.”
Cole’s face changed.
Brooks stared at him. “You found a federal ID?”
“It’s not an ID.”
“Then show me.”
He didn’t.
Patricia had finally lowered her phone. She was too far away to hear us, but she could tell the conversation wasn’t going the way she expected. She started walking toward the driveway.
Cole saw her coming.
“Stay over there, Patricia.”
She stopped.
It was the first time I’d heard him use her first name.
Brooks heard it too.
“You know the caller?” she asked.
Cole looked annoyed with himself. “Everybody around here knows the HOA president.”
Patricia forced a laugh. “I call the sheriff’s office all the time. Noise complaints, parking issues. You know how it is.”