He ended the call.
Marcus noticed him.
A faint smile appeared.
Halpern saw it.
“What’s funny?”
Marcus stood.
Halpern moved toward him.
“I didn’t tell you to get up.”
Marcus brushed dust from his knee.
“No.”
He looked toward the entrance.
“But this stop is no longer yours to manage alone.”
Sirens approached.
Halpern turned.
At first there was one.
Then three.
Then more.
Black SUVs entered the shopping center.
Behind them came marked state police command vehicles and a public safety supervisory unit.
They didn't race recklessly into the lot.
They moved with controlled purpose.
That somehow made their arrival more intimidating.
Doors opened.
Senior officers stepped out.
One carried a department tablet.
Another spoke quietly into a radio.
Aaron walked toward Marcus.
Halpern stepped in front of him.
“This is an active police investigation.”
Aaron stopped.
“I’m aware.”
“Then stay back.”
Aaron displayed his credentials.
“Deputy Commissioner Aaron Cole, Virginia State Police.”
Halpern stared at the identification.
Then at Marcus.
Aaron nodded toward the man standing behind him.
“And that is Commissioner Marcus Reed.”
Silence filled the parking lot.
Halpern's face changed.
The uniform Halpern had called a costume suddenly looked very different.
The commissioner badge.
The ribbons.
The polished buttons.
The formal insignia.
Every detail had been authentic.
Every detail had been visible from the beginning.
Halpern swallowed.
“There’s been a misunderstanding.”
Marcus said nothing.
“Commissioner, if I’d known—”
Marcus raised one hand.
“Stop.”
Halpern froze.
“If you had known what?”
“My position.”
“You mean mine.”
“Yes.”
“So your behavior would have changed if you knew my title?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Marcus pointed toward his credential wallet.
“You knew my title.”
“I believed the identification could be fraudulent.”
“Did you verify it?”
“No.”
“Did dispatch tell you it was false?”
“No.”
“Did I threaten you?”
“No.”
“Did I run?”
“No.”
“Did I refuse identification?”
Halpern's jaw tightened.
“No.”
Marcus looked toward the witnesses.