His face changed then.
Not anger.
Recognition.
He knew she was right.
He stood.
“We’re releasing you.”
Claire looked at him a second longer.
“Of course you are.”
He opened the door.
Officer Parker was waiting in the hallway with Claire’s property.
Eyes forward. Face blank.
Good girl, Claire thought.
Stay blank.
At the release desk, nobody looked comfortable anymore.
The desk sergeant slid forms toward her without meeting her eyes.
He had seen enough to know which way the wind was turning. He was praying he had not already tied himself too tightly to the wrong men.
Claire signed where she needed to sign.
Collected her wallet, keys, phone, credentials.
Then her fingers closed around her badge.
Cold, familiar metal.
The simple weight of it made something in her chest settle.
She clipped it to her belt.
No ceremony.
No flourish.
Just the truth back where it belonged.
