Elijah’s voice dropped, taking on the commanding edge his officers called his chief voice.
“Leave now, or I will call the police.”
Logan scoffed.
“My mom already did. She said you stole this car. She looked up the registration, and it doesn’t even have your name on it.”
Elijah exhaled slowly. Vivien must have discovered that the title was still registered in his late father’s name. The inheritance transfer had been delayed for months.
“Yeah,” Logan continued, puffing up with confidence. “She said the cops are coming to impound it. Maybe someone who deserves it can buy it at auction.”
That was when the sirens arrived.
Three patrol cars raced down the street with blue and red lights flashing. Vivien burst from her house with her phone in hand, her face bright with triumph.
“Officers!” she shouted. “He’s right there! The thief is right there!”
The lead patrol car stopped at the curb. Officers Rivera and Lang stepped out first, followed by Sergeant Hayes and rookie Officer Chen.
The moment Rivera saw the man standing calmly beside the gleaming Mustang, his expression shifted from alert to stunned.
“Chief Grant,” he said, disbelief tightening his voice.
“Morning, Rivera,” Elijah answered, his hands resting loosely at his sides. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Behind him, Vivien froze in the middle of the street.
“Chief?” she stammered. “What do you mean, chief?”
Officer Lang cleared his throat, struggling to keep his tone neutral.
“Ma’am, this is Chief Elijah Grant, the chief of police for the entire city.”
The color drained from Vivien’s face. Logan backed away, suddenly very interested in his phone. Gregory Hartman arrived moments later and looked as though he wished the pavement would swallow him.
“But the car,” Vivien gasped. “The registration doesn’t match. I checked.”
“It belonged to my father,” Elijah said evenly. “He passed away six months ago. I inherited it, but the title has not been transferred yet. Would you like to see the will and death certificate?”
“I didn’t know,” she stuttered, visibly trembling.
“Rivera,” Elijah said, turning toward the officer, “take a full report. This woman filed a false stolen-vehicle complaint and has been harassing me for three weeks because I refused to let her son drive my personal property.”
“Yes, sir.” Rivera opened his notepad.
“Wait,” Vivien cried. “It was a mistake.”
“You called emergency services,” Elijah replied, his voice low but sharp. “You said you had verified the registration. That was not a mistake. That was a deliberate lie.”
The red light on Sergeant Hayes’s body camera blinked as he turned toward Logan.
“Young man, were you involved in this?”
Logan tried to sound tough.
