Eli finally approached the officers.
“I filmed it,” he said.
Richard turned so quickly that his expensive watch flashed in the sun.
“Good. Show them.”
Eli opened the recording. His finger hovered over the video.
He saw the first seconds: Trent approaching, Joseph refusing, the bottle being slapped into Joseph’s chest.
Richard stepped closer.
“Start at the punch,” he said.
Alvarez looked up. “Why?”
“That was when it became an assault.”
“I’ll decide what’s relevant,” Alvarez answered.
Richard smiled, but not with his eyes.
Eli’s thumb moved across the screen. He stopped the playback just before the bottle flew.
The officer noticed.
“I’d like the entire recording, please.”
Eli swallowed. “It’s a long file.”
“That’s fine.”
He played it from the beginning.
When the water struck Joseph, several people in the crowd winced again as if seeing it for the first time. When Trent lunged, Whitcomb glanced from the phone toward the real patch of grass where it had happened.
When the clip ended, Alvarez said, “We’ll need to preserve a copy.”
Richard’s expression cooled.
“Are you arresting Mr. Miller?”
“We’re documenting what occurred.”
“My son is the injured party.”
“Your son is also the person we can see initiating physical contact.”
Richard lowered his voice. “Do you have any idea how much this neighborhood contributes to the township?”
Alvarez looked directly at him.
“Enough to know the same laws apply to everybody in it.”
Sandra nearly smiled.
Joseph didn’t. He was watching his daughter staring at the police car. He had spent years trying to teach her that uniforms existed to help people, that the right thing and the frightening thing could sometimes look similar. He would have preferred she learn it on a less memorable afternoon.
Before the officers left, Alvarez gave Joseph a report number and asked him not to delete any messages or footage about the event. She gave Trent the same instruction.
Richard approached Joseph while the crowd began packing up.
“You embarrassed my boy,” he said quietly.
Joseph looked at him. “He embarrassed himself.”
“You have no idea what you’ve started.”
“I think I do.”
