His expression changed.
“Everything?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it stored?”
“Cloud backup.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
Another officer found my phone.
The 911 call was still active.
The dispatcher had recorded the sequence too.
I sat in the back of a patrol car for nearly forty minutes.
Not arrested.
Detained.
There is a difference.
Darren was stabilized and transported.
The gun was collected.
Photographs taken.
Shell casings marked.
Porch measured.
Witnesses separated.
Then Detective Ryan Holloway arrived.
Plain clothes.
Gray hair at the temples.
Calm voice.
He sat beside the open patrol car door.
“Mr. Vance.”
“Yes.”
“I understand you’re a veteran.”
That surprised me.
“Who told you?”
“One of the officers saw military identification in your wallet while verifying identity.”
“Army.”
“What did you do?”
“Combat arms.”
“How long?”
I answered.
He nodded.
Then said something important.
“Your military background does not decide whether what happened here was lawful.”
“I know.”
