Said. Not really a question. We're standing on our own porch. Hutchkins's jaw tightened. He took a step closer to the bottom of the steps.
Because I'm ordering you one at a time, hands visible. Pierce shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Sergeant, they've both got credential wallets. I can see the clips under their jackets. I told you to shut up, Pierce.
Hutchkins never took his eyes off the porch. Those could be anything. Fake IDs, stolen wallets. Criminals carry props. Boyd grinned, cracking his knuckles once.
Want me to go up and get them, Sergeant? Not yet, Boyd. Hutchkins studied the two women with a kind of patience that felt more like hunger than restraint. I'm giving them one chance to cooperate. Vivien's hand moved slowly toward the inside of her jacket.
Every officer in the yard tensed at once. Easy, Hutchkins barked. Keep those hands where I can see them. I'm reaching for my phone, Vivien said calm even to call our lawyer. No calls, no movement.
You come down here first, then we talk. Norah stepped forward closer to the top of the steps. Why are you treating homeowners like criminals? Would you be doing this if we called the department to report two suspicious strangers circling somebody's porch after dark? It wasn't the sharpest thing she'd ever said, but it landed.
Hutchkins's face went red. Don't twist this into something it isn't, he said. This is about suspicious behavior. Failure to comply with a lawful order. Lawful order?
Vivien's voice stayed level, but there was iron underneath it. Now you have no warrant, no probable cause, no authority to order us off our own property. Behind Hutchkins, Doyle watched all of this with a look that had started shifting from routine to uneasy. Boyd cracked his knuckles again, watching for a signal like a dog waiting on a command. Pierce kept glancing at the credential wallets clipped beneath the sister's jackets like he already knew something the others didn't want to hear.
Doyle cleared his throat from the sidewalk. "Sergeant, for what it's worth, they've got a deed. Maybe we call it in. Let dispatch sort out the paperwork before this goes any further. " "Nobody asked you, Doyle, " Hutchkins said, not even glancing his way.