Jordan swallowed. “He told me to get off my porch.”
“Anything else?”
“Hands up.”
“Did you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Did you threaten him?”
“No.”
“Move toward him?”
“No.”
“Touch him?”
“No.”
Lena looked at Rourke again. “Did he have a weapon?”
“No.”
“Was he running?”
“No.”
“Was he attempting to enter the house?”
“He was standing at the door.”
“The door of the house the package says is his address.”
Rourke said nothing.
Jordan touched the center of his chest.
Natalie noticed instantly. “Jordan?”
He shook his head.
“Jordan, look at me.”
His breathing was shallow now.
“My chest feels tight.”
Natalie’s professional training and maternal fear collided. “His asthma.”
Lena called paramedics immediately.
Rourke looked toward Jordan as if the medical problem had suddenly made his earlier decisions more serious. Natalie saw the expression and resented it.
Her son should not have needed an asthma attack to make the scene matter.
Paramedics arrived within minutes.
Jordan received a breathing treatment on the porch.
Caleb sat beside him holding the controller package against his own chest.
Natalie crouched in front of Jordan. “Better?”
He nodded.
“Little.”
Barbara began moving back toward her house.
Lena called after her. “Mrs. Caldwell.”
Barbara stopped.
“I need you to remain for a full statement.”
“I already explained what happened.”
“You reported a child stealing a package.”
“He looked suspicious.”
“The package is addressed to him.”
“I could not read it from my house.”
“You also reported that he damaged your vehicle.”
“He did.”
Caleb said, “No.”
Lena looked toward Barbara. “This child has repeatedly admitted causing the damage.”
Barbara sighed impatiently. “He’s protecting his brother.”
“What evidence do you have of that?”
“I know children.”
Lena’s expression remained neutral. “That is not evidence.”
Barbara looked around at the neighbors.
For the first time, her confidence weakened.
Priya brought up her doorbell-camera app.
The footage showed the football leaving Caleb’s hands.
Bouncing once.
Striking the Lexus.
Jordan never touched it.
The video also showed Barbara exiting the house, Caleb admitting responsibility, and Barbara repeatedly dismissing him.
Then came another section.
Jordan kneeling beside the Lexus.
Barbara seated nearby while he worked.
Mr. Franklin looked away.