“What did you see?”
“He was looking at people’s bags.”
“Did he touch one?”
“No.”
“Reach into one?”
“No.”
“Take anything?”
“No.”
“He was watching.”
Isaiah shook his head.
“I was talking to them.”
Lorraine snapped:
“I saw you.”
Isaiah’s face tightened.
“I know what I was doing.”
Lorraine pointed.
“There. That tone.”
Ruiz looked at her.
“He’s responding to an accusation.”
“He should still be respectful.”
Isaiah looked toward the officers.
“I didn’t steal.”
Hargrove nodded.
“No one is saying you stole anything.”
Lorraine turned.
“I said he might be casing people.”
Isaiah frowned.
“What’s casing?”
No one answered immediately.
That frightened him more.
Lorraine said:
“Looking for something to take.”
Isaiah’s eyes widened.
“I wasn't.”
Jasmine spoke.
“I personally verified he’s working the robotics event.”
Ruiz showed Dalton the official card.
Dalton looked toward the booth.
“Teacher over there?”
“Yes.”
A teacher had already noticed something unusual and was making her way toward them.
Lorraine pointed toward Isaiah’s backpack.
“Why don't you look in that?”
Isaiah looked down.
Hargrove said:
“We don't have a reason to search it.”
“If he has nothing to hide—”
Ruiz interrupted.
“That isn't how searches work.”
Lorraine looked offended.
“I’m trying to keep people safe.”
Isaiah looked up.
“From me?”
Silence.
The question came softly.
That made it heavier.
Lorraine stared at him.
The boy was visibly small.
His hoodie sleeves reached partly over his hands.
His clipboard looked oversized.
A robot sticker had gotten stuck to one elbow.
But instead of stepping away, she doubled down.
“I don't know you.”
Isaiah answered:
“You could've asked.”
A father standing nearby nodded.
“My family talked to him twenty minutes ago.”
A woman raised her hand.
“Mine too.”
Another visitor said:
“He gave us the same fundraiser card.”
Lorraine looked irritated.
“That doesn't prove he wasn't doing something else.”
Officer Hargrove hesitated.
Not because he believed Isaiah was stealing.
He didn't.
But Lorraine was still agitated.
He wanted to leave the situation with everybody feeling heard.
That instinct would later bother him.
He asked Isaiah:
“Do you have a phone?”
“Yes.”
“Can we call your parent?”
Isaiah looked confused.
“I didn't do anything.”
“I know.”
“Then why do I have to call?”
Hargrove paused.
Ruiz stepped in.
“You don't have to.”
She looked at Hargrove.
“We've already verified the event.”
The teacher arrived.
“Isaiah?”
Her name was Ms. Parker.
She looked from the officers to Lorraine.
“What happened?”
Isaiah's face finally cracked.
“She thinks I’m stealing.”
Ms. Parker’s expression hardened.
“He has been assigned to this exact section of Main Avenue.”
Lorraine shook her head.
“You weren't watching him every second.”
“No.”
“Exactly.”
Ms. Parker stared.