Nobody said, "Officers, is everything all right?" Audrey thought about every case file on her desk back in Atlanta. 63 Folders, 63 stories that started exactly like this. A traffic stop, a gas station, a parking lot. Always the same setup, always the same excuse. Suspicious behavior matched a description.
Routine check. She knew the statistics by heart. Black drivers were twice as likely to be searched during a stop. Three times more likely to be handcuffed before any charges were filed. And in towns like Greyfield, towns with no civilian oversight, no body cam mandate, no accountability, the numbers were worse.
Much worse. She was a statistic now. Badge or no badge. Audrey had seen it in every case file she'd ever opened. People saw.
They always saw. They just told themselves it wasn't their business. The uniforms made it look official. That was enough. Thornton noticed the cars, waved at the pickup like he was directing traffic at a parade.
"Anything in the car?" he called to Lawson. Lawson had the Lexus doors open, going through the glove compartment, the console under the seats, pulling things out, dropping them on the ground. Nicole's sunglasses, a phone charger, tissues, Eleanor's hospital parking pass. Nothing, Sarge. Check the trunk.
Lawson popped the trunk. A bag of fruit, strawberries, and grapes, two overnight bags, a get well card in a lavender envelope unsealed. Nicole had written it that morning. Lawson picked it up, opened it, read it out loud. Dear mama, we're coming home.
Stay strong. Love your girls. He held it up toward Thornon, grinning. Ain't that sweet? Greer snickered.
Thornton didn't laugh. He just shook his head slowly like he was watching something pathetic. Nicole closed her eyes. Audrey heard her sister's breathing change short, fast through the nose, trying not to break. Audrey, a whisper.
Audrey, I can't do this. I know. Barely audible. Stay still. Just stay still.
How are you so calm right now? Audrey couldn't tell her. Not here. Not with Thornton standing right there. She couldn't say because I pressed the pendant 11 minutes ago.
She couldn't say because I've spent 8 years building cases against men exactly like him. So, she said the only thing she could because Mama told us to be twice as good. Remember, that's the deal. Nicole's breathing slowed just enough. Thornton crushed his second cigarette under his boot.
He looked at the two sisters, cuffed, pressed flat, sweating on the hood of his cruiser in the Georgia sun. Two black women in a town where nobody was coming to help them. He had all the time in the world, and he knew it. He cracked his knuckles, rolled his neck. "Car's clean," he looked at Lawson, then at Greer.
"So maybe they're not hiding anything in the car," he smiled. "Let's find out what they're hiding on them." Lawson pulled on a latex glove. "One hand, then the other." The snap of rubber echoed across the empty lot. Standard pat down," Thornon said from behind them, voice casual, like he was ordering lunch. "Take your time," Lawson started with Audrey.