Deputy Commissioner Park’s eyes moved toward the officers standing nearby.
“Who saw it?”
Nobody answered.
Marcus rubbed his right wrist.
Bell turned.
“Chief Reed?”
It was the first time anyone in the station had heard Marcus’s title spoken aloud.
Several officers visibly straightened.
Marcus looked at Caldwell.
Then at Bell.
“Sergeant Caldwell struck me once with an open hand.”
Bell’s face tightened.
Caldwell immediately said:
“That’s not what happened.”
Marcus looked at him.
Caldwell continued.
“He moved toward me.”
“I didn’t.”
“You were threatening.”
“I spoke.”
“You challenged an order.”
“Yes.”
Bell lifted one hand.
“Enough.”
The station became quiet again.
Bell looked at Marcus.
“We can go upstairs.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Bell frowned.
Marcus continued.
“I want everyone who was standing here five minutes ago to stay exactly where they are.”
Caldwell stared.
Bell understood before anyone else did.
Marcus was not asking for privacy.
He was refusing it.
Commissioner Bell looked toward Park.
She nodded.
Then toward the city attorney.
“Secure lobby video.”
The attorney pulled out her phone.
Caldwell’s expression changed again.
“The cameras don’t record audio.”
Marcus looked at him.
“That’s an interesting thing to know right now.”
Caldwell’s jaw locked.
Bell spoke to the watch commander.
“Preserve every camera file from six this morning forward. Nobody accesses, copies, deletes, overwrites, or reviews anything without authorization from Internal Affairs and the city attorney.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Lock access logs too.”
“Yes, sir.”
Caldwell said:
“This is ridiculous.”
Bell looked at him.
“Sergeant, you are relieved of duty pending investigation.”
The words landed heavily.
Caldwell stared.
“You’re suspending me because he says I slapped him?”
“No.”
Bell’s tone remained controlled.
“I’m relieving you because I arrived to find a commissioned chief of police handcuffed inside his own station with visible facial injury while the officer responsible cannot give me a coherent explanation.”
“I had probable cause.”
“For what crime?”
“Impersonating an officer.”
Bell glanced at Marcus’s badge.
“Did you verify the badge number?”
Caldwell hesitated.
“Not yet.”
“Employee database?”
“No.”
“Call command?”
“He wouldn’t cooperate.”
Marcus finally spoke.
“I gave him my department identification card.”
Bell turned.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
Marcus looked toward the front desk.
A patrol officer named Nolan Price slowly opened his hand.
Marcus’s identification card was sitting in his palm.
Everyone looked at him.
Price went pale.
Bell held out his hand.