“Well?”
The younger officer looked toward the homeowner.
Then toward his partner.
“Vehicle in the driveway is registered to him.”
The older officer said:
“That’s not property ownership.”
“I know.”
The younger officer continued.
“Security monitoring account attached to the address also lists his name as primary contact.”
The homeowner nodded toward the older officer.
“Anything else you want to ignore?”
The officer snapped:
“Quiet.”
The homeowner laughed.
The younger officer looked uncomfortable.
“Property lookup is taking longer.”
The older officer turned toward the mansion.
“What about the staff member?”
“She confirmed him.”
“She could be lying.”
The woman on the balcony heard.
Her mouth fell open.
The homeowner’s expression changed completely.
“You are now accusing my employee of lying because her answer did not support your assumption.”
“I didn’t accuse anybody.”
“You just said she could be lying.”
The officer said:
“Anyone can say anything.”
The homeowner pointed toward the body camera.
“So can you.”
The younger officer stepped between them slightly.
“Sir.”
The older officer turned.
“What?”
“We have enough to slow this down.”
The homeowner looked toward him.
The younger officer continued.
“Vehicle.”
“Security account.”
“Employee.”
“Keys.”
“No evidence of forced entry.”
The older officer stared.
“You want to tell me how to work too?”
“No.”
“I’m saying we have no immediate threat.”
The older man looked toward the homeowner.
Something stubborn remained in his eyes.
The homeowner recognized it.
Not suspicion anymore.
Investment.
The officer had invested too much authority into his original assumption.
Backing down now would not feel like good policing to him.
It would feel like losing.
The homeowner had seen executives destroy million-dollar deals for the same reason.
He said quietly:
“You already know.”
The officer looked toward him.
“What?”
“You already know I live here.”
The officer scoffed.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You do.”
The homeowner stepped no closer.
His voice stayed steady.
“You just do not want to say it before your partner’s screen says it for you.”
The older officer’s face tightened.
The homeowner continued.
“You are not investigating whether I live here anymore.”
“You are waiting for a reason to make your first decision right.”
The younger officer looked down.
The older officer reached for his cuffs.
“Turn around.”
The woman on the balcony shouted:
“No!”
The homeowner did not turn.
“Am I under arrest?”
“You are being detained.”
“For what?”
“Suspicion of trespassing.”
The homeowner stared.
“On property your own evidence increasingly shows belongs to me.”
The officer stepped forward.
“Turn around.”
The homeowner’s voice dropped.
“Do not touch me until your partner finishes that property search.”
“Turn around now.”
The homeowner did not move.
The younger officer looked at the tablet.
“Wait.”
The older officer’s hand stopped.
“What?”
The younger man stared at the screen.
“It’s loading.”
The homeowner looked toward him.
The older officer said:
“We’re not waiting.”
The younger officer looked up.
“Why?”
The older man stared at him.