2: 2
The patrol car stopped just outside the plaza, and two officers pushed their way through the crowd.
I stepped forward and handed over my call log and the video of the scene.
"I'm the one who called it in."
"They're accusing me of poisoning the dog, and I admitted it. Please look into it."
"Poisoned it with what, where, and when?"
"I don't know. I never even saw the full surveillance footage."
"Since they insist I did it, please have the body and the scene tested."
Director Lambert cut in. "Officer, she just admitted it herself."
"Everyone here can testify to that."
"She can't even name the poison or where she put it."
"What evidence do you have?"
"There's surveillance."
"Where's the original recording?"
Zane kept his head down. "The lines were being serviced. Only one segment is left."
"You can see her passing by the parking spot last night."
"Passing by a parking spot means she poisoned it?"
The officer said, "Preserve the equipment and the original files. Nobody touches them."
The other officer pulled on gloves, opened the dog's mouth, then checked its neck.
Its tongue hung out, and its eyes were bloodshot.
The fur at its neck had matted into clumps.
The officer asked, "Who found the dog first after it died?"
Old Mrs. Chavez clutched the dead dog. "I found it. No need to check any further."
"Whether it was poisoned has to be tested."
"You're the owner. Are you willing to submit it?"
"Submit it where?"
"We'd contact a third-party lab."
"You'd cover the cost up front. If it meets the criteria for a case, it gets handled by the book after that."
"How much?"
"Preliminary testing and an autopsy run about two thousand. The lab quotes the exact figure."
Old Mrs. Chavez sat down on the ground, clutching the dog.
"No! You are not cutting it open."
"It was with me for two years. Hasn't it suffered enough, dying like this?"
The officer asked again, "Your grandson was bitten? Where's the boy?"
"Resting at home."
"Are there any medical records for the wound?"
"My boy's shy around strangers. Nobody's seeing him."
"This involves bodily injury. At minimum you need to provide the medical file and photos of the wound."
Old Mrs. Chavez held the dog tighter.
"There aren't any! We're dropping it. The community can mediate."
Director Lambert stepped up. "Officer, there are no casualties."
"No confirmed poison. This is just a neighbor dispute."
"Let them settle it privately. Stop tying up public resources."
I pointed at the dog's neck.
"You're not going to check the marks on the body?"
Old Mrs. Chavez shrieked, "You want to touch it again?"
"Killing it once wasn't enough? You want to hurt it a second time?"
Her son wasn't there, and Hunter never showed up either.
The officers finished logging it and left an intake number.
"The existing evidence can't prove any poisoning occurred."
"The owner refuses testing, so for now we're logging it as a dispute."
"The scene video and surveillance equipment both have to be kept."
"Report it anytime new evidence turns up."
The moment the patrol car pulled away, Old Mrs. Chavez threw the dog into the trash bin.
She brushed the dirt off her clothes.
"Even the police don't care, so what are you still putting on an act for?"
She jabbed a finger at me. "You admitted you poisoned it, and Hunter got hurt by your poison too."
"Give my family the school enrollment slot for that school-district home and we'll call it even."
"The house is mine. How am I supposed to give you the enrollment slot?"
Director Lambert produced a notice stamped with the community association's seal.
"Tomorrow you sign the residency registration and a long-term lease."
"The paperwork gets handled by an agent the community picks. You don't need to worry about it."
"And if I don't sign?"
Zane planted himself in front of me.
"The complex cameras could catch you any day."
"Your daughter still has to go to school. Don't back yourself into a corner."
I looked at the dog in the trash bin.
"Fine. I'll come sign in the morning."
Director Lambert shoved the notice into my hand.
"Be there before nine. The school's paperwork closes this afternoon. Late is your problem, not mine."
I tucked the notice away and turned to go home.
Behind me came Old Mrs. Chavez's voice. "Stella, don't switch people on me at the last minute."
"The slot was promised to Hunter."
Director Lambert lowered her voice. I only caught the last line.
"Once it's with the agent, it won't be up to her who gets it."
