Daniel struck the door with his palm.
“You do not give orders to police.”
“No,” Robert replied.
“But I can preserve evidence.”
He turned the phone camera toward the black inspection cable beneath the door.
Then he brought his heel down on it.
The lens cracked.
Sergio cursed.
That single word destroyed the caring-boyfriend performance he had been staging for the officer’s body camera.
The dispatcher told Robert that additional units were coming.
He was instructed to move Ruby away from windows and remain inside.
Robert guided her into the kitchen.
He locked the back door, lowered the blinds, and sat her beneath the counter where she could not be seen from outside.
Then he gave her a glass of water and a piece of bread with peanut butter.
She stared at the food.
“You don’t have to earn it,” he said.
She took a small bite.
Another message arrived from Paula, this time with an address on the south side of Austin.
I’M AT A GAS STATION.
HE TOOK MY CAR.
I HAVE THE MEMORY CARD.
PLEASE TELL THEM I’M READY TO TALK.
Robert relayed the location to dispatch.
On the porch, Daniel and Sergio were arguing in low voices.
Robert could not make out every word, but he heard Daniel say, “You told me there was no recording.”
Sergio answered, “There wasn’t supposed to be.”
The dispatcher heard that too.
Within minutes, two more patrol cars arrived.
Their doors slammed in quick succession.
A woman’s voice ordered everyone on the porch to step away from the house.
Daniel protested that it was a family custody dispute.
The woman identified herself as Sergeant Maya Collins and demanded that he deactivate his involvement because of his personal relationship with Sergio.
“I am the responding officer,” Daniel argued.
“You are the suspect’s brother,” Collins replied.
“Step back.”
Robert watched through the doorbell-camera feed as Daniel’s confidence began to drain.
Sergio stood beside him in a rain-darkened jacket, his jaw clenched and his hands opening and closing.
Sergeant Collins approached the door alone.
She held up empty hands and spoke through the wood.
“Mr.
Hale, my name is Maya Collins.
Dispatch has briefed me.
I will not ask you to release Ruby to anyone tonight.
May I come inside with a female paramedic?”
Robert verified her badge number with dispatch before unlocking the door.
When he opened it, Sergio lunged forward.
“Ruby!”
Two officers stopped him.
The child screamed and crawled beneath the kitchen table.
Every officer on the porch saw her reaction.
Sergio tried to recover.
“She’s confused.
Robert has been coaching her.”
Sergeant Collins looked at the broken camera cable on the floor.
“Did he coach you to push surveillance equipment under the door?”
