Chapter 3: What She Had Actually Damaged
Marjorie spent the next several minutes insisting that the camera footage was unfair.
She argued that it made her look worse than she had intended.
The officer replayed the recording.
The footage did not contain an opinion.
It showed her approaching the dummy mirror.
It showed her holding the mallet.
It showed her striking the prop twice.
It showed the real traffic mirror remaining untouched.
That distinction mattered.
The traffic equipment had not been damaged.
But the property used for the neighborhood demonstration had been destroyed.
Marjorie finally looked down at the pieces around her shoes.
Her anger had not disappeared.
It had simply lost somewhere to go.
Daniel stood several feet away.
“I told you before,” he said quietly. “If you had a problem with the mirror, you could have taken it to the association.”
“I did.”
“And they said no.”
Marjorie looked at him.
“Yes.”
“So you decided to handle it yourself.”
She did not answer.
That was the part she could no longer explain away.
She had not stumbled.
She had not mistaken one mirror for another in a moment of confusion.
She had brought the mallet and struck the separate prop because she wanted the situation changed immediately.
The officer explained that the incident would be documented and that the damaged property would have to be dealt with through the appropriate process.
Marjorie stiffened.
“You’re making this sound serious.”
Daniel looked toward the intact traffic mirror.
“It became serious when you decided the rules didn’t apply to you.”
She glared at him.
But this time she did not shout.
She looked upward instead.
The camera was still watching.
The realization unsettled her more than the police presence.
If one camera had recorded this, what else had she failed to notice?
