Chapter 2: What the Camera Saw
Inside the security office, Daniel pulled up the parking-lot footage.
The camera showed the red SUV arriving a few minutes earlier.
Marjorie stepped out.
She looked around the parking lot.
Then she opened the passenger-side door and reached inside.
Daniel slowed the footage.
A small object appeared in her hand.
He paused the screen.
The rubber snake was unmistakable.
Daniel continued.
Marjorie walked to the rear of her SUV and placed the snake beside the tire.
Then she stepped away.
She waited.
Only after several moments did she begin looking around as though she had discovered something alarming.
Daniel watched the sequence twice.
There was no ambiguity.
The camera had captured the entire setup.
He called Linda Parker, the school principal, into the office.
She studied the footage without speaking.
“She put it there herself,” Linda said.
“Yes.”
“And then she called us over?”
Daniel nodded.
Linda looked through the office window toward the parking lot.
Marjorie was still standing beside her SUV.
She appeared to be waiting for the response she had demanded.
Linda turned back to Daniel.
“Ask her to step away from the vehicle while we address it.”
Daniel returned to the lot.
“Ms. Bell, I need you to come with me.”
Marjorie frowned.
“I already told you what happened.”
“I know what you told me.”
He pointed toward the school entrance.
“The area is safe. Please leave the parking space clear while the school handles the situation.”
Marjorie’s face tightened.
“You’re asking me to move away from my own car?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because we now need to address the false alarm.”
Her eyes widened.
“What false alarm?”
Daniel did not answer immediately.
He looked toward the security camera.
Then back at her.
“We have footage.”
For the first time since she had raised the alarm, Marjorie had no immediate reply.
The authority she had claimed in the parking lot was beginning to slip.
And the camera had become more persuasive than anything she could say.
