Attempting to conceal the intimidation welling up from the pit of his stomach, Officer Hines did his best to answer with authority. “I’m trying to figure that out myself. I pulled up and witnessed the suspect punch this man,” Hines pointed his thumb in John’s direction, “knocking him to the ground. So, I cuffed the boy.”
“That bit—, w-woman kicked me too,” John added. “And smacked me.”
Officer Street cut John a hard glance before asking Sean, “Is this true?”
“It’s not that simple,” Sean replied as he shrugged, neither acknowledging nor denying the accusation.
Seeing the second officer had arrived, Jacquelyn could not hold back any longer. “May I speak now or are all the men going to completely ignore me?!”
Hines ignored her. Officer Street looked at her and gave a nod that said, Okay. He took Sean’s arm and walked to the side of the road. Hines stayed with John and continued asking questions.
“Ma’am, I’m Officer Michael Street. This is my younger brother, Sean.”
Officer Street’s presence had an immediate effect, relaxing her noticeably. “Jacquelyn,” she said after a deep breath. “Jacquelyn Bass. My friends call me Jackie. This is my daughter, Elena.” She smiled at Officer Street and then nodded once to Sean, “Thank you.” She looked down and tightened her arm around little Elena, who looked up but stayed silent.
Streets took out a notepad and looked at Jackie. “Okay, walk me through what happened here.”
𓂓
Sally poured her second cuppa, then walked to her bedroom to lay out her outfit for the day. Dark riveting eyes scanned her wardrobe. She worked from home and didn’t own a vast array of business outfits. Nevertheless, she was fastidious about the process. Satisfied with her choices, she strode back through the kitchen and into her office. She ran a home-based business handling medical records. Her workspace occupied a spare room adjacent to the living room, both located in the front of the house. Her desk was arranged so she could open the blinds and have a view of the street. She liked to watch the men work. Something about sitting at her desk with a warm cup of coffee, observing laborers, made her feel empowered. Curious to see Clay’s progress this morning, she tugged open her blinds. The haughty look on her face faded quickly.
Sally stood in the window, shocked for a moment, absorbing the spectacle. Clay’s truck and trailer, another more dilapidated truck, an ambulance, and two police cruisers cluttered the street in front of her house. Nearest to her, she saw an officer in conversation with a pudgy man in a dirty white t-shirt. Then, across the street, she noticed Sean standing beside Jackie and Elena, all three talking to another officer scribbling on a notepad.
Sean stood straight with his hands behind his back. Such a polite young man. On many occasions, Sean had gone out of his way for her. Sally allowed herself to enjoy his company without pretense. Then her eyes fell on two paramedics huddled down around a form lying motionless on the side of the road. That’s odd. Then she realized she didn’t see Clay.
She slipped on her flip-flops and rushed out the door, unashamed in her nightgown and robe. Sally and Jackie were on good terms. They weren’t really friends, but since she lived across the street, Sally often chatted with Jackie over coffee in the mornings while Elena played in the front yard.
Sally hustled down the drive, across the street, and around the dirty old truck. She waved and made eye contact with Jackie. Then she slowed, sensing that something terrible had happened. She saw the stressed look on Jackie’s face, as well as Elena’s petrified grip on her mother’s waist, which made her hesitate. Then her eyes fell to Clay lying on the pavement with two paramedics kneeling beside him. Once she recognized him, her puzzled expression turned to concern.
“Oh my God!” She rushed toward the paramedics. “Is he okay?”
Clay started moving a little. His hands flexed some, then his arms moved slightly. He turned his head back and forth, eyes distant.
“What happened here?” she yelled to no one in particular.
No one replied, but she overheard one of the paramedics. “He’s in shock.”
“Put that towel under his feet,” the other said.
The officer standing next to Sean and Jackie caught her attention, “Ma’am, please step over here and let the paramedics work.”
Glancing down at Clay one more time, Sally stumbled up into the grass.
𓂓
Streets introduced himself to Sally. “Good morning, I’m Officer Street. There’s been an accident. We are currently working to determine what happened here. Ms. Bass, please continue.”
“Call me Jackie. As I was saying, Sean stepped in to defend me. That asshole... sorry, that guy tried to get us to move Clay so he could leave. He told Sean to ‘move his black ass’ over there and get him out of the way.”
Sally gasped.
Jackie glanced at Officer Street. “Sorry.”
“I appreciate your candor.” Nostrils flared and his jaw flexed, Streets hardly concealed his contempt. “The more detail, the better,” he said with a little too much edginess.
Intrigued by the strength behind his otherwise stoic response, Jackie nodded. “The driver then started toward Sean, who had been kneeling beside Clay. I stepped in and stopped him with a smack.” Elena looked up with wide teary eyes, apparently content and safe being near her mother. Sally leaned back, arms crossed, and stared at her in surprise.
Jackie continued, “Then the driver of the truck came at me. That’s when Sean shoved me aside.” She shot Sean a wry smile. He returned the glance with a rueful grin and a tilt of his head. “Then the guy advanced and tried to grab Sean, who pushed his arms aside and punched him once. I kicked his leg so he would fall.”
“If what you say is true, it sounds like this could be considered self-defense under the stand-your-ground law,” Streets said. All three of them nodded in agreement. “Not only that, but you both prevented a hit-and-run.” Sean raised his chin and his chest swelled in pride. Streets gave him an assessing look as if to say, Not so fast.
“Ma’am, did you see any of this from across the street?” Streets asked Sally.
“No. I didn’t even know anything had happened until I opened the blinds in my office just a moment ago. Then I came right over,” Sally replied.
Streets jotted a couple more things on his notepad before pocketing it. “I think I understand generally what’s happened. I may need more details in a moment, so please remain here while I check on Clay.”
“Okay,” all three said in near-perfect unison.
Sally turned to Jackie. “Is he going to be alright?”
“We don’t know anything yet,” Jackie replied.
Sally’s eyes narrowed as she watched the paramedics working over Clay.
𓂓
Streets walked over to the paramedics. “How is he?”
