And the peaceful afternoon became a nightmare.
Chapter 5: The First Video
Andre remained beside his father while they waited for the ambulance.
Baird stood nearby, watching him.
“You said you had a recording.”
Andre nodded.
“I do.”
“Then show me.”
Andre looked toward Deputy Navarro.
“I’d prefer a supervisor to be present.”
Baird laughed contemptuously.
“You think you’re in charge now?”
Andre shook his head.
“No. I’m protecting evidence.”
He opened the security application on his phone.
The driveway camera displayed a recording from 4:12 p.m.
Approximately twenty minutes before the confrontation.
Andre turned the screen toward Elise.
“Deputy, please look at this.”
The video showed Samuel’s driveway.
The gray pickup sat beside the garage.
A county maintenance van entered the frame.
A man wearing a reflective work vest stepped out.
He carried a blue metal toolbox.
A second man appeared near the driveway entrance.
He wore a dark police uniform.
Andre paused the video.
Elise leaned closer.
Her expression changed.
The uniformed man was Sergeant Baird.
Andre pressed play.
The maintenance worker approached the pickup.
He placed the blue toolbox inside the truck bed.
Then looked toward Baird.
The sergeant gestured toward the house.
The two men exchanged a few words that the camera could not clearly capture.
Then they walked away.
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Andre looked toward Elise.
“That toolbox wasn’t in the truck this morning.”
She swallowed.
Baird stepped forward.
“Give me that phone.”
Andre lowered the device.
“No.”
“That’s evidence.”
“Then we’ll provide it through the proper process.”
Baird’s face reddened.
“Hand it over.”
Andre remained calm.
