CHAPTER 2: The Officer Who Ran First

Officer Maya Reyes was out of her cruiser before the second vehicle stopped behind her.
She crossed the lawn fast, one hand on her radio, eyes moving from Nora to the balcony to the people at the mansion doors. The scene had the wrong shape. Real accidents scattered people. This one had arranged them.
Dorian shouted from above, 'She fell. She slipped. We need an ambulance.'
Maya did not answer him. She dropped to one knee beside Nora and kept her voice low.
'Ma'am, can you hear me?'
Nora blinked once. A small cut marked her cheek. Her left sleeve was torn, and shallow red scratches crossed her forearm where the balcony flowers had caught her on the way down.
'Do not move,' Maya said. 'Help is coming.'
Nora's eyes lifted past her, past the porch, past the two women standing silent in the doorway.
She raised one trembling finger toward the balcony.