Chapter 6 - The Part They Cut Out
The photograph stayed on the screen long enough for somebody to start booing.
Graham walked back onto the stage. "Turn that off," he told the technician.
Vanessa smiled as though he'd complimented her dress. "People deserve to know who they're trusting around their children."
"There weren't any children near us," I said.
A man in a dinner jacket lifted his phone. "I filmed the whole thing. She kicked first."
Pike moved toward him. "Sir, recording is prohibited."
"Since when?" the man asked. "Your invitations told us to post pictures."
I walked toward the guest, slowly, my hands open. His name was Omar Bennett, a school principal who had bought one seat with money his faculty raised. He kept filming while everyone watched.
"Would you preserve the original?" I asked. "Not a screenshot. The video."
"It's going straight to my cloud account," he said. "My daughter showed me how."
Vanessa's smile slipped. "You're making a terrible mistake, Omar."
"Then let the police tell me," he replied.
At the back of the room, Talia Owens lifted a press badge. I recognized her from June's description. She didn't rush the stage. She was watching Pike watch Omar.
Graham leaned toward Vanessa. "You knew she had a protection background. Why provoke her?"
Her eyes flicked to me, then away. "I was defending myself."
"By kicking at someone's face?"
For the first time all evening, his voice was louder than hers.
Pike whispered into his radio. Two guards started for Omar. I stepped between the nearest one and the principal's table, close enough to block a path, not close enough to touch him.
"Don't turn this into another assault," I told the guard.
He stopped. Behind him, Talia held her phone up, recording.
May you like
Then Evelyn called my cell. Her voice shook.
"Naomi. June's safe. But we opened the blue folder she carried. The signature pages aren't the worst part. There's a list of names marked for removal, and yours is on it."
