Dispatch asked for identifying numbers.
Marcus provided them.
Then they waited.
The silence was different now.
Keller looked uncomfortable.
Marcus remained calm.
A porch light flickered automatically above the door.
Mosquitoes moved through the yellow glow.
Across the street, curtains shifted.
Marcus noticed.
"Who called?"
Keller did not answer immediately.
"I'm not sure."
"You were dispatched here."
"Dispatch received the complaint."
"What was reported?"
"A suspicious individual."
"Doing what?"
"Sir."
"No. I'd like to know."
Keller exhaled.
"Someone said you didn't appear to belong at the residence."
Marcus looked across the street.
For the first time, anger reached his face clearly.
"That's the entire complaint?"
"They reported suspicious behavior."
"What behavior?"
Keller did not answer.
Marcus repeated.
"What behavior?"
"Going back and forth from the vehicle."
"With groceries."
"I didn't know what you were carrying."
"The caller did."
"We're not going to argue about this."
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not arguing."
Keller seemed about to respond when his radio came alive.
"Unit 214, supervisor en route."
Keller frowned.
"I didn't request a supervisor."
"Copy. Sergeant Grant is responding."
Marcus noticed that too.
Someone at dispatch had apparently decided verification of an FBI agent being questioned outside his own house deserved supervisory attention.
Keller shifted again.
"I apologize for the inconvenience."
Marcus looked at him.
Inconvenience.
That word would also matter later.
He said nothing.
Keller tried again.
"We get calls. We have to investigate them."
Marcus remained silent.
"You understand that."
Still nothing.
Keller's discomfort increased.
Marcus finally said, "I understand police work very well."
Keller glanced at the credentials in his hand.
"Right."
"Which is why I'm concerned."
Before Keller could respond, another patrol vehicle turned onto Hawthorne Lane.
This one did activate its lights briefly while pulling behind Keller's cruiser.
No siren.
Sergeant Melissa Grant exited.
Forty-five.
Fifteen years with the department.
She approached quickly.
Her body camera began recording as well.
"Keller?"
"Sergeant."
"What's going on?"
Keller glanced toward Marcus.
"Suspicious person call. He says he resides here."
Grant looked at Marcus.
Then at the groceries.
Then at the key.
Then at the house.
"And?"
Keller held up the credential wallet.
"He's FBI."
Grant's face changed.
Not panic.
Calculation.
She looked at Marcus.
"Sir, I'm Sergeant Melissa Grant."
"Marcus Bennett."
"Special Agent Bennett?"
"Yes."
Grant nodded.
"Can I ask what's happened so far?"
Marcus pointed toward Keller's camera.
"It's recorded."
Grant looked at Keller.
"Is your body cam active?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Then she turned toward Marcus.
"Can you give me your version?"
"My version is I arrived home around seven-thirty. I unloaded groceries. I was unlocking my front door when Officer Keller approached and demanded identification."
Keller interrupted.
"I didn't demand it initially."