Fortunately, there was plenty of surveillance in the parking lot. Both the front and back views of the interaction were captured.
The footage clearly showed that Tara hadn’t given the middle–aged man anything.
Had she lingered a bit longer, spoken imore, or handed him tissues or money, it would have been impossible to clear her name.
Tara defended herself calmly, “Check my lip movements. I only said two words, ‘No, no.‘ How could I have possibly communicated anything else to him?”
The man’s eyes flickered with unease, and he changed his story. “This was the second time we met. The first time wasn’t here. We sorted everything out during our first meeting.”
Tara remained composed. “Then where was it? My home? My neighborhood? My school? All these places have surveillance, and I can prove my whereabouts with timestamps.”
The man faltered, unable to come up with anything. “It was… uh, it’s been too long. I can’t remember exactly which day!”
The officer pressed further. “Do you remember the location?”
The man hesitated, his eyes darting nervously. “It was… by the river… in a grove. There aren’t any cameras there.”
With no surveillance, no witnesses, and no concrete evidence of transactions or agreements, the case was dismissed due to insufficient proof, and Tara was released.
Tara’s voice turned cold. “I’m filing charges against him for defamation, endangering public safety, and intentional harm!”
The middle–aged man panicked, shouting, “No! I’m telling the truth! It’s all true!”
The officer replied matter–of–factly, “Whether your story is true or not, the fact remains that you endangered public safety and committed intentional harm. Those are established crimes.”
The man lowered his head in defeat. He was detained for public endangerment, with other charges pending further investigation. !
Nina gave an apologetic smile. “I knew it wasn’t you, Miss Stone. I’m so sorry this dragged you into such a mess.‘
