Behind Helen walked a broad man in a gray apron, the restaurant’s owner, Mr. Calloway, along with a uniformed police officer who had been eating in the back booth. A teenage busboy trailed them, pushing a cart stacked with sanitizing spray, gloves, and a yellow plastic bag. The mother’s phone slipped in her hand, still recording. “Ma’am,” Mr. Calloway said, “I watched the whole thing on our camera, and so did Officer Reyes.”

She shot to her feet, her face blotchy and furious. “You have no right to do that!” she screamed, as the busboy lifted the soiled blanket and wipes from her table into the bag. Then the officer stepped forward and opened a notebook. “Before you say another word,” he told her, “you should know why Helen came to find us, and who is sitting by the window.”’