Ellis felt a cold weight settle in his stomach.
“I'm in the process of reviewing the incident.”
“Please preserve the original files immediately. Do not overwrite, edit, delete, or alter any recording or log. A federal liaison will be arriving shortly. We ask that your office cooperate with the appropriate investigative authorities.”
Ellis gripped the receiver.
“Are you saying she's a general?”
“I'm saying that her identity has been authenticated through official channels. We are not asking you to treat the situation as a military matter. We are asking you to preserve evidence and ensure her safety while the jurisdictional questions are resolved.”
Ellis swallowed.
“Understood.”
“We will send written confirmation through the official channel. Please confirm when the recordings have been secured.”
The call ended.
Ellis remained still for a moment.
Then he placed the receiver down and walked quickly toward the booking area.
Mercer was standing near the holding cell, speaking to Vance.
“Captain,” Mercer said, turning. “What is it?”
Ellis looked at Elena.
She was seated on a bench behind the glass partition, her hands cuffed in front of her now. She looked tired, but composed.
“Who is this woman?” Ellis asked.
Mercer shrugged.
“A suspect in a possession case.”
Ellis's voice sharpened.
“Her full identity.”
“It's on the report.”
“Did you verify it?”
“Not yet.”
Ellis looked at Elena again.
“Ma'am, are you Brigadier General Elena Brooks of the United States Army?”
Elena stood.
“Yes.”
Mercer laughed.
“Oh, come on.”
No one joined him.
Ellis looked at her carefully.
“Do you have military identification?”
“It was in my wallet. Your officer took possession of it.”
Mercer turned toward the property counter.
“She didn't show me any military ID.”
“You searched her wallet?” Ellis asked.
“I checked her identification.”
“And did you see the card?”
Mercer hesitated.
“I don't remember.”
Ellis closed his eyes briefly.
“Get the wallet.”
Melissa retrieved it from the property tray.
She opened it under the camera and removed a small identification card from a transparent sleeve.
Ellis did not touch it immediately. He looked at the card, then at Elena.
The card displayed her photograph, her rank, and her name. The identifying details were consistent with the information provided over the phone.
Ellis felt the last of his confidence drain away.
Mercer stared at the card.
Then at Elena.
Then back at the card.
“This is some kind of joke.”
“No,” Elena said. “It isn't.”
“You expect us to believe you're a general?”
“I don't need you to believe anything. You can verify it through the appropriate channels.”
Ellis held the card carefully.
“Please confirm her identity.”
Melissa was already speaking to the federal liaison on the phone.
Mercer stepped closer to Elena.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Elena looked at him.
“You didn't ask who I was. You told me who you thought I was.”
Mercer opened his mouth, then closed it.
For the first time, he had no immediate answer.
Ellis turned toward him.
“Did you know her identity before the arrest?”
“No.”
“Did you know she was a military officer?”
“No.”
“Then why did you tell her she was under arrest before you documented the substance?”
“Because I found it in her vehicle.”
“Did you photograph it where you found it?”
Mercer said nothing.
Ellis's voice dropped.
“Daniel. Did you photograph it?”
“No.”
“Did you test it?”
“No.”
“Did you document the exact time you recovered it?”
“I was going to.”
Ellis stared at him.
“Then what exactly did you do?”
Mercer's face flushed.
“I followed procedure.”
Elena spoke quietly from behind the partition.
“Then the recordings should establish that.”
Ellis looked toward the ceiling camera.
Suddenly, every camera in the building seemed more noticeable.
The small black lens above the booking desk.
The one in the hallway.
The one pointed toward the property tray.
He had spent years thinking of them as administrative tools, useful for settling minor disputes and checking whether someone had entered a restricted area.
Now they were witnesses.
And he had no idea what they had seen.
At 6:02 p.m., the first helicopter passed over Redhaven.
People came out of the diner, the gas station, and the hardware store to look up. The aircraft moved low enough for its shape to be unmistakable, though not so low that it endangered traffic or buildings.
A second helicopter appeared behind it.
Then a third aircraft approached from the opposite direction before turning toward a staging area outside town.
The sound rolled across the fields and over the rooftops.
At the sheriff's office, the windows began to tremble.
Melissa looked up from her desk.
“What on earth is that?”
Vance moved toward the entrance.
“Helicopters.”
“I can hear that.”
He looked through the glass doors.
Several dark vehicles were pulling into the parking lot. Their occupants wore uniforms and carried official identification. A federal investigator stepped out of the lead vehicle and spoke briefly with a county dispatcher who had been sent outside to meet them.
No one was running.