But Hollister had not yet realized how many people were prepared to ask them.
The first person to arrive at the Clearwater County Sheriff's Department was not Tessa.
It was a county medical technician named Rebecca Lawson, carrying a small emergency kit and a tablet. She had received a request to assess a detainee with a head injury, and the information attached to the request was brief.
Male, seventy-one years old. Bleeding near the left temple. Possible head trauma. Reports dizziness.
Rebecca entered the building and approached the reception desk.
REBECCA: "I'm here to assess Walter Hayes."
The clerk looked toward the corridor.
CLERK: "He's being held in the interview area."
REBECCA: "Has anyone checked his neurological condition?"
The clerk hesitated.
CLERK: "I don't believe so."
Rebecca's expression tightened.
REBECCA: "Then I need to see him immediately."
She walked down the corridor, accompanied by Deputy Cole. When she entered the room, Walter was sitting at the metal table with his hands resting in front of him.
He looked tired.
His face had become pale, and the cut near his eyebrow was partly covered by a makeshift dressing. His old jacket was still torn at the collar.
Rebecca introduced herself and began her assessment.
REBECCA: "Mr. Hayes, can you tell me what day it is?"
Walter answered.
REBECCA: "Do you remember how you were injured?"
WALTER: "I fell against a metal display at Pine Ridge Diner."
REBECCA: "Did you lose consciousness?"
WALTER: "I don't think so. Everything went blurry for a moment."
She checked his pupils, asked about nausea, headache, and dizziness, then examined the wound.
REBECCA: "I recommend that you go to the hospital for further evaluation. A head injury at your age should not be ignored."
Walter nodded.
WALTER: "I've been asking to be checked since I arrived."
Rebecca looked briefly at Cole.
REBECCA: "How long has he been waiting?"
Cole did not answer immediately.
COLE: "Since this morning."
Rebecca recorded the time.
REBECCA: "I'm documenting the symptoms and my recommendation. He needs transport for further assessment."
A voice came from the doorway.
HOLLISTER: "That's not necessary."
Rebecca turned.
Sheriff Hollister stood with his hands on his belt.
HOLLISTER: "He's stable. We can arrange that after booking."
REBECCA: "I have assessed him, and I am recommending hospital evaluation."
HOLLISTER: "He can walk. He can talk. He's fine."
REBECCA: "That doesn't rule out a concussion or another complication."
Hollister stared at her.
HOLLISTER: "Are you telling me how to run my department?"
REBECCA: "No, Sheriff. I'm telling you what my assessment indicates."
Walter looked between them.
He had spent enough time in hospitals to understand that Rebecca was not trying to challenge the sheriff. She was doing her job.
He spoke quietly.
WALTER: "Please don't argue because of me. I just want to be checked."
Rebecca nodded.
REBECCA: "That's exactly what we're going to arrange."
Hollister stepped aside, but his expression remained hostile.
Rebecca finished the assessment and entered her findings into the tablet. She noted the reported mechanism of injury, the visible wound, the dizziness, and the need for further medical examination.
She also recorded that Walter had repeatedly requested medical assistance before her arrival.
That detail mattered.
The sheriff knew it mattered.
He watched her complete the report without saying another word.
When Rebecca left the room, Hollister turned toward Cole.
HOLLISTER: "You should have told me she was coming."
COLE: "I didn't know when she would arrive."
HOLLISTER: "Everything in this building goes through me."
COLE: "She was sent to assess an injured detainee."
Hollister stepped closer.
HOLLISTER: "You seem to have developed a lot of opinions today."
Cole lowered his eyes.
HOLLISTER: "Remember your position."
Cole nodded.
But something had changed.
The deputy had spent years believing that keeping his head down was the safest way to survive under Hollister. He had told himself that he was not responsible for every decision the sheriff made.
Now he had watched a medical professional document the consequences of that decision.
He had seen Walter ask for help without raising his voice.
And he had heard the sheriff attempt to dismiss an injury that was plainly visible.
The difference between following orders and participating in wrongdoing was becoming harder to ignore.
Meanwhile, Tessa's car was approaching the town.
She had spent most of the journey reviewing the information collected by her colleague and the attorney. The first reports suggested that the sheriff had accused Walter of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.
But the account from Pine Ridge Diner did not match that description.
Darcy had confirmed that Walter was sitting quietly when Hollister approached him. Raymond Miller had agreed to provide a witness statement. Michael Turner had preserved a short recording of the aftermath.
The attorney had also discovered something else.
Walter's property had been mentioned in a county document dated the previous afternoon.
It concerned an access route near Black Bear Creek.
Tessa read the summary again.