LINDA: "You think something happened that they don't want people to see?"
Walter did not answer directly.
WALTER: "I think the truth should be allowed to speak for itself."
Linda looked toward the corridor again.
Then she left.
Walter placed the water bottle beside him and leaned back against the wall.
He had not asked Linda to help him. He had not asked her to take a photograph or make a statement. He simply wanted her to remember that recordings existed.
If the sheriff believed there was nothing to hide, he should have no reason to erase them.
But Walter had seen enough of the world to know that people sometimes destroyed evidence precisely because they were certain nobody would notice.
In the sheriff's office, Vance was reviewing a list of employees when Deputy Cole returned.
DEPUTY COLE: "I checked the booking records."
VANCE: "And?"
DEPUTY COLE: "There's no criminal history attached to him in our system."
VANCE: "That doesn't mean anything."
DEPUTY COLE: "I also found a military service reference in his old records."
Vance looked up.
VANCE: "Military?"
DEPUTY COLE: "Yes, sir. United States Navy."
Vance shrugged.
VANCE: "Half the men in this county served somewhere."
DEPUTY COLE: "It looks like he served for a long time."
VANCE: "So what?"
DEPUTY COLE: "I thought you should know."
Vance stood.
VANCE: "Cole, listen to me. I don't care if he served for two years or thirty. This is a county matter. His military record doesn't give him permission to cause a disturbance."
DEPUTY COLE: "I understand."
VANCE: "Good. Now tell me about the daughter."
Cole placed a printed page on the desk.
DEPUTY COLE: "I haven't confirmed her identity yet. The number he called wasn't a local number."
Vance studied the page.
VANCE: "Where did you get this?"
DEPUTY COLE: "The phone log from the station system only shows the outgoing connection time. I couldn't access the recipient's details."
Vance frowned.
VANCE: "Then how do you know it wasn't local?"
DEPUTY COLE: "I saw the number on the phone before he called."
Vance placed the paper down.
VANCE: "Find out who it belongs to."
DEPUTY COLE: "I'll try."
VANCE: "And Cole?"
DEPUTY COLE: "Yes, sir?"
VANCE: "Don't discuss this with anyone outside the department."
Cole nodded.
VANCE: "Especially not with that woman at the front desk."
The deputy understood immediately that Vance meant Linda.
DEPUTY COLE: "Understood."
When Cole left, the sheriff opened another document on his computer.
He searched Walter's name again, adding the word Navy.
A number of unrelated records appeared. Vance skimmed through them, looking for something that might explain why an old veteran had behaved with such confidence.
He found a military service reference, but the record was incomplete.
He leaned back.
For a moment, he considered whether the phone call might have been more important than he had first assumed.
Then he dismissed the thought.
If Walter had an influential daughter, the sheriff would find out soon enough. And even if she worked for the government, that did not change the fact that the incident had occurred inside his county.
Vance returned to his report.
He changed a sentence.
Instead of writing that Walter had been pulled from the booth, he wrote that the subject had been escorted from the premises after refusing repeated instructions.
He changed another sentence to describe the injury as occurring during the subject's attempt to resist removal.
Then he saved the report.
At the diner, Darcy was doing her best to continue the morning shift.
The broken saucers had been cleaned away. A customer had moved to another table, and the coffee machine continued to hiss behind the counter.
But the atmosphere had changed.
People were speaking more quietly. Several customers had left earlier than usual. The owner, Mr. Bennett, stood near the entrance with his arms crossed, staring at the place where Walter had fallen.
Darcy approached him.
DARCY: "We should check the camera footage."
BENNETT: "I know."
DARCY: "The sheriff dragged him out. Everyone saw it."
BENNETT: "I know what I saw."
DARCY: "Then why aren't we saying something?"
Bennett looked toward the front windows.
BENNETT: "Because Vance has been sheriff longer than I've owned this place."
DARCY: "That doesn't make what he did right."
BENNETT: "I didn't say it did."
Darcy lowered her voice.
DARCY: "The old man was bleeding. They didn't even let me call an ambulance."
Bennett looked at her.
BENNETT: "Did you save the footage?"
DARCY: "The system records automatically."
BENNETT: "Can you make a copy?"
DARCY: "Yes."
Bennett thought for a moment.
BENNETT: "Do it. Save the entire morning, not just the moment he fell."
Darcy nodded.
She went into the small office behind the kitchen and switched on the security monitor. The recording system displayed several camera angles: the entrance, the counter, the dining area, and the parking lot.
She selected the first camera.
The footage showed Walter entering the diner shortly after six. He walked slowly toward his usual booth, nodded to Darcy, and sat down.
There was nothing unusual about his behavior.