SHERIFF VOSS: "Her property is being held as part of the investigation."
AGENT SHAW: "What investigation?"
Voss paused.
AGENT SHAW: "You have described this as a detention connected to an investigation. Please identify the alleged offense and provide the case number."
SHERIFF VOSS: "We haven't completed the paperwork."
AGENT SHAW: "Then what was the legal basis for taking her into custody?"
The sheriff did not answer.
Rebecca turned toward Ethan.
AGENT SHAW: "Deputy, were you present at the diner?"
DEPUTY COLE: "Yes, ma'am."
AGENT SHAW: "Did you witness the initial confrontation?"
DEPUTY COLE: "Yes."
AGENT SHAW: "Did you see Sheriff Voss throw food at Judge Whitlock?"
Ethan glanced toward the sheriff.
Voss gave him a warning stare.
DEPUTY COLE: "Yes, ma'am."
The room became quiet.
AGENT SHAW: "Did you see him strike her?"
DEPUTY COLE: "Yes."
Voss stepped forward.
SHERIFF VOSS: "That is not an accurate description of what happened."
Ethan continued looking at Rebecca.
DEPUTY COLE: "I saw him slap her."
Rebecca nodded once.
AGENT SHAW: "Thank you. Please preserve your written account and do not alter it."
Voss looked furious.
SHERIFF VOSS: "You are not going to conduct an investigation inside my department without going through me."
AGENT SHAW: "I am not asking for your permission to preserve evidence."
She turned toward the other investigators.
AGENT SHAW: "Secure the relevant records. Photograph the booking area, document the property currently held, and identify the officers who handled the detention."
One investigator began taking notes.
The second approached the property counter.
Voss watched them move through the station.
His office, once a place where employees waited nervously outside his door, was suddenly no longer under his unquestioned control.
Amara walked toward Rebecca.
AMARA: "There is another issue."
AGENT SHAW: "What is it?"
AMARA: "Before I was taken from the diner, I noticed the sheriff was particularly interested in my phone. He took it immediately after the confrontation."
Rebecca looked toward the desk.
AGENT SHAW: "Has anyone accessed it?"
SHERIFF VOSS: "We have not examined anything."
AMARA: "Then the device should be documented and preserved."
Rebecca nodded.
AGENT SHAW: "We'll make sure the chain of custody is recorded."
Voss tried to interrupt.
SHERIFF VOSS: "This is becoming ridiculous. She came into my county, refused to cooperate, and now you're treating my department like a criminal organization."
Rebecca looked directly at him.
AGENT SHAW: "Sheriff, nobody has asked you to accept a conclusion. We are asking you to preserve evidence and explain your actions."
SHERIFF VOSS: "I know how to run a sheriff's office."
AGENT SHAW: "Then you should have no difficulty documenting what happened."
Voss turned away.
He knew the confrontation had become more serious than he had anticipated.
But he still believed he could contain it.
He had controlled the department for years. He knew which employees were loyal, which records were incomplete, and which complaints had never made it beyond the front desk.
He also knew that some people in the county owed him favors.
He believed those relationships would protect him.
He was about to discover how fragile that protection really was.
Rebecca approached Amara again.
AGENT SHAW: "Judge, your chambers have been trying to reach you. Daniel Price has already contacted courthouse security."
AMARA: "Have you spoken with him?"
AGENT SHAW: "Yes. He's been informed that you're safe."
Amara exhaled slowly.
AMARA: "Good. He'll be worried."
AGENT SHAW: "He was very concerned. He also mentioned that you had been reviewing documents connected to Randolph County."
Amara glanced toward Voss.
AMARA: "I was reviewing material related to a broader federal inquiry. I don't want to discuss the substance of any pending matter in this room."
AGENT SHAW: "Understood."
Voss heard the exchange.
His eyes moved toward the office where the Northbridge folder was locked away.
Rebecca noticed his glance.
AGENT SHAW: "Sheriff, is there something in your office that needs to be preserved?"
SHERIFF VOSS: "No."
AGENT SHAW: "Then you won't object to a proper inventory of records relevant to the detention."
SHERIFF VOSS: "You are not searching my office."
AGENT SHAW: "Any search will be conducted under the appropriate legal authority. For now, do not remove or alter any records."
The sheriff said nothing.
Amara looked toward Ethan.
AMARA: "Deputy Cole, I want to thank you for telling the truth."
Ethan seemed uncomfortable.
DEPUTY COLE: "I should have spoken sooner."
AMARA: "You still have the opportunity to do the right thing."
Ethan nodded.
For the first time that afternoon, he looked less afraid.