The diner fell silent.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Amara sat frozen, blinking as food slid down the side of her face. Her golden hair was streaked with sauce. Her blouse was stained, and a piece of food rested near her collar.
She slowly raised one hand and wiped her cheek.
Martha gasped behind the counter.
MARTHA: "Oh my God..."
Voss stepped closer, looking satisfied with himself.
SHERIFF VOSS: "Maybe now you'll understand that I don't repeat myself."
Amara looked directly at him.
There was shock in her eyes, but no panic. She did not scream. She did not beg. She simply stared at the man standing over her, as if she were trying to understand how far he was willing to go.
AMARA: "You just assaulted me."
Voss gave a short, mocking laugh.
SHERIFF VOSS: "You want to make accusations? Go ahead."
Amara reached for a napkin.
Voss knocked it out of her hand.
Then, in a sudden burst of anger, he struck her across the face with an open hand.
The slap echoed through the diner.
Amara's head turned to one side. Her hair fell across her cheek. She remained seated, one hand slowly rising toward the place where he had hit her.
Nobody spoke.
A customer near the window lowered his eyes. Another man quietly put down his coffee cup. Martha took a step forward, then stopped when Voss turned his head toward her.
SHERIFF VOSS: "Stay where you are."
Martha froze.
Amara slowly turned her face back toward him.
AMARA: "You need to stop."
SHERIFF VOSS: "You don't give me orders."
AMARA: "I am asking you to explain your authority to detain me."
The sheriff leaned over the table, his face only inches from hers.
SHERIFF VOSS: "You are going to stand up, and you're going to come with me."
AMARA: "Am I under arrest?"
SHERIFF VOSS: "You're being detained."
AMARA: "For what offense?"
Voss ignored the question. He reached toward her arm, but Amara pulled it slightly away.
AMARA: "Do not touch me again unless you can state a lawful reason."
That sentence seemed to offend him more than anything else she had said.
SHERIFF VOSS: "You people always think you know the law."
Amara's eyes narrowed.
AMARA: "The law is not a matter of opinion."
For a second, Voss looked as though he might strike her again. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the booth.
The movement sent her handbag sliding toward the edge of the seat. Her phone shifted across the table, vibrating against the wooden surface.
Amara glanced at it.
The screen lit up with another incoming notification.
She recognized the name immediately.
Daniel Price.
Daniel was her senior law clerk at the federal courthouse. He had been trying to reach her for almost twenty minutes.
Amara could not answer.
Voss noticed the phone.
SHERIFF VOSS: "What's that? Someone waiting for you?"
AMARA: "It's a personal call."
SHERIFF VOSS: "Not anymore."
He picked up the phone and placed it out of her reach.
Amara's expression changed slightly.
AMARA: "You have no reason to take my property."
SHERIFF VOSS: "I'll decide what I have reason to do."
He looked toward the entrance.
SHERIFF VOSS: "Cole! Get in here!"
A younger deputy appeared from the direction of the parking lot. Deputy Ethan Cole was in his early thirties, with short light-brown hair and a clean uniform. He had been standing outside near the patrol vehicle when he heard the sheriff shouting.
He entered the diner and immediately noticed the scene.
The blonde woman was standing beside the booth, her clothes covered in food. The sheriff held one of her wrists. A damaged plate lay on the floor, and several customers appeared too frightened to move.
Ethan looked at Amara, then at Voss.
DEPUTY COLE: "Sheriff? What's happening?"
SHERIFF VOSS: "We've got a problem. This woman is coming with us."
DEPUTY COLE: "What did she do?"
Voss gave him a warning look.
SHERIFF VOSS: "I said we've got a problem. That's all you need to know."
Ethan hesitated.
He had worked under Voss long enough to understand that questions were rarely welcomed. Still, he could see that the woman had not been behaving violently. She was not resisting. She was not shouting. She was simply trying to keep her balance while the sheriff held her arm.
DEPUTY COLE: "Do you want me to get the cuffs?"
SHERIFF VOSS: "First, check her bag. I want to know who we're dealing with."