SHERIFF VOSS: "Nobody asked for your opinion."
DEPUTY COLE: "I'm just saying we should confirm—"
SHERIFF VOSS: "I know what you're saying. Keep quiet."
Amara reached toward the table, trying to retrieve her phone.
Voss immediately moved it farther away.
AMARA: "Give me my phone."
SHERIFF VOSS: "Not until I know exactly who you are."
AMARA: "You are holding my identification. You have already been given the information you need."
SHERIFF VOSS: "And I decide what happens next."
AMARA: "No, Sheriff. The law decides that."
The sheriff looked around the diner.
He suddenly became aware of the customers watching him. Martha was still standing behind the counter, and a man near the window had his phone partially raised.
Voss pointed toward him.
SHERIFF VOSS: "Put that phone away."
The customer immediately lowered it.
CUSTOMER: "I wasn't doing anything."
SHERIFF VOSS: "Then you won't mind putting it away."
Amara noticed the man's hesitation.
AMARA: "You have the right to remember what you witnessed."
Voss spun back toward her.
SHERIFF VOSS: "You need to stop talking."
AMARA: "You have already taken my phone. You have already searched my belongings. You have already struck me. What exactly are you trying to hide?"
That question struck a nerve.
Voss stepped closer, lowering his voice.
SHERIFF VOSS: "You have no idea how things work around here."
AMARA: "I understand perfectly well how things are supposed to work."
Ethan looked down at the identification card again.
He had heard rumors about federal investigations in the region. There had been conversations at the station about outside investigators asking questions concerning traffic stops, property seizures, and missing evidence. Voss had always dismissed those rumors as political troublemaking.
But now a federal judge was standing in front of him, covered in food, with a visible mark on her face.
And the sheriff was still trying to control the situation.
DEPUTY COLE: "Sheriff, I really think we should slow down."
SHERIFF VOSS: "You want to tell me how to run my department?"
DEPUTY COLE: "No, sir."
SHERIFF VOSS: "Then do your job."
Ethan swallowed and placed the wallet carefully on the table.
DEPUTY COLE: "Judge Whitlock, I apologize for the confusion."
Amara looked at him.
AMARA: "Deputy, this is not a confusion. You have witnessed an assault and an unlawful search. You know what happened here."
Ethan lowered his eyes.
He wanted to say more, but he knew the consequences of openly challenging Voss. The sheriff had a habit of punishing employees who embarrassed him. Some had been transferred to undesirable shifts. Others had been accused of misconduct after refusing to follow his instructions.
Voss took the wallet and pushed it into his own uniform pocket.
SHERIFF VOSS: "We're going to the station. There, we can figure out what this really is."
AMARA: "I have no reason to go anywhere with you unless you can establish a lawful basis for detaining me."
SHERIFF VOSS: "You are being detained for interfering with an investigation."
AMARA: "What investigation?"
Voss hesitated.
SHERIFF VOSS: "An ongoing one."
AMARA: "Then identify it."
SHERIFF VOSS: "You'll get your answers at the station."
Amara looked at Ethan.
AMARA: "Deputy, make a note of the time. I want the names of every officer involved, and I want the diner surveillance footage preserved."
Martha immediately looked toward the small security camera mounted above the counter.
MARTHA: "The cameras record everything in here."
Voss turned toward her.
SHERIFF VOSS: "Nobody asked you."
MARTHA: "I was only answering her question."
SHERIFF VOSS: "Then answer fewer questions."
Martha fell silent, but her expression had changed. She was frightened, yet she had seen everything. She knew the sheriff had crossed a line that could not easily be explained away.
Amara looked directly at her.
AMARA: "Ma'am, please remember what you saw. Don't delete anything."
MARTHA: "I won't."
Voss grabbed Amara's arm again.
AMARA: "Let go of me."
SHERIFF VOSS: "Walk."
AMARA: "I can walk without being dragged."
He released her wrist only after giving it one final squeeze.
Amara straightened her blazer, although the fabric was stained and her blouse was ruined. She picked up her sunglasses from the booth, then looked toward her phone.
Voss had already taken it.
SHERIFF VOSS: "You're not getting this back yet."
AMARA: "You are making a serious mistake."
SHERIFF VOSS: "You already said that."
AMARA: "And you still haven't understood it."
Ethan moved toward the entrance and opened the door.
The afternoon light spilled across the floor.