DANIEL MERCER: "Then explain it again, with the witnesses present."
DALTON VOSS: "I was conducting an investigation."
DANIEL MERCER: "What investigation?"
DALTON VOSS: "An armed theft."
DANIEL MERCER: "What was the case number?"
Dalton did not answer.
DANIEL MERCER: "Which officer submitted the report?"
Silence.
DANIEL MERCER: "Where was the incident reported?"
Dalton shifted his weight.
DALTON VOSS: "I don't have those details with me."
DANIEL MERCER: "Then how did you determine that Judge Whitlock matched the description?"
The sheriff looked toward Ryan.
Ryan remained silent.
Daniel continued.
DANIEL MERCER: "You have now confirmed that your department approached a person without first establishing her identity, threw a drink into her face, struck her, and attempted to detain her. You have also indicated that the reason was an armed theft investigation, yet you have not produced a report."
DALTON VOSS: "I don't have to produce paperwork in a restaurant."
DANIEL MERCER: "Nobody is asking you to conduct an entire investigation in a restaurant. We are asking you to explain the basis for your actions."
Amara moved toward the booth and retrieved her handbag.
She carefully checked the items inside.
Her phone was still there.
Her documents were still there.
But her blazer was ruined, and the side of her face still hurt.
She looked toward Dalton.
AMARA WHITLOCK: "You owe everyone in this room an explanation."
DALTON VOSS: "I don't owe you anything."
AMARA WHITLOCK: "You owe the people who watched you use your authority as a weapon an explanation."
The older customer finally spoke.
OLDER CUSTOMER: "She's right."
Dalton turned toward him.
DALTON VOSS: "You stay out of this."
OLDER CUSTOMER: "I saw everything. You walked over and threw her drink at her. Then you hit her."
Another customer nodded.
CUSTOMER: "I saw it too."
Martha stepped forward.
MARTHA: "The camera recorded it."
Dalton looked around the diner.
For the first time, he realized that the people he had expected to remain silent were beginning to speak.
His authority had not disappeared.
But his ability to control the story was slipping away.
Daniel turned toward the customers.
DANIEL MERCER: "Nobody here is being asked to make assumptions. If you witnessed something, you may be contacted through the appropriate channels. Please preserve any recordings you have."
The young customer near the far booth raised his phone.
YOUNG CUSTOMER: "I recorded part of it."
Dalton's head turned immediately.
DALTON VOSS: "You recorded me?"
YOUNG CUSTOMER: "I recorded what happened."
DALTON VOSS: "Delete that."
DANIEL MERCER: "Sheriff, do not interfere with potential evidence."
The young man lowered his phone slightly.
YOUNG CUSTOMER: "I have the whole thing from when he threw the drink."
Daniel nodded.
DANIEL MERCER: "Keep the original file. Do not edit it."
The young man agreed.
Amara watched the exchange.
She was not interested in humiliating Dalton for the sake of revenge.
What mattered was establishing the truth.
If the sheriff had behaved this way toward her, there was a possibility that he had treated other people in the same manner.
And if those people had been too frightened to report him, the pattern might have continued for years.
Daniel seemed to understand what she was thinking.
DANIEL MERCER: "Judge, we should move this conversation somewhere more appropriate."
AMARA WHITLOCK: "Agreed. But I want the restaurant footage preserved before anyone leaves."
DANIEL MERCER: "Understood."
Daniel turned toward Martha.
DANIEL MERCER: "Can you contact the restaurant owner and ask them to preserve the original footage?"
MARTHA: "Yes."
DANIEL MERCER: "Thank you."
Dalton stepped toward the door.
DALTON VOSS: "I'm going back to the station."
Daniel looked at him.
DANIEL MERCER: "You should remain available for questions."
DALTON VOSS: "I have a department to run."
DANIEL MERCER: "And we have an investigation to conduct."
Dalton stopped.
DALTON VOSS: "You keep saying investigation. What exactly are you investigating?"
Daniel opened his briefcase again.
He removed a folder containing several pages of documents.
DANIEL MERCER: "For several months, federal investigators have been reviewing complaints involving unlawful detentions, questionable property seizures, improper use of force, and irregularities in evidence handling within this county."
Dalton stared at the folder.
DANIEL MERCER: "Your department has received multiple requests for records."
DALTON VOSS: "We responded to those requests."
DANIEL MERCER: "Not completely."
DALTON VOSS: "That's your opinion."
DANIEL MERCER: "It is supported by the records we have obtained."