JAMAL: "You assaulted me in front of everyone here."
SHERIFF HAYES: "You want to make this worse? Keep talking."
Jamal placed one hand against the floor and tried to sit up.
Hayes moved forward, preventing him from standing.
DEPUTY BROOKS: "Sheriff, that's enough."
The words came out before Brooks seemed to realize what he was saying.
Hayes turned toward him.
SHERIFF HAYES: "What did you say?"
Brooks hesitated.
DEPUTY BROOKS: "He's already on the floor. We don't need to keep doing this."
The sheriff stared at him with open hostility.
SHERIFF HAYES: "You want to take his side?"
DEPUTY BROOKS: "I'm not taking anybody's side. I'm saying we should handle this properly."
SHERIFF HAYES: "Then handle your job and stay out of mine."
Brooks looked down.
He knew what that meant.
The sheriff had made his position clear.
Jamal slowly pushed himself upright, wincing as he moved. He touched the area beneath his nose and noticed the blood on his fingertips.
He looked at it for a moment.
Then he looked directly at Hayes.
JAMAL: "You have no idea what you've just done."
Hayes gave another contemptuous laugh.
SHERIFF HAYES: "That's what people like you always say."
JAMAL: "People like me?"
SHERIFF HAYES: "You heard me."
Jamal did not answer immediately.
He was sitting on the floor beside the booth, his back against the red leather seat. His breathing was steady, although the pain from the punch was beginning to settle into his jaw.
His black leather bag remained on the seat.
The sheriff noticed it again.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Brooks, check his bag."
Jamal's eyes moved toward the bag.
JAMAL: "You don't have permission to search my belongings."
SHERIFF HAYES: "I don't remember asking."
JAMAL: "Then you should know that searching someone's property without a lawful basis can create a serious problem."
SHERIFF HAYES: "You keep talking about the law like it protects you from me."
JAMAL: "The law is supposed to protect everyone."
Hayes smiled without humor.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Not in my county."
The sentence was spoken casually, almost proudly.
But the people inside the diner heard every word.
For years, they had suspected that the sheriff believed exactly that.
Now they had heard him say it.
Brooks approached the booth.
He looked at Jamal's bag, then glanced at the sheriff.
DEPUTY BROOKS: "Sir, is there something specific we're looking for?"
SHERIFF HAYES: "Just open it."
Brooks slowly reached for the black leather shoulder bag.
Jamal watched him carefully.
JAMAL: "Deputy, I want you to understand that you are responsible for your own actions. Don't do something simply because he tells you to."
Brooks stopped for a moment.
The young deputy looked uncomfortable.
He had seen the sheriff lose his temper before. He had witnessed people being pushed around, threatened, and humiliated.
But this incident was different.
There were too many witnesses.
And the man on the floor was not acting like someone who had anything to hide.
DEPUTY BROOKS: "Sheriff, perhaps we should wait until we establish what the complaint is."
SHERIFF HAYES: "There is no complaint. I'm conducting an investigation."
JAMAL: "An investigation into what?"
Hayes ignored the question.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Open the bag."
Brooks finally unzipped the compartment.
Inside were several ordinary personal belongings: a small notebook, a set of keys, a phone charger, a folded document, and a dark leather wallet.
Nothing about the contents suggested criminal activity.
Brooks carefully removed the wallet.
He held it in his hand, looking toward Jamal.
JAMAL: "Be careful with that."
SHERIFF HAYES: "What are you worried about? Something inside it?"
JAMAL: "I'm worried about you destroying evidence of your own misconduct."
Hayes's smile disappeared.
SHERIFF HAYES: "You think you're funny?"
JAMAL: "No. I think you should stop."
The sheriff stepped closer.
SHERIFF HAYES: "You came into this town acting like you were better than everybody else. Now you're going to learn how things work here."
JAMAL: "I didn't come here to challenge you."
SHERIFF HAYES: "Then you should have known when to keep your head down."
Jamal looked around the diner again.
He noticed the frightened waitress.
He noticed the customers pretending to be occupied with their meals.
He noticed Brooks standing beside the booth with his wallet.
The young man on the floor understood that the sheriff's behavior was not simply about him.
It was about the way authority had been used against people who did not have the power, money, or influence to fight back.
And that realization made him more determined to remain calm.
JAMAL: "Deputy, open it."
Brooks looked at him.
DEPUTY BROOKS: "What?"
JAMAL: "You heard me. Open the wallet."
Hayes turned toward Jamal.
SHERIFF HAYES: "You don't get to tell us what to do."
JAMAL: "If you're going to search it anyway, you might as well see what you're holding."