The person on the other end asked a question.
Jamal listened.
JAMAL: "No, I haven't left. I'm still here with the officers."
Another pause.
JAMAL: "The badge is in the sheriff's possession. He has already examined it."
Hayes stepped closer.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Who are you talking to?"
Jamal raised one finger, signaling that he was still on the call.
JAMAL: "I will send the location and the details as soon as I can."
He ended the call.
The sheriff stared at him.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Who was that?"
JAMAL: "Someone who will make sure the appropriate people know what happened."
SHERIFF HAYES: "You think making phone calls is going to scare me?"
JAMAL: "I'm not trying to scare you."
Jamal placed the phone on the table.
JAMAL: "I'm making sure this doesn't disappear."
The sheriff looked toward the front windows.
A vehicle had stopped outside.
Then another.
The first belonged to a local patrol unit.
The second was a dark government-style sedan, although nobody inside the diner could yet identify its occupants.
Brooks noticed them too.
DEPUTY BROOKS: "Sheriff, there are vehicles outside."
Hayes turned toward the entrance.
SHERIFF HAYES: "I can see that."
The door opened.
A uniformed local officer stepped inside.
He looked at the sheriff, then at Jamal.
OFFICER: "Sheriff, dispatch told us to come here."
Hayes's expression tightened.
SHERIFF HAYES: "I didn't request additional units."
OFFICER: "The call came through from dispatch."
The officer glanced at the badge in Hayes's hand.
OFFICER: "Is that the identification we're supposed to verify?"
Hayes did not answer immediately.
Jamal looked at the new arrival.
JAMAL: "Yes. That's my federal identification."
The officer looked at Jamal's stained jacket and the blood beneath his nose.
OFFICER: "Are you injured, sir?"
JAMAL: "I was struck in the face by the sheriff."
The officer's eyes moved toward Hayes.
A tense silence followed.
SHERIFF HAYES: "He became confrontational during an investigation."
JAMAL: "I was sitting in that booth eating ice cream."
Martha spoke from behind the counter.
MARTHA: "That's true. He was sitting there when the sheriff walked in."
Walter added his voice.
WALTER: "We all saw it."
The new officer looked around the diner.
He could tell that the situation was not what the sheriff had described.
OFFICER: "Sheriff, perhaps we should separate everyone and get statements."
SHERIFF HAYES: "This is my investigation."
OFFICER: "Understood, sir. But dispatch specifically requested verification."
Hayes looked toward the officer.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Then verify it."
The officer approached the badge.
He examined the seal and identification details without removing it from Hayes's hand.
His expression became serious.
OFFICER: "I'm going to contact dispatch again."
Hayes stepped back.
Jamal remained beside the booth, watching.
The officer moved a few feet away and began speaking into his radio.
The diner waited.
Outside, the dark sedan remained parked near the entrance.
Its windows were tinted.
Nobody knew who was inside.
But Jamal recognized the vehicle's appearance.
He looked at the front door, then toward the sheriff.
For the first time since the confrontation began, he seemed certain that the situation was about to move into a new phase.
Hayes noticed his expression.
SHERIFF HAYES: "What's that look supposed to mean?"
JAMAL: "Nothing."
SHERIFF HAYES: "You think someone is coming to rescue you?"
JAMAL: "I think the truth is finally catching up with you."
The sheriff's face tightened.
He wanted to respond, but the radio interrupted him.
DISPATCH: "Sheriff Hayes, we have received a response regarding the identification."
Everyone turned toward the radio.
The officer holding it looked at Hayes.
OFFICER: "Go ahead, dispatch."
A brief burst of static followed.
Then the dispatcher's voice returned.
DISPATCH: "The federal identification has been referred to the appropriate agency. They are requesting that the individual remain available for direct confirmation."
Hayes frowned.
SHERIFF HAYES: "What does that mean?"
DISPATCH: "It means the verification is being handled at the federal level."
The sheriff glanced at Jamal.
The young judge did not look surprised.
He simply stood beside the booth, waiting.
The radio crackled again.
DISPATCH: "There is also a request that all property taken from Mr. Carter be preserved and returned once the verification process is complete."
Brooks looked at the wallet.
The sheriff tightened his grip.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Nobody is telling me how to conduct an investigation."
OFFICER: "Sheriff, that is the instruction we received."
SHERIFF HAYES: "I heard what you said."
The officer looked uncomfortable.
OFFICER: "Then we should follow the request."
Hayes turned toward Jamal.
SHERIFF HAYES: "You have been making this a much bigger problem than it needs to be."
JAMAL: "I didn't throw ice cream at myself."
The words were quiet, but several customers looked away to hide their reactions.
The sheriff's jaw tightened.
Jamal continued.
JAMAL: "I didn't punch myself. I didn't take my own wallet. And I didn't threaten the people who witnessed what happened."