“What?”
“I wrote the majority opinion in Richardson.”
Sam stood.
“The concurrence in Barnes.”
Another step.
“And the controlling analysis in Thornton.”
Derek backed toward the door without realizing it.
“My name is Samuel James Owens.”
He paused.
“Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.”
Derek’s face emptied.
From behind the observation glass, Daniel Cole watched the exact second Derek understood.
It was not theatrical.
No dramatic scream.
No collapse.
Just a man whose entire explanation for the world suddenly stopped working.
“You’re…”
“Yes.”
Derek swallowed.
“I didn’t know.”
Sam looked at him.
“That is the problem.”
Derek opened his mouth.
Nothing came.
Sam continued.
“You should not have needed to know.”
Derek took another step backward.
“My plates were valid.”
Silence.
“My registration matched.”
Silence.
“My identification matched.”
Derek looked toward the camera in the corner.
Sam saw him see it.
“You deactivated your body camera at 3:52.”
Derek froze.
“Then again after we arrived.”
“How do you know that?”