Robert hesitated. He worried that calling the police about the police would make matters worse, and Ellen understood his fear. She looked at the image on her screen and said that fear was not a good enough reason to do nothing. Robert made the call, giving the location and asking that a supervisor respond. Later, the dispatch recording would establish that someone outside the department had recognized the need for oversight before any officer on the scene had acted to request it.
Lawson pulled Faith away from the Mercedes and guided her toward the rear seat of his cruiser. She stumbled once on loose gravel, caught her balance, and walked the remaining distance under her own power. He held a hand over her head as she entered, pushed her down onto the hard molded seat, and closed the door. A small patch of sunlight fell across her knees, and the air inside was thick with stored heat and the bitter smell of vinyl cleaner.
Faith looked through the metal partition at the dashboard. The cruiser engine was running, but cold air did not reach the rear compartment. She shifted her weight to ease the pressure of the cuffs and discovered that the hard plastic seat offered no comfortable position. Beyond the window she could see her Mercedes with its trunk closed and the gift bag still lying on the shoulder. She concentrated on that small image because there was nothing else she could control.
Outside, Lawson leaned against the front fender with paperwork in one hand. He talked with one of the backup deputies, then paused to make a phone call that ended with a short laugh. He had not found drugs, a stolen car, a warrant, or evidence of a crime, but he behaved as though the woman's confinement had somehow proved the wisdom of stopping her. His certainty was not interrupted by the fact that his original suspicion had produced nothing.
Minutes accumulated. Faith's blouse dampened at the collar, and her wrists throbbed where the cuffs pressed against the bone. She used the measured breathing she had learned to steady herself during dangerous deployments, not because she feared she would lose control, but because her body was reacting to heat and pain even while her thoughts remained clear. She imagined herself briefing an investigator afterward and tried to memorize the order of events without allowing anger to rearrange them.
When Brennan approached the cruiser, he could see Faith sitting upright despite the discomfort. Her lips looked dry, and he knew the rear compartment was too hot to keep a restrained person there unnecessarily. He looked toward Lawson and saw that the sergeant was occupied with his telephone. Brennan lowered a window slightly and asked whether Faith needed water or medical assistance.
"I'd like the restraints checked," she told him. "And I need to know whether anyone has notified a supervisor."
Brennan glanced at the red marks forming above the metal cuffs. "I'll ask," he said, ashamed that he could not promise more.
"Deputy, what is your name?"