He slumped, unholstered his weapon with two fingers, and dropped it into the evidence bag. "Badge, too," the agent said.
Dalton unpinned the silver shield. His hands shook so badly he pricked his finger. A drop of blood smeared on the metal as he handed it over. "And you, Sheriff," Jenkins said.
Maddox stared at Zeke.
"You set us up? You came here looking for this?" "I came here for pie," Zeke said simply. "But I carry my eyes open.
I saw how you looked at the couple in the corner. I saw how your deputy treated the waitress.
I saw a town held hostage by the people paid to protect it." "You're a nobody," Maddox spat, handing over his gun. "A washed-up soldier playing hero." "I'm a citizen," Zeke replied.
"And that should have been enough." "Agent Jenkins," a voice called out from one of the SUVs. A tech specialist waved a laptop. "We accessed the cruiser's dashcam cloud storage.
You're going to want to see this." Jenkins walked over, motioning for Zeke to follow. Maddox and Dalton were corralled by agents, forced to watch. The laptop screen glowed.
It showed the footage from minutes ago. It showed Dalton mocking Zeke.
It showed the license plate clearly visible. "Audio's crisp," the tech said. He hit a key. "Who do you work for?
The post office?" Dalton's recorded voice sneered.
"We're going to search that truck. I smell narcotics on you." Jenkins paused the video. "Probable cause based on smell in a windy parking lot before he even approached the vehicle."
"There's more," the tech said. "We recovered the deleted files from the last few months. It looks like Sergeant Dalton has a habit of smelling narcotics on out-of-state drivers, confiscating cash under civil forfeiture laws, and then losing the paperwork." Jenkins turned to Maddox.
"Civil forfeiture, fraud, wire fraud, deprivation of rights, kidnapping." She smiled. A cold, predatory smile. "Sheriff, we're going to need a bigger van."
Maddox turned on Dalton. "You idiot. I told you to keep the audio off on the stops." "You told me to get the cash," Dalton screamed back, his loyalty vanishing instantly.
"You said you needed $10,000 for the re-election fund. I was just doing what you said." "Shut up!" Maddox roared, lunging at Dalton.
Two FBI agents tackled Maddox before he could reach his deputy. They slammed him onto the hood of his own car, the same way Dalton had slammed Zeke earlier.
The irony was heavy in the air. "Royce Dalton, Vance Maddox," Jenkins recited the Miranda rights. Her voice bored like she was reading a grocery list. "You have the right to remain silent."
Zeke turned away from the spectacle. He walked back toward the diner entrance. The wind had died down leaving a heavy silence in its wake. He pushed the door open.
The bell jingled.
The diner was quiet. Every eye was on him. The fear that had been in the room earlier was gone, replaced by awe. Zeke walked to the counter.
Beverly was standing there.
The pot of coffee still in her hand. Stone cold now. "I believe," Zeke said gently, "I ordered a slice of cherry pie." Beverly blinked.