Miller grabbed Sullivan by the wrist.
“Turn around.”
“You're arresting me?”
“I am detaining you.”
“Based on a waitress looking at my shoes?”
“Based on the fact that you knew details you shouldn't know, your patrol gap, physical evidence on your clothing, and the fact you just reached for your weapon after I ordered you to surrender it.”
Sullivan stared at him.
“You're making a mistake.”
Miller's face became colder than Chloe had ever seen it.
“Then evidence will clear you.”
He cuffed Sullivan.
Dutch said, “Check his cruiser.”
Miller looked toward him.
“Don't tell me how to investigate.”
“Fine.”
Dutch stepped back.
“But check the cruiser.”
Miller radioed for state investigators.
Then he looked at another deputy outside.
“Secure Sullivan's unit. Nobody touches it until state police arrive.”
Sullivan's face lost color.
That reaction told Chloe almost everything.
The waiting became unbearable.
State police arrived thirty minutes later.
By then, the entire town seemed to know something enormous was happening.
People watched from behind windows.
Tourists posted photographs from the gas station.
The bikers remained outside but kept their distance after Dutch ordered them to.
No riot.
No revenge.
No theatrical bloodbath.
Just engines, silence, and fury held under control.
Investigators photographed Sullivan's boots.
His hands.
His cruiser.
They preserved the interior and rear cargo area.
A damaged metal tool found in the vehicle became an important piece of evidence.
So did fresh marks on the front push bumper.
So did fragments collected from the scene where Bear's motorcycle had gone down.
Chloe watched investigators work.
For the first time that morning, she believed Sullivan might actually be arrested through evidence rather than vengeance.
That should have made her feel safe.
It did not.
Because the ring was still in her purse.
Dutch had not forgotten.
Eventually he walked back inside.
Only him.
The others remained outside.
Chloe was behind the counter.
Pete had turned off the grill.
The diner smelled like burned bacon and coffee.
Dutch stopped across from her.
“You remembered a lot.”
Chloe's throat tightened.
“After I saw his boots.”
“You sure that's all?”
There it was.
Chloe looked at him.
She considered the truth.
Then the lie.
Then Jackson's terrified face from the night before.
Dutch said, “Bear came here with the ring.”
Chloe said nothing.
“He would've been wearing it.”
Silence.
Dutch looked around the diner.
“His bike went down miles away.”
He tapped one finger on the counter.
“The ring wasn't at the crash scene.”
Chloe's chest tightened.
Dutch lowered his voice.
“If Bear lost it here, that's different from somebody taking it.”
Chloe looked up.
He was watching her carefully.
Not angry.
Almost offering something.
A path.
“Different how?”
“If somebody found it and returned it, they're somebody who found property.”
“And if somebody kept it?”
His expression became unreadable.
“Depends why.”
Chloe's eyes filled despite her efforts.
Dutch saw.
His voice softened a fraction.
“Kid.”
She looked away.
“You scared?”
“Yes.”
“Of me?”
She gave a small, honest nod.