Which made the scene feel far more serious.
The woman leading them wore a dark suit beneath a raincoat.
Her badge hung from a chain around her neck.
She walked directly to Zeke.
“Mr. Washington?”
“Yes.”
“Special Agent Nora Jenkins. FBI Civil Rights Division.”
They shook hands.
“Any injuries?”
“Wrists.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
She looked toward Dalton and Carver.
“Did either officer access the device?”
“Attempted.”
“Seized it?”
“Yes.”
“Vehicle searched?”
“Not yet.”
“Good.”
Jenkins turned to Dalton.
“Sergeant Royce Dalton?”
“That’s me.”
“I need both of you to remain where you are.”
Dalton tried to recover his authority.
“This is a local narcotics investigation.”
Jenkins looked at him.
“What narcotics?”
“We had suspicious activity.”
“What activity?”
“Vehicle.”
“What about it?”
“Out-of-state plate.”
Jenkins waited.
Dalton added:
“Behavior.”
“What behavior?”
“He was evasive.”
Zeke looked toward Beverly.
She actually closed her eyes.
Jenkins took out a notebook.
“What question did he refuse to answer?”
Dalton hesitated.
“He was combative.”
Jenkins looked at Carver.
“Officer?”
Carver stared at the asphalt.
“Lane.”
Dalton’s voice carried warning.
Jenkins said:
“Officer Carver, I am asking whether Mr. Washington physically resisted either of you.”
Carver swallowed.
“No, ma’am.”
Dalton turned.
“What?”
Carver spoke faster.
“He argued, but he didn’t resist.”
Dalton stepped toward him.
“You better think—”
Jenkins raised one hand.
“Sergeant, don’t.”
Dalton stopped.
Headlights turned into the lot.
A white sheriff’s SUV arrived.
Vance “Bull” Maddox stepped out.
He was sixty, enormous, and carried the weight of local authority like armor.
His gray Stetson was spotless despite the rain.
The gold sheriff’s star on his chest looked large enough to be visible from across the county.
He marched toward the group.
“Royce!”
Dalton visibly relaxed.
Maddox looked at the federal vehicles.
Then Jenkins.
Then Zeke.
“What is this?”
Jenkins introduced herself.
Maddox barely listened.
“This is my jurisdiction.”
“This is a federal inquiry involving an alleged civil-rights violation.”
“Alleged by who?”
“Multiple witnesses and recorded evidence.”
Maddox looked at Dalton.
“What happened?”
Dalton answered immediately.
“Possible drug runner. Wouldn’t cooperate. Claimed he was some government operative. Called in his buddies.”
Zeke almost admired the speed of the rewrite.
Maddox looked at him.
“You the driver?”
“Yes.”
“Name?”
“Isaiah Washington.”
Maddox’s eyes narrowed.
“You give my men trouble?”
“No.”
Dalton interrupted.
“He resisted.”
Carver looked toward him.
Zeke noticed.
So did Jenkins.
Maddox pointed toward Zeke.
“If my deputies say you resisted, then you resisted until I see otherwise.”
Jenkins said:
“Sheriff, I strongly recommend you stop talking until you understand what has been preserved.”