"Brett, this is federal now," he said. "I can't fix it." Cheney stepped closer.
"You taught me how this department works. Your signature is on half my reports. My father taught you, and you taught me. Don't sit there and act like I invented it."
Kirkland told him to get a lawyer and stop making things worse. Cheney's face reddened. "I know about the quotas," he said.
"I know about the evidence room. I know who told us which streets to patrol, and I know whose complaints got buried." Kirkland set down his glass. "Then I suggest you talk to your attorney before saying another word," he replied.
Cheney walked out into the night feeling something close to betrayal. He had always believed that loyalty meant protection no matter what happened. The possibility that loyalty could end the moment it became inconvenient had never entered his calculations. He would later discover that being abandoned by men who had encouraged his behavior did not make the behavior any less his own.
A local radio host offered Cheney a chance to tell his side of the story. The program had long been sympathetic to the police department, and its callers regularly praised officers who took a hard line against crime. Cheney's lawyer advised him not to speak publicly while charges were pending. Cheney ignored the advice, convinced that if enough people heard him sound confident, confidence might become something resembling evidence.
He arrived at the studio wearing a blue shirt and a tie his wife had given him for an anniversary. The host welcomed him warmly, said the town deserved to hear both sides, and invited him to explain what had happened on the road. Cheney claimed Nathaniel had been aggressive, that the driver's account had changed repeatedly, and that public officials were exploiting a simple drug arrest for political purposes. His voice grew stronger as he repeated the familiar story.
Then the host asked about the newly available excerpt of body-camera footage that had been entered into the public record during a pretrial hearing. Cheney said the recording had been manipulated by military technicians and could not be trusted. The host explained that the recording had been recovered by civilian investigators and corroborated by independent footage from Grace Fellowship Church. He pressed a button and played a brief, unedited portion of the audio that had been lawfully released.
Cheney's own voice filled the studio: "Just go along with it. This is how we do things around here." The sound of movement inside the Escalade followed, then his announcement that he had found drugs. The host waited until the clip ended. "Officer Cheney," he asked, "how does that fit with the report you signed?"
For several seconds, there was only the soft electrical hum of the studio equipment. Cheney shifted in his chair, opened his mouth, and said the words had been taken out of context. He could not explain what context would make the sentence appropriate. The host thanked him for appearing and ended the interview earlier than planned.