Audrey accepted each refusal without argument. In a civil case the court might later consider the implications of a party's decision not to answer, subject to the law and circumstances, but a refusal was not itself a confession. What mattered immediately was that the answers were now part of a formal record and could not be replaced by a report claiming more certainty than its witness was willing to support.
She shifted to the cooler. "There was a blue plastic cooler in the rear passenger area of cruiser seven. I saw it while I was handcuffed in the back seat. Do you remember it?"
"On advice of counsel, I decline to answer."
"Do you know who put ice in that cooler?"
"On advice of counsel, I decline to answer."
"Do you know whether Deputy Lyman kept any bottled drinks in it?"
"On advice of counsel, I decline to answer."
She put eleven direct questions concerning the cooler and the bottle to him, and eleven times he declined. When the questioning ended, Kincaid looked genuinely surprised that she did not press harder. Audrey thanked him and asked that the reporter preserve the exact wording of every question and answer.
Outside, Harvey stood beside the courthouse steps with his hands in his pockets. "He wouldn't say a thing about that cooler. A man doesn't hide an empty lunchbox like that."
"He may have reasons to protect himself," Audrey said. "They may include fear of the truth, or fear of being accused, or advice from counsel. We'll let the court decide what weight, if any, his refusals deserve."
"You really do count everything twice. Even the things you'd like to believe."
"Especially those."
The same afternoon, Sunil signed a sworn statement describing his search of the sales record, the retention policy, the camera export, and the delivery of the copied files to Audrey's apartment. He attached the ordinary duplicate receipt and explained the limitations of what he could personally authenticate. The notary asked whether he wanted another minute to read the statement before signing. Sunil read it from beginning to end.
"The words don't change if I wait," he said. "But I want them to be exactly true."
At home Asha made him repeat the conversation with the notary. She asked what the county might do next and whether he had arranged legal advice about his franchise obligations. Sunil told her he had requested an independent consultation, that he had kept the original export notes, and that he would not erase his own role in what happened. Their daughter listened from the kitchen doorway until Asha asked her to come in and sit with them.
"Are we going to lose the store?" she asked.
Sunil considered answering with reassurance. Instead he said they might have difficulty, and that he and her mother were preparing for it. He explained what the video showed and why a woman had needed it. His daughter asked why they had not simply handed a copy to a lawyer the first day.
"Because I was afraid," Sunil said.