Derek Lyman arrived in a navy suit, white shirt, and gray tie. Without his patrol belt, he looked younger and less imposing, although he still carried the posture that had turned a routine roadside stop into a public demonstration of power. Drummond sat beside him and reviewed their notes while the reporter administered the oath. Audrey waited until Derek's right hand was down before asking whether he understood that his answers would be given under the same obligation to tell the truth that applied to witnesses in court.
"I've sworn in before," he replied. "I know how it works."
"Then we'll begin with October second. You told me the breath machine was malfunctioning. Is that correct?"
"That was what I understood."
"Do you remember the station equipment's self-check that morning?"
"No."
"Do you remember obtaining a 0.000 result for me at 1:05 p.m.?"
"The machine wasn't reliable."
She placed the log before him. "This is the record the county produced. It shows a successful self-check, my result of zero, and another test at 1:35 under your operator identification. Do you dispute that the instrument recorded those entries?"
Derek studied the page. He admitted the entries appeared on the log but continued to insist the equipment was unreliable. Audrey asked whether he had filed a maintenance report or removed it from service. He said he could not recall and would need to examine the records. She made a note to request any responsive report rather than claiming the absence of a report she had not yet conclusively established.
"Did you perform the 1:35 test yourself?" she asked.
"I don't remember doing it."
"Would your login be required for the operator entry?"
"Usually."
"Was the machine removed from service after you described it as broken?"
"I don't know."
She changed subjects. "Have you ever bought alcohol while working a patrol shift?"
"Never."
"Have you ever put a personal beverage on a county purchasing card?"
"Never."
"Where did you find the bottle you displayed beside my car?"
"Under the driver's seat."
"In what condition?"
"Cold. It was cold."
"Cold enough for water to run down your hand?"
"That's what cold bottles do."
Audrey asked him how long her car had been parked before she joined the highway. Derek said he could not know. She produced the outdoor courthouse parking record showing her car remained in that lot from seven until eleven, then explained that the weather was warm and the car had been shut off throughout those hours. He continued to maintain he found the bottle where he had reported finding it.
"Then you don't know how long the bottle had been there," she said.
"I know what I saw."
"And we are going to compare that to what the records show."
She placed the October second store receipt on the table. Eleven-twelve a.m., Exit 74 Fuel and Market, one cold domestic beer, three dollars and twenty-nine cents, county purchasing card ending 4471. She followed it with the county card statement identifying unit seven and recording the expense as ice and water.