The sound of footsteps came from the hallway, and Nolan froze with the phone above the ledger. It was only Patrice passing toward the storage closet. She glanced into the room, noticed what he was doing, and stopped. For one breath he expected her to tell the sheriff. Instead, she asked quietly whether he had found what he was looking for.
"Not yet," he said. Patrice's eyes moved over the open pages. "Be careful what you touch," she answered.
"The sheriff gets particular about those books." Nolan looked at her. "Maybe that's the problem," he said. She said nothing, but she did not report him.
When Nolan returned to the booking room, he carried a desk telephone and set it in front of Adrien. "You can make your call, sir," he said. Adrien looked first at the telephone and then at the deputy. "Does the sheriff know?" he asked. Nolan shook his head. "He's in his office, rewriting the report."
Adrien understood the danger of encouraging a junior deputy to defy his supervisor. He also understood the urgency. His identity could be verified, his injuries needed attention, and the department's records might be at risk once Hask realized his mistake could no longer be contained. Adrien reached for the receiver. "I need privacy enough to speak clearly," he said, "but I don't need you to pretend you weren't here."
He called the United States Marshals Service through an official number he knew. When a deputy marshal answered, he identified himself as Judge Adrien D. Ellery and gave the name of the court to which he was assigned. He said that he had been detained at the Brier Glenn County Sheriff's Department after an encounter at a diner, that the sheriff had refused to verify his identity, and that he had injuries he wanted medically examined. He supplied the address, the location of his briefcase, and the fact that the original report appeared to have been prepared before the alleged incident.
The deputy marshal asked calm questions and arranged to verify the information independently. Adrien was placed on hold while the call was made. He listened to the faint electrical hum of the connection, aware of Nolan waiting in the doorway. For several seconds, he wondered whether Hask would enter and terminate the call before the verification was complete. Then the voice returned, more formal than before.
"Judge Ellery, your chambers have confirmed your identity," the deputy marshal said. "We're coordinating a response and contacting the appropriate investigators. Can you remain on the line until we have arrangements in place?" Adrien said that he could. He described the pain in his chin and wrist, the fact that his property had been taken, and the concern that the sheriff might alter records. The marshal assured him that medical care and evidence preservation would be addressed through the proper channels.