Celeste's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
The sheriff held the key fob between two fingers.
"You damaged my vehicle."
She finally found her voice.
"I thought it belonged to him."
The sheriff looked at me.
I raised my phone.
"I told her three times."
Celeste looked irritated.
"You didn't exactly cooperate."
"I told you it wasn't mine."
"You could have been lying."
The sheriff slowly turned toward her.
"So because you suspected he was lying, you destroyed a vehicle?"
Celeste shifted her weight.
"That isn't what happened."
"I watched you hit it."
"This was a compliance matter."
The sheriff stared at her.
"A parking violation?"
"Yes."
"Then explain why you brought a baseball bat."
Celeste glanced at the bat.
"I use it for self-defense."
One deputy raised an eyebrow.
The sheriff didn't react.
"You carried it from your vehicle to this driveway?"
Celeste didn't answer.
The deputy stepped forward.
"Ma'am, place the bat on the ground."
"There's no need for that."
"Put it down."
She slowly lowered it.
The deputy secured the bat.
The sheriff walked around his Rolls-Royce.
The damage was worse than I had initially noticed.
The rear passenger window was destroyed.
The front passenger window was broken.
The side mirror was damaged.
There was also a shallow dent near the lower door.
The sheriff touched the dent without actually touching the vehicle.
"That's metal damage."
Celeste said nothing.
He turned to me.
"Did she threaten you?"
"She pointed the bat at me."
"I did not threaten him."
The sheriff looked at her.
"Did you point the bat at him?"
Celeste hesitated.
"I was gesturing."
"With a baseball bat?"
She had no answer.
The sheriff turned to the deputies.
"Secure the vehicle damage scene."
One deputy photographed everything.
The other began collecting fragments of broken glass.
Celeste suddenly changed her tone.
"Sheriff, I think we're making this much bigger than it needs to be."
The sheriff looked at her.
"You smashed three parts of my vehicle."
"Because I believed—"
"You believed something."
"Yes."
"Belief isn't permission."
Celeste folded her arms.