“Camera.”
Miller’s hand touched his vest.
“It was running.”
“All of it?”
“I think so.”
Ryker stepped closer.
“You think so?”
“I turned it off after transport left.”
“Before or after I told you to inventory the vehicle?”
Miller hesitated.
Ryker’s eyes narrowed.
“Jared.”
“After.”
“What’d you say on camera?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
Miller looked toward the wall.
“I said I didn’t think she looked impaired.”
Ryker stared at him.
Miller kept talking, faster now.
“And I said the lane drift wasn’t much.”
Ryker’s voice became very quiet.
“How much?”
“One tire touched the line.”
“Crossed it?”
Miller did not answer.
Ryker leaned toward him.
“Did she cross it?”
“I thought maybe she did when I first saw her.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Miller looked down.
Ryker turned away.
He rubbed one hand over the back of his neck.
Then he said, “You’re going to write the report from what you observed, not from what you remember saying casually on the roadside.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means careless talk on camera doesn’t become the official record.”
Miller’s face tightened.
“She didn’t resist.”
Ryker turned.
“You want to be careful.”
“I’m just saying—”
“I know what you’re saying.”
“No, Sheriff, I mean she literally didn’t resist. She put her hands back when you told her.”
“She interfered.”
“Verbally.”
“Which led to the arrest.”
Miller’s face changed.
Not defiance.
Fear.
Not of Sarah.
Of the man standing in front of him.
“You called me because she wouldn’t cooperate.”
“I called because she asked if she was being detained and I didn’t know how far I wanted to take it.”
“You called for backup.”
“And I arrived.”
“Then trust my experience.”
Miller said nothing.
Ryker opened the office door.
“Write your report.”
Out front, Brenda pretended to be reading an incident queue.
Miller returned to the terminal.
He did not begin typing immediately.
Ryker looked toward the holding corridor.
“Bring her to interview.”
The booking officer hesitated.
“Interview?”
“I said bring her.”
Sarah entered the small room three minutes later.
No handcuffs this time.
Ryker sat across from her at a metal table.
A camera was mounted high in the corner.
Sarah looked at it once before sitting.
“You know,” he said, “most people in your situation would’ve mentioned something.”
“What situation?”
“That they were a general.”
Sarah rested her hands on the table.
“You didn’t ask my rank.”
Ryker gave a short laugh.
“You know what I mean.”
“Could’ve saved everybody a lot of trouble.”
The word landed quietly.
Ryker leaned back.
“No?”
“My rank should not determine whether your deputies follow the law.”
He studied her.
“So this was some kind of test?”
“It was a traffic stop.”
“You deliberately hid who you were.”
“I gave Deputy Miller my valid identification.”
“You knew the Pentagon would call.”
“I knew I had a briefing.”
“You could’ve told me that.”
“I told you I wanted counsel.”