He was a broad man in his late fifties whose expression suggested he had spent the drive hoping dispatch had misunderstood the situation.
Then he saw the woman inside the cruiser.
He saw the uniform.
He saw the three stars.
He saw the coffin.
His face hardened.
“Step away from that vehicle.”
The senior officer straightened.
“Sheriff, we have a lawful detainee.”
The sheriff kept walking.
“Step away.”
“She matched a vehicle description.”
“Step away.”
“She refused—”
The sheriff stopped ten feet from him.
“I said step away from the vehicle.”
The senior officer obeyed.
Barely.
A woman in a dark suit exited the first unmarked vehicle.
Another official followed her carrying a slim field case.
They did not rush.
They did not need to.
Everyone else had already stopped moving.
The woman in the dark suit approached the rear passenger door.
“Ma’am?”
The general looked up.
“Yes.”
“Are you injured?”
“No.”
“Are the restraints causing pain?”
“Yes.”
The woman turned toward the sheriff.
“Remove them.”
The senior officer stepped forward.
“Hold on.”
The sheriff extended one hand.
“Key.”
The officer stared.
“She is in my custody.”
“Key.”
“You don’t know what happened.”
“We will determine what happened.”
“You cannot just interfere with an arrest because she has friends in high places.”
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed.
“Key.”
The younger partner had already removed his cuff key.
He moved toward the car.
The senior officer caught his forearm.
“Don’t.”
His partner looked at the hand gripping him.
Then at his senior officer.
Then pulled free.
“I’m taking them off.”
“You do that and you’re done.”
The younger officer swallowed.
“Then I’m done.”
He opened the door.
The general shifted carefully.
Her wrists were behind her back.
The younger officer unlocked the first cuff.
Then the second.
Red marks circled both wrists.
He stared at them.
“I’m sorry, ma’am.”
The general brought her hands forward slowly.
She flexed her fingers.
Then looked at him.
“Thank you for correcting what you could.”
The younger officer’s eyes dropped.
The senior officer laughed without humor.
“This is unbelievable.”
The sheriff turned toward him.
“Your body camera stays exactly where it is.”
The officer’s face changed.
“I wasn’t touching it.”
“Good.”
“Your cruiser remains here.”
“What?”
“It may contain evidence.”
“This is my patrol vehicle.”
“Not right now.”
The senior officer took another step forward.
The dark-suited woman moved between him and the general.
“Back.”
The officer looked at her.