Without the enormous glasses, her eyes were visible.
Dark.
Steady.
Older than the rest of her face somehow.
Not exhausted.
Experienced.
The female deputy took the sunglasses and placed them in a tray.
Then looked at the Black woman.
“Any medical issues?”
“No.”
“Medication?”
“No.”
“Anything sharp?”
“No.”
The sheriff snorted.
“Except the tongue.”
The Black woman looked toward him.
The female deputy did not laugh.
Neither did the younger deputy.
The sheriff noticed.
That annoyed him too.
He pointed toward the paperwork.
“You people getting sensitive now?”
The younger deputy looked up.
The phrase hung there.
The Black woman tilted her head.
“You people?”
The sheriff immediately waved one hand.
“Employees.”
She said nothing.
The sheriff stared.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That look.”
“What look?”
“You know exactly what you’re doing.”
The Black woman leaned back slightly.
Her cuffed hands rested together in front of her because the sheriff had finally agreed to recuff her after the female deputy explained the rear cuffs were catching the coat.
She said:
“Sheriff, I have spoken less in the last twenty minutes than you have.”
“That doesn’t mean you aren’t running your mouth.”
The booking deputy looked uncomfortable.
The Black woman’s expression changed for the first time.
Not anger.
Almost pity.
“That sentence does not make sense.”
The younger deputy coughed into his fist.
The sheriff’s head snapped toward him.
“You got something?”
“No, sir.”
“Good.”
He turned back to the woman.
“You know what your problem is?”
“No.”
“You think because you have nice clothes and some fancy car, people have to treat you special.”
The woman looked down at her coat.
Then toward him.
“I asked you not to search a locked briefcase without a warrant.”
“That was my first problem with you.”
“I know.”
The sheriff leaned against the counter.
“Most people cooperate when they have nothing to hide.”
“Most warrants would be unnecessary if that were the standard.”
Again, the younger deputy looked down.
The sheriff stepped forward.
“You trying to make me angry?”
“No.”
“You think I’m stupid?”
“I haven’t commented on your intelligence.”
The female booking deputy turned away so quickly it was obvious she was hiding a reaction.
The sheriff saw it.
His face darkened.