“Stop speaking.”
The colonel had clearly heard her.
Ryker suddenly pulled the receiver slightly away from his ear.
Then put it back.
“No, Colonel.”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Another.
“No, sir.”
Ryker’s jaw clenched.
Sarah knew that rhythm.
A senior officer asking questions one at a time.
Forcing answers.
Finally Ryker said:
“Yes, I understand.”
He hung up.
The station remained quiet.
Brenda looked at him.
Miller looked at him.
Two deputies near the rear hallway who had not cared about Sarah ten minutes earlier were suddenly paying attention.
Ryker walked toward cell four.
His face had turned red.
“You could have told us.”
Sarah looked at him.
“That I’m in the Army?”
“That you're a major general.”
“Would that have changed the law?”
Ryker opened his mouth.
Sarah continued before he could answer.
“You told me my identity did not matter when I gave you my driver’s license.”
“That is not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
He stared at her.
Sarah waited.
Ryker had no good answer.
He reached for the cell key.
“We're going to straighten this out.”
Sarah did not move toward the door.
Ryker unlocked it.
“Come on.”
“No.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“I’m under arrest.”
His expression hardened.
“I said we're straightening it out.”
“Have the charges been dismissed?”
“Not yet.”
“Has a judge reviewed probable cause?”
“No.”
“Has my request for counsel been honored?”
Ryker lowered his voice.
“Lady, I am trying to help you.”
Sarah’s gaze sharpened.
“You were not interested in helping me before the Pentagon called.”
Miller looked down again.
Ryker whispered:
“Get out of the cell.”
“No.”
The word echoed slightly against concrete.
Nobody in the station seemed to breathe.
Sarah continued.
“If you believe I was lawfully arrested, then process the arrest lawfully.”
Ryker stared.
“If you believe I was not, document that and explain why you locked me in here.”
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I’m making it harder to erase.”
Brenda looked at Sarah.
Something passed across her face.
Recognition, perhaps.
Not of rank.
Of purpose.
Ryker’s mouth tightened.
“You think this station is afraid of the Pentagon?”
Sarah almost smiled.
“This is not a military matter.”
“What?”
“You arrested me as a civilian on a county road.”
“I’m not asking the Pentagon to intervene in a local criminal case.”
“Then what exactly do you want?”
Sarah looked toward the camera above him.
“Preserve the evidence.”
Ryker followed her gaze.
For half a second, fear appeared again.
Sarah saw it.
So did Brenda.
That mattered.
Sarah said:
“Roadside body-camera footage.”
“Dash camera.”
“Dispatch audio.”
“Booking-room video.”
“Property logs.”
“CAD entries.”
“Every edit to the incident report.”
Miller’s face changed at the words every edit.