The younger deputy glanced toward the crowd.
"She's probably got fake paperwork anyway."
The woman looked directly at him.
"Would you like to verify it?"
The older deputy snorted.
"Lady, I don't need some homemade document telling me who owns a quarter-million-dollar car."
She blinked.
Then something extraordinary happened.
She smiled.
Not because anything was funny.
But because she finally understood exactly how far the deputies were willing to go.
"All right," she said softly.
The older deputy frowned.
"All right what?"
She looked toward the courthouse entrance.
"Keep doing what you're doing."
His eyes narrowed.
"Is that a threat?"
"No."
She removed a slim identification wallet from her handbag, holding it where both men could clearly see the movement.
"It's an opportunity for you to stop."
The younger deputy glanced at the wallet.
"What's that supposed to be?"
She opened it.
A government credential appeared.
The older deputy barely looked.
Instead, he laughed.
"Oh, you've got yourself a fancy badge too?"
The woman remained calm.
"I need you to contact your supervisor."
The deputy pointed his baton toward the car.
"My supervisor isn't coming down here because some spoiled woman doesn't like being questioned."
The woman looked at the broken window.
Then at the two deputies.
"You're making a mistake."
The younger deputy grinned.
"We've heard that one before."
He turned toward his partner.
"Maybe we should tow this thing and let her explain it at the station."
The older deputy nodded.
"Now there's an idea."
He reached toward his radio.
And that was when a voice thundered from the courthouse steps.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Everyone turned.
A tall, silver-haired sheriff's captain was hurrying down the broad staircase, his decorated tan command uniform moving sharply with every step.
He was sixty years old, with a stern face, deep-set eyes, and the commanding posture of a man who had spent more than thirty years in law enforcement.
He had seen many things during his career.
But nothing prepared him for what he saw beside the fountain.
The shattered Rolls-Royce window.
The destroyed mirror.
The baton in the deputy's hand.