PART 2
My name was Nora Hayes.
To them, I was a woman in jeans, boots, and a faded gray T-shirt, traveling alone in a blue sedan with New Mexico plates.
To the Department of Defense, I was Lieutenant Colonel Nora Hayes.
Assigned to a joint task force investigating corruption tied to stolen military weapons moving through rural law enforcement channels.
To Sheriff Boyd Miller, I was supposed to be the next easy arrest.
“Found narcotics in your vehicle,” he said loudly enough for the diner windows to hear.
A little girl inside pressed her face against the glass.
Her mother pulled her back.
I looked at the sheriff.
“You searched my car without consent.”
He smiled.
“Probable cause.”
“You mean the probable cause your deputy planted under my seat?”
His smile sharpened.
Deputy Henson stepped closer.
“You calling an officer a liar?”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
His face flushed.
Sheriff Miller grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the cruiser.
“You’ve got a mouth on you.”
“And you’ve got a body camera turned off.”
For one second, his eyes changed.
There it was.
Fear.
Small.
Fast.
Hidden.
Then he leaned close and whispered, “Out here, sweetheart, nobody cares what you think you saw.”
He pushed my head down and shoved me into the back of the cruiser.
The door slammed.
Through the glass, I saw Marlene standing in the diner doorway.
She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes.
May you like
She knew something.
And she was afraid enough to die with it.
