PART 3
The cruiser pulled away from Higgins Diner and headed toward the sheriff’s office.
Deputy Henson drove.
Sheriff Miller sat up front, scrolling through my wallet.
“Nora Hayes,” he read. “No husband?”
I said nothing.
“No local contacts?”
Nothing.
“No one to call?”
I looked out at the darkening Texas sky.
“Not yet.”
Henson laughed.
The sheriff didn’t.
He was smarter than the others.
Not smart enough.
Just smart enough to feel the edge of the trap before he saw the teeth.
Oak Haven Sheriff’s Office smelled like dust, old coffee, and men who had never been challenged.
They dragged me inside past a bulletin board full of wanted posters and high school football photos.
A young deputy at the front desk looked up.
His name tag said ELLIS.
He couldn’t have been more than twenty-four.
He saw the cuffs.
Then he saw my face.
Something like doubt passed through his eyes.
Sheriff Miller noticed.
“Don’t stare, Ellis. Process her.”
“What’s the charge?” Ellis asked.
Henson tossed a plastic bag onto the desk.
“Possession. Intent. Maybe resisting if she keeps talking.”
I looked at the bag.
White powder.
Bad seal.
No evidence label.
No chain of custody.
May you like
They were not even good criminals.
They were just criminals no one had stopped.
