“No, you didn’t.”
Every head turned.
He was in his fifties.
Heavy beard.
Red cap.
He held his phone upright.
“She slapped you.”
Erica pointed.
“Put that phone down.”
“No.”
Another phone rose.
Then another.
A woman near the window said:
“I recorded it too.”
Erica looked around.
Michael watched something new appear in her eyes.
Calculation.
Not remorse.
Not fear yet.
Calculation.
Then she looked upward.
At the ceiling camera.
Her expression changed more dramatically this time.
Michael noticed.
So did Lana.
Lana whispered:
“Oh.”
Michael turned toward her.
“What?”
Lana stared at the camera.
Erica said:
“Lana.”
The diner owner looked at her.
The warning had changed.
There was urgency now.
Michael followed the exchange.
Lana stepped backward.
Then said:
“That camera records the whole room.”
Erica’s voice hardened.
“I know what cameras do.”
Lana swallowed.
“That one also gets the parking lot.”
Erica went completely still.
Michael frowned.
Why did that matter?
Before he could ask, sirens approached outside.
Not local deputies.
Different vehicles.
Dark sedans.
Unmarked.
One marked state investigative SUV.
Erica looked toward the windows.
For the first time that morning, she seemed uncertain.
Michael’s son could not possibly have moved that quickly.
Someone else had already been close.
The diner door opened.
Three people entered.
Two men.
One woman.
The lead investigator showed identification.
“Georgia Bureau of Investigation.”
Erica immediately stepped forward.
“This is a county matter.”
The lead investigator looked at the broken mug.
Michael’s bloody lip.
Phones.
Camera.
Then Erica.
“My name is Daniel Voss.”
Late forties.
Dark suit.
No visible hurry.
He spoke with the calm of someone accustomed to people trying to set the pace before he arrived.
“Sheriff Mullen, please step away from Mr. Delator.”
Erica folded her arms.
“On whose authority?”
Voss looked toward her.
“Mine will do for the next five minutes.”
The room became even quieter.
Erica stared.
Then moved two steps away.
Voss looked at Michael.
“Mr. Delator?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need medical treatment?”
“No.”
“Would you agree to be examined?”
Michael sighed.
“If it makes the paperwork easier.”
“It does.”
“Fine.”
Voss nodded toward another investigator.
Then looked at the witnesses.
“Nobody leave yet, please.”
Erica said:
“You cannot hold civilians here.”
“I said please.”