"And where was it last seen?"
Haskell named an intersection.
Whitmore turned toward Terrence.
"That's twenty-seven miles from here."
Terrence nodded.
"I know."
Whitmore looked back at Haskell.
"Time?"
"About forty minutes before the stop."
"Direction?"
Haskell said nothing.
Whitmore repeated the question.
"Direction, Daniel."
"North."
Terrence had been driving south.
Now even Mills looked alarmed.
Whitmore stepped aside and radioed dispatch.
Within minutes, the truth became impossible to avoid.
The wanted vehicle was a dark Ford F-150 with damage to the rear passenger quarter panel and a temporary paper tag.
Terrence drove an undamaged dark blue Chevrolet Silverado with permanent state plates.
The suspect was believed to be in his late twenties.
Terrence was forty-one.
The vehicle had been traveling north.
Terrence had been traveling south.
There was almost no meaningful match.
Whitmore stared at Haskell.
"Why did you stop this truck?"
Haskell folded his arms.
"I made a judgment call."
Terrence finally responded.
"And then spent more than an hour trying to make your judgment true."
No one answered.
CHAPTER 8 — THE CAMERA
Lieutenant Whitmore ordered the officers to stop searching.
Terrence asked one question.
"Are the body cameras active?"
Mills touched his chest instinctively.
"Yes."
Haskell said nothing.
Whitmore looked at him.
"Daniel?"
"My camera malfunctioned."
Terrence's eyes narrowed.
"When?"
"During the stop."
"Before or after you approached my truck?"
"I don't know."
Terrence looked toward Haskell's cruiser.
"Dash camera?"
Haskell's expression changed.
Whitmore noticed.
She immediately walked toward the patrol car.
A few minutes later, she returned.
"The system should have recorded the stop."
Haskell spoke quickly.
"Lieutenant, I followed procedure."
"Then the recording will show that."
Terrence glanced toward a gas station approximately two hundred yards down the road.
There was another camera mounted above its sign.
Then he looked toward the traffic signal at the intersection.
Another camera.
And several passing drivers had clearly recorded the scene on their phones.
Whatever had happened could no longer be contained within one officer's version of events.
Terrence bent down and began collecting his belongings.
Mills moved to help.
Terrence stopped him.
"No."
Mills froze.
"I'll do it."
"Sir, I—"
"I said I'll do it."
Mills stepped back.