Vance looked up slowly, his eyes bloodshot and full of defeat.
“I’m not smart, Deputy,” Victoria said, holding his gaze with unshakeable calm. “I am simply thoroughly documented.”
She turned away as the trooper closed the door, sealing Vance inside the back seat.
Victoria walked back to her sedan, placed her registration and insurance documents back inside her glove compartment, and sat down in the driver’s seat. She picked up her yellow legal pad from the passenger seat, capped her pen, and started the engine.
As she pulled back onto the asphalt of Route Nine, leaving the flashing blue lights and the swirl of gray dust behind in her rearview mirror, the afternoon sun cleared the tree line, illuminating the quiet, open road ahead.
