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“How can I help you?”

“By trusting me just a little.” Danny tells her what he wants her to do. She doesn’t say yes… but she doesn’t say no, either.

He sets out for Great Bend and has covered about thirty miles when a KHP cruiser pulls out of a farm road and comes after him, lights flashing. The trooper gives him a blurp of the siren, totally unnecessary because Danny is already pulling over and powering down his window. Once it’s open, he puts both hands on top of the steering wheel where they can be seen.

The trooper’s name is H. Calten. He comes up to Danny with one hand on his Glock. The strap has been unsnapped.

“License and registration, please.”

“My license is in my wallet,” Danny says. “I’m going to reach into my hip pocket and get it.” He does so, moving very slowly. Once he’s handed his DL to Trooper Calten, he says, “Now I’m going to reach into my glove compartment and take out my registration.”

“Do you have a weapon in the glove compartment?”

“No.”

“In the center console?”

“No.”

“Go ahead.”

Once again in slo-mo, Danny opens the glove compartment and takes out his registration.

“Do you have proof of insurance?”

“Yes.” He starts to reach for the glove compartment again.

“Never mind the insurance card. Sit still, Mr. Coughlin.”

Calten goes back to his cruiser and gets on his radio. Danny sits still. Five minutes pass. He is going to be late getting to Great Bend, but that’s all right. Jalbert doesn’t think he’ll be there at all.

Having verified that the 2011 Tundra he’s pulled over does indeed belong to Daniel Coughlin—a thing Calten already knew, Danny is quite sure—the trooper returns to the driver’s side with Danny’s paperwork. But he doesn’t hand it over. “Do you know why I stopped you, Mr. Coughlin?”

Danny says he doesn’t.

“You were weaving all over the road.”

Danny knows that isn’t true but keeps quiet.

“Have you had anything to drink today, Mr. Coughlin?”

“If you’re asking about alcohol, the answer is no.”

“How would you feel about a Breathalyzer test? Willing to take one?”

“Yes.”

“How about drugs? Been using any of those? Pot? Ecstasy? Cocaine?”

“No.”

“Would you consent to a search of your truck?”

“Don’t you need a search warrant or something for that?”

“Not if I have observed you driving in a dangerous manner. You can consent to a search or I can impound your vehicle.”

“Okay,” Danny says, opening the door. “I have an appointment, so I guess you better search.”