The Shining Badge (14 page)

Jenny laughed aloud. “What’d it feel like, Clint?”

“Well, I could feel its claws scratchin’ all the way down, and then I kind of felt it runnin’ around in my stomach.”

“What in the world did you do?”

“One of the fellas had a jug of white lightnin’ there, moonshine don’t you know, and I was a drinkin’ man in those days, and so he gave it to me, and I drank down as much as I could hold. Must have been a full pint.”

Jenny found this to be terribly amusing and said, “Did it make you drunk?”

“Drunk! I reckon it did!” Clint grinned at her then. “And I
guess it made the lizard drunk too, ’cause he quieted down. The boys kept pouring moonshine down me until I fell over. I didn’t know nothin’ about it until the next day.”

“Did you really do that, Clint, or are you just making it up?”

“Well, I tell some tall tales, but that really happened.” He dodged another pothole and said, “I guess the moral of that is don’t count your lizards if you’re holdin’ them by the tail.” He reached over then with his free hand and patted her shoulder affectionately. “I guess the other moral is I only had to swallow a lizard for the first time once!”

“The way I feel, Clint, I’d rather swallow a dozen lizards than face everybody today.”

“I think you’re looking at it wrong, Jenny. I’ve got a feelin’ God’s in this.”

“I hope so. I prayed this morning that I’d be a blessing to somebody in this job.”

“Well, there’s plenty of room for that. The poor folks in this county have been stomped down, ignored by the law. You can make a difference, and you got the Christian people in this whole county praying for you. You remember that story in the Bible where Israel was attacked and one of the prophet Elisha’s helpers got scared, and the prophet prayed? He prayed that that young fellow would see the truth, and when the young fellow looked up, he saw angels all over the place. And Elisha told him, ‘There are more for us than there are against us, so don’t worry.’ ”

Jenny reached up and captured Clint’s hand and squeezed it. “I declare you are a comfort, Clint Longstreet.”

Jenny felt more relaxed, and when Clint let her out in front of the county offices, she slammed the door, then leaned over and straightened her hat. “Do I look all right?”

“You look downright official. Go on and swallow your lizard, Jenny.”

Jenny laughed and found that the tension had mostly flowed out of her. She mounted the steps to the county offices and
saw two loafers in overalls leaning against the wall. One of them was whittling, and both of them were spitting tobacco juice. One said something under his breath to the other, who laughed, and Jenny was tempted to turn aside and challenge them, but she knew that this was the wrong way to go about it. She would wait until a more opportune time when something could really be done.

Turning into the county commissioner’s office, she found Trevor Gaines sitting behind his desk writing furiously. He looked up, smiled, and got to his feet. “Well, good morning. First day on the job, eh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, let’s get you sworn in.” Gaines was not a big man, but he had a big lawyer’s voice. This was his first term as county commissioner, and he was anxious to make a good record. He found the Bible and brought it around the desk and said, “All right, you’ll put your hand on that. I’ll give you the oath,” he said.

The oath was very brief, simply stating that she would serve the county as sheriff faithfully and execute all her duties so help her God, and when it was finished Gaines put out his hand and took hers. “Congratulations, Sheriff. I want you to know that my office stands behind you.”

“Thank you, sir. I need all the help I can get.”

“Well, I wish you well. It’s going to be tough. We’ve never had a woman sheriff before. I don’t know any county in Georgia that does.” Gaines scratched his head thoughtfully and added, “Let me just give you a little bit of advice, Sheriff. Don’t try to save the world today. That’s what new people do when they want to do well in their jobs. Just let things go easy. You’ve got a lot to learn, a new job like this. It’s a hard job too and dangerous.”

“I think that’s good advice, sir.” She hesitated, then said, “I don’t even know what the procedure is. Do I keep all the deputies that I inherited, or am I free to get new ones?”

The question seemed to trouble Gaines. “Technically, I
suppose, you could clean house, but if I was you, I’d wait a while. I know you’re not too impressed with Merle Arp and Arlie Pender, but they know their jobs and for a while, at least, you’re going to need people who know what they’re doing. You’ll just have to keep your eye on them. And you’ve got a good man in Billy Moon. I suggest you make Billy your official assistant sheriff. Listen to him. He’s tough, and he knows what to do.”

Jenny felt a warmth at Gaines’s advice. “Thank you, sir. I may be coming to you for advice from time to time.”

The remark pleased Gaines. “Anytime, Jenny,” he said informally. “Look on me as a friend.”

Jenny left the commissioner’s office and walked out the front entrance of the building, then turned down the street toward the county jail, which also housed the sheriff’s office. It was a two-story red-brick structure with a steep-pitched metal roof. She glanced up at it, thinking how noisy it must be on the second floor when it rained. The long-term prisoners were housed there, she knew. The lower part of the structure was divided into holding cells for short-term prisoners and the jailer and the kitchen, where the food was prepared and taken to the cells. Her new office was also on the first floor and as she stepped inside, Jenny was struck by the fetid odor. It was the odor of a building that received little care, and she thought,
It doesn’t have to stink like this. Somebody hasn’t been doing their job. At least I can take care of that!

She opened a door that read SHERIFF and stepped inside the large room, which was flanked on her left by a high counter running the length of the room. The room was crowded, and everyone’s eyes were on her as she quickly surveyed the group. Some she already knew—Merle Arp, Arlie Pender, Billy Moon—and there were two older men there in uniform whom she had not met.

Billy Moon spoke up. “Let me introduce you, Sheriff. This is Frank Eddings and Kermit Bing. This is our new sheriff, deputies.”

Eddings was a retired city policeman and Bing was a retired deputy. Both, she learned, now worked part-time for the sheriff’s office as needed. She went around and shook hands with each of the deputies, including Pender and Arp.

“And this is our clerk, Ruby French,” Moon said, motioning toward the woman who had come up to stand with the others.

“I’m glad to know you, Sheriff.” Ruby French was a sleek brunette with large brown eyes and better dressed than most. There was a sensuous air about her that Jenny recognized instantly, but she only smiled and nodded. “I’ll be depending on you, Ruby, to keep me out of trouble. I’ve got a lot to learn.”

“I’ll be glad to do what I can, Sheriff.”

“And this is Harold Porter. We just call him Legs. And this is his wife, Mattie. They take care of the jail and do the cooking.”

Jenny was not impressed by the couple. They were both carelessly dressed in clothes that were not the cleanest, and Legs had not shaved in at least two days. He nodded and muttered a fair greeting, and his wife did no more than stare at her.

Jenny knew it was time for her to present herself, and she remembered the commissioner’s advice. “I don’t have to tell any of you how inexperienced I am. I’ve never had any idea I would be in a position like this. But now that I am here, I want to tell you I’m going to do the best I can, and I’ll expect each of you to do the same.” She then looked directly at Arp and shifted her eyes to Pender. She distrusted both men, but she said evenly, “We’ll scratch out all the past and start at a new beginning. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll form my opinions of you and your work from what you do from this day forward—not by what’s gone on in the past.”

Billy Moon grinned and said, “That’s fine, Sheriff. I wouldn’t want you to know about all my bad habits. You’ll learn them quick enough.”

Jenny felt secure with Moon and said, “Why don’t you
show me through the system, Billy. Start treating me just as if I didn’t know anything—which is pretty well true.”

Moon nodded, and Jenny said, “All right, this will be school day.”

Billy Moon was a soft-spoken man, but he knew the sheriff’s office well. He showed her through the armory, and Jenny was dazed by the variety of guns, including rifles, long-barreled shotguns, sawed-off shotguns, and pistols of various caliber.

“Have you done much shooting, Sheriff?”

“None at all.”

Billy’s eyes showed humor. “Then I’d better take you out this afternoon, and we’ll start breaking you in.”

“That’ll be fine,” Jenny said, although she dreaded the thought of it.

For two hours she went over the routines, Billy exhibiting the work schedules for the various deputies, and then she spent an hour with Ruby, going over accounts and office procedures. Ruby showed no animosity toward her but, on the other hand, was not overly friendly.

Finally Jenny said, “I’ve had about all I can absorb for one morning.”

“You want to take a look at the jail and meet some of the prisoners?” Moon asked.

“I think that would be good.”

The two left the sheriff’s office, and as they did, she noticed that the floor was crusted with dirt. “Who’s the janitor here?”

“Well, we don’t have one right now. Sheriff Conroy paid Mattie to do some cleaning up.” He shook his head, adding, “She didn’t earn it, though. Pretty bad, isn’t it?”

“We’ll have to do better than this. There’s no excuse for dirt.”

Billy suddenly laughed. “You think the sheriff’s office is dirty? Wait until you see the jail.”

They entered the west wing of the building, which included the living quarters for Legs and Mattie and the kitchen. Jenny had nothing to say about their living quarters, but the kitchen
was a disaster. She was accustomed to cleanliness all her life, and the filth in the kitchen was abominable. Mattie, a slovenly, overweight woman, whined, “I ain’t had time to clean up much.”

“Didn’t you know I was coming, Mattie?” Jenny asked evenly.

“Well, I reckon I did.”

“I’ll expect this place to be cleaned up.”

“Well, I ain’t got much time.”

Jenny stared at her but did not answer. She followed Billy upstairs, and the stench was overwhelming.

“We got eight cells here for men and four for women,” Billy said. “And we got this one room that we use for a mess hall, and if they behave, we let ’em out to write letters at the tables. There’s a radio in there too, for good behavior.”

Jenny was disgusted as she walked down the hall between the cells where the men were kept. There had been no attempt at all at cleaning, and when she looked into the men’s bathroom and got a whiff of it, her stomach retched. She turned away quickly, and her eyes met those of Billy Moon. He said nothing, and Jenny said, “Let’s see what the women’s section looks like.” The women’s section was no better, and the inmates stared at her. She spoke to each one of them, and some of them muttered a greeting in return.

“It’s about noon, isn’t it, Billy?”

Billy glanced at his wristwatch. “Yep. Lunch is due up right now.”

Jenny’s expression did not change, but a light danced in her eyes. “I think you and I, and the jailer and his wife, will have lunch with the prisoners today.”

Billy was taken aback. “Why, you can’t eat that mess they bring up here!”

Jenny said firmly, “I think I’ll get acquainted with some of the inmates. You go down and tell Mattie and Legs that the four of us will be eating with the prisoners today. Make sure they understand they don’t have any choice.”

Billy’s obsidian eyes glinted with humor. “Yes, ma’am, Sheriff. I’ll see to it they’re here.”

Jenny spent the next thirty minutes getting acquainted with the prisoners. Most of the women were in for minor infractions and only two of the men were long-term. She was aware of Legs and his wife laboring up the stairs carrying the food but ignored them. Finally Billy came and said, “Time to eat. I hope you’re real hungry.” His lips twitched at the corners and said, “I expect you ate in some nice places in New York.”

“Very nice.”

“Well, try to think of that.”

The prisoners were released, and all of them were directed by Billy into the chow hall. Two long tables were there, and they sat down at once. Legs and Mattie were standing nervously by, and Mattie whined, “This ain’t the way we do it here, Sheriff.”

“We may do it this way a lot. I’m sure you prepared a fine meal for the inmates.”

One of the inmates, a small mousy-looking man sniggered but said nothing.

The meal consisted of a plate of white beans, practically unseasoned and so undercooked that they were hard to chew. The corn bread was stale and tough as hardtack. The vegetables consisted of a huge pot of greens. Mattie went by and filled everybody’s plate up except hers and Legs’. “My stomach’s a might tender today,” she grunted.

“Mine too. I’m a little bit off my feed,” Legs said.

Jenny stared at the two and said, “Fill up your plates. I insist. I want you to eat what you cooked.”

Jenny took one bite of the beans and knew it would be her last. The greens were bitter, and the corn bread was inedible. She saw that the inmates were all watching her carefully, and she turned her gaze on the Porters. “This food’s not fit to eat.”

“I do the best I can,” Legs whined. “I ain’t got no budget for fancy food.”

“I don’t think beans are that expensive—even
if
you cook
them. I don’t expect fancy food,” she said firmly, “but I do expect fresh, wholesome, thoroughly cooked meals.” She turned to Billy and said, “Billy, go down to the Elite Café and order a good lunch, whatever the special is, for these inmates.” She looked back at Legs and Mattie and added, “Take whatever the cost is out of the jailer’s salary.”

“Why, you can’t do that!” Legs shouted angrily.

“I believe I can.” Jenny’s voice was controlled but hard-edged, and she was not smiling. She was angry to the bone and knew without being told that this was not the worst meal these inmates had been served. “Now,” she instructed the jailers, “go feed this mess to the pigs if they’ll have it.” Then she turned to the prisoners and announced, “Your lunches will be a little late today, but they should be good.”