“It was going to be him or you,” she told him. “If his secretary hadn’t told me about his trip to see James,” she continued, “we would already be at a disadvantage.”
“Why would she do that?” he asked, surprised. “She betrayed Judge Lowry’s trust after all these years?”
“Well, it’s like this,” she said. “You see things in front of you, whether good or bad, and act accordingly. Maybe someone says something you don’t like and you lock them up, or you get an idea for, let’s say, a wheelchair and you go full throttle to get it done. Does that sound right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“We’ve been dating now for three years, two months, and twelve days—right?”
“Um, I don’t know, but it sounds right,” replied the Sheriff.
“It is, and I always knew you and the Judge were going to have it out eventually, so I’ve been a friend to her the whole time. See, I’m a planner and a plotter; I always have been.”
“But you couldn’t have seen this coming—the power failure, I mean,” he said.
“That’s true, but now it just makes the decision even easier. How long are you going to make him wait in the cell?” his girlfriend asked.
“Overnight, I guess. I want to see if he talks to any of my deputies.”
“How will you know?” she queried.
“Ken will tell me. He’s my eyes and ears in there, and he believes he’s about to go free.”
“Is he?”
“We’ll see. We will see.”
* * * *
Judge Lowry had calmed down, and he didn’t ask even one of the dozens of questions he wanted to.
“Where’s the Sheriff, and when will he be here?” were the only ones he would voice aloud.
“Last open cell, Judge,” said the lead deputy. “Unless, of course, you want to share one with Richard? No, no…I didn’t think so. Eat your dinners, and the Sheriff will see you all in the morning.”
Judge Lowry spent the first part of the night plotting his revenge and the second half accepting his defeat. He would broker a deal of sorts with his old friend. Surely, it’s still possible, he thought. The other jail mates didn’t dare speak to or about him, each still hoping for a chance, however slim, of walking out of jail alive. Only Ken listened intently, as he always did now, for anything that may help the Sheriff.
* * * *
“I hear you’re going to be jumping my courthouse,” called out Judge Lowry at first light.
“Yes, sir, that’s the plan,” Ken replied quickly.
“And I’ll be fighting the skinny boy across the hall,” interjected Richard. “Unless, of course, the Sheriff puts the three of us in the arena together.”
“Screw you,” came the call from James’ shooter, and “I don’t think so” from the Judge.
“It would make it interesting is all I know,” replied Richard, laughing and feeling more confident every minute.
“That may not be a bad idea,” said Sheriff Johnson, quietly slipping into the jailhouse.
“We need to talk and right now,” called out Judge Lowry, unable to see him yet.
“Oh, we will in good time, old friend. I just don’t have all the charges on you yet.”
“What charges? I was just going for a drive when your boys started in on me.”
“A drive to where?”
The Judge was silent as Sheriff Johnson continued. “Maybe a drive out to the VanFleet ranch?”
“Who told you that?” the Judge asked angrily.
“Why, your secretary, of course. Who else knew?”
“Why would she do that, after all the years we worked together?” asked the Judge.
“You didn’t work together. She worked for you, just like I did. But my girlfriend set her straight, and me too. Now I just need to figure out the best use for a defunct courthouse. Maybe a gymnasium of sorts for the schoolhouse or a new office for the Mayor,” he said, sliding breakfast trays under each cell.
“I run that courthouse!” screamed the Judge, seeing where this was heading. “I make the rules for it and this town.”
“Not anymore, old friend…not anymore. And besides, now you are eating up all my food.”
“Keep your crappy food,” he spat, throwing the full tray through the cell bars. It crashed onto the floor with a bang.
“I’m not so sure that was a good idea,” said Ken after the Sheriff left the building. “He keeps a clean jailhouse, and he does it himself.”
* * * *
Sheriff Johnson walked home with a grin he couldn’t wipe off his face.
“What do I do with him now?” the Sheriff asked his girlfriend.
“Let me think on it… We have all the time in the world,” she replied.
* * * *
Sheriff Johnson decided to check on Ken. He wanted to see if the Judge had said anything important in his cell and if there had been any progress on James’ chair.
“You won’t be seeing the Judge here anytime soon,” he told the shop owner without elaborating.
“What about the chair his guy Cam is working on?” asked the shop owner.
“How close is it to being done?” asked the Sheriff.
“A week at best, but more likely it will be two or three. He gets in late and cuts out early, and sometimes he doesn’t make it in here at all.”
“Okay. Let the old-timer finish it; we will still beat him fair and square and present ours first. Right, Ken?” he called out.
“Yes, sir, and I’m almost finished. We should be able to take it for a test run tomorrow.”
“Ha! That’s great news!” replied the Sheriff. “I’ll be honest. I didn’t much care either way at first if you made your upcoming jump, but now I’ll admit I’m rooting for you. Hold tight. I have a gift of sorts for you, but don’t let it go to your head. We still have a long way to go, you and me.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Ken, wondering what it could possibly be.
He got back to work, and minutes later heard “Heads up! Catch!” as he turned just in time to see the round object twisting in the air.
“I hope you’re a large,” stated the Sheriff as Ken smiled
