Chapter 5

"They'd better. This was fun for a while, but I don't like this much excitement. I had to have a talk with the Mayor early this morning, so if you hear anything out of him you know what got it started."

"Did you tell the dumb ass you had his smiling face in the pictures?" Tom asked.

"Yeh, and he didn't take it too well. He did come to his senses though and I don't figure we'll have any more trouble out of his ass for quite a spell."

"What about Haywire?"

"Hell, I don't think there's any need to even file any charges. You know damned well we can't get a jury in this county to give him a day in jail over it, and besides, I don't even want to," I said.

"Me neither. We'll have enough trouble as it is."

"I do want some papers making me the legal guardian of his girls though. It ain't decent to let them stay out there with him no longer. Besides, they can both fuck like little minks."

"Dammit, I wish I was about twenty years younger. I'd try to adopt one of them myself. Hell, I'd be dead in a week if I did, though. I tapped their momma several times and I sure as hell remember what she was like."

"I remember seeing her when I was little, but I didn't even know women had a fuzzy spot between their legs back then. That reminds me, I had the preacher's wife come stay at my house too. I think I'm gonna marry her. She'll make a good momma for Sarah Jean and Darla Faye and they're already getting along fine," I said.

"You're gonna wear that thing out Jake, but it beats hell out of letting it go to waste."

"I need to get something worked out so Carla Stephens will end up with anything Billy Joe had before we get him sent off," I said.

"Damn, are you already cuttin' that one too?"

"It seemed like the best thing to do at the time."

"I don't guess you've heard the latest from the hospital then. Billy Joe died last night. He picked up some kind of infection and it got away from the doctors before they noticed.

"You don't have to worry about Carla. Everything will be hers, and I know he had some insurance too. The only bad part is our supply of whiskey will run low sooner or later."

"It better not. Old Mose does all the making anyway and he's teaching Mose Jr to take care of it. I think we ought to see if Mose Jr can't get a loan for a nice used pickup truck. It'll give him something to run errands and deliver whiskey in."

"By God if you ain't the best sheriff we've ever had. You can think ahead. Let me know next time you have a talk with Mose and see if you can get Mose Jr there too. I might just slip out there and visit Daisy Mae to see if she can get me up once more for old time sake," Tom said.

"Just let me know when you're ready. I'll go see if I can find a good used pickup in the next day or two."

"Ok, I'll call ahead of time. You know where to find me if anything comes up," Tom said, as he got up and let himself out.

He'd been a lawyer in this county since before I was born and he knew who, what, and where about everything going on. Being the District Attorney was only a sideline for him. He made most of his money over mineral rights. He knew where every drop of oil in the county was and he knew who owned the mineral rights for the land too.

It gave our county a big advantage because no one had anything hanging over Tom's head. Hell, he was the one with an axe waiting to fall on high priced wrong doers. It didn't make a shit to Tom how well heeled defendants were. Once he got 'em in his sights they did what he wanted or they went to jail.

The rest of my day was filled with talking to people from the church. Two were men peripherally involved in the peeping and I scared the shit out of them without any trouble. The other six were actually good Christian folks and I hated to be the one to break the news to them about the way the Baptist Convention had let them down with the preacher they'd sent here.

When it was time for lunch I dropped in on the Widow Stephens to pay my respects. There was food everywhere from people coming by and bringing a little something. The only thing bothering Carla though was there were too many coming by for me to take her to her bedroom and pump her up to get her through the rest of the day.

"Did you find anything in the papers I gave you?" she asked, after we'd at least had time for her to suck me off.

"Better'n that. Tom came by this morning and gave me the news 'bout Billy Joe. He said everything, insurance and all, would go straight to you. Your house note will even be paid off by the insurance."

"What the hell do I want with this house now?"

"Money of course. After the dust settles you can put it up for sale and I happen to know of a nice sheriff with a room to rent," I said, and she giggled while I fondled her ass.

Another car pulled up in her drive then so I took my leave and went to the Dixie Maid for a double meat jumbo bacon cheesburger and two orders of onion rings with a vanilla milk shake. Old man Wilson's youngest daughter was a pretty little thing, but I only patted her ass and flirted a little. Shit, she wasn't even sixteen yet.

Billy Joe picking up an infection and dying like that had been a lucky break, and even though I'd had a funny feeling about him not making it I really was surprised it came true. Of course, I had something lined up to help him along on his visit to the pearly gates, but I was just as glad I didn't have to try it.

Right about now I was flying high and feeling mean over the whole deal. Sure, I'd been able to scare up some good pussy ever since I took over as sheriff, but nothing like what I'd come into during the last few days. Mostly I had old Haywire to thank for it all and I owed him a debt for getting the ball rolling.

My debt to him could be paid off cheap enough, though. Haywire could be counted on to drink himself into oblivion every night if he had something to drink. Since he shot Billy Joe in the ass I'd come into a damned good whiskey-making operation and I intended to make sure Haywire got his share of the whiskey.

Being the county sheriff was a good spot for authority in a backwoods county like ours. The thing to make sure of was who you were dealing with. Real respectable people needed to be left alone and the other sneak-around scumbags had to be kept under watch.