Chapter 6

I sat in the captain's office for almost fifteen minutes before Sergeant Chapel showed up to get his keys and when he did, his attitude immediately pissed me off.

"I am looking for the ass who ran my relief from the cage and took the keys."

"That would be me and if you value your job you better tone it down and do it fast. From now on, you don't leave the cage unless you have a relief and the relief is a deputy. If that don't suit you, then tender your resignation. The attitude will change too or I will fire you for insubornation."

"I run the evidence room, and who the hell are you, anyway?"

"My name is Undersheriff Harry Hanson, and I am your new boss and I will be writing you up. I will put a copy in your personal file and I may demote you if I can."

"When did you take over the department and why wasn't I informed of this? I am sorry about the attitude, but I am the personnel supervisor and I should have been informed immediately."

"If you didn't take such long lunches you would have been informed. But, since you are no longer the supervisor of personnel, there was no reason. I have some evidence I want marked and a complete itemized list of what I am turning in. Take these keys and I will be down in a few minutes. I suggest you take a few minutes to adjust your attitude or you won't have a job in the department."

He took the keys and headed back to the property room, mumbling under his breath. I heard the captain in the background telling somebody off before he slammed down the phone. I turned around and faced him before he could say anything.

"Andy, if they are giving you flack about coming in, pull rank. If you can't command your men, then I want to know how you became a captain. I also want to know if I have an office I can use for meetings."

"Harry, you are going to be the most hated man here 'till a new sheriff is appointed, Dammit, though, I like your no nonsense style. The old sheriff's office is through there and it is all yours. His stuff was packed and sent out yesterday so you won't have to worry about changing anything. I just hope you know what you are doing, because this department has its own groups that won't answer to anyone but the old sheriff."

"Andy, if the man I am thinking of becomes the new sheriff, I will bet this department will change for the better within six months and there will be a lot of new experienced personnel. I am hardly making a ripple compared to what he will do. This good ole boy shit will stop and will not be tolerated. I am looking for a new evidence room clerk, so if you know anyone that wants the job, send them to me. Until the new sheriff comes on board, I will be making a lot of changes. Not only in personnel and job descriptions, but also in the upper echelon and shift assignments."

I got up and went down to the evidence room. The sergeant had calmed down and was almost polite to me when I came to the window. He took the evidence and itemized it piece by piece before asking me how I wanted it classified.

"I want it marked charges pending. I hope I don't have to use it but I want it handy if I have to."

"Where the hell did you get this smut? This is a felony just to own it."

"Would you believe I confiscated it from the radio room supervisor? He was watching it and eating dinner when I walked into his office. He no longer works for the department and if he shows his face again, he will immediately be arrested and charged."

"Damn, Sheriff, you shore start big, don't you. If it's who I think, you will be getting repercussions before the day is over. I will tell you right now that family carries a lot of weight here in the department and won't hesitate to try to get you fired."

"They can try but it won't do them any good. This department is about to undergo a big change and there will be a lot of shakeups and firings 'till it's straightened out so it runs smooth. By the way, I want to look at the itemized list of everything in this room and what its status case wise is. From the looks of this mess, it's time to start cleaning all the outdated junk out of here so there is better control and shelf room."

"I couldn't agree more. The old sheriff went through everything once every two years and had an auction of all the stuff he didn't want to take home for himself. I have over a hundred firearms he was saving for himself and his family. They were scheduled to be destroyed but he always signed them over to himself and took them home or gave them away to his family and friends."

"Now I know why he was so well liked, he bribed everyone. From now on anything taken out of here will be signed for and make sure the signature is readable and followed by the officer's badge number and unit. Do not let anyone in here without me being with them or you escorting them at all times. I want the list this afternoon and then we will decide what will be sold at auction and what will be destroyed or burned. Who is the night clerk and how many sets of keys are there for this room and who has them?"

"I don't know how many keys are out there. I know the lock hasn't been changed for the last fifteen years. There is no night clerk, just the supervisor on duty who has a key for the cage. I will have your copy of the list within fifteen minutes. I have always kept a separate set of books that date back to when I started here. I made up my mind then that I would always cover my own ass, just in case something like this came up. I knew that sooner or later it would happen, and I wasn't about to spend any prison time because the sheriff did things like he wanted to."

"Now that's the first smart thing I have heard today. I will have to reconsider my opinion of your capabilities and how well you run this department. I will have a locksmith come in this afternoon and change the locks. You and I will be the only one with keys for right now. After you get off duty this afternoon, come to my office and we will have a long talk about the personnel in the department."

"I will look forward to it sheriff. I hope this department gets straightened out and run like it's supposed to. There are some damn good people here that have been held back or ostracized for their ideas and honesty. I will look forward to the changes and see how many of the old crowd quits when they find out they are not running the department any more."

I smiled at that and went back upstairs to the captain's office to wait for the men to come in for the meeting. I wanted to check out the sheriff's office and see how big it was. I wanted to hold the meeting there where I could close the door and control the room.

When I went into the sheriff's office, I realized that he had what would be called in the city a penthouse suite. This place was the size of three large apartments. I now knew where the radio room would be moved to when Mark or I changed things around. The front offices would be for the investigators and squad room. Looking around the office, I realized it was set up to be a home away from home. It had its own bath with a shower and all the amenities including a small bedroom with a full size bed. All the furniture was leather and looked to be brand new. The desk was an old refinished roll up and was the size of a small couch. I looked at the walls and there were outlines where pictures and other things had hung for a long time.