Chapter 8

I was headed to Mick's house and listening to the patrol radio and it was dead. There was no traffic to speak of and I wondered how many of the deputies were patrolling, and how many were shooting the breeze at some store or snoozing. It didn't take me long to get to Mick's house and to my surprise it was a small cottage surrounded by flowerbeds.

I got out and walked up to the door and knocked loudly. It was answered by a gray-haired lady and she greeted me by name and asked me to come in. I was asked to sit down and offered coffee, which I accepted immediately. She said her husband would be in shortly. I sat with her and learned her name was Eva and she had been born and raised in this town. She was quick to point out to me that it was way past time for changes in the sheriff's department and the way it was run. Mick came in about this time and she refilled our cups and left the room.

"Ok Harry, what's on your mind?"

"I need to know how much money I have for wages and equipment. That has got to be the saddest department I have ever seen. None of the personnel have had a raise in years and almost all of the civilian employees are barely above minimum wages. I hope you commissioners are ready to back up the promises that were made when you hired me."

He handed me a sheet that laid out the wages for each civilian job with a break down of years and wage increases. I looked at it for about five minutes and decided it was more than fair. It also had a lot of latitude for performance raises. I didn't see the motor pool employees listed at all and I asked him about it immediately.

"Harry, that comes out of the department's budget. Any raises or benefits fall under the purview of the accountant for the department. Here are the sheets for the monies available by department and how it's used or allotted is up to you and the new sheriff. By the way, your friend Mark accepted the job and will be starting the first of the month. Everyone was very impressed with his credentials and his own sheriff gave him the highest of recommendation. Harry, I have been hearing about you and your changes all day and I hope you keep it up."

"Mick, this department budget is about sixty percent above what I expected. I don't see any allotments for equipment and repairs of outdated equipment. Don't even try to tell me that comes under the heading of the department budget. Everything of this nature has to be put out for bid and approved by the commissioners. I will not allow the kickbacks to local merchants that have been going on for all these years. The department will be above board in all matters concerning bidding and awarding of contracts. Andy is taking bids and will have them together within two weeks."

"We don't have a problem with that, Harry, and we feel the same way. The lower we can purchase everything, the more you will be able to use for the department budget. We have three new casinos up and running and they are paying the county big tax dollars. The commissioners decided that the first year a lot of the money will be used to bring our sheriff's department up to date. We have the money and you have the experience to use it the right way to make our department one of the best in the state. Harry, I guarantee you that if you need something, you will get it."

"The first thing is the payroll will be changed to every two weeks instead of every month. That is so old it has mold on it. There will be a lot of promotion and personnel changes and I reserve the right to promote by experience and/or seniority. Dammit, Mick, almost all the senior officers have records and will have to be let go. I hope the prosecutor is ready to roll because when I start going through the books, there will be charges brought on some people. I already know that Mark feels the same way so he will push it too."

"We have all new commissioners and a new criminal court judge taking office the first of the month and most are not from here originally. The prosecutor will make sure you get your warrants if you need them, and I am sure since the judge is a retired sheriff he will sign them if the reason is good. You have the sheets on the money available for all departments and we made sure that they were set high so you would have plenty to work with. I am going to bed and I suggest you go home too. You will have a long day tomorrow meeting with the department heads and ironing out the new wages and firings."

I stood up and shook hands and Eva called from the kitchen saying she was glad to have met me. I said the same and headed for the door. I got back in my cruiser and called in, signed out for the night and headed home. I went up the driveway and by the time I got to the cabin I realized I was exhausted. I made a quick supper and went to bed.

I woke up and it was almost eight o'clock. I put the coffee pot on and went to the shower. I was glad to hear that Mark was coming on the first, 'cause I was too damned old to be doing this all over again. I had done my thing years ago and looked forward to setting back and taking it easy. At least when I went in today I would have a monetary figure to work with and dole out so it was fair to everyone. Paid once a month, what the hell kind of sheriff had this old coot been? Starting the first they would get paid every two weeks and the raises would be on the first check. I knew that Mark and the girls would stay here 'till we could get the cabin built and the girls would love it.

I had to take time to meet with a cabin builder and get that project going real soon. Since it was late spring here, the girls could get settled in before they had to go to school in the fall. I planned to have their cabin up and livable by then if it killed the contractor. Well I better get going to work and the all day meetings I would have today. I drove down the driveway and hit the hard top road and floored it. The car jumped and went to seventy really quick before I slowed it down to the speed limit. I was leaving early today so I could pick up my stuff from the storage place and take it to the cabin and unpack it. All my guns and holsters were in there and the stubby I was carrying didn't do it for me. I wanted my Glock .40 'cause I might end up needing it. That was another thing I had to handle were the department weapons. Everyone I had seen were all carrying different caliber pistols of every shape and form.

I pulled the car into the sheriff's slot and locked it up and went inside and was greeted with a cheery good morning by the intake desk. I answered back the same way and went to Andy's office and settled into the chair in front of his desk.

"I have all the figures we need to meet with the different departments and from now on, starting the first, the pay will be every two weeks with the increases starting then. Here you go, read them over and see what you can do with them while I grab a coffee. I will be in my office when the locksmith gets here and we will hold all the meetings in there. I want the motor pool supervisor here sometime today and tell her to bring all the personnel files with her."

I handed Andy the sheets and headed to the radio room for a cup of coffee and to talk to Pinky. I walked into the room and one of the lieutenants was there and he was shouting at Pinky and the language was off the charts.

"Hey, in the office now, Lieutenant."

I went in and he followed me and Pinky came in behind him and shut the door. I looked at him and he wouldn't look me in the face and I started to get pissed.

"What the hell is your problem? You don't come into the 911 center and cuss at the top of your voice like you were doing. The public can hear it and it is unbecoming for an officer to do something like that."

"Sheriff, I broke down last night and it took them almost two hours to get me a wrecker. The driver told me what time he got the call. That is just like a civilian, they think they are more important than we are. I want that operator wrote up and suspended."

"What right do you have to circumvent channels? If you had a complaint, you should have taken it to the captain."

"That milk toast wouldn't do anything if it was right in front of him."

"Now you just crossed another line. What is your name anyway?"

"My name is Dub Johnson Sheriff. I have been with the department for two years."

"Pinky, call Shorty and have him bring the file on this officer to me and tell him I want it all."

"Now Dub, how did you make the rank of Lieutenant in two years? How many years have you worked in law enforcement?"

"I went to the academy and graduated at the top of my class and was hired in at this rank by the old sheriff."

Shorty knocked on the door and handed me the file with a wink. He went out and Pinky came back in. I opened the file and on the top was a note from Shorty telling me to look at page three. I did and it was the background check and it seemed that Dub had been a naughty boy for several years. He had been convicted of B&E twice in Maine and also had been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in Arizona five years ago. This was all I needed to know. It had the official FBI stamp on it so I knew it was real.

"Dub, how did you ever become an officer with three felony convictions on your record?"

"The old sheriff said it didn't matter because I was in his county and he said whom he hired and fired. I have done an excellent job and expect to be here until I retire. I plan on running for sheriff in a few years."

"I hate to bust your bubble but the laws in Nevada like all other state's make it clear that an ex felon cannot be a peace officer. Turn in your badge, gun and ID card right now. You are fired from this department effective as of right now."

"I will fight this in court and own this place. The gun belongs to me and I am not giving it to anyone."

He laid all but the gun on the desk and as I stood up I pulled the stubby and ordered him to lay the gun on the desk. He did and I swept them into the top drawer.

"Dub, you are stupid as well as rude. It is against federal and state laws for an ex con to own or carry a gun. If you have any more, sell them or give them away. If I see you on the street, you will be checked and arrested if you have one on you. I could arrest you right now for having one. I want the badges and uniforms in this office by quitting time tonight. If you keep them and you are caught with them in your possession, you will immediately be arrested for impersonating an officer and that's a felony. I don't care if you or the department bought the badges and uniforms, get them turned today. Now get out of here and give Pinky the department keys and any other department property you have."