Chapter 93

I went up the steps to the department, smiling to myself at my silly thoughts. When I walked through the door, the receptionist who had made coffee for me way back when I started, came running around the counter.

"Oh Sheriff, I'm so happy to see you again. Where have you been? We all talk about when you will be coming back to work. All of us have missed you around here. Did you get our birthday present?"

"If you mean the walkie-talkie, I got it, but I don't think I will be coming back. I think I am going to spend some time with my family, and we are planning to do a little traveling."

"You know that will be a big disappointment to everyone around here. You're like our own personal rock, and when it hits the fan, we all think about you. Sheriff, you will be sadly missed by all of us. I hope in the future you will change your mind. Come on! Since it's all changed around here, I better show you to the sheriff's office."

As I followed her down the hall, I couldn't believe the changes since I had last been here. There were cameras everywhere and all the rooms were labeled by who or what they contained. By the time we got to the end of the hall, I was thinking maybe I had made the wrong choice by coming here instead of just meeting Sean at the cabin. The whole place was a warren of offices and interrogation rooms. I recognized the hallway we were going down, and if I remembered correctly, it led to the old radio room. Yep, it ended up coming out into a large room with desks sitting in cubicles that uniformed patrol officers were working at. Several of them smiled and waved at me as I followed the receptionist through the area and into what could only be the sheriff's office. It hadn't been too hard for me figure out since it was stenciled on the door.

When we went inside, there were three large offices. Andy and Shorty came rushing out to greet me as soon as I stepped in the door.

"Hey Harry, good to see you again. To what do we owe this honor?"

"I just dropped in to see Sean, guys. I don't plan on staying for too long. You guys sure have moved up in the world, haven't you?"

"Aw come on, Harry, you know Mark did most of this to your plans. We just finished it off is all. I think he would have been proud of the way it all turned out. You should see the new radio room. We built it just like you said you wanted it to be, and it turned out great. The only people allowed in there are authorized personnel. It's complete with modern equipment and everything the workers need to make their jobs a lot easier. We only had to hire ten new people and we also took your advice and put an advisor on every shift to recommend which calls go where. All in all, Harry, it has worked out great. I also have a new evidence clerk and a supervisor down in the evidence room. I met and interviewed her and Sean hired her specifically for that purpose. You won't believe how she has straightened that mess out. She and Jimmy have gone out a couple of times and seem to get along great. I heard him playing for her at the shop one night and she loved it."

I looked at him like he had lost his mind. Jimmy dating! Wow! This news made me happy and I just grinned at him and Andy. I felt like I was a proud dad or something. I must have had a funny look on my face because they both started laughing at me. Sean came out of his office at the sound of the laughter.

"Ok Harry, what have you stirred up now?"

"Hell, I don't know what these idiots are laughing at."

"Ok Harry, come into my office so these two clowns can get back to work. They look for any reason to keep from doing their duties. It's all I can do to keep them in here long enough to do their paperwork as it is."

I smiled at the two of them and then followed Sean into his office. It was private, but smaller than I expected. He motioned me to an empty chair and got us both a cup of coffee. After he handed it to me, he sat back down behind his desk and looked at me expectantly. I sipped my coffee and told him what was on my mind. As I went through the story, I left out some facts, especially about Dana's history and Mark's letter. The rest of it I told him without embellishment.

"Harry, I will check with my contacts, but you probably have more contacts than I do. I know you have a lot of friends in Florida and other places. I will see what I can do, but I don't guarantee anything. Right now, I'm not too well liked among my old outfit."

"Don't worry about that, Sean. These are your men now, and from what I have seen and heard, you have earned their respect in a very short time. If your old crew can't accept what you did for your family, then maybe they don't deserve your respect. Hell, Sean, for what it's worth, I think you made a good decision for yourself and your family. According to Tran, Carly and the girls just love it here. Your girls are looking forward to starting school this fall, just like mine are."

"Thanks for that, Harry. I have to admit, it's nice being able to see the girls on a regular basis, and Carly and I are getting along great since we moved here. She doesn't seem to miss our old place at all. She wants to get a dog and a cat for the girls, but I don't want a cat in the house. The dog can stay outside in that heated barn so he or she won't freeze. By the way, how come there are cages and stalls out there?"

"When Tran and I built it for Mark and the girls, we planned on getting some horses and other pets for them to take care of and enjoy. Since they are with me now, I am going to have to build a barn by the meadow for the girls. I still have to have the road made between your place and mine so the girls can visit each other. I have already heard from Sandra about not having done it yet. She seems to think they need a secret way to your house for some reason. With all that has been going on lately, I forgot all about it."

"Have you recovered all the weapons you were looking for?"

"All except the ones you were supposed to have the FBI get."

"Shit, with quitting and moving out here, I forgot all about it. I think I will call a friend of mine and have him do the recovery. I know he can use the publicity and he is a good man."

"That's why I brought this folder with me, Sean. I recovered it from the cave and it has a complete list of what is there and where it's at. I thought maybe you could use it to get a little leverage for some new equipment for the department, if you are smart enough to do a little bargaining. At least that's what I would do if I had this information and needed some new equipment for my department."

"Harry, has anyone ever told you that you are a crook in disguise as a law enforcement officer?"

"Bite your tongue, Sean. Remember, you have to use what you have to get what you need. There's nothing crooked about that. Information is a powerful tool if you use it right. In a case like this, you use it to your department's advantage and get some of the things you need."

"Ok Harry, but it still sounds crooked to me for some reason."

"Sean, you aren't in the FBI anymore. In this kind of service you need all the advantages you can get. Hell, use it as a marker for the future if it doesn't feel right to you to use it the way I would."

Before he could retort, his phone rang. I got up to leave, but he held his finger up for me to wait a minute. I sat back down and waited until he was through with the call.

"That was the radio room. They heard you were here and I promised them I would bring you by before you left. I was warned that if I didn't, they wouldn't speak to me for the next week. Sorry, Harry, but I guess you're just going to have to take a short detour before you leave."

"That's no problem, Sean, I was planning on stopping in and having a look at it anyway. I had heard already that it was built the way I suggested when I was here before. I have to admit, it aroused my curiosity a little. Let's take a walk, shall we? I have to get home in time for supper or Tran will make me sleep on the porch."

"Boy, do I know that feeling. I thought a couple of times Carly was going to make me sleep in the barn. Man, does that woman have a temper."

We both were laughing as we left his office and headed for the radio room. Andy and Shorty waved and shook their heads as we went out into the hallway. This time I pretty much had gotten my bearings so he didn't have to lead me in the right direction. As we walked, he handed me a plastic card saying it was my security card that opened all the security doors in the building. There were only four in existence and I was the fourth to have one.

"What am I supposed to do with this, Sean? I don't work here any more."

"Harry you are still the Undersheriff of this county, whether you come in or not. As my second in command, you're supposed to have one. I would have given it to you sooner, but I haven't had time to come by your cabin. That's gotta stop before the summer's over. Carly and Tran want to have a BBQ this month sometime and if they don't, then we both might be sleeping in the barn."