Johnny got on his knees, his pants soaking in piss. “Does this mean I can stay in Sacks County?”
“For now. But if we find out you're lying. There's worse things we could do than killing you.”
Lil' Johnny's eyes widened and he bent down and kissed my boots. “Thank you so much, Caleb.”
I kicked him away and left the bathroom with Slade. “You really think he's telling the truth?” Slade asked.
“Probably not but we need to know for sure. If the Mexicans want war, we'll give em' one.”
Chapter Two
Emily
The video cameras and a room full of reporters made me nervous as I stood on stage next to Sheriff Mendoza. I'd never done a press conference before and I had a true fear of public speaking. My palms always got sweaty and my hands would shake uncontrollably. The moment I opened my mouth, everyone would laugh me straight out of town.
Sheriff Mendoza continued his speech as the cameras flashed. “It's with a heavy heart that I retire today as Sheriff of Sacks County. I have put in over twenty years trying to make this town safe. I hope I did enough to make a difference.” The crowd clapped and cheered. “I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect replacement and I finally found her. I want to introduce you to your new Sheriff, Emily White.”
I put on my best fake smile and shook Mendoza's hand. His face twitched for a microsecond as he felt all the sweat on my palm. I took the podium and the crowd silenced. I unfolded a piece of paper that had my speech written on it. “Good afternoon,” I announced to the crowd.
I looked over my writing and realized that nobody wanted to hear about my ten-point agenda for cleaning up this town. That would come later. For now, I needed to keep it short and sweet. “I think Sheriff Mendoza deserves one more round of applause for all his service.” I waited for the clapping to cease. My heart was beating at a mile a minute, my ankles trembling in my boots. I took a deep breath and continued, “I hope I could be half as good as Sheriff Mendoza was. If you can give me a chance, I know it in my heart that I can make this city safe. Thank you and I hope to meet all of you soon.”
The applause was sparse and quiet. I exited the stage and almost felt like I was going to collapse. Hopefully I'd never have to do that again.
“You did great up there, Sheriff White,” Mendoza said.
Sheriff White. I liked the sound of that. “So what now?” I asked him.
“Let's get you settled at the station and you can meet everyone. I'd like to get everything squared away as soon as possible. My wife and I have a trip planned to Maui.”
“That sounds very relaxing.”
“It better be. I'm going to lay on the beach and drink for two weeks straight.”
I chuckled and followed Mendoza to a black-and-white police car. We drove down Main Street, passing by rows of family-owned businesses. This town had a lot of charm and was exactly what I needed after working with the LAPD for so long. Some would say that a Sheriff of a small town was a demotion but I thought it was much needed after the horrors of Los Angeles.
A serial killer of children was loose on the streets and we were hunting him for months without any luck. Finding pieces of these kids was hard to live with. The last kidnapping was the worst. We knew we only had twenty-four hours before the kid was dead. With the help of the FBI we were finally able to track the killer to a shipping container on the docks. We thought we had made it in time. But the kid was already dead, his throat slit just ten minutes before we got there. If only we were sooner...
Mendoza and I arrived at the station and he introduced me to a lot of the officers. The station was made up entirely of men and they didn't look too keen on a woman becoming their new boss. Tough shit. They'd have to deal with my wrath if they couldn't handle it.
“And here's your office,” Mendoza announced, opening the door to what looked like a broom closet. My new office was small and narrow with a tiny window on the far wall overlooking the parking lot. The desk looked like it barely fit and there was only room for one chair. “I know it's not much but you wont be spending much time in here anyways.”
Mendoza was probably right. I set my box of stuff on the desk and began unpacking. Framed pictures of my mom and dad and my lucky pen was all I really brought. And I'm glad I packed light because I wouldn't be able to fit anymore in here.
“Can I give you some advice?” Mendoza asked, sitting down in the chair opposite of the desk.
“Of course,” I replied taking my seat. The chair was comfy and I leaned back, enjoying the thought of being in charge of this town.