51: The Beginning Chapter 1 Part 1

Lindsay got into her car and thought about what she was doing. She was not even close to being ready to return to that department after what had happened, much less to be in charge of it. As Lindsay started to drive, she thought about the many things she wanted to do that first day. One of the first things was to look through the personnel files so she knew who was working there. She had heard that several had been fired after voicing their disapproval of her termination.

The first thing was to talk to Esther. Esther had been the receptionist and day dispatcher for so long that no one could remember her not being there. She was the one who truly ran that sheriff’s department. Ester knew everyone there and everything that happened, no matter what time of the day or night. It did not matter what the question was; if you needed answers, Esther was the woman to ask. Lindsay found herself smiling and looking forward to seeing Esther today. She would have coffee made and a smile on her face.

Lindsay turned at the street corner to go to the department. As she parked her car, she took a deep breath to prepare herself to walk through the door. She knew Esther would be there to tell her the truth about what was going on. When Lindsay walked in, she saw someone she did not recognize in Esther’s place behind the counter. The young woman in dispatch was nothing like Esther. This woman was tall and thin, with long, dark hair shaved on the sides of her head and numerous tattoos. What made her even more noticeable was the fact that, despite being very tall, she also wore six-inch heels.

“Hi, I’m Lindsay Gold. I am taking over as interim sheriff,” Lindsay said, then waited to see what the reply would be. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. 

“It is so nice to meet you. My name is Cat,” the tall brunette replied. “I hope that you can fix a few things around here.”

“Fix things? That didn’t take long,” Lindsay said. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here instead of Esther? She always works the day shift.”

Cat got a strange look on her face before laughing. “First, don’t worry about saying anything to bother or offend me because I doubt that is even possible. Second, Esther sort of doesn’t work here anymore. She started falling asleep at work a lot, and the last time the old sheriff walked in, and she was asleep, he decided it was probably best she retired.”

Lindsay replied, “I can understand that. She had been here, what, sixty-plus years? I only wish I had known. I was looking forward to her smiling face this morning.”

Cat instantly put a huge smile on her face. “Does this help? I know it isn’t the same, but you should at least get a smile from someone.”

“Thanks. That actually does help.” Lindsay looked around for a second and realized that many of the offices had been moved and that there had been some remodeling. “Would you mind giving me a quick tour? Things have changed since the last time I was here.”

“I would love to,” Cat said as she continued to smile. 

The tour was quick. One significant change was the removal of some storage space and the addition of more desks in the area where the deputies did their reports and paperwork. The office the sheriff used had had the most work done. It had been completely remodeled. One wall was now glass. It had new, dark red paint and taxidermied animals on the walls.

“Those animals have to go,” Lindsay said.

Cat replied with one question. “Would you like them in the dumpster or the closet?”

With that, Lindsay no longer had any doubt that Cat was going to be a very important person to her in this department. They had just met, and Cat did not question her decision; she simply asked for clarification.

“Let’s just put them in the closet for now. We don’t know who those things belong to yet. Someone might want them back.”

Cat immediately walked over to one large deer head on the wall and began to lift it off.

“Cat, before you start that, would you do me a huge favor? I want to look through the personnel files of the current department employees so that I know who works here. Is that something you can help me with?”

Lindsay watched Cat’s reaction carefully.

“I can get those for you right now. I’m guessing that you also want mine,” Cat answered.

“Yes, please.”

Lindsay sat down at the sheriff’s desk and watched Cat walk out of the room. She was both in awe and completely terrified by Cat. On her heels, Cat was well over six feet tall. Lindsay was not short, but she felt it next to Cat. She also had a feeling that there was a lot more to Cat than what she saw. Cat came back in moments later with a stack of files.

“If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to ask,” Cat said with that same big smile.

Lindsay looked at her and said, “I do have one. Do Big Bob and Little Bob still work here?”

Cat laughed, “They still work here. They are some of the few that the old sheriff didn’t fire after he fired you. Why did the sheriff fire you, anyway? I have heard all kinds of rumors.”

“That is a story for another day,” Lindsay replied. “Thank you for the files and the info on Big Bob and Little Bob.”

“You’re welcome, and just yell if you need anything. God knows the old sheriff did,” Cat turned and walked to the counter at the front of the office.

Lindsay decided to start with Cat’s file. She had a feeling it would be interesting and full of surprises.