51: The Beginning Chapter 3 Part 1

Lindsay had started her second day at the department early. She had begun by reviewing all the reports required to be sent to the state every month. As soon as Lindsay started, she realized that the sheriff’s department was behind by several months. She even found a letter from the state informing the previous sheriff of the oversight. Lindsay was now up to her elbows in paperwork, trying to fix the mess. She had also spent a considerable amount of time on the phone, trying to find out how bad things were. They were bad. Far worse than she had anticipated. All of this was making her wonder about the real reason the old sheriff had resigned. That was only a brief thought because, just then, Little Bob walked into her office.

He sat in a chair in front of her desk and asked, “Why haven’t you redecorated yet?” He was looking at all of the taxidermies on the walls that no one had had a chance to remove yet.

She just looked at him. The look on her face made it clear as to what kind of day she was having. He wrinkled his forehead after he saw the look on her face.

“Bob, who was in charge of filing all this stuff with the state?” she asked as she motioned to the piles on her desk.

“The sheriff always said he did it. Why?” he answered.

“Because it has not been done for months, and what has been done has the wrong information.”

Bob let out a low whistle. “No wonder you look like you are in a bad mood.”

“Not really in a bad mood, just a little frustrated,” Lindsay said as she leaned back in her chair and picked up her coffee cup. “You think you can help me redecorate a little and find a place to put all this stuff that’s on the walls? If I don’t get it out of here, it is going to give me nightmares.”

“Sure. The dumpster was emptied this morning. I’m sure they would all fit nicely in there,” Little Bob said with a huge smile on his face.

“No. We’d better not do that, but thank you for the offer. Just see if you can find a closet somewhere. I still don’t know who owns it or if they will want it back,” Lindsay answered. “But can you please move that deer head over the door now? Every time I see it, I feel like it is staring at me.”

Little Bob laughed. “I am so glad I am not the only one who feels that way about it.”

Even though Little Bob was in uniform and could have had someone of a lower rank do the job, he immediately went to work clearing space in a closet to get all the stuffed and mounted animals out of what was now Lindsay Gold’s office. He had not told anyone, but he was thrilled Lindsay had taken over as sheriff. Little Bob had always liked the way she worked with the citizens of the county when she was a deputy and even before that. He had also tried to convince the old sheriff not to fire her, but he did not listen.

Lindsay could hear Little Bob and Cat talking, but could not understand what they were saying. Then she saw them walking toward her office with a ladder and some boxes. She did not even know how long it had been since Little Bob had left her office, but she knew it had not been more than a few minutes. They came in and set up the ladder right inside the door. Little Bob climbed the ladder and lifted the deer head off the wall, handing it to Cat.

“Thank you both for taking that thing down. It was giving me the creeps,” Lindsay said.

Cat turned it and looked at it in the face. “It does have a weird expression. I have always hated it, too. It’s like it stares at you no matter where you are standing. The eyes just follow you.” She was already putting it headfirst into one of the boxes before she ever finished talking.

Little Bob climbed down the ladder. “Don’t worry. Cat and I will get the rest of these down real quick as long as it doesn't bother you,” he said as he stepped to the floor.

“Please do. It won’t bother me at all. I could use a little break. My eyes are starting to cross from staring at forms and the computer screen,” Lindsay answered.

She looked at Cat, who wore skin-tight clothes and six-inch heels once again. Lindsay was amazed that Cat’s hair and make-up were perfect. Cat had worked her regular eight-hour day shift, came in overnight for a few hours, and returned to work at 8 a.m. She looked like she had not missed a minute of sleep and was perfectly put together. Lindsay could not help but think she needed to get some tips from her about how to do that. Just then, the phone at the front desk rang. Cat ran to the phone, making Lindsay shake her head. She knew if she tried that in those heels, she would only hurt herself.