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mystery story sequel-continuation
——
“Gentleman,” the Sheriff said, accenting his greeting with a nod. The Sheriff had parked his cruiser & was now standing in the shade next to Tom, while Ricky & Vern continued sitting in the chairs.
Vern, Ricky & Tom nodded back, while the Sheriff continued: “Vern, how many times do I have to tell you that your loud parties are far too much for the neighbors? I’m tired of taking complaint calls about the noise around here.”
Vern smirked: “Well, now, Marty, you won’t have to be bothered much longer now. I am planning to leave town, ya know.”
Vern tilted his head back towards the direction of the Mercury.
“I see that,” the Sheriff replied, eyeing the Mercury. “I just hope I don’t have to run you out of town before you’re ready to leave. That could get ugly.”
Vern broke out into all-out laughter: “You sound like Boss Hogg.”
“I do?” the Sheriff asked, a bit stunned. “I didn’t think he ran anyone out of town, did he?”
“I think he might’ve,” Tom offered. “Or, at the very least, wanted to.”
Ricky chuckled: “Besides, wouldn’t Sheriff here be Roscoe, anyway?”
“I’d like to think I’m smarter than Roscoe,” the Sheriff said, tugging at his uniform, mockingly dejected at Ricky’s suggestion.
“Yeah, you are,” Ricky acknowledged, smiling. “But, if I remember correctly, ole Roscoe did prove a time or two how smart he really was.”
“Yeah, I kinda remember that, too,” Tom agreed. “But, wait, wouldn’t I be the equivalent of Boss Hogg?”
Vern laughed: “Maybe, Tom, but you don’t have any ulterior motives or unlawful activities going on under the table.”
Vern turned to the Sheriff: “Not that you do, Marty!”
The Sheriff smiled slyly while Vern (turning back to Tom) continued: “Anyway, Tom, you also don’t have the proper car. At least I have a Chevy equivalent of Hogg’s Cadillac.”
“Yeah,” Tom replied, “but you ain’t no Hogg, Vern!”
“Oh, man,” Ricky beamed. “I remember that Cadillac! It had those huge horns on the front of it!”
“Yep,” Vern said, “but you won’t catch my Caprice convertible with horns like that on it.”
“Aren’t you leaving town soon & leaving the Caprice here?” Tom asked with a mischievous hint.
“Maybe not,” Vern burst into laughter again.
All 4 had a good laugh for a minute or two, then Vern redirected the conversation: “Hey, Tom, don’t you have a question for Marty?”
“Oh yeah,” Tom said, composing himself a bit & turning to the Sheriff. “When do you think the Braidwood place will be turned over to me?”
“I’ve no idea,” the Sheriff said matter-of-factly. “That’s outta my hands. The state cops & the Feds are on that now. I would suspect it won’t be much longer now, though.”
“Ole Tom here wants to have that Braidwood place fixed up before I come back to town,” Vern explained to the Sheriff.
“Ah,” the Sheriff nodded. “I suspected as such. Knowing how much you love being on the road, Vern, I’d guess Tom won’t have a problem with that, no matter how long it is until the Braidwood place becomes his officially.”
All 4 laughed a bit again.
“So, why’d you pull into Vern’s driveway?” Ricky asked the Sheriff.
“No reason, really,” the Sheriff replied. “I saw y’all out here & figured I’d stop. It’s a gorgeous day for visiting outside.”
“Indeed,” Vern agreed.
“It sure is,” Ricky added. “But, that said, I really oughtta get back to the station now. I’m sure Tyler is wondering where I am.”
Ricky stood up & shook Vern’s hand: “Thank you, sir, for talking with me today.”
“Oh, my pleasure,” Vern said, standing up as well. “Anytime.”
Ricky exchanged pleasantries with the Sheriff & Tom & then left.
“Well,” Tom said, “I supposed I better get back to the ‘office’.”
“Yeah, Mayor, get back to work,” the Sheriff chided.
“Hey now, Sheriff,” Tom kidded back, “you’re still on the clock, too.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the Sheriff said. “I know.”
“So, you leaving town yet today?” the Sheriff asked Vern.
“Nah, I don’t think so,” Vern said. “I got started packing the Mercury, but Ricky stopped & wanted to chat.”
“Oh?” the Sheriff half-asked.
“Yeah,” Vern said. “Seems he is having a rough time coming to terms with not saving Tracy’s life.”
“Ah,” the Sheriff said nodding.
“I’ve told him & Vern, here, that I hold neither of them responsible for Tracy’s death,” Tom acknowledged. “But…”
“But, it’s easier heard than actually done,” Vern continued Tom’s sentence. “We both understand you don’t hold us responsible, but that doesn’t mean our internal feelings about it go away.”
“I know,” Tom said. “But, I wish they would.”
“You & me both,” Vern quipped.
“Welp,” Tom said. “I’m going to head on out of here. I have a few calls to make about tearing down that old abandoned airport once & for all.”
“Good enough,” Vern said. “Though, why not turn it into a recreation center or something like that for the town?”
“Hmm,” Tom rubbed his chin. “I hadn’t thought of that. Might have to think about that.”
With that, Tom shook hands with Vern & the Sheriff, walked to his old pickup & drove off.
“Bet he’ll think about it & leave the decision to whoever is our next Mayor & the town council,” Vern observed, sitting back down in a chair & motioning for the Sheriff to sit in the other.
“Probably,” the Sheriff said, sitting down as motioned. “I like your idea, but I can think of a few people who won’t.”
“I know,” Vern said. “It was just an idea that literally popped into my head just then.”
The Sheriff nodded.
“Oh hey,” Vern jumped as the query popped into his head, “when are Kyle, Ashley & the kids coming back to town?”
“I think yet tonight,” the Sheriff replied.
“Oh, good,” Vern said. “Maybe I’ll get to see them before I leave.”
“Maybe,” the Sheriff said, then continued after a pause: “Ya know, for the life of me, I’m not sure why I sat down.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, I just mean I really should get back to my office, too, Vern. Work day is not over yet, & I’d hate for anyone to say I’m not doing my job.”
“But, Marty, you are doing your job. You’re lecturing me about keeping the noise down around here!”
The pair shared a hearty laugh.
“Alrighty,” the Sheriff started, standing up. “I will see you later, before you leave town.”
“Absolutely,” Vern said, standing up, too & shaking the Sheriff’s hand. “We go way back, Marty, & I wouldn’t leave town without seeing you & saying goodbye.”
The Sheriff smiled.
“I think I’m going to call Phil & see if he’d like to meet me for dinner at Charlene’s tonight,” Vern stated. “I really had thought about starting my road trip today, but since it’s getting late, I’ll just stay here. &, since I AM staying here at least 1 more night, I might as well really ‘go to town’ for dinner.”
“I’m sure he’d like that,” the Sheriff said. “But, just remember, you might see more people there than you bargained for!”
“Don’t I know it,” Vern said. “But, it’s perfect convertible weather….”
“Oh my yes,” the Sheriff agreed. “Absolutely. I’m actually surprised you aren’t driving that Caprice of yours right now.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Vern said, gathering up the 2 chairs. “Think I’ll put these in the garage, put the Mercury away & then go for a drive in that convertible … & make sure nobody has put horns on the hood!”
——