The Shining Badge

by Gilbert, Morris

  As she walked down Main Street, she was suddenly struck with how the small town of Summerdale had more or less become the center of her world. After living in New York City most of her life, the thought occurred to her, Why, you could put this whole town in one little section of New York, and it would be hard to find! Still, something about the town had become part of her. She passed by Henry’s Pool Hall and noted that the usual supply of acne-ridden young men were there, some of them standing on the front porch, watching her as she went by. She nodded, and one of them mumbled, “Hello, Sheriff.” Across the street was the garage and blacksmith shop, and she waved at Jude Tanner, who was working on a car outside the building. He waved at her and called out, “Hi, Sheriff!”

  “Hello, Jude!”

  “You comin’ to the box supper?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Well, I’ll make a bid on your box. Put somethin’ good in it.”

  She liked Jude a great deal. He was a giant in form but had the gentleness of a child, which she found very attractive. She passed Taylor’s Barbershop, where the endless checker game went on out in front on a wooden table surrounded by loafers. Then she turned into the Elite Café.

  “Over here, Sheriff. Just in time to buy my lunch.”

  Jenny walked over to where Luke Dixon was seated. He got up as she came to the table and pulled out her chair, and the two sat down.

  “My treat today, Sheriff.”

  “Why, thank you, Luke.” The two sat down and at once the owner of the Elite, Maisy Hayes, came over to take their order. “Afternoon, Sheriff.”

  “Hello, Maisy. What’s good today?”

  “We got fried chicken or salmon croquettes—and we got okra, tomatoes, and corn.”

  “That all sounds good to me,” Luke said cheerfully. “Bring us a big plateful of everything and some tea for the sheriff.”

  “What have you got for dessert?” Jenny asked.

  “Cherry cobbler.”

  “Good, I’ll have some of that when we’re finished.”

  Maisy nodded and left. She called in the order through a window, then brought another glass of iced tea for Jenny. She refilled Dixon’s glass and said, “Enjoy your dinner.”

  Dixon watched as Jenny thirstily drained her glass of tea, then asked, “You know how I know this is a good café?”

  “No. How?”

  “Look there. Maisy’s got four calendars over there. You can always tell how good a café is by how many calendars it has on its walls. If it doesn’t have any, forget it. One, it’s not too good. Two, better than average. Three is real good. But a four-calendar café, now that means something.”

  Jenny always enjoyed Dixon’s rather wild thinking. She found him an attractive man, and now as he sat there entertaining her with his light patter, she was glad she had someone like him to trust.

  “I’ve got a problem with Legs and Mattie, the jailer and his wife.” She went on to explain how pitiful their work was. “I’d fire them in a minute. There’s bound to be somebody who could do the work better than they do it, but Ruby and Billy have both warned me that they are some distant kin to Judge Hightower. They said Sheriff Beauchamp tried to fire them, and Hightower somehow put pressure on him. Isn’t there something I can do, Luke?”

  “Well, a dirty jail and bad meals might be less of a problem than locking horns with Hightower.” Luke’s green eyes grew thoughtful, and he sipped the tea, thinking hard. “Maybe you’d better hold off for a while.”

  “But they feed the inmates nothing but swill, and the place is filthy.”

  Luke listened as Jenny spoke passionately and finally said, “I knew you’d be running into things like this, but it’s a little soon to take action on the Porters. Let me feel out the situation. Maybe there’s a way I can help.”

  “Will you, Luke? That’s sweet of you.”

  With a swift move, Jenny slapped at a fly that had lit on her cheek. To her surprise she hit it, and she uttered a disgusted, “Ugh!” then grabbed her napkin and began scrubbing at her cheek. “I’ve got to go wash my hands,” she said. She went to the rest room, washed thoroughly, and then came back and sat down. “I wish I could kill every fly in this county, Luke.”

  “Why, the Lord made all those flies for some purpose, don’t you suppose?”

  “What purpose would a fly have, or a mosquito?”

  “No idea,” Luke said. At that moment the food came, and when Maisy left, Luke said, “Why don’t you bless this food.” The two bowed their heads, and Jenny asked a quick blessing, and when Jenny bit into the fried chicken, she said, “This is delicious!”

  Luke had attacked one of the salmon croquettes first, and his eyes opened with surprise. “And this salmon croquette, why, it’s the best I ever had! And look how fresh the vegetables look.”

  “I wonder who the cook is.”

  “A woman named Sadie, but she’s outdone herself this time. You know,” he went on, “that fly you killed. I’ve been thinking about it.”

  Jenny stared at him and then laughed. “Your mind’s like a butterfly jumping around! What about that fly?”

  “Did you know there’s a religion in India called Jainism that practices what they call ahimsa. The whole religion is based on the idea that killing any living thing is wrong.”

  “You mean they can’t kill a cow and eat it?”

  “Certainly not! Why, they can’t even burn candles or lights if there’s danger a moth might fly into them. And they cover their mouth and nose with cloth masks so they won’t inhale any gnats.”

  “You’re making it all up.”

  “I am not! I read it in a book. It said the Jainists won’t plow fields for fear of cutting up worms. They won’t work as a carpenter because it might kill something.”

  “Must be a pretty hard life. I’d hate to do without fried chicken.”

  “Me either, but there’s all kinds of peculiar things in the world. That’s in a country where ten thousand humans die every year from snake bites, but they won’t kill a snake.”

  “You know more useless stuff than any man I ever met,” Jenny said. She went on listening to Luke as he regaled her, and then finally, when they had finished the cherry cobbler, which was excellent, they both rose. Jenny waited while Luke paid Maisy, and she said, “I’d like to give my compliments to the chef.”

  “Sure.”

  “All right if I step back and tell Sadie how good the food was?”

  “Sadie’s been off for a week now. Got a substitute. Go on back if you want to.”

  The two went through the swinging door, and as Jenny entered, she saw a huge man wearing tan trousers and a white shirt. When he turned, she exclaimed, “Why, Noah, it’s you!”

  “Hello, Sheriff.” Noah Valentine grinned. “Good to see you.”

  “I didn’t know you were a cook, Noah.”

  “I always done most of the cookin’ for Mama for the kids, so when the job came up here I took it.”

  “Well, you did a fine job, Noah. I never had better fried chicken in my life, and that cobbler. Did you make that from scratch?”

  “I even picked the cherries. Glad you liked it, Sheriff Winslow.”

  The two congratulated Noah warmly, and as they left the café, an idea began fermenting. “Why couldn’t Noah be the jailer, Luke? Did you see that kitchen? It was clean as a pin. Why, you could eat off the floor.”

  “You’d have some problems there. Not just with the judge.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Noah’s got two strikes against him. He’s black, and he’s been in trouble with the law. You’ve got those two deputies, Arp and Pender, who hate him, and they’d all be under the same roof.”

  Jenny walked slowly down the sidewalk thinking on what Luke had said, and finally when they reached his office, she turned and said, “Thanks for the lunch.”

  He stared at her seriously. “I know what you’re thinking, and my advice is, don’t do it.”

  “I’m not thinking anyth
ing.”

  “Yes you are. You’re thinking of firing that pair of incompetents and hiring Noah Valentine as jailer and cook.”

  “I didn’t know you were a mind reader.”

  “You’re not all that hard to read, Jenny. You’ve got that kind of face. I’m not saying it’s not a good idea. As a matter of fact, it might be a great idea.” He paused for a moment and said, “If you can face up to the judge on the small things, that might be better than getting hit with a big problem. If you decide to try it, I’ll be with you. We might even get Raymond Dent to do a story on it. Human-interest stuff. How good it is to help men who have been in trouble to do honest work.”

  Jenny’s eyes brightened, and she said, “I’ve got to start someplace. Sooner or later I’m going to lock horns with the judge, so I might as well get started. Thanks, Luke.”

  Luke Dixon watched Jennifer Winslow as she walked with determined strides toward the office. “I hope I told her the right thing,” he said. “But that woman’s got a streak of stubbornness in her that I didn’t dream possible in any female that pretty.”

  ****

  Jenny took no action about replacing Legs and his wife. The one rule she had formulated before going into this office was to pray about everything. For two days she kept a close watch on the Porters and knew that nothing she could say would make them improve. She did not plan to talk to the judge, but she did talk to Maisy Hayes about her regular cook and discovered that Sadie would be back on the job at the beginning of the next week. “I’ve got that long to think about it. I may be making a bad mistake, but I’ve got to do something.”

  That was on Thursday. Jenny had spent almost all her time inside going over the books with Ruby and trying to learn the procedures, but she spoke to Billy that afternoon and said, “I want to get out some, Billy. I’ll go with you on your run today.”

  “Fine, Sheriff! It’s a good day for it. Nice and hot.”

  Indeed, the early July weather had been blisteringly hot. The Fourth, two days earlier, had been thoroughly celebrated, and as Billy drove her down the county roads, he said, “Not much happening. It seems like a holiday always takes the meanness out of people.”

  “Well, there were enough drunks in jail after the Fourth. Plenty of fines coming in. Maybe we can afford a raise for the deputies soon.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it. The county commission has to approve all those things, and Judge Hightower’s pretty tight with the nickel, at least as far as the sheriff’s office is concerned.”

  “Tell me all about the politics of the county. Who do I need to be hard on? Who do I need to be careful of?” Jenny asked. Then she sat back, and as the two cruised slowly down the roads, stopping a speeder now and then and giving them a ticket, Luke went over the history and the personnel of the county. He knew everybody and everything as far as Jenny could tell, and she soaked it up, knowing she would need it. Finally he said, “The judge doesn’t like to be challenged. He’s got big ideas. Sooner or later you’ll butt heads with him. Don’t back down. He’ll respect you if you stand up to him, but he’ll give you a hard time.”

  They called back in periodically, and then at four o’clock, they got a report. Billy called and came back to the car, saying, “There’s a fight at the Black Diamond.” He got in the car and left with a screeching of tires.

  “What’s the Black Diamond?”

  “It’s a tavern, a saloon—whatever. It’s against the law to sell liquor, but it’s there all the time. Pretty bad fight from what Ruby said.”

  The Black Diamond was a wooden-framed structure denuded of all paint except long strips that hung destitute in the rays of the evening sun. Dilapidated cars and two wagons decorated the parking lot, and as they got out, Billy said, “This is going to be pretty rough. Let me handle any rough stuff. You can do the talking, though, Sheriff.”

  The two walked in through the door, and by the dim light of the naked bulbs hanging from wires overhead, Jenny took in the scene. It was a large room with two doors that led to other parts of the building, perhaps bathrooms and dwelling quarters. Along one wall was a bar and behind it a cracked mirror. The walls were covered with pictures of bathing beauties, and there were almost a dozen men in the room and two or three women. One man was lying on the floor, his face bloody; another was sitting in a chair, his head back, apparently only half conscious. His features were battered, and he nursed one arm as if it were broken.

  “What’s goin’ on, Tal?”

  Tal Holbert, the owner of the Black Diamond, shrugged his beefy shoulders. “Nothin’ much, Billy. Just a little brawl.” He appeared nervous, and he turned to look at three big men all wearing overalls and whose faces were scarred with signs of battle.

  Billy Moon said, “Sheriff, this is Bart Cundiff. These are his boys Perry and Ace. Fellas, this is Sheriff Winslow.” Jenny recognized the men as the squatters who had been living in their house when they had first arrived in Georgia. They were crude, filthy people, and only the threat of Clint’s shotgun had persuaded them to leave. Swearing and grumbling, they had left, leaving a reeking mess behind them. Jenny remembered the Cundiffs only too well, but they didn’t seem to remember her, at least not at the moment.

  The three men were obviously drunk, and they all looked dangerous. Jenny had absolutely no idea what to do, but she stepped forward and said, “You three will have to come with us. You’re under arrest. We’ll take these other two to the doctor.”

  “I ain’t bein’ arrested by no woman,” Bart Cundiff said. He was a hulking man with green eyes and unkempt hair, and his sons bore him a strong resemblance.

  Moon stepped up beside her and removed his nightstick from his belt. He tapped it into his palm, saying, “You’re going in one way or another, Bart. Easy or hard. Your choice.”

  Jenny knew a cold touch of fear as Cundiff’s wild eyes stared at her, but she determined to show nothing. “Come along,” she said. She walked up and took Cundiff by the arm, intending to lead him from the room. She never saw the blow he threw at her. All she knew was that something struck her in the side of the face, and she remembered falling, but she did not feel the floor when she struck it.

  Consciousness came back, and she found herself sitting in a chair. Moon was kneeling beside her with a damp cloth in his hand. “Take it easy now, Jenny. You’re gonna be all right.”

  A terrible pain struck Jenny, and she reached up and touched her eye.

  “You’re gonna have a wicked shiner there, boss.”

  Memory came flooding back, and she looked at Billy’s bronzed face and then shifted to see that the room was empty now, except for the three Cundiffs. They were all wearing cuffs, and Bart Cundiff was bleeding over one eyebrow. Then she turned back to Billy and saw that his lip was swollen, and he had a bruise on his left cheek. She whispered, “Thank you, Billy.”

  He leaned forward and whispered, “Be tough, boss. Tell ’em they’re goin’ where the sun won’t shine on ’em.”

  Jenny got up and, ignoring the pain, said, “You three are goin’ where the sun won’t shine on you! Now, get out in that car!” She pulled the nightstick from her belt and stepped forward, and Ace Cundiff flinched as she lifted it. “All right—all right, we’re goin’! You don’t hafta hit me again!”

  The three were herded out and crammed into the backseat. “You drive, Sheriff, and I’ll keep an eye on these bad characters.”

  Jenny drove back to the jail, where the three were booked and put in cells, all three protesting loudly.

  “They’ll pay their fines and get out tomorrow. We really don’t have anything on ’em, Sheriff,” Moon said. “Did me good to bust their heads a little bit, though.” He leaned forward and examined her. “You’d better get somethin’ cold on that or you’re gonna have a whale of a shiner. Gonna be all kinds of people askin’ you what happened. Tell them you busted all three of the Cundiffs. It’ll make you into a hero!”

  ****

  When Jenny eased out of bed the next morning, she still
had a headache. She went to the mirror and saw that the bruise was a glorious mixture of black and purple and green and yellow. I didn’t know skin could turn so many colors, she thought. She considered putting a bandage over the eye, which was half shut, but stubbornly determined she would wear it like a badge of honor. When she went downstairs, Kat took one look at Jenny’s face and said, “You look awful, Jenny.”

  Jenny tried to smile. “I think it looks worse than it really is.”

  “Well, you sure do look awful,” Kat repeated.

  “We’re not going to talk about that at the table,” Lewis said quickly.

  “Why not?” Kat protested. “You’re always saying the family needs to talk things over. Well, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

  Jenny said quickly, “It was part of my job. Billy Moon and I got involved with some men who had been drinking.”

  Kat, in her usual straightforward manner, demanded the rest of the story, and Jenny told it.

  “Did you shoot any of ’em?” Kat asked, grinning.

  “No.”

  “I should have been there,” Clint said, shaking his head remorsefully.

  “Billy took care of them pretty well.”

  “Moon’s a tough fellow and a good guy,” Clint said.

  “Did Billy shoot ’em?” Kat asked.

  “No, he didn’t,” Lewis spoke up loudly, “and that’s enough talk about that.”

  Lewis said little after that, but when he walked Jenny out to the car, he put his arm around her. “I’m worried about you. This job is dangerous.”

  “Not as long as I have Billy with me. Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be all right.”

  She got into the car and drove down to the jail, and as soon as she went in, she found Billy and Ruby talking together. Moon said, “Well, the Cundiffs are out already.”

  “How’d they get out so quick?”

  “Max Conroy came by and paid their fines. He claims they’re workin’ for him on the road crew.”

  “It’ll be the first honest work they ever did,” Ruby said. “That’s an awful-lookin’ eye you got there. Why don’t you take the day off?”