The Shining Badge

by Gilbert, Morris

  “Well, you’ve made it here, Lewis. Your family’s all settled in. You’ve got a nice place.”

  “We don’t have any money and are not likely to. What are you looking for, Clay?”

  A bleak look swept across Varek’s face. “I don’t know, Lewis.”

  The blankness of the answer gave Lewis an inclination to pursue the subject. “You know a friend of mine lost his leg going up San Juan Hill. We kept in touch, and years later he went back there. Of course he didn’t find the thing he lost. I’m not sure we can do that.”

  “What are you saying, Lewis?”

  “I’m saying most of us have lost something. Maybe not a leg like Charlie but something. And there’s not much point in going back and trying to find it again. Usually we can’t. I think you need to look for the right thing.”

  Clay straightened up and his eyes met those of Lewis Winslow. “And what is the right thing?”

  “I guess you know what I’d say. I’d say that finding the Lord is the right thing.”

  Clay nodded. “I know that’s what you feel. I wish I did sometimes.”

  “You will. You’ve got some folks praying for you, Clay.” He smiled slightly. “We didn’t wait to ask your permission.”

  Clay studied the man in front of him. He knew there was a rock-hard honesty in Lewis Winslow. The whole family had it, and Varek admired them all tremendously. “Maybe religion will come to me,” he said.

  “Plenty of religion about, but Jesus is more than that.”

  “What do you mean by that? I don’t understand.”

  “Well, Jesus made one claim that stands out. He said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ So that’s the difference between Jesus and everybody else. He said the only way to get to God was through Him.”

  “Pretty narrow door.”

  “Too narrow for most people. They want it to be broad. They think God should just take everybody, no matter what kind of religion they have. But there’s one more verse in the Bible I wish you’d think on, Clay. It’s in Hebrews. It says, ‘Without shedding of blood there is no remission.’ ”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “You would if you read the Old Testament for a while. It’s a bloody book. Once under Solomon’s reign they sacrificed over a thousand animals in one day. Blood must have been everywhere, but all of those lambs that were slain didn’t wash away any sins. That’s why Jesus came to shed His blood because He had the only blood that could wash away sin.”

  For nearly twenty minutes Lewis spoke softly about his deepest beliefs. He spoke mostly of Jesus, how He came to save sinners. Finally he said, “That’s what you need to be looking for. It’s what all of us need to be looking for, Clay.”

  Clay’s head was down. He had listened silently, and Lewis had no idea how he was taking all this. Perhaps he was angry, as some men get when they are confronted with Christ. Finally he looked up and nodded. “I’ll think on it, Lewis.”

  “I wish you would.”

  “Did you know Kat came to see me?”

  “That girl gets around everywhere.”

  “She overhead you and Jenny talking. She told me about it.”

  “Talking about what?”

  “She said Jenny wanted to quit and that I ought to help her.”

  Instantly Lewis nodded. “If you would, it would be a comfort to me, Clay. She’s afraid, and she’s uncertain, and right now she’s got more confusion than she needs.”

  “But I’ve got Jamie to take care of.”

  “Leave her with us while you’re working.”

  Startled, Clay said, “That’s what Kat told me. But I knew I had to talk to you.”

  “That girl’s got a head full of sense along with some mighty wild ideas. Look, one more child won’t matter around here. If you would help Jenny, it would be a big load off my mind, Clay.”

  “I’ll go talk to her.”

  “Sure. You leave Jamie here, and I hope it works out.”

  ****

  “Hello, Ruby, is the sheriff here?”

  “No, she’s eating lunch down at the Elite Café.”

  “Thanks, Ruby.”

  Leaving the sheriff’s office, Varek walked down the street. He turned into the Elite Café and saw Luke Dixon and Jenny sitting at a table together. He hesitated and almost turned to leave, but Dixon saw him and called out, “Hey, Clay, come on over and join us!”

  Clay walked over and said, “Hello, Luke . . . Jenny, how are you?”

  “Sit down, Clay. We’re about through eating, but we’re going to have dessert.”

  Clay hesitated, then sat down. When Jenny asked about Jamie, he smiled and said, “I left her at your house. Your dad said that with three babies around, one more child wouldn’t matter.”

  “I think he’s right about that, and Kat loves to play with Jamie. Treats her like a big doll.”

  The waitress came over and brought pie. Clay took a cup of coffee but no more. He listened as the two talked, saying little himself, and finally Dixon rose and said, “Well, I’ve got to get back to work. Good to see you, Clay.”

  “You too, Luke.”

  “That’s a good man, Jenny,” Varek said, watching the lawyer leave the café.

  “Yes, he is.”

  Something in her tone caught Varek’s attention. “You two going together—dating or anything like that?”

  “We go out once in a while.”

  Varek sipped his coffee, considered that, and then he said, “Jenny, I’ve been thinking you might need some help. I’d be glad to fill in on a part-time basis.”

  Jenny’s eyes flew open wide, and she could not speak for a moment. “Oh, Clay, it’s what I’ve been hoping for!” She put her hand on his forearm and squeezed it. “You’ll be so much help, and, to tell the truth, I’ve been downright discouraged.”

  “Well, I’m no magician, but I’ll do what I can.” Varek was highly aware of Jenny’s touch, and wanting to prolong the moment, he said, “Maybe I’d better have a sandwich and a cream soda.”

  “It’s on me.” Jenny grew conscious of the hard muscle beneath her touch and, flustered, pulled her hand away. “Now, tell me how we can catch these moonshiners.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  A Matter of Kin

  Billy Moon came hurrying in, his dark eyes bright and a smile on his lips. “Well, it looks like the new man’s going to work out.”

  Jenny and Ruby had been going over the new budget, trying to find a way to make it work. Both of them were surprised by Billy’s abrupt entrance, and it was Ruby who said, “You talking about Clay?”

  Moon came to stand in front of them, and he seemed more pleased than either of the women had ever seen him. “Arp and Pender aren’t gonna like it. They wanted to see Clay fail ever since you took him on, Sheriff.”

  This was true enough. The two deputies had been sullen and resentful of Varek ever since Jenny had brought him into the office a few weeks ago. They had been free enough with their remarks that what was not needed in the sheriff’s office was another Yankee! Clay had not responded to the two but had gone about his duties in a serious and professional way. He had been a great help already to Jenny, for he had a steady, confident way of doing things that pleased her. They had spent a great deal of time talking about the organization of the office. Jenny had waited for him to comment on Pender and Arp, but his only remark had been, “You had to have somebody, and they know the country.”

  “What did Clay do, Billy?” Jenny asked now.

  “I don’t guess you know Clyde Wiggins, do you?”

  “No. Who is he?”

  “Aw, he’s a sorry fellow that lives over by Judkins Creek. Been in about almost every kind of trouble there is.”

  “That’s right. He’s a hard one,” Ruby said, nodding. “He’s been in jail more than once, but nobody’s been able to pin anything serious on him. Did Clay have trouble with him?”

  “No, I think he had trouble with Clay.” Bil
ly laughed softly and leaned forward, putting his fist on the desk. “I just stayed back. I really wanted to test him out. Wiggins is a tough one, and I wanted to see how Clay would handle him.”

  “What was the charge?”

  “Oh, he was drunk, as usual. We caught him with two gallons of moonshine whiskey. He couldn’t drink it all. He’s bound to have been peddling it. We found him in Tal Holbert’s place, the same place you got your famous black eye, Sheriff.”

  Jenny did not like to be reminded of that. “What happened?”

  “Oh, Clay told him he was under arrest, and Wiggins pulled out that big pig sticker of a knife he always carries. He’s cut more than one man open with it.”

  “What did Clay do?” Jenny demanded.

  “Well, I couldn’t really tell. He walked straight up to Clyde, and when Clyde pulled that knife back to cut Clay, things got sort of blurred.”

  “Blurred! What does that mean?” Ruby demanded.

  “I don’t know. It happened so fast. I tell you that Varek is quicker than greased lightning. All I know is one second Wiggins was standing on his feet trying to put that knife in Clay, and the next he’s on the floor hollerin’ and screamin’ that his arm is broke. And it was too.”

  “Good!” Jenny said with intense satisfaction. “Where is he now?”

  “Oh, Clay took him to Doc Peturis to get his arm set, but he’ll be doin’ some time for this one, I think.”

  “I doubt it,” Ruby shook her head doubtfully. “He’s one of Max’s friends. I expect he’ll get bailed out tomorrow.”

  “Maybe so, but he won’t be goin’ full speed. I put him in the backseat with Clay, and he got clear over on the far side of the car. He kept watchin’ Clay like Clay was gonna eat his gizzard or somethin’. I hope we can put Wiggins away where the dogs won’t bite him. Wiggins is meaner than a junkyard dog himself, and Clay sure took his measure. He’s a nervy cuss, the kind that takes chances. Walked right up to Clyde like he was holdin’ a broom straw instead of a razor-sharp knife.”

  Jenny said no more, for she was both pleased and worried. She could not help but think of Kermit Bing, and she was terrified that someone else would get killed and another death added to her conscience. Later when Clay came in, he acted as though nothing had happened, and when she asked him about Wiggins, he said merely, “Oh, he’s not really rough. He just smells bad.”

  ****

  Clay had come to pick up Jamie and take her home, but the Winslows insisted that he stay for supper. The table was filled with heaping platters of fried fish, fried potatoes, and hushpuppies. There was also yellow squash, crunchy fried okra, purple-hulled peas, and fresh-baked bread.

  “I caught most of these fish,” Kat announced to Clay. She insisted on sitting next to him, and now she picked up one of the fish that had been fried whole. “Look, you hold the fish like this and you start at the front and you just pull this top fin out.” She demonstrated how to eat the fish. The entire fin came out, exposing steaming-hot white meat.

  “Now, you just put your teeth against the top. See, like eating corn on the cob. This way you don’t get any bones in your throat.”

  Clay winked at Lewis before saying to Kat, “I guess you’ve mastered the art of eating fish.”

  Kat dominated the conversation. “Tell me about breakin’ that old Clyde Wiggins’s arm.”

  “Nothing much to tell,” Clay said, helping himself to a fresh mound of hushpuppies. “These are good, Mrs. Winslow.”

  Missouri Ann beamed. She was holding one of the babies, as usual, and shifted him to her other arm before answering. “Anybody can make good hushpuppies.”

  “Hushpuppies aren’t as good as these crawdads,” Kat announced. “Try some of them. I caught ’em myself, Clay.”

  Clay eyed the crawdad étouffée. “I never ate crawdads before.”

  “You’ll like ’em,” Clint said. “I cooked ’em myself. I was a short-order cook one time on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Maybe I’ll go back there and become a famous chef.”

  Kat said, “No, you can’t go back. You’ve got to stay here and take care of your family. You’re going to have a baby.”

  The meal was delicious, and finally Lewis said, “I understand you’re doing a fine job. We appreciate it, Clay.”

  “I was the one that made him become a deputy,” Kat announced loudly.

  “You are the one who eavesdropped on me and your sister—and stop bragging.”

  “It ain’t braggin’ if I can do it, Daddy. And I did it, didn’t I, Clay?”

  “I reckon you did.”

  Everyone was amused by Kat’s pronouncement. The talk then went around to the problem with the bootleggers, and Jenny shook her head, a cloud coming into her eyes. “It’s so hard to catch them, and when you catch one there’s always another one to take his place.”

  Lewis smiled. “I remember a fellow once in our county. He was overrun with blackbirds, and he set out to shoot ’em. He killed three with a shotgun, and I asked him, ‘You think that discourages ’em?’ He looked right at me and said, ‘It discouraged those three.’ ”

  “I don’t see why the federal officers can’t help,” Missouri Ann said. “It’s really their job, isn’t it? I mean it’s a federal offense.”

  “There just aren’t enough of them. They’re overworked,” Jenny said.

  Clay chewed thoughtfully on a morsel of fish and swallowed it. “What we need is a good undercover agent. I had a good one in Chicago. He was right on the inside, knew every crook there. He’d tell us about a job that was gonna be pulled, and we’d be right there.”

  “Well, is he still there?” Lewis asked with interest.

  “No,” Clay said, and something came into his face. “They found out he was an undercover man, and we found him dead in an alley.” He shook his head and added, “It’s hard to find a good undercover man. The trouble is you have to find someone that the crooks trust—but who’s honest. There aren’t many like that.”

  “There must be someone around here that could do that,” Missouri Ann said. “I’ll pray on it.”

  Lewis reached over and squeezed Missouri Ann’s neck. “I’ll bet you will,” he said, “and you’ll probably get an answer.”

  After the dessert, which was an apple pie Hannah had made, Clint said, “Come on out. I want to show you one of my newest inventions.”

  Clay got up and walked outside. Clint led him around the house to the barn, and when they stepped inside, he said, “I’m not quite through with it yet, but I think it’ll work.”

  Clay looked down at the invention, which he recognized at once. “Why, it’s a three-seat baby carriage.”

  “Hard to go anywhere with three infants. I couldn’t decide whether to make it where they’d all three lie next to each other or in tandem, so I finally compromised. Two in the back and one in the front. That makes it narrow enough to maneuver.”

  “Why, this is great! Where’d you get the parts?”

  “Oh, buggies from the junkyard. There was an old one up in the loft somebody left. Anyway, it’ll make life a little easier on Lewis and Missouri.”

  “That’s a great job. They’ll love it.”

  “Clay, do you reckon I could become an undercover agent?”

  Quickly Clay looked up. “Not a chance in the world,” he said. “Everybody knows you’re tight with the sheriff. You wouldn’t get anywhere. Neither would I. Nope, I respect Missouri’s praying, but I doubt if it’ll do any good. There aren’t many people that can live that kind of life. You have to be one of them. That means doin’ what criminals do on one side, and they do some pretty rough things. I couldn’t handle it, I don’t think.”

  “Well, don’t put it by Missouri to pray one up. That woman is a powerful woman of prayer.”

  ****

  Lewis maneuvered the carriage down the sidewalk, conscious that everybody who passed stopped to stare.

  “That’s what I like, wife, everybody looking at me. I always like to be the center of
attention.”

  “You do not! You hate it.” Missouri walked alongside Lewis and took his arm. “Isn’t the carriage wonderful?”

  “It really is. That Clint’s a wonder.” He leaned forward and looked at the three infants—Temple in the front with Samuel and Michael in the back. “I don’t know how that man does it, but it’s easier than trying to carry them in your hip pocket.”

  “What did you think about what Clay said, about an undercover agent?”

  “I don’t think they’ll find anybody. It’s hard to sneak up on bootleggers. They’re crafty, violent people and so are the men who traffic the stuff. As a matter of fact, I hear some racketeers are filtering in from the North to do just that.”

  The two walked along, stopping from time to time as people came over to look down into the carriage. Most of them smiled and reached in to touch the infants, and for once all three of them seemed happy and content.

  Missouri watched Lewis’s face as they walked along the street. Finally she said, “Lewis, you don’t really mind having three babies, do you?”

  “Mind! Why, I’ve never been so proud in my life.”

  “I was afraid you’d be upset.”

  “Not a bit of it! I wouldn’t turn back the clock for anything.” Lewis was very much aware that, although Missouri never mentioned it, she was intimidated by the thought of his first wife, who had been a cultured woman. Missouri was learning to speak with a little better grammar, but she still was not entirely secure.

  “Nope, I wouldn’t go back,” Lewis said. “You can’t live in the past. You can go back to a place you once knew, but all you can do is say, ‘Oh yes, I know this place.’ You may remember it, but it won’t remember you. These boys, I want to pour my life into them.” He turned to her and added, “And into you, wife.” He saw tears come into her eyes and put his arm around her. “God has given us three wonderful children, and we’re going to raise them and love each other, and I don’t want to hear any more about it. Look, let’s go into the sheriff’s office and see how many criminals my daughter’s caught.”