Kelly and I were greeted with smiling faces upon our return from Honeymoon. Their collective smiles soon disappeared when I told them that I wasn't going to stand for re-election that November. Their level of disappointment increased when Kelly said that she would also be leaving the department when a replacement had been found and introduced to the job.

That meant, that we would be two officers short in a few months.

Once I'd given everyone the bad news and the team went off on their assignments for the day, I received an update on the two temporary officers who had stood in for Kelly and me.

“Bradley fitted in right away,” said Sue-Ellen.

“That’s sorta what we’d hoped,” I replied.

“Did you broach the subject of coming to work for the department?”

"I did, and it is a no-no. He's very settled over in Clark County, and his mother is in the nursing home that is next to the local Hospital. He made it clear when I floated the idea of coming to work here that he does not want to commute especially in Winter."

"Ok. That's a strikeout. How about our rookie?"

"Ed shows promise. He's a willing learner. Once he had gotten most of what had been drummed into him at the Academy about always following the letter of the law out of his head, he began to understand that being a county officer is all about serving the residents of the county. He got the idea that giving a ticket is not the first duty of an officer pretty quickly especially when he understood that we don’t pay by tickets to the residents of the county and beyond."

"Is he a keeper? I know he's due to go back to his base in a couple of days but it would be nice to have a new face around here. But it very much is down to you."

Sue-Ellen gave me that look of hers that said ‘Really?’.

“I mean it, Sue-Ellen. Now that is it public knowledge that Kelly and I are leaving it is up to us to find replacements, but we’ll leave the final decisions to you.”

I got that look again.

“Is Kelly really set on leaving us?”

Kelly and I had discussed this on the flight back from San Francisco.

“We think it is the right time for us to do something together. We aren't sure what or where at the moment, but as Kelly said, she won't leave you in the lurch with winter and the holidays coming along. At the moment, I’d say that Kelly will leave around the end of January but that is still open."

Sue-Ellen breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ok, any ideas as to where we could get another Officer from and one that has some experience?”

I smiled. This had been on my mind for some time.

“If we can persuade Ed to transfer over from the State Police, it wouldn’t be prudent to try to poach one of their more experienced officers now would it?”

Sue-Ellen agreed with me.

"I think we should advertise but also put the word out to the adjacent counties including, the two over the state line in Colorado."

The mention of Colorado surprised Sue-Ellen.

"You have someone in mind, Matt Harker. I know you!" exclaimed Sue-Ellen.

"What if I did? There are ways to do this and ways not to do this. The last thing we need is to visibly poach an officer from a neighbouring department if we want any co-operation from them in future that it."

“That’s true,” agreed Sue-Ellen.
"So, if we go through formal channels, then is it all above board? The formal channels being via their department chief’s?”

“That’s about it.”

“Why didn’t we do that after you fired your brother?”

I smiled back at my deputy.
“What makes you think I didn’t? I called all the adjacent county PD’s and made some gentle enquiries. There were no takers so that’s why we advertised.”

“Won’t it be the same again?”

"Time has passed, hasn't it. Someone might be looking for a change. Then there are the cuts to budgets. Most counties aren't as lucky as us. We are self-funding and, that has taken the hard work of all of us. I hope you can carry that on. Money from local taxes that would otherwise go to fund the PD can be used for better purposes."

“I’ll try very hard to keep it that way.”

“Remember that we get a lot of that money for doing the job of the state police.”
“But we digress. Why don’t you call the PD’s? Then you can explain why we are on the lookout for good officers.”

“Me?”

"Yes, you. Make it part of the handover process."

“But I have not been elected yet? What if someone stands against me and wins?”

“Who? Come on now Sue-Ellen. Who in the county is going to stand against you and win?”

“But what about someone from outside?”

“And they’ll stand no chance. One of the great things about a small county like ours is that we know just about everyone in the county by name. We know their business and everything. Do you honestly think that the good folk of this county would want a total outside running their PD? Plus, that outside person would not be aware of the things that we happily turn a blind eye to? That makes for a happy and safe county. The outsider could very well clamp down and start giving out tickets like confetti. That is not the Custer County that we know and love.”

“I guess not… when you put it like that,” said Sue-Ellen.

---

I put any thoughts about what I’d or rather what we’d do after I was no longer Sheriff to one side. We had a PD to run and a rookie to train. Ed’s transfer from the State Police wasn’t going to be a problem. His Captain called me and wished him well with us. I felt very relieved that we hadn’t burned our bridges with the State Cops.

Sue-Ellen started her campaign to become Sheriff. We were all anxiously waiting for the day when the nominations closed. Then we’d know if she was in for a fight.

Contested Elections are a rarity for Custer County. Every so often, one occurs if for nothing more than to keep the local Politicians honest. We are a small, sparsely populated county where everyone knows everyone else. Because of that, anyone who stands is well known and what their business is almost an open book. Many of us who had lived elsewhere knew just how lucky we were.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that our future, did lie as the Scots say, 'outwith' Custer County.

I broached the idea with Kelly one night as we lay in bed.

"I think you might be right. Custer County is lovely but, the opportunities for us unless we start a farm from scratch are limited."

“Whatever we do, I’m not going anywhere until after Christmas. Ma has big plans for us as it is my big four zero a week before.”

Kelly chuckled.
“I know. Ma is planning something but she’s keeping things very close to her chest.”

“You mean that she has not confided in you?”

“No, she hasn't and, that is what is making it more mysterious."

“I’d rather just go out to dinner with you and Ma than have a party with loads of people I hardly know.”

Kelly sat back and laughed.
"That's the Matt I love. The one that does not want to rock the boat or make a scene. That's what this whole PD is about isn't it?"

"To protect and serve. We serve the people of this county by being human. This tendency for prosecutors to demand the maximum sentence for even trivial crimes is not how we operate here. We are not gun-toting crime fighters pretending to be superheroes!”

Kelly gave me a passionate kiss.
"Are you sure you aren't standing for election to Sheriff? That last little speech sure sounded like a political speech.”

“It isn’t. If I ever decide to stand for election to anything more than a school board you have my permission to kill me.”

"You actually have switched off from being Sheriff, haven't you?"

“Yeah. It was meeting Nancy that opened my eyes to the world outside our little almost crime-free oasis of Custer County. That PD is the sort that gives PD's, in general, a really bad name."

“Matt Harker! I saw that glint in your eye. If you were offered the chance to run the PD, you’d jump at it.”

I shook my head.
“What did I just say about standing for election? I’m done running anything like a PD.”

Kelly didn’t answer so I got in.
“Now… If you want to do it… then I’ll be right behind you.”

Kelly burst out laughing.
“Now you are joking.”

I remained stony-faced.

“You are serious, aren’t you?”

"I am being perfectly serious. You are one heck of a Police Officer. That idiotic family of yours back in the Big Apple, really don't know what they have lost."

“Compliments like that will get you everywhere…”

"Later, my darling wife, later."

"Spoilsport," replied Kelly who, then stuck her tongue out at me.

Her relaxed nature was just one of the things I'd grown to love about her. I didn’t have to ‘tread on eggshells’ with her if we disagreed about something.

---

[mid-October]

“Nervous?” I asked Sue-Ellen.

Today was the day when entries for the forthcoming elections closed.

"Not really. If someone stands against me, then so be it. I have a record for all the voters to see. Anyone else will have to fight against that."

I smiled at her. She'd come a long way since I first hired her into the department. To be honest, all my officers had progressed in their own ways.

"I'll be in your corner if needed. As far as I'm concerned there is no one better to run the show here."

"Thanks, Matt. I appreciate it."

“Only a few hours to go before we’ll know if there is a fight on our hands. Fancy checking some Semi’s for weight violations?”

"Why not. It is a nice day for a change. This past week has been pretty bad weather-wise."

I smiled back at her.

“Get your gear ready. Tom had the scales calibrated the other day. I’ll get them from the storeroom and meet you outside in ten.”

"Ok, Sheriff."

Sue-Ellen went off to get her vehicle ready. We both knew that my suggestion was purely to try to take her mind off of the pending deadline. She'd done the same to me four years before, and Kelly had done it last election time.

[later that afternoon]

“That was a good day,” I commented as Sue-Ellen and I returned to the office. Kelly had been there all day, taking her turn on paperwork duty.

“How many overweight trucks did you ticket?” asked Kelly.

“None. Everyone that went on the scales was well within their permitted loads. We only gave out one ticket for not having a certified fire extinguisher onboard. The ticket on it had run out last August."

“Any news?” asked Kelly.

We didn’t need to know what ‘news’ that was.

"The ballot closed at Midday. The list is due to be published at four. That's in ten minutes," I replied.

“Just time for us women to make ourselves half presentable,” suggested Kelly.

Kelly and Sue-Ellen disappeared off to do whatever it is that women do in their toilets. For Sue-Ellen, that probably meant putting on some lipstick. Other than that, I couldn’t recall her ever wearing any more makeup than that. Kelly used a bit more but not to excess. She was just about perfect in my eyes anyway.

The three of us trooped over to the town hall just as the clock struck four. The list of candidates had already been posted on the board outside the Town Hall. Kelly and I stood back as Sue-Ellen went up the three steps to examine the data.

I knew from her body language just a few seconds later, that she was going to be elected unopposed. Of course, it would not be official until election day but, I'd have to get used to calling her 'Sheriff'.

"Congratulations, Sheriff," I said and gave her a brief hug. Kelly did the same.

“It isn’t official. Someone could always challenge it in court.”

“They’d be mad to do so. Everyone here would be on your side.”

Like all my officers apart from Kelly, she’d been born in Custer County. Kelly had become virtually a local now that she was my wife. That's how the PD had been run since WW2 and, none of us wanted it to be any different.

My thoughts went back to the incident in California where I'd been ticketed, for no good reason other than my rental car had out of state plates. That town had become much like the ones portrayed in many Westerns where one family seemed to run the town. I thanked God that Custer had never been like that.

---

“Boss,” said Sue-Ellen a few days later.

I smiled back at her. I was in the middle of clearing my desk. Unbeknown to her, I’d ordered her business cards and the plate for the office door earlier that day.

"Yes, Sheriff?"

"I have received an email from the Colorado State Police. One of their officers who lives just across the state line might be interested in joining us. His home base is moving to Denver in the new year and, he's not that keen on uprooting his family. His kids already go to High School in Clark County."

I knew that a few families who lived close to the State Line had enrolled their children in our schools. Otherwise, they could have a round trip of over a hundred miles to a Colorado High School. Some states were very rigid on the funding, but others were less strict.

“So? What has it to do with me?”

Sue-Ellen gave me that look that said, ‘you will always be Sheriff here’.

“I wondered if you might find time from your extraordinary busy schedule to interview him for me?”

Since the news that Sue-Ellen had become Sheriff-elect, I'd more or less handed the running of the department, over to her. That way, she'd hit the ground running when I was no longer around.

"Ok. What is his name and when?"

“His name is Morten Jansen. I think we have come across him before.”

The name sounded familiar as I racked my brains to think when our paths had crossed before.

After a few minutes, it came to me.
“Sandy Thompson,” I said out loud.

“What do you mean?”

“Mort Jansen helped us arrest the Clancy Brothers. At least he blocked the back way out of their place when we went in to grab them.”

Sue-Ellen smiled back at me.
“See Sheriff, you do have some uses around here.”

“Humph!”

She passed a thin file on to me.

"This is what came from the State Police. His record is unblemished and, he has fifteen years of service. Five of which were with the Denver PD and the last ten with the State Police."

"Ok, I'll set up an interview but, that's it. The ball is in your court now. I'm not taking any responsibility for hiring offers into your department."

Sue-Ellen grinned back at me.
"I know but, I do value your judgement. Perhaps, you could go and sound him out before we formally interview him?"

It was my turn to smile.
“That I can do.”

---

Three days later, I headed across Truck Stop on the Interstate in the late afternoon to have a chat with Morten Jansen. I saw him waiting for me in the Restaurant. We often saw officers from over the State Line in the place as there wasn't anything worth talking about in terms of eateries until you got much closer to Denver. It was not unknown for a Colorado Officer to tail a suspect vehicle out of our state and into theirs before making a vehicle stop. It was all part of the way that Police departments cooperated out here in the boonies.

“Hi Morten," I said as I sat down near him. His Scandinavian roots showed as he was tall and blonde. He appeared to be a few years older than me. Then I realised that was not out of order as he had a family and had two teenage sons at school in the next county.

“Sheriff. Nice to put a face to a voice.”

It was then that I realised that I’d conversed with him over the radio many times in recent years.

“Same here.”

I sat opposite and stirred my coffee.

“Thanks for taking the time to come today. This isn’t a formal interview. If all goes well, the new Sheriff will do that.”

“I sort of guessed as much. What do you want to know?”

“Primarily, what sort of fit you’d have with the department. We are only a small PD and we don’t have time for people with big ego’s.”

He smiled.
“I take it that you mean your brother Walt?”

“You know about him?”

“Word travels. That last episode was by all accounts a bit of a stinker.”

I remembered back to the incident with the surface to air missiles.

“Yeah. How they agreed to let him walk is beyond me and way above my pay grade.”

"Rest assured Sheriff, I'm not someone who rocks the boat unless it very much needs rocking."

“That’s good to hear.”

“If you are wondering about how living in another state would work then ask yourself how many New York cops live on the other side of the Hudson in New Jersey?”

“Good point but distances are much larger out here.”

He smiled back at me.

“That’s why and I have discussed this with my family, we’d move closer to town should I be given this chance. My wife has relatives in Custer so it is not as if we are total strangers.”

That was good to know.

[one hour and two refills of coffee later]

"Thanks for the chat, Morten. It has been very useful."

“Thanks for letting me state my case but I still can’t fathom out why you are quitting. My Captain said to say that if you wanted a job then just say so and there would be one for you.”

I shook my head.
“Tell him thanks but at the moment, I’m done with law enforcement for the foreseeable future. As I newlywed, my wife and I want to try doing something together.”

“Congrats on getting married. I hope it lasts. Far too many Police Officers end up divorced.”

“That’s something we haven’t had for over twenty years when old Sheriff Nicholson fell for a much younger woman. I guess that is because we are much more part of the community than in big cities.”

Morten didn’t disagree with that.

We shook hands and headed for our cars. There was rain in the air.

“Drive carefully. That rain will make the concrete pavement surface of the border a bit slippery.”

“I know. Thankfully, I’m off until Monday.”

With that, we went our separate ways.

I watched him drive off and knew that he’d make a good replacement for me. All it needed now was for Sue-Ellen to formally interview him.

---

“How did it go?” asked Sue-Ellen the moment I set foot in the office the following day.

“Ok,” I answered trying to be as non-committal as possible.

“Don’t give me that Matt Harker. Is he worth interviewing?”

“Yes. Yes, he is.”

“Good. I’ll arrange it. And?”

"And nothing. As I said before, this is your ballgame now. As far as I'm concerned, he is worth a second look. Beyond that, I'm saying nothing. I don't want to taint your opinion of him… Sheriff!"

Sue-Ellen got the message much to the obvious enjoyment of Kelly.

“He’s off work until Monday so?”

Sue-Ellen smiled.
“I’ll give him a call and get him over here for a formal interview. It will give me something to do on Sunday afternoon.”

---

That night she said to me,
"You have almost switched off from the job, haven’t you?”

“Just about. I’m counting down the days.”

“Still no idea about what’s next?”

"Have you seen the list of jobs that Ma has got stuck to the Fridge? That will keep me occupied for at least two months if we don't get any snow, that is."

“Yeah. I saw it. Things have gotten a little tired around here recently.”

“I know. The one thing that good for nothing brother of mine was good at and that was keeping this place functioning…”

“How can he be good for nothing if he’s good at one thing?” argued Kelly with a huge grin on her face.

I knew what she wanted.

---

[Election Day]

The formal handover of power from me to Sue-Ellen turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax. She'd been running the department for nearly two weeks by then and handing over was just another day at the office except for me. I’d made it known that on my last day so I’d be buying everyone a drink at Harry’s Bar after work.

I'd sort of volunteered to spend my last day in the office doing the paperwork but an almost endless stream of people kept dropping by to wish me well for the future that I didn't get much work done. No one was very bothered as it was my last day on the job, the end of an era and all that. My only problem was the snail's pace that the clock moved at. I didn't think about the chores I had lined up at home that waited for me. First up was painting the outside of the house. Even the weather conspired to be against me in that the forecast said that it would be cold but dry all week. It needed to be done before winter especially if, at some point in the future, we were going to sell up and move on.

If that wasn’t bad enough then clearing up the yard was going to be an even worse job. Walt presence was everywhere once you started looking.
Pretty well every car he’d ever owned was rusting away on our property. Most had just been towed home and left to rot. I’d had a quiet word with Danny SWA and he was going to clear them for me. He’d get them crushed and recycled but there was still a large amount of just plain rubbish left to deal with which was a job I was not looking forward to.

My daydreaming was interrupted by the arrival of Tom with a prisoner. As the nominal ‘Duty Officer’, it was my job to book them in. The man in custody was a salesman from Dallas and had been caught speeding on the Interstate while intoxicated. His days as a ‘travelling salesman’ could well be at an end.

I booked him in and called the Doc over to take a blood sample. I felt rather sad that my last job as an Officer of the Law was to handle a drunk. I’d had more than my fill of them in my time as an MP.

It was then that I remembered that my first case as a rookie MP was also a drunk. Talk about things going full circle!

[to be continued]