[this part is written from the Kelly POV]

I was having a break with Tom at the truck stop on the Interstate when Matt arrived out of the blue.

“Hello darling, what are you doing here?”

He smiled back at me and handed me two sheets of paper.

“I’ve been working on your resume. You know bringing it up to date and all that jazz.”

Once again, my dear husband had read my thoughts and acted on them. I was a fool to have ever doubted that he was behind me in going after the job of Chief of Police.

“I’ll see you outside,” said Tom as he left us alone.

“I’ll only be a few minutes,” I said hopefully.

Matt smiled at Tom and said to me,
“Take some time to read what I’ve done and we can talk tonight.”

"Ok, but how is Ma? I had to leave before she got up this morning.”

Matt grinned.
“She waited until you were gone then she bent my ear for all of two minutes.”

That didn’t sound too good.

“What did she say?”

“Oh, the usual thing about not telling her what we were thinking before we came to a decision,” said Matt.
“I told her that if you had decided not to apply for the job then not telling her would have meant her not having to worry about what might happen...”

“That did not go down very well if I know Ma?”

“It didn’t but after a bit, she said, 'You certainly want Kelly to get this job, don't you?'."

Kelly smiled.
“Did she say that with one eyebrow raised?”

“Yep. I told her that it would be good for you and we can get a fresh start as a family which in case she hadn’t realised, included her. That went down with her a lot better than it did last night. She’s coming around. Slowly but she’s coming around.”

“Like you said she would?”

“I did and she is starting to accept things are going to change. When I left home, she was emptying the drawers in her bedroom. Spring cleaning, she called it.”

I felt so relieved.

"Thanks, love, I'll read this work of fiction if I get a spare minute this afternoon but if the morning is anything to go by, then we'll be busy all the time. We pulled over this guy in his Tesla earlier. He was doing 85 and reading a book at the same time. He tried to say that his autopilot was in total control. It might be but it is still not allowed by State Law.”

“Idiot. That isn’t the first one like that we have encountered and won’t be the last,” said Matt.

Then he realised that he’d spoken as if he was still on the job.

“Sorry. Slip of the tongue.”

I squeezed his hand.
“It will take time for you to get used to not being a cop.”

“I know. I keep thinking about what I should be doing with the department then I realise that I’m done with that and should be thinking about the future rather than the past.”

I leaned over and kissed him before saying goodbye. I knew that there would be a good few more slips like that before it finally sunk in that Matt was no longer an officer of the law. It was becoming clear to me that he needed a project to get his teeth into. Moving home might be just what he needed to get the 'cop' vibe out of his blood at least temporarily.

Before I went and found Tom, I took a look at my new book of fiction a.k.a. my resume. It was good. Very good, now outright lies and wasn’t too boastful.

---

Ma was much more her usual self that night.

“I’ve sorted out my stuff,” she announced over dinner.
“There are ten bags of clothes and things for goodwill in the barn. I’ll let the two of you deal with them.”

I saw Matt trying to suppress a laugh. Thankfully, he managed it.

“Ma!” I said,
“I haven’t even formally applied for the job let alone got an interview. Aren’t you putting the cart before the horse?”

“Rubbish. You will get the job!” said Ma firmly.

I couldn't tell if she truly meant it or was saying it just to bolster her confidence. Her normal 'tells' were strangely absent.

“I will email my resume tonight. Then we’ll see what transpires,” I said trying to sound confident.

The resume that Matt had given me was very flattering. He'd even attached a glowing reference from Sue-Ellen and my old Captain in the NYPD. All I hoped was that when my status, was revealed it would not matter too much. Anyone with decent search skills could find out my whole slightly sordid history in under ten minutes if they wanted.

“I’m sure it will knock them out,” said Ma.

I wasn't sure if knocking them out was the right thing to say, but I got the idea. Matt had been watching what went on between Ma and me. Since we'd been married, he'd stood back and let me duel with Ma when before he'd intervene on my behalf. I knew that this was his way of saying, 'you are proper family now and can fight your own corner, but I'm here if needed.

This marriage malarkey was taking some time to get used to. I wondered if it was harder for people like us who didn't get hitched until we were virtually middle-aged than for youngsters who didn't have a care in the world. That was a question I'd never really get a proper answer to.

---

My phone went ‘ping’, some three days later. I had a new email. As soon as I saw who it was from, I dared not breathe.

“Ms Beecher,
Thank you for your application to become Chief of Police. We have offered the position to another very well qualified candidate. Thank you again for your interest.

Regards,
Emilio Sanchez
Acting Chief of Police.
“

That was it. I didn't get the job. Nancy had even called me two days before to say that I was very well positioned to get an interview. Now, this. If I had been closer, I might well have gone to see this Emilio Sanchez in person and demanded to know why I'd been rejected, at this early stage, but I was close to a thousand miles away from him so I couldn't.

I wasn’t looking forward to telling Matt. Then there was Ma. Ma would probably say nothing but her face would tell a different picture.

That evening was much as I’d predicted. Dinner was like a silent movie. Lots of action but no sound. I was pleased when Ma went off to watch some TV. I'd had more than enough of the silent treatment back in New York.

“It won’t last,” said Matt as a way of comforting me.

“Well, are you going to call Nancy?”

I should have guessed that was coming. I knew that I had to do it but very much didn't want to.

"She won't bite, you know," said Matt.

I knew that he was right, but it wasn’t much comfort to me with the words from the email ingrained in my mind.

Matt took my phone and made the call. When it started ringing, he gave it back to me. He had that look on his face that told me that he wasn't going to let up until we at least knew why I didn't get at least an interview.

"Hi, Nancy. How's things?"

“We are good.”

I took a deep breath before continuing.
"I had an email from the acting Chief. It said that the position had been filled. Didn't you say that applications only opened two days ago? What happened?”

“You are kidding? Please say that you are?”

I listened to what Nancy was saying. As I did so, I felt the anger that I’d last felt in New York start to awaken. What I was hearing was not good.

“What are you guys going to do about it?”

“Attorney General? That sounds very serious?”

“Ok. Good luck. You guys are gonna need it.”

“Give my love to Rose. Matt sends his best.”

“Bye.”

I ended the call and sat still for well over a minute with my eyes closed. Thankfully, Matt was patient with me. He was the last person I wanted to get angry with at the moment.

Eventually, I had composed myself enough to face Matt.

"Nancy told me what has happened, and the locals are not happy. The temporary chief didn't even bother to interview anyone. He offered the role to a crony of his who just happened to have been at the academy. The guy has never even been to the town. The local action group are going to appeal to the States Attorney in an attempt to get the decision overturned.”

"That is not good. Why do these people try to… forget it? That's human nature, but even so… it sucks big time. Where is this new chief working now? Do you know?"

“Why?”

Matt managed to smile at me. I know that he was trying to help, but it didn't do much

“There is no smoke without fire. I’d like to find out what this supposed new guy is all about. Skeletons in the closet and all that.”

I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to follow this job application up any longer. I wondered if the whole state police organisation was corrupt from top to bottom.

“You don’t have to do that darling.”

“I do. I kind of liked the place apart from the cops.”

I saw that twinkle in his eyes. That was the same twinkle he’d had when he’d returned from the first fishing expedition. I knew that Matt had set his heart on going there.

“I could apply for a deputy’s role you know?”

Matt laughed.

"And last all of five minutes."

He leaned over and gave me a longish kiss.
“It would be the same here now that I'm not Sheriff. You are working out your notice for the sake of the department, but be honest Kelly, you have been itching to be Sheriff, and despite knowing all along that Sue-Ellen was my tip for the job, you wanted it as well. With her installed as Sheriff, it could be another ten years before you got a chance.”

Matt looked me right in the eye.
“Well? Am I right?”

He was right but had just driven a stake right into my heart.

“So, fight for this other job. Show the doubters that you are not going to take this lying down. You aren’t a quitter, are you? You would not be here today if you were.”

Matt knew me too well. That's part of why I love him so much, but he can be so frustratingly honest. This is one of those times.

Matt smiled at me again.
"There is clearly some skulduggery… lovely word that… something wrong with the whole selection process. Given the situation with the old chief and his clique, the very least we can demand is an open and fair selection process. To award the job to a crony of the temporary chief is wrong, very wrong."

“But… we are so far away. I don’t know what to do?” was my reply.

“That lawyer from Frisco, Mr Rieck, he’ll know of an attorney who knows the law here and can act on your behalf.”

I was stunned by what Matt was suggesting.
"You mean, sue the PD?"

"No, sue the acting chief. I guess that even the mere threat could cause changes. If there is skulduggery… that word again, going on, the last thing they would want is to have the magnifying glass put over the whole selection process.”

I wasn’t sure if this was the way I wanted to go.
"But if it ended up in court, all sorts of things could come out. You know what I mean."

"And you can hold your head up high. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of, is there?"

He was right and bloody usual. Matt was always direct when dealing with people.

I wasn’t sure what I should do next, so Matt decided for me.

“Why not send Mr Rieck an email and include all the details, especially the email about the rejection and your resume. At the very least, he'll cast his eyes over it before passing it on. If he does pass it on, then I'd take it that he thinks that the case has merit."

“He’d do that and not whack us with a huge bill?”

Matt smiled back at me again. The look in his eyes told me that he was ten steps at least ahead of me. If he hadn’t sworn off ever putting a PD uniform on again, I’d be suggesting that he should apply for Chief.

“You seem to be forgetting that there is a big pile of our money sitting in his client account that belongs to us. We could use a small chunk of that to get a lawyer to look at the case. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Damm him! He was right… again.

“Ok,” I replied slightly wearily.

As I’d hoped, Matt stepped up and composed the email to Mr Rieck for me. I offered a few suggestions more out of hope than anything but to my surprise, Matt agreed with them and made the changes.

In less than an hour, he'd laid out the basis for a complaint in a document. It all looked so formal, but it had to be done.

“Ready?” he asked.

I sat back from the computer and thought for a few seconds. It was nearly one in the morning. I realised that I had to be in the office in five hours.

“Yes,” I replied as I hit ‘Send’.
“Now I’m going to bed. I’m on early tomorrow in case you had forgotten.”

Matt gave me a long goodnight kiss. It made me realise that he wasn't angry with me at all. He genuinely wanted me to get the job, even if it was just so that he could slope off fishing a few times a week.

---

Thankfully, work prevented me from dwelling too much on what was happening or not happening in California. Tom was out sick with a very heavy cold, so we were a man down. Our 'rookie' Ed, was a great help. He'd gotten rid of a lot of the rigidity that had been drummed into him at the Academy. He was proving to be a useful asset to the department.

Ed and I had been out checking the culverts around the county. We'd had a lot of rain in the past week or so, and the County Road crew were busy repairing some minor flood damage, so we stepped in to give some places a good inspection before the next storm rolled in. If it carried on getting colder, it would not be rain that it brought but snow. This early in the year, it would probably not hang around very long so some more flooding was likely.

Ed had been raised in the city, so country life was as strange to him as it had been to me when I first arrived on the scene. Being out and about around the county, gave a lot of locals the chance to meet our 'newbie'. This was the same way that Matt had introduced me to the county. It made me feel rather old for once because I was no longer the youngest in the department.

Matt had teased me over this the previous night until Ma had shut him up with a few choice words.

I knew that Matt was only teasing but to have Ma on my side was comforting. All these little things allowed me to push California and what it might or might not mean to the back of my mind.

We’d had an email from Mr Reick letting us know that he’d passed our possible case onto another law firm and that we’d be hearing from them in due course. It took a lot of willpower to stop myself from getting on the phone and demanding what was taking so long.

After nearly a week, Nancy told us in an email what was going on in her town.

“Kelly, Matt,
I don't know what it was that someone did, but things have moved on here since we spoke. Yesterday, it all took off. Three people from the States Attorney's Office came into town. By all accounts gave the acting chief a real dressing down. My neighbour George overheard some of the conversations while he was in the Department trying to renew his gun permit.

He said that the people from Sacramento had received some complaints about the selection process for the next Chief. Prospective candidates had sent in their applications well within the allotted time only to find that a decision had already been made. They told the acting chief that there was due process and it had to be followed and that their office would henceforth be overseeing the whole thing.

I fully expect that once the dust settles, Kelly will receive an invitation to an interview in Sacramento. That is a sign of how serious the people in the state capital are treating this.

Kelly, you’d better get your best uniform pressed sharp! Go for it girl!

Nancy.
“

We both read the email several times.

“I hadn’t planned on wearing my uniform to an interview,” I admitted.

“If I was interviewing a currently serving officer for a top job then I’d expect it,” replied Matt.
"What would happen back east? If you were being interviewed formally for a Captain's position would you not wear your full dress uniform?"

“I suppose so,” I replied knowing very well that I would do just that. First impressions and all that.

“Well?” asked Matt.

“I’d better sort out my best uniform and get it cleaned ASAP then?”

“That’s the spirit.”

“It is easy for you. Your days of wearing a uniform are long gone.”

Matt laughed.

He picked up his phone and quickly found a picture.

“Is this not a uniform?”

The picture was of Danny SWA standing proudly alongside his latest recovery truck.

“Ok, ok. You know what I mean.”

Matt just hugged me.

---

The phone call from California came late the next Tuesday. I’d just finished writing a ticket to a Colorado driver for carrying an unsafe load in the back of his pickup.

“Hello?” I said when I answered the phone.
The Caller ID was from an area code that was unfamiliar to me.

“Yes, this is she. How can I help?”

“Oh yes. I did apply and was told that it had been filled.”

"Yes, I am still interested in the position. When would you like me to come for an interview?"

“Tomorrow? That is rather short notice. I’d have to see if I can get a flight.”

“Yes, a flight. I live east of Denver.”

“Yes, the one in Colorado.”

"The day after is a lot better. Then I can arrange cover at work."

“Good. Can you email me all the details of when and where it will take place?”

“Today would be good. I have to book a hotel and the like.”

“Thanks.”

I hung up the phone and saw Ed grinning from ear to ear.

“That was good news then?”

“Only the first step, only the first step.”

"Good for you. I'm sure that you will get the position."

Then he dropped a bombshell.
“I told my sister Debs about you. She’s like you. She was once my brother.”

“You knew about me?”

“Sorry. The Sheriff told me before we had our first patrol together. I told her about Karen and he responded in kind. Debs is a student majoring in Architecture over in Portland and is hoping to finish her transition once she graduates next summer.”

"Thanks, Ed. It is good to know about your sister. I hope she does well."

“I hope so too.”

Ed looked at his watch.

“Do you think it is time to call it a day? You’ll be wanting to tell Sheriff Matt about your interview, won’t you?”

“Yes, Ed I will but first, we need to go back to town so that I can update the actual Sheriff. You know, our real boss?”

"Yes, boss!"

[to be continued]