Howdy Folks,
On April 9, 2013 I posted the first installment of "Coming Home" and then followed with Pt 2, on April 10, Pt 3 on April 11, Pt 4 on May 8, Pt 5 on May 21, and Pt 6 June 18. ... If you're just joining us you can find Pt 1 HERE, and each segment has a link to the next (If you'd like to revisit Pt 6 Click Here) … In Pt 6 we left Billie and Hector in her new office … Enjoy this next installment.
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She motioned for Hector to take the desk chair, Billie had designs on the leather couch. She called down the hall for Deputy Hardin to bring everything he could get his hands on about the prisoner Roy was transporting from Salado County, then collapsed on the couch. The day was beginning to take a toll. She'd been up thirty-six hours, fast highway driving for too many of them, then sworn in, sort of, as a Detective in her home town, so she could start the investigation of a lifelong friend's killing.
She turned to Hector, "That was, Juan del Paso, killed out there today wasn't it?"
Hector nodded.
Billie pulled her tablet and recorded that fact. She'd recognized him on the scene, or thought she had. "Was he in trouble again?" She'd known Juan, pretty well actually. Her father had tried to help him over the years. Helped him get his GED, and jobs, and he'd often gone to Juan's grandmother's house, where he lived, to talk sense to the boy. She'd even gone along on some of those visits. She respected her father's faith in every man, but she honestly could never see why he'd tried so hard for such a determined loser. She'd honored his request though and helped tutor Juan for his tests, and had grown to like his grandmother. For a minute she thought about the forth coming evening, telling her father and mother Roy was dead, and that Juan del Paso had something to do with it. She shook her head and sat up, "What was Juan doing lately?"
Hector leaned toward her, his elbows on the desk, "I don't think he was in trouble recently. Nothing we heard about anyway. Your father had helped him get a job at the Staked Plains Museum as a night watchman. I remember how hard your father had to talk, because, you know, Juan's history and everything. But I think he was a good watchman, and he didn't get into trouble anymore. Even his grandmother came to your house to thank your father one time, not too long ago. I remember because I took her."
"How long did he work there?"
"About a year."
Deputy Hardin knocked lightly on the door. "I have the file on the prisoner Roy was transporting." He stepped through the door and handed the file to Billie.
She reached to take it, "Thank you. Did you know him?"
"No, but it's interesting reading. I should stay at the front counter, call if you need anything else."
Billie propped herself up with a leather pillow and opened the file.
"You think I can go home now?" Hector stood, timidly picked up his hat, then negotiated, "It's my daughter's birthday."
"The only reason Roy was asked to move, Andrew 'Quiet-Man' Kent, to the Hondo jail was because, Under-Sheriff Calhoun, is pissed off the two counties merged Sheriff's departments?"
Hector sat down again, laid his hat on the desk and scratched his chin. "Sheriff Calhoun is a sore loser."
"Loser?"
"Yep. Sheriff Calhoun runs Salado County a lot like things were done in the older days. He likes to, you know, not answer to a lot of people."
"I don't know him."
"You will get the chance, maybe sooner than you think."
Billie sat back, raised her brow.
"Roy was killed in Salado County. Probably Sheriff Calhoun will visit you in a day or two."
"Where was he today?"
Hector let out a sigh. "That's his way, you know. He doesn't get involved right away. He gives things a little time, that way he can push people around, make them look stupid. So he can make himself look smart."
"I see. If he's involved from the get-go, anything a little, off-center, so to speak, reflects on him. He stays back a safe distance so he can be the hero who cleans things up."
"Yep."
"Okay, thank you for the warning."
"You're welcome. You should know also, he hates your father. A lot. And he blames him for the merger."
"So by extension, I'm going to have a problem dealing with Sheriff Calhoun."
"He don't like women too good either."
Billie smiled. "I'm not real fond of bullies myself, so we might get along fine."
"Maybe." Hector said with a polite chuckle.
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