The Accidental Sheriff Read Free Page A

wouldn’t forget.
    He had no sooner reached the highway when a call came in on his radio.
    “Hey, Neil, you’re needed back here on the double. We have a ten-twenty-four.” Miss Emily was one of four dispatchers and his favorite. Perhaps because she reminded him a little of his grandmother.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “It’s a ten-thirty-five.”
    Miss Emily wasn’t much for protocol and had been with the department too long to frazzle easily. Which was why her urgency and use of official codes concerned Neil. “Be there in twenty,” he told her.
    “Make it sooner.”
    Neil accelerated. In the eighteen months he’d been on the job, not once had he been called back to the station for an emergency, much less a confidential one. He couldn’t imagine what was wrong.
    The Gila County Sheriff’s Station was located off the Beeline Highway, which ran through Payson. Weekend recreationists were visiting the town in record numbers, triple-digit degrees in Phoenix driving them north to the much cooler parts of the state. Growing increasingly frustrated at the constant slowdowns, Neil switched on his flashers. Traffic magically parted, and he sped the remaining distance to the station.
    After parking at the rear of the building, he entered through the side door. The central room was vacant, which was almost unheard-of. Voices carried from down the hallway, loud and panicked. Neil headed in that direction. Nearly a dozen individuals were crammed in the sheriff’s office, among them three other deputies, only one of whom was in uniform.
    Neil scanned their worried faces. One person was noticeably missing. “Where’s Sheriff Herberger?”
    “That’s just it.” The county commissioner came out from behind the sheriff’s desk to meet Neil. “He’s at the Payson Regional Medical Center.”
    “Is he all right?”
    “We hope so. He’s had a heart attack.”
    “How bad?”
    “Right now, he’s stable. The doctors will know more later tonight after they run additional tests. But they say it’s likely he’ll require bypass surgery.”
    That explained the worried faces.
    “What do we do?”
    “The first order of business is to appoint an acting sheriff.” County Commissioner Daniels placed a firm hand on Neil’s shoulder. “That, my friend, is you.”
    “Me?”
    “The City Council members and I are all in agreement. There’s no one better suited to fill in for the sheriff than you.”
    “Excuse me, sir, but there are other deputies with more years in the department than me.” Two of them were standing a few feet away and glaring at Neil.
    “None with your experience in law enforcement.”
    “If it’s all right with you—”
    “Enough, Neil. We’ve made our decision. Congratulations.” The county commissioner tightened his grip.
    Neil had the uneasy sensation of being trapped.
    “We’ve arranged for you to do an interview with KPKD,” the man continued. “Tomorrow morning, nine a.m. sharp.”
    “So soon?”
    “The people of this county need to know everything’s statusquo and that they have someone competent to rely on during Sheriff Herberger’s recovery.”
    What they had, thought Neil, was an acting sheriff who didn’t want the job.

Chapter Two
    Carolina arrived at work twenty minutes early, as was her habit. She liked getting a jump on the day, though lately she felt there wasn’t much for her to get a jump on. While grabbing a cup of coffee in the staff lounge, she contemplated various program ideas and tried to formulate a new approach with her boss. Being shot down seven times in a row had only increased her determination to take on a greater, more respected role than that of morning traffic director.
    Step one in her life-redirecting plan.
    Cup in hand, she headed toward the cluster of cubicles, one of which she shared with her counterpart, the evening traffic director. A friendly voice stopped her. “Morning, Carolina.”
    “Hey, Adrian.”
    The techie—Carolina wasn’t sure of his