The Sheriff's Husband

  24-8     The Sheriff’s Husband

She found him in his study,

“Reading what, today?

“Still The Dawn of Human

Culture – quite a lot there,

going slowly.  Maybe the most

up to date book on these subjects.

“The latest on skeletons being 

unearthed?”

  I wouldn’t

put it that way, but yes.”

“We still out of Africa,” Susan

smiled at him widely and sat

in his lap.”

“Yep.  They’re still working on

the dates, though.  We were sort 

of ‘us,’ physically about 300,000

years ago, but really ‘us’ from 

about 50,000 years ago.”

“Seems like we’re getting more

‘us’ all the time,” Susan smirked.

“Maybe so.  Discoveries are being

made with DNA research every year.”

“Speaking of which, how long does

a body have to be in the ground 

before all the flesh is gone?”

“what a strange question.  None 

of what I’m reading touches on 

that sort of thing.”

“Well, you appointed me Sheriff,

so it’s the sort of thing I ought 

to know.”

“Okay. It will depend on the 

temperature, how well the body

is buried, predators with access,

that sort of thing, but I’ll do some 

checking.  You got a body?”

“Actually, I just hired a deputy,

and I don’t want to seem as dumb

as I really am.”

“A deputy?  What are you paying

him?  I don’t pay you anything

so I’ll be fascinated by your answer.”

“He’s a she, much as in our

case, she’s a lot tougher than her

husband.”

“Do you need a deputy?

“Actually, I need a friend.  I told

her there won’t be much pay – maybe

supplies as necessary.  She’s got a 

better SUV than I do, by the way.

Larry spun her around “I told you

to get something more up to date, but

you said you were attached to that old

Liberty.  Go ahead and get something

new.  I don’t like the idea of your 

breaking down in the middle of nowhere.”

“It won’t be that dire, especially if 

Lydia is my deputy.  But I’ll think 

some more about a newer Jeep.”

“Lydia?  That’s an old fashioned name.”

“She’s a bit old fashioned, in the 

Old Testament sense.”

“Whatever that means”

“She’s a bit old fashioned sort of like

those Cro-magnon you were telling

me about.”

“We still don’t know about them

in detail.  They did get out of hand

perhaps, killing way too many people.”

“You told me about their killing off

the Neanderthals”

“That’s just a theory, and maybe a 

crackpot theory at that.”

“Anyway, I like Lydia and she can

back me up if I need backup, etcetera.”

“She have any experience?”

“Ex-military.  I’ll find out more as time

goes on, but I can already tell she’s fearless.”

“As fearless as my wife?”

“Maybe not quite, but close.”

Later on Sue took the paperwork to

Lydia for her signature.

“Wait,” Lydia said “The date is wrong.

You’ve got me working for you the day

before we met.”

“Which is also the day before you shot

your Neanderthal in your back yard

while you were on duty.”

“Ah.”

“Also, since you were so forward thinking, 

we need to set up a plot of land and call 

it Boot Hill.  Let’s put Boot Hill half way

on your property and halfway on mine.

Your Neanderthal will be the first member

of out Boot Hill.”

“The first?”

“Well, yeah,” Susan smirked.  “I don’t know

you all that well or how many people you

plan to kill.”

“I don’t want to kill anyone.  I wouldn’t have

killed the Neanderthal if he hadn’t attacked me.”

“That’s good to hear,” Susan said, sticking out

her right hand, “Welcome aboard.”