I WAS SHERIFF OF this ty when I was twenty-five. Hard to believe. My father was not a lawman. Jack was my grandfather. Me and him was sheriff at the same time, him in Piano and me here. I think he retty proud of that. I know I was. I was just back from the war. I had some medals and stuff and of course people had got wind of that. I campaigned pretty hard. You had to. I tried to be fair. Jack used to say that any time youre throwin dirt youre losin ground but I think mostly it just wasnt in him. To speak ill of anybody. And I never did mind bein like him. Me and my wife has been married thirty-one years. No children. We lost a girl but I wont talk about that. I served two terms and then we moved to Denton Texas. Jack used to say that bein sheriff was one of the best jobs you could have and bein a ex-sheriff one of the worst. Maybe lots of things is like that. We stayed gone and stayed gone. I done different things. Was a detective on the railroad for a while. By that time my wife wasnt all that sure about us in back here. About me runnin. But she seen I wao so thats what we done. Shes a better person than me, which I will admit to anybody that cares to listen. Not that thats sayin a whole lot. Shes a better person than anybody I know. Period.
People think they know what they want but they generally dont. Sometimes if theyre lucky theyll get it anyways. Me I was always lucky. My whole life. I wouldnt be here otherwise. Scrapes I been in. But the day I seen her e out of Kerrs Mertile and cross the street and she passed me and I tipped my hat to her and got just almost a smile back, that was the luckiest.
People plain about the bad things that happen to em that they dont deserve but they seldom mention the good. About what they doo deserve them things. I dont recall that I ever give the good Lord all that much cause to smile on me. But he did.
WHEN BELL WALKED INTO the cafe on Tuesday m it was just daylight. He got his paper ao his table in the er. The men he passed at the big table o him and said Sheriff. The waitress brought him his coffee a back to the kit and ordered his eggs. He sat stirring the coffee with his spoon although there was nothing to stir since he drank it black. The Haskins boys picture was on the front page of the Austin paper. Bell read, shaking his head. His wife was twenty years old.
You know what you could do for her? Not a damn thing. Lamar had never lost a man in twenty some odd years. This is what he would remember. This is what hed be remembered for.
She came with his eggs and he folded the paper and laid it by.
He took Wendell with him and they drove down to the Desert Aire and stood at the door while Wendell knocked.
Look at the lock, Bell said.
Wendell drew his pistol and opehe door. Sheriffs department, he called.
There aint nobody here.
No reason not to be careful.
Thats right. No reason in the world.
They walked in and stood. Wendell would have holstered his pistol but Bell stopped him. Lets just keep to that careful routine, he said.
Yessir.
He walked over and picked up a small brass slug off of the carpet and held it up.
Whats that? said Wendell.
der out of the lock.
Bell passed his hand over the plywood of the room-divider. Heres where it hit at, he said. He balahe piece of brass in his palm and looked toward the door. You could weigh this thing and measure the distand