About Time, Sheriff!
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"I reckon ya ain't got not'ng on me, Sheriff." The bushy faced man shook his head as he was escorted inside the building. "I'm as clean as horse after a wash."
The sheriff, dressed from head to toe in the usual uniform, shoved the other inside the cell and locked the gate. The prisoner quickly got to his feet and grasped the bars, looking, begging the man before him.
"You can't lock me in! I'm innocent, I tell ya! Innocent!"
"When you actually decide to tell the truth, I'll let you out, Arch. For now, say hello to your new home." He spun on his heel and walked away, ignoring the curses the man fired after him.
"That would be the fifth one this week. Second of the day." The man by the front desk concluded with the point of the pen on paper before looking at the Sheriff. "I believe we're having a good one, Blakely."
Blakely looked over the same documents the exquisitely dressed man. "Luck has nothing to do with this. The crime in this town is increasing drastically."
"I don't think he was referring to luck, were you Kowalski?" The two turned to the open doorway as a lady placed her hat on the rack, along with her parasol.
"Miss Marlene?" Both men spoke before taking their hats off. She gave them a smile, hazel green eyes shining.
"I heard you just put in Archie Jones. Wonderful." The lady made her way over. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." Marlene looked over at the man who was perched precariously on a chair with his boots on the table. The dusty Stetson hat was pulled low over his face, revealing the stubble around his mouth; and his hands were clasped over his belly. "And Rico." A grin appeared on his mouth and his hand moved to acknowledge her.
"Anything the matter, Miss Marlene?" Kowalski inquired as his hands worked to clear the table.
"Not really." The man nodded and gestured to the empty chair beside her. "Thank you, Kowalski." She nodded, placed the basket on the table and sat down. "I just came by for a visit." She popped open the lid of the basket and pulled out a tray full of freshly baked muffins. "And to bring you this." She placed the tray on the table, just as Rico and Kowalski crowded by it. Both reached a hand for the treat, but were slapped away by a fan. Marlene shook her head and gestured her fan toward the basin on the other side of the room. "I do not know where those hands have been, and I refuse to let you eat without washing first."
"But," Rico whined as he gestured to the pastries.
Marlene pointed the fan threateningly at him and then at the basin. "Go." Grudgingly, the man moved to the basin and Marlene turned to Kowalski. "And you, Sir Bennett?"
"I don't," Blakely cleared his throat and Kowalski nodded with a small smile, "of course, Miss Marlene. I'll be right back." Blakely and Marlene looked after the man before the former cleared his throat again and turned to Marlene.
"You should not be here, Marlene." She turned to him, unfazed by his overbearing stature. "It's too dangerous for you to be here." The lady let out a sigh and got to her feet.
"I will be wherever I want to be, Sheriff Blakely. You have no say in what I should and should not do."
"Where is Andrew then? Why is he not with you? Classes should be done by now. Did you not pick him up?"
"I believe I let him be with those new found friends of his, Sheriff." Marlene held up a hand when he opened his mouth to speak. "Don't. The boy needs company his own age."
"I told him to go straight home right after."
"And I told him to go have some fun like a normal child. I believe he needs to socialize with other people who are not criminals or officers."
"You are not his mother. You cannot tell him what to do."
"Well," Marlene raised her head and crossed her arms, "you are doing such a good job as a parent, Blakely. His grades speak for themselves."
"Thank you." The man spoke through gritted teeth, his mood changing in a moment. "Now leave." The lady blinked and her arms dropped to her sides.
"Blakely."
"Leave."
"Fine." The lady turned on her heels and walked out of the county.
"Sheriff..." Kowalski licked his lips and turned to his boss. "Sheriff."
Irritated, the man turned to him. "What is it, Kowalski?"
"Miss Marlene left her parasol, and her hat."
"I don't think she needs it. The sun will do her good in erasing those ridiculous thoughts that she has about raising my child."
"It's the right thing to return her items, Sheriff. I doubt she's coming back soon...or later."
"Why don't you, or Rico," he gestured to the other man, whose eyes got wide and looked to Kowalski, "go do it?"
"I-uh," Kowalski looked over at Rico, before both turned back to Blakely, "I have to revise over the documents and reports. And I believe Rico has the duty of overseeing our prison? It's lunch time, isn't it?"
"Huh?" Blakely looked over at Rico just as Kowalski sent the same man a glare. "Oh, oh, yeah." Rico quickly turned and marched toward the back of the building.
"So," Blakely turned back to the nervous man as he clasped his hands before him, "there you have it, Sheriff." With a snuff, Blakely snatched his hat and the two items and marched out, making sure to slam the doors hard. Kowalski jumped at the noise, and jumped again when Rico spoke. "He gone?"
"Rico!" Kowalski glared at the man, who was peeking around the corner as a few snickers came from the men behind bars. Trying to save himself, he sorted out his suit. "Yes, he is."
"Why'd you do that?"
"He may be Sheriff, my good man, but he cannot disrespect a woman like that, not when she may be right."
"May?"
"The McGrath is a strange family, bloke. I'll be surprised if the boy even survives this silly feud the two have over them. It's ridiculous." Rico shrugged and sat back on his chair, already snoring lightly. "Oh," Kowalski grabbed a used candle and threw it at him, "you deadbeat." Rico groaned when the candle hit him, but just waved him away and dropped his head back. "Get up you. We have work to do, you balmy beef-head." A snore answered him and Kowalski grabbed his coat and adjusted it. "Fine then. I'll tell Miss Callie that you have decided to slack off again and have completely disregarded her words, *thwack*." A knife embedded itself in the wood mere inches from him. Kowalski stared at it, swallowed and nodded to Rico with a tilt of his hat. "Carry on." Rico smirked at him before leaning back on the wall.
"Miss Marlene! Marlene!" The Sheriff called out once his boots touched the sandy ground. He looked around, a little suspicious of the lack of folks about, but it was diminished when he realized that it was noon. Folks were hardly out during lunchtime. He waved back toward a pair of merchants as they called to him and turned around.
Still, the woman couldn't have disappeared just like that, he thought. He stopped just before the horses, finally noting their jittery behavior, especially the black one. It was backing away, trying to get away from the rope tying it to the post. Blakely placed a hand on its neck and stroked it. "Shh, girl. Heel." The horse snorted and shook its head, but calmed down. His hand dropped when he saw a piece of rope lying limp on the ground. He picked it up and observed it before pocketing it.
"Stealing a horse now, are we Miss?" He shook his head while he untied the rope of the black horse and climbed on. "What childish behavior." Both man and horse, headed for the old farmhouse that functioned as a school. But he did not notice the basket in the water trough of the horses, pastries soaked and floating in it.
Just watched Back To The Future III, so I thought, hey, why not? Might as well take a break from Bio and get back to my world. ;) Biology, the study of life, and yet, I dislike it. Quite much, I propose. The irony coming from a pacifist. XD
Pardon, readers. I believe my Western is a little rusty, since it's been a long time since I've encountered one, with the exception of Back To The Future III, of course. I think they used Old English, with a bit of that western slang, but that's just my hypothesis.