"He tells me he ain't sheriff anymore for his town," I said.
"Did he retire?" Aunt Bee asked.
"He's not even the retirement age, Aunt Bee. Op,get ready for school. I'll drive you to school," I said.
"You've been driving me to school lately, Pa," Opie reminded me.
"I know, Op and you know why," I said.
Opie didn't want to say why.
While Opie was upstairs getting ready to go to school, I told Aunt Bee, "Jeremy isn't coming out here to Mayberry because he isn't sheriff anymore and he worked until his last day as sheriff until he got sick with severe depression."
"That's too bad, Andy. Maybe it's a better idea you go out there and visit him instead," Aunt Bee said.
"I told him I would visit him," I said, "and he said that was a better idea."
"Why don't you take Opie with you?" Aunt Bee asked.
"Not when he's punished," I said.
"Does Jeremy's wife have a job?" Aunt Bee asked.
"I don't think she does, Aunt Bee. I think she's a stay – at home wife. I don't know what will happen now since he is out of a job," I said.
"That poor family," Aunt Bee said, feeling sorry for the Clines.
"Don't you know it, Aunt Bee," I said.
Opie finally came downstairs with his backpack.
"I'm ready, Pa," Opie said.
"Maybe you'll want to talk to Pastor Tucker about this," Aunt Bee said.
"That's not such a bad idea, Aunt Bee. Maybe I'll pay him a visit," I said as the two of us said good – bye to Aunt Bee and were out of the house.
"What were you talking about, Pa?" Opie asked as I got into the car and Opie in the passenger's seat.
"Sheriff Cline," I said.
"What about Sheriff Cline?" Opie asked.
"He ain't sheriff anymore, Op. I'm going out to Milwaukee and visit him pretty soon since he ain't coming out here to Mayberry like he had planned," I said.
"That's too bad, Pa," Opie said.
"I know it is. He ain't coming because he got sick with severe depression," I said to Opie.
"What's that?" Opie asked.
"I don't know," I said.
"Is that something new?" Opie asked.
"I guess so because I know we've never heard of it. Must be a new disease," I said.
"Could be. Should we ask around the town and see if they have heard of it?" Opie asked.
"No, Op," I said.
"How are we going to know about this disease if we don't know anything about it?" Opie asked.
"I don't know," I answered as we parked in front of the high school.
"Here we are, Op. I'll see you later. Have a good day now," I said as I watched Opie get his backpack and get out of the squad car.
"Bye, Pa," Opie said and was out of the car.
I watched until Opie was safely in the high school and then I drove off to the office.
I saw that Barney was already at the sheriff's office once I walked inside the office that morning.
"Hi, Barney," I said when I walked inside the office.
"Hi, Ange," Barney said.
"There was a message for you, Ange," Barney said.
"There is? From who?" I asked.
"Your sheriff friend. What's his name?" Barney asked.
"Cline," I said.
"Right. I forgot his name," Barney said.
"What did Cline want?" I asked.
"He wanted to talk to you about your coming out to Milwaukee," Barney said.
"Thanks, Barn. I'll give him a call," I said and picked up the call and dialed the Clines' house number.
The one thing Barney didn't know was that Sheriff Cline was no longer a sheriff of Milwaukee because of his having depression. I listened to the telephone ring for the next three times before I got Terry Cline on the other end of the line.
"Hello?" Terry Cline said.
"Hi, Terry. May I speak to Jeremy?" I asked.
"Who is this?" Terry asked.
She didn't recognize my voice.
"Andy Taylor from Mayberry," I said.
"One minute. I'll see if Jeremy is awake," Terry said.
"All right," I said.
I didn't know if he was calling at a wrong time that morning. Terry went upstairs to their bedroom.
"Jeremy? You feel like talking on the phone? It's your friend from Mayberry. What's that name again? Taylor?" Terry asked.
Sheriff Cline looked at her from the covers. He was still sleepy but not ready to get out of bed.
"Andy's on the phone? I'll get out in a couple of minutes, Terry," Sheriff Cline said.
"All right," she said on her way out of the bedroom.
Terry remembered her husband always had a hard time getting out of bed every morning because he always went to work late in the mornings. She knew it was part of his depression that he went to work late in the day but since he left work sick a couple days ago, he was replaced by a twenty – something police officer to could make better decisions than her husband could. She heard the new sheriff's name was Larry Nelson and Sheriff Nelson had shut down the cold case.
"One minute, Sheriff Taylor," Terry Cline told me.
"Thanks, Terry," I said.
I started working on more paperwork while I waited for Jeremy Cline to get on the telephone. I thought it sounded like forever to hear my longtime friend's voice on the telephone. It sounded like maybe fifteen to twenty minutes for Sheriff Cline to get on the telephone, I thought.
"Sorry, Andy. I had to get dressed," Sheriff Cline said.
"That's all right, Jeremy. I was getting started with some paperwork," I said.
"My wife tells me you called," Sheriff Cline said.
"I thought we could talk about my coming out to Milwaukee," I said.
"Okay," Sheriff Cline said.
"When would be a good time for you and your family to see me in Milwaukee, Jeremy? I know you said you ain't sheriff anymore," I said.
"Whatever works for you, Andy. My kids are still in school, so whatever works for you to come out. Do you have hotel reservations?" Jeremy Cline asked.
"Not yet. I thought we'd talk about it before I make plans," I said.
"I see. Or, if you think is better, you could always sleep in our one guest room. We have a guest room big enough for one person," Sheriff Cline said.
"What does your wife think of the invite?" I asked.
"I haven't talked with her about it yet," he said.
"I think you should talk with her first before asking me," I said.
"The invite is open before I talk with her about it, Andy. We can keep talking about when you're going to come out here in Milwaukee so we can talk more about this case. I know it needs to be shut down for good. I know I'm no longer sheriff but it needs to be shut down. So you'd know, we have a young sheriff who took my place a couple days ago. He shut the cold case down," Sheriff Cline told me.
"What is his name?" I asked.
"I heard from my wife it's by the name of Larry Nelson. I haven't met him but we just know the name," Sheriff Cline said.
"Why would he shut the case down?" I asked.
"That's what I'd like to know. I want to keep it open, even if we have a new sheriff. I'll talk to Karen about it when I see her again," Sheriff Cline asked.
"Who's Karen?" I asked.
"My former deputy. She was Andy's age but she is the one I put on the case recently," Sheriff Cline said.
The two friends talked for a bit longer and Sheriff Cline put the phone back in its place before I could put the phone back. Barney watched me shake my head.
"Why did you shake your head for, Ange?" Barney asked.
"Nothing," I said.
I didn't want to tell Barney about the telephone call yet.
"I'm going to church for a while, Barn. Would you mind staying put here at the office for a while?" I asked.
"Sure, Ange. Why are you going to church for? It's not even Sunday," Barney said.
"I want to talk to Pastor Tucker about Sheriff Cline. Cline isn't sheriff of Milwaukee anymore. He worked until he got sick," I said.
"You're kidding. Is he retired?" Barney asked.
"No, he ain't retired, Barn. He got diagnosed with severe depression and a sleeping disorder that made him leave work. I've got to go to the church," I said.
"Okay," Barney said and watched me leave.
Barney did see a worried look on my face as he watched me leave the sheriff's office. Barney went to the nearest jail cell and got on his knees and prayed. He had a feeling since he didn't know Sheriff Jeremy Cline he should pray for my sick friend. A few minutes I was out of the office, Barney was busy in prayer he didn't hear anyone come into the office.
"Is Sheriff Taylor in?" a voice asked.
Barney didn't even hear the man ask a question since he was busy in prayer.
"Excuse me!" the man said a bit louder.
Barney still didn't hear the man.
"Deputy!" the man screamed a lot louder so Barney could hear him.
Barney finally got up from prayer and was now on his knees. He turned around and saw the anger in the man's eyes.
"What exactly were you doing over there?" the angry man asked.
"There are no prisoners," the man said.
"I know there aren't any prisoners, sir. I was doing something else," Barney said.
"Where you looking for a lost penny?" the man asked.
"No. No coins were on the floor, either, sir. I was talking to the good Lord up there," Barney said, pointing to the sky.
"Can't you pick a good time to do that somewhere else. Maybe the church?" the man asked.
"I always talk to the Lord, even when I'm not at church. I talk to Him here at the jail when Andy's out. What can I do for you, sir?" Barney asked.
"Is Sheriff Taylor here?" the man asked.
"No, sir. He went to the church, but I'm not sure when he'll return. May I do something for you?" Barney asked.
"No, thanks, deputy. It's Sheriff Taylor's business. Is Sheriff Taylor doing police work at the church?" the man asked.
"No. Just talking with the pastor about something," Barney said.
"I'll wait until he gets back then," the man said.
"Have it your way," Barney said.
"That's what I plan to do," the man said.
Barney said no more.