Chapter Nine:
Chief Quinn had phoned ahead and told the Sheriff in Haggard County I would be coming. I was supposed to meet him at 9:30 a.m. in his office. We were actually a couple of minutes early but were escorted inside anyway.
The man was dark-skinned and bald but had a broad, friendly smile and stood up to greet us with a firm handshake.
"Sheriff Mason Windon at your service. How may I help you?"
His kindness helped put Ami at ease. The closer we got to our destination, the more she began to coil up; like a tightened spring ready to explode. She looked far more relaxed as we took a seat on the other side of the Sheriff's desk.
"Sheriff Windon, you spoke with Chief Quinn last night about our visit. How much did he tell you?"
"Mainly the history of this young woman, before he got sidetracked about his golf game. That lying sonofabitch didn't score no 74. Sorry for the language, Miss," the man said before taking a seat behind his desk. "If he did, that would mean I'm going to have to get out on the greens and improve my game. I'm not about to let that old man beat me."
"Sheriff," Ami cut in, obviously trying to redirect his thoughts. "Did you find out which judge agreed to issue a warrant? And who was responsible for filing the charges in the first place?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Me and Quinn go way back. He's always trying to beat me at something. Let me look here."
From within the large wooden desk, he pulled out a thick file. From just inside the cover he pulled out the affidavit. "The signature is of one Mrs. Sharon Walker."
"Oh my god! That's his mother! Why would she do such a thing?" Ami muttered to herself.
"According to the warrant miss, she claimed the results of your blood alcohol test were invalid. Something about the lab getting things mixed up. Let's see.."
The more Sherrif Windon read, the further Ami scooted forward on her chair as if she was about to pounce off it. I reached over and placed a hand on her arm. She immediately began taking deep, slow breaths to calm herself down and I smiled. Then she looked at me and mouthed the words, 'thank you,'. I was happy to discover my touch had a calming effect on her. It looked like I would have to perform that bit of magic a few times today.
"The sample has been forwarded to a different lab and the results are pending."
Following that statement, the Sheriff closed the file and resolutely rested his arms upon it.
"That's it?" Ami asked him.
"Until the results of testing come back, I'm afraid so. It's a legit warrant, miss."
"Oh come on," I announced. "This is ridiculous. All Ami did was the responsible thing by volunteering to drive. Her fiancee was the one intoxicated!"
"Well, according to witnesses who were at the bar, she had more to drink than she told the police. It's all in the new affidavit."
Both of us sat back in our chairs, momentarily defeated. This information was not what I expected to hear, although it proved my gut was always correct. It warned me as soon as I got out of bed this morning that something bad was going to happen. I just didn't want to believe it.
Finally, Ami regained enough sense to speak. I was still reeling. "So in the meantime, what am I supposed to do? Turn myself in?"
"That would be the smartest thing to do, but let me phone the judge first and see if he'll be willing to post bail. I'm certain he will. He's pretty reasonable."
This time, it was Ami who reached for me. Only this time she grabbed hold of my hand and held onto it so tightly that my fingers were going numb. She was shaking nervously and looked as if she were about to scream. I whispered everything was going to be okay, but her expression didn't change. We sat silently as the Sheriff made the call.
"This is Sheriff Windon. I need to speak with Judge Medina. I don't care if he's in a meeting! This is important! Remind him he still owes me one...yeah, I'll hold, but just for a minute."
Whatever favor this judge owed the man must've been significant because he came to the phone in far less time than a minute.
"You old rascal! What are you doing giving Miss Berrie such a hard time? Yes, she's sitting right here in my office! No, I'm not going to arrest her. I have a favor to ask of you. Now, come on. I'm sure Beth wouldn't appreciate finding out what I know...That's better. One hour? Perfect! I'll send them right over. Correct...He's a police officer from down south in Protection. Yes, that's Chief Quinn's area. Sure thing."
The conversation ended and the Sheriff projected another broad smile. "And that's how you do business in these parts. It isn't necessarily what you've done, it's who you know and what they owe you. He'll see you in his office in one hour to discuss the warrant."
After receiving directions to the courthouse and thanking him, Ami and I got back in the patrol car and headed that way. She was still a bundle of nervous energy although her grip on my hand had lessened.
"What do you think he's going to say? Do you think he'll insist I be held over until the test results are back? That woman! I can't believe she's waited this long to bring all this back up! I was never anything but nice to her! She knows I'm trying to finish my degree! Why would she do this to me?"
I didn't interrupt her. Ami needed to get some of her frustrations out. Instead, I focused on the road, especially since the weather conditions had changed. There was a light rain falling which made these types of surfaces slick. I turned on the wipers and kept my eyes straight ahead.
"I think she's still hurting. As you said, he was her only son. Some people think hurting others will make their pain go away, but it usually does the opposite. Hurting yourself doesn't work either. I told you I wasn't such a nice guy once. That's because when I got back from the war and discovered Sara had left, I tried to deaden my feelings with alcohol. I couldn't cope and ended up nearly drinking myself to death."
Through my peripheral vision, I could see her eyes had widened. She had also pulled her hand away from mine. Understanding alcohol had something to do with her fiancee's death, I hurried on.
"It was Chief Quinn who literally picked me up off the floor one day and offered me a job on the police force - under the conditions that I stop drinking. Completely. I couldn't turn down the opportunity although it wasn't easy. I've been sober now for four years and I'm not looking back. Counseling has helped me a great deal and I owe Quinn for forcing me to do that as well. I guess I owe him a lot."
"Are the two of you pretty close?" she asked me, her face once more relaxing.
"He's like my father, but in a drill sergeant kind of way. The man doesn't let me get away with anything."
"It's good that he's part of your life. It sounds like he watches over you and cares enough to keep you on the correct path. I sometimes wish I had someone like that."
"I'll let you borrow him any time you'd like!" I told her lightheartedly. "Trust me, you'll quickly return him. He's a lot to handle."
"You're lucky, Ben. I hope you see that."
I took a second to gaze at her before looking back at the road. In that short time, I was able to realize how fortunate I was at least in this one thing: the fact I was keeping company with possibly the most beautiful young woman I had ever laid eyes on.