Morning arrived. Barney was at the sheriff's office before I arrived. Barney had noticed that morning Thelma Lou didn't even say good morning to him. He wasn't enjoying the way Thelma Lou was acting to him. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong to her. He knew she was acting a bit harsh on him from the night before. He was sitting on the desk when I walked in a few minutes later.
"Morning, Barn," I said.
There was no greeting from Barney.
"How did it go at the tango lesson last night?" I asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Barney said.
"That bad? You can tell me, Barney. You trust me, you know that," I said.
"I know, Ange, but I don't feel like talking about it now," Barney said.
"Did Opie make it safe and sound from the football game?" Barney asked, trying to change the subject.
"Opie made it safely, Barney. He said they lost the game," I said.
"Ain't that a shame," Barney said.
"I know it's a shame we lost, Barn. Did we get the evidence back yet?" I asked.
"You mean the stolen pictures? No," Barney said.
"I wonder where those darn pictures could have disappeared. I would suggest we look for them today. My guess would be Goober probably took them since he was the last one who looked at them," I said.
"Goober? Why would he do such a thing? He has no brain anyways," Barney said.
"He might not have a brain, Barney, but it's a start to ask him if he took the pictures. Aunt Bee thinks Opie didn't take them because he was out-of-town and I think she was right," I said.
"Aunt Bee could be right, but if you really want to ask Goober, we will," Barney said.
"Well, get a move on, Barney. If we want the crime scene pictures back now, I'd say we should get a move on now and get them back," I said to Barney.
"Now you're talking, Ange. Who's staying here with Otis?" Barney asked.
"I guess I will and take phone calls," I said.
"What? I think this should be the other way around, Ange. This is your case, isn't it? If you want the crime scene pictures back, you look for them. I ain't going out there and looking for them. I'll stay with Otis," Barney said.
"I think you're right, Barney. This is my case. I'll go look. Thank you for reminding me," I said, getting up from his desk chair.
"That's more like it, Ange. Ciao," Barney said and watched me head for the squad car.
"What did you just say? I've never heard you say that before," I said.
"I said ciao, Ange. You know what that means," Barney said.
"I sure do, Barn. I don't know when I'll be back. I'll call if I don't show up within an hour," I said and was out of the office.
"How was your tango lesson last night, Barney?" Otis asked.
"None of your business, Otis. I don't want to talk about it," Barney said.
"Okay. You don't sound very happy this morning. You were a bit rude to Andy," Otis said.
"Maybe I was. It had something to do with Thelma Lou. I'm not ready to talk about last night's tango lesson," Barney said.
"I guess it didn't go well," Otis said.
"No, it didn't, Otis. Isn't that why I told Andy to drop it?" Barney asked.
"Now I'm telling you to drop it, Otis," Barney said rudely.
Andy made it to the filling station. He found Goober.
"Hi, Goob," Andy said.
"Hi, Andy. Did you come to get your gas tank filled?" Goober asked.
"No, I didn't, Goober. The gas tank is fine. I don't need gas. I came to talk to you about something," I said.
"About what?" Goober asked.
"About the crime scene pictures," I said.
"What about them?" Goober asked.
"Somebody came into my office last week and stole the evidence, Goober. Nobody touches the crime scene pictures but me and Barney. We heard you were the last one on Friday afternoon at lunchtime in the office. Is that true you looked at the pictures? Only a few of them were stolen," I said.
"I didn't steal any pictures, Andy. I'm telling the truth. How many pictures were stolen?" Goober asked.
"About three to five," I said.
"You didn't answer my question, Goober. Did you or did you not look at the crime scene pictures with the bloodied patrol car with the murdered deputy inside?" I asked.
"I did, Andy. I wondered what was inside that fat envelope on your desk so I took a quick peek. I got scared and ran out of the office as fast as I could and came back here," Goober said.
"Did you touch the crime scene pictures when you looked at them?" I asked.
"I swear I didn't, Andy. You've got to trust me," Goober said.
He had an innocent look on his face. I could see the innocent look Goober had on his face. I could tell Goober was telling the truth.
"I guess I could trust you, Goober. I had to ask. You don't touch the envelope without the law's permission. This case came out-of-state. Do you promise not to do this again?" I asked.
"I promise, Andy. I promise," Goober said.
"Are you mad, Andy? You sound a bit angry," Goober said.
"I'm not mad, Goober. I am trying to get the evidence back," I said.
"If it wasn't me who took the pictures, who did?" Goober asked.
"That's what I'm trying to find out now. Otis didn't do it because he's locked in the cell," I said.
"Thanks for telling me you looked at the pictures and didn't touch them, Goob. I'll go around town and see what I can find about the stolen crime scene pictures," I said.
"Hey, Andy," Goober said as Andy headed for the squad car.
I turned around.
"Yes, Goob?"
"Good luck on getting the evidence back."
"Thanks, Goob. I'm sure we will," I said, getting into the driver's seat and drove away from the filling station.
Twenty minutes passed. Barney paced back and forth and waited for me to call. He remembered to see if I would call in an hour like I had promised.
"Andy still ain't back, is he?" Otis asked.
"No," Barney said.
Just then, the door of the sheriff's office opened. It caught Otis and Barney's attention.
"Hi, Barney," Opie said.
"Hi, Op. Your pa tells me you lost the game against Milwaukee," Barney said.
"We did. Where did Pa go?" Opie asked.
"He's in town. He wanted to search for the evidence pictures to see who took them from the fat envelope," Barney said.
That's when Opie felt sick to his stomach.
"Tell Pa I wanted to talk to him about the case," Opie said.
"All right, Op. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Barney asked.
"This is my free period, Barney. Don't you remember?" Opie asked.
"I forgot about that," Barney asked.
Aunt Bee walked into the office just then.
"Hi, Barney," Aunt Bee said.
"Hi, Aunt Bee," Opie said.
"Hi, Opie. Opie! Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Aunt Bee said in a surprised voice.
"This is my off period, Aunt Bee. Don't you have my schedule at home?" Opie asked his aunt.
"I forgot," she said.
"That's okay, Aunt Bee. I only came to talk to Pa," Opie said.
"Barney, will you tell Andy I took Martha to the hospital? Her fever shot up a bit higher than it did at the school," Aunt Bee said.
"I will, Aunt Bee," Barney said.
Aunt Bee looked at Opie.
"You look like you don't feel good, Opie. Do you need to go home and lie down?" Aunt Bee asked.
"I'm fine, Aunt Bee," Opie reassured her.
"Are you sure? You look a bit green," Aunt Bee told him.
"I'm fine," he told her.
"Are you sure, Opie?" Aunt Bee asked as she went over to Opie and felt his forehead.
"You feel normal," Aunt Bee said.
"If I were you, Op, I'd run off back to class," Barney said.
"I guess I will. Tell Pa I want to talk to him about the case," Opie said.
"Will do," Barney said.
That's when he and Aunt Bee were out of the sheriff's office. Opie went to his car and drove to the high school. He was back in time before the bell rang for the next class. I came back to the sheriff's office.
"Andy, both Aunt Bee and Opie were here for you," Barney said.
"Opie? Wasn't he supposed to be in class?" I asked.
"Aunt Bee and I asked him the same thing and he said he had a free period," Barney said.
"Why do we keep forgetting that?" I said.
"Good question. How did it go with Goober?" Barney asked.
"Before I tell you, tell me what Opie and Aunt Bee came in for," I said.
"Okay, Andy. Opie said he wanted to talk to you about the case, but I don't know why he knows what he knows we don't. Aunt Bee came in to let you know she took Martha into the hospital because her fever was higher than it was at the school," Barney said.
"Martha's in the hospital? I don't understand why she keeps getting sick all the time," I said.
"I don't either. Did it have something to do with the orphanage?" Barney asked.
"Who knows?" I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Now tell me about Goober. Did he or did he not steal the crime scene pictures?" Barney asked.
"No, it wasn't Goober," I said.
"If it wasn't Goober, then who was it?" Barney asked.
"That's what I'd like to know. Whoever it was, I'm sure we'll get the crime scene pictures back," I said.
"We better or your sheriff friend will get mad at you," Barney said.
"I'm sure he wouldn't like to hear the pictures were stolen. I'm not going to tell Jeremy, Barney," I said.
"If I were you, I sure wouldn't," Barney said.
Opie came home for supper that night after football practice.
"Barney told me you were in the office during school hours, Op," I said at supper that night.
My other adopted girl, Laura, was listening in on the conversation. She didn't bother getting into the conversation so she stayed quiet.
"Where's Martha?" Laura asked.
"She had to go to the hospital," Aunt Bee told her.
Laura didn't like what she heard because she knew she wouldn't have anybody to play with.
"I was, Pa. I had to come in and talk to you about the case," Opie said.
"What do you know about the cold case, Op? This case is confidential," I said.
"We have about three to five pictures stolen. We're looking for the stolen pictures," I told Opie.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you, Pa. I have some information for you that you might want," Opie said.
"Go on. I'm listening," I said, all ears.
At the Fife residence, Barney and Thelma Lou were eating outside in the backyard. She still wasn't speaking to him.
"Come on, Thelma Lou, you have to talk to me sometime. That was last night when I messed up the dance," Barney said.
Thelma Lou finally spoke up.
"And we had to come in again today at lunch to make up for it, Barney. Don't you know anything about ballroom dancing and getting it right?" Thelma Lou asked.
"We got the cha – cha right, didn't we?" Barney asked.
"We did, Barney. Why couldn't you get the tango right? If you only kept your shoes and socks on, we would have gotten the dance right!" Thelma Lou said, still not very happy about coming in and making up for the dance the next day.
"Subject closed," Thelma Lou said and chewed the fried chicken she made for supper that night's meal.
"I can see you're still upset about the tango last night, Thelma Lou. Don't you want to hear how sorry I am?" Barney asked.
"Not yet," Thelma Lou said, after she finished chewing her last bite of fried chicken.
She got up from the porch swing and went into the house and left Barney outside all alone.
"Come on, Thelma Lou," he said, not very happy.
Barney felt sick to his stomach because he thought this was going to be the end of this marriage. He got up from the swing and brought in his plate into the house after finishing the last of his milk.
"Thank you for dinner, Thelma Lou," Barney said.
There was no response from her. He washed his plate and glass and told Thelma Lou he was going to Andy's for a while. She nodded her head okay. Barney found his car keys and drove to the Taylor residence.
"Pa, the reason I was the one who took the crime scene pictures with me to Milwaukee because I thought I would help you on the case. I did get a bit of information from the other school about the case," Opie said.
I didn't like what I was hearing.
"Where are those darn pictures?" I asked my son.
"Laura, you may leave the table. I don't want you to hear this," I said to the five – year – old.
So she left the table. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Aunt Bee answered it.
"Barney, I'm afraid Andy won't be able to speak with you. He's busy with Opie now," Aunt Bee said.
"What's going on, Aunt Bee? Would Andy need my help with Op?" Barney asked.
"No, but thank you for offering, Barney. You're welcome to stay, but this is family business," Aunt Bee said.
"I'm not wanted at my house," Barney told Aunt Bee.
"You can talk to me about it if you want," Aunt Bee said.
"Thanks, but this is between me and Andy," Barney said.
Aunt Bee knew what he meant.
"I see, but you'll have to talk to Andy about this tomorrow, then. He's dealing with Opie," Aunt Bee said.
"I guess I'll go back home then, since I'm not wanted," Barney said sadly.
That's when he and Aunt Bee both heard shouting upstairs from Opie's room from me.
"Opie Taylor, you're grounded!" both Aunt Bee and Barney heard from the front door.
"From what, Pa?" Opie asked.
"Since you're the one who stole the crime scene pictures, you're grounded from dating, driving, and all the other things you can't do, like fishing. You also can't talk on the telephone with your friends," I went on with the punishment angrily.
"Pa, I need to be with Cassie. You can't take her away from me," Opie said.
"Yes, I can. Also, while you're grounded, you're going to eat your meals in your room. You can't eat at the table with your family. The only time you can leave your room is when you need to use the washroom and when you're going to school. The rest of the time you're here. Give me your license," I said in the same angry voice.
"Where is your license?" I asked.
"Right here, Pa," Opie said, taking his wallet out of his pocket.
"I need my license, Pa. I need to drive," Opie said.
"Not when you're punished, you don't. While you're punished, I will do the driving," I said angrily.
"Pa, won't you give me a chance on telling you what information I have on your case?" Opie asked.
"Not now. You're given your punishment. After your punishment I will listen to your information on this case," I said in the same tone of voice.
"Come on, Pa. I did this for you. I'm sure you might find this information very useful," Opie told Andy.
"I told you I don't want to hear your information now. Once you're unpunished, you will be able to tell me," I said angrily.
"Another thing you won't be able to do during your punishment is playing football for the high school. You will tell the coach tomorrow at school you won't be able to play quarterback for a long, long time," I said, still angry.
"How long, Pa? What will I tell the Coach?" Opie asked.
"I haven't thought about it yet. I will let you know in the morning," I said.
"For now, this is your punishment. Before I leave, I want those pictures back. That means now," I said angrily.
I waited for Opie to hand over the evidence. Opie opened his backpack and gave me the pictures he took from the office.
"Here, Pa."
"You promise you won't steal evidence from a murder case again?" I asked.
"I promise, Pa," Opie said.
"You should remember that this case came from Milwaukee and these cases are confidential, Opie. This doesn't make me happy when I find out a few pictures are stolen and when I want to look at them," I said.
"I know," Opie said.
"Another thing I'm going to add to your punishment is you can't go to church with the family. I haven't figured out how long you'll be punished yet," I said as I took the pictures from Opie and shut the door behind myself.
I came downstairs and found Aunt Bee standing by the front door.
"Barney was just by, Andy," she said.
"I don't have time to deal with Barney now, Aunt Bee. I have to worry about Opie," I said angrily.
"Barney and I heard you shouting," Aunt Bee said.
"I wasn't shouting," I said.
"It sounded like it," she said.
"I said I wasn't, Aunt Bee. Can we forget about it?" I asked.
"Barney said he wanted to talk to you about Thelma Lou," Aunt Bee said.
"I don't have time for Barney now, Aunt Bee. Case closed," I said and went outside.
The next day, which was Friday, I went into the sheriff's office.
"Morning, Ange," Barney said.
He wanted to pretend he didn't know about the other night.
"Morning, Barney," I said.
He still wasn't happy about grounding Opie the other night.
"You don't sound very happy this morning, Ange," Barney said.
"You know I ain't," I said.
"Do you want to talk to me about what happened?" Barney asked.
"No," I said.
"It would help if you did," Barney said.
"I already told you I don't want to talk about it," I told Barney.
"Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, we'll drop it," Barney said.
He really did want to know why he had heard Andy shouting at Opie upstairs the other night.
"Are you sure?" Barney asked a second time.
"Yes, I'm sure," I said.
"Okay," Barney said.
"Aunt Bee told me you were at the house last night," I told Barney.
"I was. I wanted to talk to you about something and she said you were in the middle of family business," Barney said.
"I was. What did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.
"Thelma Lou," Barney said.
"What is Thelma Lou doing that you want to talk about?" I asked.
"Remember we danced the tango the other night?" Barney asked.
"Yes. Does that have something to do with dancing the tango?" I asked.
"Well, if you put it that way, yes," Barney said.
"Did Thelma Lou get angry at you during the dance?" I asked.
"She did, Ange. Now she won't speak to me," Barney said.
"How can I get her to speak to me again?" Barney asked.
Barney and I talked about it for a while.
"Thanks, Ange. I'll see if it will work," Barney said after their talk fifteen minutes later.
"I hope it will, Barn," I said.
"Maybe I will buy her candy and flowers like you suggested. I hope it works. Thanks for the suggestion. I hope she will speak to me after I buy her the chocolates and flowers," Barney said.
"That usually works after making up from a fight," I said.
"I sure hope Thelma Lou will start talking to me again. I'll let you know if it did or not," Barney said.
"Trust me, Barney. It usually does work," I said.
"I trust you, Ange," Barney said.
"You know what, Ange?" Barney asked.
"What's that?"
"I would have never thought of buying Thelma Lou candy and flowers to make up for messing up the tango. She was the one who got mad. I didn't," Barney said.
"You know how women are," I said.
"I know," he said.
Note: Chapter 7 and 6 have the Pastor Tucker character from 'Sermon for Today' episode.