Page 6 of Justice for Samara

“He’s tough but fair. He doesn’t try to be our best friend, but he also isn’t standoffish. When he and Mrs.Melton got married, we were all invited, us and a guest. That day, he was Carter and she was Sharla, and we all had a great time. When he came back from the honeymoon, it was business as usual. I guess I’d say that we all highly respect him and want to do a good job for him. And he instills confidence in us. Can’t say enough good things about him.”

“If you’d known then what you know now, would you still have taken the job?” she asked, a hip cocked and her arms folded across her chest.

“Yep. Sure would.”

“Got another question. Is there another woman in this department?”

“No, ma’am. Matter of fact, you’d be the first.”

“Is there another officer of color here?”

“No, ma’am. Not because of any racial bias. Just because no one of color has applied before. There isn’t a lot of racial diversity here.”

“So do you think the locals would have a problem with me as a woman of color and also a deputy sheriff?”

“No, ma’am. I mean, you’d run into a few hicks and maybe the stray white supremacist, but that’s about it.”

“Good to know. Thanks for being straight with me.”

“I’d never be anything but,” Michael assured her.

“Good. Hey, thanks for pulling my application and I hope I hear from you guys.”

“You’re very welcome. Have a great afternoon.”

“You too, Chief Deputy Edwards.” He watched as she climbed into her Jeep Cherokee and pulled out of her parking space before he headed back to the door.

The metal frame had no more than snapped shut before Carter barked, “Wanted to talk to you alone, didn’t she?”

Was that a bad thing? Had he done something wrong? “Uh, yes, sir.”

“Good. I trust you told her the truth.”

“Yes, sir. I sure did.”

“Okay. Good enough. Who’s up next?”

Michael checked his list. There was one more, a man named HankMason, and he hoped the guy didn’t show. If he had to look at MissFutrell every day, it would not hurt his feelings.

Not one little bit.

* * *

It washard to drive with shaking hands, so she pulled over and stopped at an abandoned gas station, slammed the Jeep into park, and sat for a few seconds to collect her thoughts. The two men she’d met seemed nice, but she never really knew what to expect until she was on the job. Her old commander had been great, and so had the guys from Paducah at the McCrackenCounty department, but the new KSP commander had really done a number on her self-esteem. She’d never thought of a vagina as a drawback, but for CommanderPorter, it had been.

Truth was, it wouldn’t matter if the two men at the TriggCounty Sheriff’s Department had been real dicks. She needed a job, and she’d struck out everywhere else. Seemed like no departments anywhere had any money except TriggCounty, and that was only because they were losing one employee. Did she even dare to hope? Black female police officers were common in big cities. In places like Cadiz, not so much.

She dropped her forehead to the steering wheel and sighed. If this one didn’t pan out, the only places left were Clarksville and Nashville, and she really didn’t want to move to Tennessee. She’d lived in BallardCounty, Kentucky, her whole life and was one of only nine black kids there when she graduated. McCrackenCounty had been an oasis for her. And until CommanderPorter, she’d loved the Kentucky State Police. There was nowhere else to try.

“Guess I’d better learn to sing ‘I’ll Leave My Heart in Tennessee,’” she muttered aloud as she pulled the Jeep back onto the two-lane highway. YouTube surely had the music and lyrics, and she’d always been a strong singer.

* * *

“Whew.”Michael dropped into the chair in front of Carter’s desk. “Glad that’s over.”

“Wow. What a blowhard. And a bigot. So I guess that ‘black boys better stay in line’ goes over okay in some places, but not here and not with me.” Carter looked positively furious.

“Yeah, not me either. I mean, what the hell? Could he not see the pictures of you and your family behind you?”

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