Page 6 of Little Girls Sleeping
“What you did in Afghanistan took guts and heroism. Don’t let anyone take that from you. You stepped up and followed a dream.”
Katie smiled. “Well, I’m on my way to the SO. I’m filling in with some clerical work—for now.” She walked to her Jeep and got in. “It was nice seeing you.”
“Oh you’ll be seeing me again, Katie Scott, and maybe I’ll repay the favor,” he replied.
As Katie drove away, she couldn’t resist glancing in her rear-view mirror, watching Chad climb into his pickup. Nothing had changed about him. His charm and good looks were his obvious attributes, but he had been a true friend to Katie, in every sense of the word. Throughout her childhood she could tell him anything—her dreams, fears, and anything else that came to mind. He was a part of her life that she’d thought was gone forever, the last person she’d expected to see back in town. Usually, once people left Pine Valley, they moved on to new things and never looked back. Chad had returned, and it changed everything.
Three
Katie found a parking spot at the administration building for the sheriff’s office and cut the engine. She was still thinking about her chance encounter with Chad. She gazed into the mirror and was surprised to see makeup on her face. She had spent extra time applying mascara and eyeliner, and made many mistakes before she felt she looked decent. At this point, she felt more comfortable with an AR-15 in her hand than a mascara wand.
She opened her car door and stepped out. She was dressed in dark slacks and a crisp white blouse. She hadn’t been quite sure what she should wear, but casual professional was a good selection and she was relieved that her old clothes still fit. She had dropped about eight pounds since she had been away.
Initiating the locking alarm for the car, she hurried to the main entrance.
She arrived in the administration lobby of the sheriff’s department on time. The building housed the dispatchers, records clerks, accounting, and other miscellaneous functions—including the sheriff, undersheriff, and lieutenants. The detective division and forensics were located in an adjacent building.
Katie walked up to the young red-headed receptionist behind the glass. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Katie Scott, here to see the sheriff.”
“Of course, Ms. Scott, the sheriff said you were coming in. Welcome back,” the girl said with a genuine smile. She moved from the window and came out a door. “Please, this way.”
Katie followed her down a couple of narrow hallways until she reached the sheriff’s office. The girl motioned for her to enter and then politely left.
Katie saw that her uncle was dressed in his usual uniform instead of a business suit. As he finished up a phone call, she gazed at photographs and various ribbons and medals won for all types of law-enforcement events. The photo situated in the middle was the image of Katie herself graduating from the police academy.
She stopped and stared at one particular photograph. It showed a smiling couple with a five-year-old girl. It stung her seeing her parents and how happy they had all been together. It had only needed a horrible storm on a fateful night to take them away from her forever. If only they hadn’t rushed home, but had spent the night somewhere along the way, things might have been different.
“You look rested,” stated the sheriff.
Katie turned to face him. “I feel pretty good. Eating a lot,” she laughed.
“Are you and Cisco getting into a routine yet?”
“Definitely. There are no words to thank you, and yourspecialfriends, for bringing him home.”
Sheriff Scott moved around the desk to face her. “Well, I have to use my political power once in a while.”
“So where do you want me? I’m ready to work; just point me in the right direction.”
The sheriff picked up the phone. “Denise, you have time to show Katie around now? Great.” He hung up. “She’ll be right in. We’re short on administrative staff; two of our records clerks are on maternity leave. So if you know your ABCs, you can file, and if you know your way around a keyboard, you can enter data. It’s actually really helping us out.”
“Sounds good. Glad to help.”
An attractive brunette with a pixie haircut poked her head around the doorway. “Katie? I’m Denise Ashton, the supervisor for the records division. It’s nice to meet you.” She moved inside the office and shook Katie’s hand. She was dressed in a snug business suit and wore high heels.
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Have fun,” the sheriff said as the women left the room. He was already engrossed in paperwork.
Katie followed Denise down the narrow hallway, bypassing two doors until they came to a large room with several desks. There were three women working there, two entering data on computers, and one on the radio giving information to officers.
“This is the warrants area, where we receive all warrant checks from every police department in the county,” Denise said. She led Katie through to another large room. “And this is where the other part of the records division is located.” She motioned to one side. “Here, searches are conducted for current investigations: suspects’ backgrounds, prison records, owners of vehicles, and so on. It’s also where we enter all daily information from patrols and investigations, and collate everything from the department for the crime data that goes to the State Department of Justice and the Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics.” She walked through to a smaller room, “All filing for the last twelve months is located here, and anything before that is in the vault.”
“Vault?” Katie asked.
“Not a real vault,” Denise laughed. “We just like to call it that.”
Katie spotted three more women. They were lost in their repetitive work and didn’t seem to have any interest in meeting her.
