Chapter Six

 

JESSIE

 

“Can I help you?” Asks a heavyset older woman with silver hair as the door to the repair shop office jingles behind me.

“Oh, I… Umm… I was… Uh… Is Daryl here?” I stumble through my words, completely caught off guard by the sight of the older woman, but even more shocked from the absence of Daryl.

“Oh, Daryl doesn’t wake up this early, darling,” she giggles.

“I see,” I smile before telling her all about my situation. “I dropped off a red Jeep Wrangler a couple of days back and left my things in the storage room. I was hoping to get them both today if the Jeep is ready.”

“Oh yes, the Wrangler; it’s ready!” She flashes a smile in my direction before flipping through a large notebook and making a few markings.

After settling my tab, I’m given my keys as well as access to the storage room. It’s much more difficult to reload the Jeep on my own, but I can’t stand to let the older woman lift anything so I manage without her help. I find myself looking over my shoulder whenever I hear a loud noise, but Daryl never shows up, so I make my way to the Sherriff station instead.

My uniform is waiting for me, and I’m quite impressed with myself when I’m fully dressed. Unlike the black uniforms from the LAPD, Danville uses the cliché light brown deputy uniform. Staring at my reflection in the full length mirror of the locker room, I practice making stern faces until I hear my co-workers talking out in the office. Making my way out, I hold my arms out before spinning, as they all applaud my transformation.

“You look right at home!” Earl cheers me on and we all laugh before congregating around the coffee machine.

The Captain comes in just as I’m stirring the sugar and cream into my coffee, and he immediately calls us into his office. It’s strange to be on such a small team, but I guess it allows for informal meetings like these. We’re in the Captain’s office before he’s even settled in and Jed, Cole and Earl all look pretty comfortable like this happens regularly.

In my two years on the force in LA I never once sat in my captain’s office with co-workers. The captain’s office was the principal’s office to me, somewhere I didn’t want to be. Here it appears to be much different, the captain is our teammate, and they all seemed to get along great.

“How was the evening shift?” Captain McCall asks as he adjusts in his seat, and Jed rattles off a summary without missing a beat.

“A few calls, sir, but no incident reports were filed. Mrs. Ladie had a fall, but the fire department arrived with us and they handled it. Other than that, we had three calls about the light outage on Lincoln Rd. and that was about it. Oh! And Lucille Gray complained about the noise at Blue’s Bar, but when I told her she would have to make a formal complaint she said it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Jed finishes and sips from his mug.

“Sounds good. You see, Jessie, your days and evenings won’t be as exciting as LA, but you’ll know everyone in the city by name,” Captain smiles and I nod in agreement.

It’s unbelievable to think that there was a night, or even an hour, without any reports at all in the entire city. Danville is small, but over fifteen thousand people live here; that’s more than enough for a little drama. This must be one of the safest places in the country to only need four deputies.

“I heard about your incident at Donna’s Diner,” Captain says to me and my stomach drops, unsure of how he’ll feel about my interaction with Caleb.

“Sorry, it kinda just slipped out,” Cole looks at me apologetically; he must be where Captain heard it from.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Don’t think I’m unaware of Caleb and his asshole behavior. All of us would’ve done the same thing,” Captain grins, and a huge rush of relief floods through me.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” I sigh and sip from my mug, hoping to hide my flushed cheeks.

“I wanted to talk about the Marauders today actually,” Captain begins, and I scoot forward in my seat, interested to hear his intel.

“We’ve got to keep a good eye on them, especially this next month. I have some new information from a source and I want to know everything that goes on in that group. I want their whereabouts, any incidents they’re involved in, and really any commotion they start at all,” he looks around at the guys before landing his eyes on me.

“The Marauders are little league, Jessie. A disorderly charge here or there, but nothing serious has ever come from them. The motorcycle clubs in this area are typically pretty laid back, but there are a few that are complete hell raisers; we just want to make sure the Marauders don’t become a problem,” he explains and I nod in understanding.

“Do you think they’re thinking of stepping it up?” Earl asks and I frown wondering what he’s referring to.

“I hope not, but I don’t want to speak on it until I get the confirmation from my source. Let’s just keep an eye on them for now and go from there,” he instructs and we all nod.

“Cap, I’ve got to stop by the high school today to check in on a truant kid, so I was hoping I could take the streets,” Cole says.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Speaking of which, Jessie the way this usually works is one or two of you stay in, while the others hit the streets. I want you to get the feel of the area, so you and Earl will handle downtown. Your partner will explain it on the go, but basically it’s all about presence; we’re hoping to prevent crime by being available and vigilant.

“Jed, you handle the phones, and Cole you take a ride through all the schools before heading back here after lunch. I’ve got to check in with some leads and potential events we’ll need to plan over the next month, so I’ll be here if you need me.” He finishes and the three guys stand, so I follow suit although I’m a bit confused.

That’s it? Really? This is the most laid back police force in the country! I feel like I just left a meeting with friends, but the guys act as if that’s a typical daily routine. This just might be a good move for me after all. Anxiety used to race through me as I prepared to hit the streets in Los Angeles, but today I’m completely relaxed as I climb into the Deputy SUV.

“We’ve got five vehicles total, but I prefer the truck,” Earl says as he backs out of the parking spot.

“I drive a Jeep, so it works for me,” I giggle.

“I saw that; a Wrangler,” he nods towards me before turning onto Main street.

“Yep! So, what’s our patrol look like?” I ask.

“We’re going to stroll around downtown. Keep your eyes out for anyone needing help; you know damaged car or the like. We’ll see if we run into anything, but really we just want to be a deterrent. Captain is all about prevention, and with such a small force it’s our best strategy,” Earl says while slowly driving down the street.

We spend the next hour driving around town as Earl points out different areas. Downtown is much bigger than I thought, and by lunchtime I’ve shaken more hands than I can count. Earl introduced me to the owners of every restaurant and shop on the strip. Everyone seems so nice and welcoming, happy to have a woman on the force. Several people tell me they’ve heard of my bravery at Donna’s Diner, and Earl explains that news travels fast in a town as small as Danville.

When we pass Hayes Auto Repair, I’m all ears as Earl explains the backstory much like he did for the other businesses in the area. Apparently, the older woman I met this morning is Mrs. Hayes, she and her husband opened the repair shop forty years ago and its now the only auto shop in town. It’s a family run business, so everyone that works there is a Hayes, but he hints that there are a few bad apples in the family as well. I can’t tell if he’s holding back information or just distracted by driving. Again, I don’t want to pry about information on Daryl, but after not seeing him this morning when I expected another interaction, I’m a bit pressed to know more about him.

“Is it a large family or tight-knit?” I ask, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Oh, they’re pretty small. I think Daryl is the only one that still works at the shop, but he’s a damn genius with cars and bikes alike, so he’s all the help they need. He’s their grandson, a really good guy,” he says, repeating the sentiments of Mrs. Rose.

“I think I met him. He fixed my Jeep when I first got in town. He seemed pretty nice, and he was working on a beauty,” I trail off thinking of that first interaction with Daryl.

“You know bikes?” Earl glances over to me, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Know them? My dad practically taught me to take one apart and put it back together,” I beam with pride thinking back to my father and our time together when I was younger.

Motorcycles were what brought us together and although it’s a bit unorthodox for a father and daughter to bound over such a masculine hobby, it was our thing. Every evening we’d spend at least an hour in the garage before my mother would complain about how dirty my nails were, drenched in oil. I’d laugh with my father as she stomped around the house proclaiming I’d be a tomboy all of my life.

Needless to say, it was no shocker when I chose to become a police officer. In some ways, I think my profession was a rebellion of sorts, deciding I wasn’t going to just be a pretty face, but a badass with a pretty face.

“Really? I take my daughter out on my bike sometimes and my wife loses it. Your mom must be a cool lady,” he smirks and I decide not to burst his bubble.

My mother worked nights on the weekends, which meant me and my Dad were left on our own. There was a weekly meetup of all the bikers in The Forum parking lot, and my dad would take me every Saturday night. Always the only kid, I would try my best to conceal my admiration for all the bikes, but the second we left I’d recall my most impressive picks in detail. To this day I don’t think my mom knows about our weekend adventures, and I have no plan on telling her.

“She’s a pretty cool lady,” I sigh, watching the small downtown pass by the lightly tinted window.

It’s approaching midday, which I’ve learned is the most busy time of the day in Danville, and the streets are bustling a bit.

“Is something going on?” I wonder aloud and Earl’s mouth drops open as if he’s forgotten to tell me something important.

“That’s right, you don’t know,” he begins before making an abrupt U-turn. “The fair starts this week,” he smiles excitedly while driving down the narrow one-way street.

“Oh, the fair? I never did go to the LA county fair. Is it nice?” I ask, peering out the window. It’s an alley type street I’ve never been down before.

“It’s a big deal here. Everyone goes to the fair. There’s something for everyone. You have to go,” he shakes his head as if he can see my thoughts, which are that there’s no way I’m going to a fair. I don’t even like roller coasters.

“There’s games, rides, the food is incredible. It’s just a really fun time. The entire town comes out,” he points to a tall wire wrought fence. Just above the top of the gate you can see the tips of colorful cone roofs that look to belong in a carnival.

“I guess I’ll have to check it out,” I smile, hoping that will be enough for him to let me off the hook. I can come up with an excuse for missing the biggest event in town later, but for now I just need Earl off my back.

“Trust me, you’ll have fun. I know for a big city girl it sounds silly to go to a fair, but it really is worth the trip,” he looks at me so sincerely, and I try to reflect his seriousness despite wanting to burst into giggles.

It’s just a silly fair. I can’t understand why it means so much to him, but I definitely don’t want to ask him anything else about it, so I just sit back as he backs out of the one-way street with our emergency lights flashing.

The rest of the day goes by smoothly as Earl drives me around town, pointing out different areas and landmarks. There’s only one high school for the entire town, and I make a point not to let him know how bizarre that is to me. I don’t want the reputation of the big city girl that is just utterly appalled by everything associated with small town living.

Several times I’ve let my disbelief slip, like at a police force of four officers. Or when Cole told me there hadn’t been a murder in Danville in over a decade. Luckily, I was able to just nod and keep my remarks to myself for the greater part of the tour, even when Earl introduced me to the Barclays family, who owned the only funeral home in all of Danville.

“Everyone in Danville meets the Barclays, whether they know about it or not,” he joked, as I fought back all of my questions. How could one funeral home handle the deaths of an entire community?

 

All in all, I really enjoyed my time with Earl, he was going to be a great partner, and the more I got to know it, the more certain I was that Danville was going to be a great new home. It was different, for sure, but I think that’s what I needed, what I wanted. My fresh start was finally taking place and I was loving the feeling of a clean slate where no one knew anything about my past, my failures, or even my family.