A True-Blue Texas Twosome

by Kim Mckade

  Carl chuckled and stood ramrod straight. “Aye-aye, Captain.” He saluted

  Toby nodded and went back to his Jeep. They didn’t even try to run. They laughed and started making up prison nicknames for each other.

  Toby called Luke from the car phone. “I need some help. I raided a beer party in the grocery store parking lot.”

  Luke groaned and said, “Couldn’t you do that some other night? I’ve got a date”

  Toby’s temper snapped. “Get down here! And bring your mom’s minivan.” He walked back to the group. “I want you five in the Jeep.” Still giggling, they climbed clumsily into the Jeep.

  “I wanna run the siren! Can I run the siren, Toby?” one of the boys asked as he climbed in.

  Luke showed up ten minutes later.

  “Buchanan, get m Luke’s van. Come on, everybody in.” He shooed them into the van, ignoring Luke’s dubious expression.

  Somehow they managed to make it to the station with everyone still in one piece, but the steak fingers were devoured somewhere in the three minutes it took to get there.

  “Everyone follow me,” he called as he walked up the steps.

  The kids snickered behind him, making jokes and pushing each other around.

  “Good news, boys,” Toby told Billy and Scott as he unlocked the cell door. “Due to prison overcrowding, you’re getting an early release.”

  Billy and Scott looked at each other, puzzled. “What about our steak fingers?”

  Toby rolled his eyes and motioned them both to leave. Scott picked up the cards and the two men agreed to continue their game down at the Dairy Queen.

  “Okay, everybody line up at this door. As you get to the front of the line, give me your name and phone number.”

  It was all a joke to them. They didn’t even act nervous. Most of them gave fake names, but he knew who they all were anyway.

  When the kids were all inside, Toby slammed the door behind them and sat down at his desk.

  “You had Billy and Scott in there, too? What is this, a crime spree?” Luke asked with a laugh. He tossed his hat onto the rack by the door. Toby just glared.

  “Listen, Haskell I need to ask you a question ” Luke leaned casually on the edge of the desk. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I busted them,” Toby said shortly. “They were drinking.”

  “I know what you’re doing. I just want to know why. We’ve caught kids drinking before. We take them home, give them the lecture. The parents ground them and they mow the courthouse grass for a few weeks. That’s what we’ve always done, since your old man was sheriff. This is one hell of a mess.”

  “We were wrong.” He wasn’t about to say his father was wrong. “We shouldn’t let them get away with it.”

  Luke shrugged. “I know you’re right. I just don’t understand why all of a sudden you decide to get so technical”

  Toby cradled the phone and leaned back in his chair. “I realized we were wrong, not to be more professional in this job. This isn’t some little problem. Those kids were drinking. Some of them would have been driving. It’s time we all get a little more technical.”

  “And after all, big-city police wouldn’t let them get away with it.”

  Toby shot him a look. “No. They wouldn’t.”

  Inside the cell, a few of the boys started singing drunkenly, hanging on the bars. “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seeeeen....”

  Luke shook his head “You’ve got the mayor’s son in there, Haskell.”

  “I’m aware of that”

  “You’ve got the banker’s daughter in there.”

  “I know that, too.”

  “You’ve got half the football team in there. Homecoming is in four weeks. This is going to get ugly.”

  Toby picked up the phone and started dialing. “I know that.”

  A couple of the kids were beginning to realize this was no joke. “Hey, Toby. Let us out, okay, man?”

  “Okay,” Luke told Toby. “It’s your job. If you want to hack off the whole town and lose your job just to impress Corinne with your authority, go ahead. It’s your neck.”

  “Sheriff?” one of the girls asked. “You’re not really going to call my dad, are you? He’ll kill me.”

  Another one chimed in. “I need to go home, okay? You can let me out now.” The laughs that followed were edged with growing nervousness.

  “Right,” Toby said to Luke. “It’s my neck. Try to remember that, would you?” he suggested as he listened to the ringing

  Inside the cell, nervousness was giving way to anger and fear. One of the boys started crying. Carl Buchanan told him to shut up.

  “You’re not calling my old man,” Carl said angrily. “He’ll have your job. You’re not calling my old man.”

  Toby covered one ear with his hand and continued calling parents.

  Corinne swept her gaze over the classroom, trying to gauge the reactions of the students. She’d just passed back their first essays.

  Of course, at the moment everyone was too caught up in last night’s scandal to worry about grades. And the rumor that just started in the past hour—that the boys arrested might not be able to participate in any extracurricular activities—only fanned the flames of the controversy.

  Even Jeremy was interested, though in a more gruesome way than the rest of the kids. He didn’t play football. He thought it was so funny that guys like Carl Buchanan would get arrested, he’d worn a half smile all day. It was the happiest Corinne had seen him.

  She sneaked a peek at him over the lid of her open satchel. He was studying his essay, but she couldn’t read the expression on his face. Was he glad? Disappointed that she hadn’t acted in outrage? It was impossible to tell.

  The bell rang not long after that She gathered her things and walked out into the crush of students in the hall.

  The kids were gathered in the hallway outside the principal’s office, murmuring in hushed tones. She couldn’t make out the words, but the students had all the earmarks of an angry mob.

  It wasn’t hard to determine who they were angry at. Toby strode from the outer doorway, through the crowd toward Mr. Sammons’s office. With a smile, Corinne recognized the tan shoulder of Toby’s uniform, and the curve of his Stetson. He nodded to the students coolly, as if he routinely walked through lynch mobs.

  Mr. Sammons opened the door for him and eyed the crowd. Corinne got a quick glimpse of Dan Buchanan, Carl’s father. Behind him was Coach Steck and a few others. Mr. Sammons closed the door behind Toby. With a quick snap of his wrist he closed the blinds over his window.

  Corinne edged behind the students and entered the hallway. She circled around to the teachers’ lounge, which led directly to Mr. Sammons’s other door.

  Corinne figured that no one in the history of Aloma was more hated than Toby at this moment. After all, he had the unmitigated gall to actually think those laws applied to them, the stars of Aloma High, the native sons.

  Corinne poured a cup of coffee from the pot in the lounge and edged up to Mr. Sammons’s door, putting her ear to it.

  Inside the office, Toby nodded politely at the men and sat down in a chair facing the desk.

  “I’m sure you know why we asked you to meet with us today, Toby.”

  “I’m sure I do,” Toby said.

  “We’re all concerned, of course, with the terrible thing our boys have done,” Dan Buchanan said. Toby could feel the man’s booming voice through the soles of his feet. “We want to cooperate in any way we can.”

  It was a decidedly different attitude than the one the man had shown last night when he was bailing Carl out of jail, but Toby didn’t push the issue. “That’s good. Concerned parents are important in situations like this. Of course, it’s up to the courts to decide what the terms of their punishment will be.”

  Coach Steck cleared his throat and cast Dan a look. “We aren’t sure that filing charges against the boys is the best way to go.”

  “It’s the only way to go, Coac
h,” Toby said companionably. “I took care of the paperwork this morning.”

  “We’d like you to hear us out, Toby, before you go any further,” Mr. Sammons said. His leather chair squeaked as he leaned back, all studied nonchalance. Though admittedly it had been a while since Toby’s last visit to the principal’s office, he could still read the signs.

  “I’d be happy to hear whatever you have to say, Claude.” Toby made sure his voice was firm. He got a kick out of using the old guy’s first name. “I’m not going to promise you anything, though.”

  “We’re not asking for that, of course. We’re not asking for you to do anything except listen. It occurred to us that perhaps there would be a better way of dealing with this situation A way that might be less, well, less harsh. Just as effective, mind you, but not as harsh.”

  “I can assure you the boys won’t do hard time,” Toby said wryly.

  Dan Buchanan forced a laugh “Of course they won’t. But there are bound to be ramifications from this that would punish them far into the future. In light of the fact that the boys are so young—”

  “Old enough to know better,” Toby interjected.

  “And as this is their first offense, we thought it might be better to—”

  “What we thought, Toby,” Mr. Sammons interrupted, leaning forward and meeting Toby’s eye intently, “is that this situation is bigger than just the law that was broken.”

  “I agree completely. Teenage drinking is a big problem, and could lead to adult alcoholism.”

  “That’s why we feel this would be a good time for us to band together, pool our resources and make sure we do right by those boys. You see, Sheriff,” he bowed his head deferentially “we envision the school, the law, the families, all as part of a team, a community. Not unlike the way your father used to think, I should say.” Mr. Sammons laced his fingers together in demonstration. “In fact, I’ve received over thirty phone calls today, all about this very issue. The people are concerned about those kids, as they have a right to be. There are many facets to this problem.”

  “You folks are more than welcome to handle this matter any way you want. The law, of course, won’t be stepping back.”

  “We aren’t asking you to do that—no, not at all,” the coach said earnestly. “We’re simply thinking that if the punishment were kept more...in the family, say, the boys will learn a greater lesson—”

  “We want you to drop the charges,” Dan Buchanan said.

  Sammons glared at him before turning back to Toby.

  “No,” Toby said.

  “We aren’t asking that the deed go unpunished. We’ll work something out. The boys can do community service. The parents will have their own ways of dealing with the kids at home—”

  “We believe that together we can make sure these boys are given the proper guidance,” Steck added. “We’ve decided to call a meeting of all the parents, and decide on a course of action. We were thinking we could arrange a community service schedule—”

  “We’re not dropping the charges,” Toby said stonily.

  “There’s more at stake here than these boys—”

  “I know what you’re getting at, Claude, and we’re not dropping the charges.” Toby moved to stand up.

  “If you press charges against these boys, I’ll be forced to put them on academic suspension. They won’t be allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities.”

  “Like I said, I know what you’re getting at. But I happen to think there are more important things in a boy’s life than football.”

  “There are damn few things more important in my boy’s life than football right now, and I don’t mind saying so,” Dan Buchanan boomed. Coach Steck shot him a sharp look, and Mr. Sammons put out a hand to silence him, but Dan went on. “I’m putting it to you straight, Haskell. This is my boy’s chance to win a scholarship to college. We’ve got men all over the state courting him. An old boy from Southern Methodist is supposed to be here in two weeks. Six games missed would blow his chances.”

  Corinne opened the door and stepped into the office. “Good afternoon,” she said to the men gaping at her. “I was outside the door, and I couldn’t help overhearing. I’d like to add my opinion, if you don’t mind.” She took a seat beside Toby. She didn’t care if anyone minded.

  Toby looked at her as if she had two heads.

  “I think Mr. Haskell made an excellent decision,” Corinne said. She smiled at Dan Buchanan. “It’s important for the kids to know that this type of behavior is completely unacceptable on every level.”

  Dan Buchanan finally closed his mouth, then opened it again. “We can handle this just fine on our own.”

  “I’m sure you can. No one here wants to sell these kids short. And, if I might add, there were girls there, too. Not just football players.” She smiled widely again, the same smile she’d given the CEO of the retail chain right after she’d proven on camera that he was buying sweatshop merchandise from third world countries and putting Made In America tags on them.

  The men just stared.

  Corinne took their silence as permission to continue. “Everyone in this room is more concerned about the total welfare of the kids than they are about, say, a relatively trivial thing like football.”

  “Miss Maxwell,” Mr. Sammons said evenly. “We appreciate your input But perhaps you should let us handle this.”

  “But, Mr. Sammons, we’re all a part of this team,” she echoed his words. “The school, the law, the families, all working together. These boys are my students” She put an open hand to her chest and looked around the room, wide-eyed. “This situation concerns all of us. Now, Mr. Buchanan, there are more ways to get into a good college besides football I think the thing to do now would be to focus on Carl’s grades.”

  “Carl is no brain and everyone knows it.” Dan’s face grew redder with each passing moment. “He’s not a student, he’s an athlete. He was put on this earth to play football. That is, if you don’t bungle it up for him.”

  “If he ends up dead in a drunk driving accident, or in prison because he killed someone else, he won’t be playing anything,” Toby said.

  “Mr. Haskell is right, Mr. Buchanan. I realize that it will be a sacrifice to Carl and to your family if he doesn’t get to play But these boys need to know that there are consequences to their actions. And this is a much easier way to learn that lesson than if we wait until someone gets hurt.”

  “Little lady, you need to butt out. I know you get a thrill out of stirring things up. And if I remember right, that little habit of yours got you into trouble before.”

  Corinne could feel Toby bristling beside her. She put a hand out. “No one is trying to stir up anything, Mr, Buchanan. We’re simply having a civilized discussion.”

  Dan stepped closer, his face flushed with anger. For half a second, Corinne’s heart leapt in fear. Before she could stop, she found herself shrinking back.

  “You’d better watch your mouth, little girl, or you’re going to find yourself in trouble again. Butt out!”

  Toby bolted to his feet. “Back off, Buchanan.”

  “You need to remember who you work for here, kid,” Dan snarled.

  “Is that supposed to be a threat?” Toby stopped two inches from Dan’s nose.

  “You’re here to serve the town. It so happens that what would best serve the town right now is for you to drop those charges and let these boys play ball. We’ve got the homecoming game coming up in a few weeks. My boy is not going to miss that game!” Dan’s voice boomed off the walls. Corinne realized with a cringe that all the students could hear him.

  “He’s welcome to come to the game,” Toby said easily. “But he won’t be playing.”

  “Toby, Dan, please sit down. We can work this out in a reasonable manner.” Mr. Sammons stood and tried to calm them both.

  “I’ve heard enough,” Toby said, putting his hat on. “Meeting’s adjourned.”

  Toby took Corinne’s arm and led her out of
the room. She followed silently, hustling to keep up.

  His stride was stiff and angry. Neither of them spoke until they were in the parking lot. The afternoon sun was bright; Toby brought his Stetson down lower over his eyes, his jaw clenched in frustration.

  “What the hell were you doing in there?” he growled when they got to her car.

  She gaped at him. “I was supporting you. Didn’t you hear?”

  “And now everyone’s going to hate you, too.”

  “So?”

  “So, didn’t you hear that idiot? That wasn’t the wisest thing you could have done, sweetheart. I can handle this. I don’t need you standing up for me.”

  “I wasn’t standing up for you. I was standing up for the right decision.” She shook her head. “Why are you mad at me? I’m one of the few people who agree with you on this.”

  “And I appreciate that. But you shouldn’t have come in there. Now you’re going to be the bad guy, too. All the students are going to hate you.”

  Corinne laughed lightly. “They already do, and I’ve barely completed a week of teaching. Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind being the dragon lady.”

  “Buchanan looked like he was ready to hit you.”

  Corinne shrugged it off. “He’s not going to do anything to me. He can’t Quite worrying about it, okay? This will all blow over in a couple of weeks. On the other hand, say you hadn’t arrested them. Say one of them went out and got themselves killed. Right now we’d be planning a funeral. That wouldn’t blow over. Ever.”

  “I wish you hadn’t come in there.”

  “I had to, Toby. We have to stick together on this.” She reached up and put a hand to his cheek, then pulled it quickly away when she realized what she was doing. She took a step back. “You look exhausted. Did you get any sleep last night?”

  His eyebrows pulled together in concentration. “Last night? Let me see. Between listening to whining kids and yelling fathers, answering phone calls from every gossip in town, and being threatened by the mayor, the banker and about fifteen farmers, I don’t think I fit in any sleep.”