Page 34 of Long Pig
“Real butter?” his eyes lit up.
“No, vegan butter. I made it yesterday morning. Stop complaining, it’s all you’ve had for months and you never noticed.”
“Months?”
“Yes, months.”
“I’m not sure I believe you,” he said with a grin.
She gave him a stern look, which made him laugh. Willow knew he was trying to lighten the mood.
“Joan gave me that same look many times so I guess I’ll take your word that it was fake butter.”
Dale kept her mind off the deputy through dinner and played cards with her after they straightened the kitchen. She went to bed tired but still had trouble falling asleep. Deputy Wallard was a problem she didn’t need.
The Sheriff’s department was on the east side of town two blocks off the highway. They entered the front door, and Dale rang a bell at the glass partition. They waited several minutes before a Hispanic woman in her sixties walked out of a side room.
She greeted them warmly. “Sorry Dale, I didn’t know it was you. I’m behind on the UCRs and had to send them off before I could deal with the next disaster.”
Dale laughed as she buzzed the glass doors open so he and Willow could enter. The woman gave him a long hug. Shehad a nice, rounded face with an even nicer smile that showed all her very white teeth. Willow didn’t see a ring on her finger.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes Lucia.” He turned. “Meet my friend Willow. Willow this is Lucia. She runs the department though the deputies won’t admit it. I’ve told her to campaign for Sheriff but she only laughs because she doesn’t think I’m serious.”
“Stop,” Lucia said, her nose and cheeks going a shade darker. “This backwards town wouldn’t elect a woman, and you know it.”
“Damn shame,” Dale said. “How many years do you have in?” he asked.
“Twenty-five, and I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet. One day they’ll take me out of here on a stretcher, and that will be the day I retire.” She looked at Willow with warmth and then back at Dale. “What brings you in today?”
“Deputy Wallard.”
Lucia’s expression changed. “Bad news,” she muttered and looked at Willow again. “If I had to take a guess, he’s harassing you?”
“Why is he still working here?” Dale asked.
“Friends in high places,” Lucia said honestly.
“How high?”
“His father-in-law gave a lot of money to the Sheriff’s last campaign.”
“The guy’s local?” Dale asked.
“Old family. He has the majority of the natural gas holdings in town. He also owns the new gas station.”
“You mean old man Benson?”
“Yeah, Deputy Wallard married the youngest daughter. Nasty rumor about that too. Gila County certified him before they found out he was trouble. Now he’s our trouble.”
Dale let out a long breath. “We’re here to make an official complaint. We have recorded evidence.”
Lucia shook her head. “Filing a complaint against him comes at a cost, but if you have evidence, it will be worth it.”
“What’s the rumor about the wife?” Dale asked.
Lucia’s lips thinned. “He found his future wife naked in a car with her boyfriend. This was in Gila County. She was like sixteen at the time and visiting her aunt. Rumor says he physically shoved the boyfriend around. No complaint was filed but Kirk, that’s Wallard’s first name, put the word out that he was going to marry the girl as soon as she turned eighteen because of her nice tits. His words, not mine. They were married a few weeks after her birthday.”
Dale’s hands were clenched. “He shouldn’t wear a badge.”