where you at?”
“In the county jail.”
“Jail?” Betty turned her head and yelled, “Dave, Cat’s in jail! You have to go get her!”
“What did she do?”
“What did you do?”
“I got caught squirrel hunting in the school’s wildlife habitat area.”
“You what?” yelled Betty. “Dave, you need to go get your daughter. She was hunting in that wildlife habitat area!”
“All right, calm down. I’ll go get her.”
“Calm down? That girl is going to be the death of me yet!”
*****
As Dave drove to town, a lot of things were going through his mind. He had pretty good kids. Liz was off to college. Ben was doing well in school, straight As. He never took a book home; math was a breeze to him. The top complaint from teachers was that he never wanted to show his work, and another was of him sleeping in class. There wasn’t much that could be done because he always had the correct answer when the teacher woke him up. This would cause more embarrassment to the teacher than to Ben. Cat, on the other hand, had to work hard to keep her grades up studying every night. She knew she had to keep her grades up, or she wouldn’t be able to stay in rifle club. She still found plenty of time to hunt and fish, maybe too much time.
Dave walked into the sheriff’s office. It was stereotypical of the small town. The deputy behind the desk looked up.
“May I help you?”
Dave answered, “Yes, you’re holding my daughter.”
“Yes, have a seat. The game warden will be with you in a moment.”
“Okay.” Dave grabbed a magazine and sat down.
The game warden walked out and introduced himself to Dave. “I’m Officer Gene Conrad.”
“I’m Dave, Cat’s father. What did my youngest do to get a free ride here?”
“Well, I caught her coming out of the wildlife habit area with five squirrels. She did have her license, but hunting is prohibited in that area. I will keep her rifle till she has her court date.”
“May I take her home?”
“I don’t see why not. I called the judge. He should be returning my call pretty soon. I’ll go back and get her.” He left to let Cat out of the jail cell.
As she was brought up to the desk, Cat said, “Hi, Dad.”
Dave replied, “Hello, Cat.”
“What’d Mom say?”
“The usual…mad then worried if you’re all right.”
The deputy, after answering the phone, said to Officer Conrad, “Judge Bean is on the phone.”
“I’ll take it in my office.”
After talking to the Judge Bean, Officer Conrad called Cat and Dave into his office. As they walked in, he said, “Have a seat.”
Dave and Cat sat down. Cat watched as Officer Conrad filled out some papers.
Officer Conrad, as he handed Dave the release papers, said, “I talked to Judge Bean. He said, ‘Since there is little chance of a flight risk, she can be released to her parents’ custody.’ Read the papers, sign, and date. You need to go in front of Judge Paul Bean nine Monday morning.”
Cat asked, “Judge Paul Bean? Does his family tree go back to Judge Roy Bean, the hanging judge?”
Officer Conrad laughed a little. “Oh yeah, that’s what got him interested in law.”
“Great, first time in front of a judge, and I get a descendant of the famous hanging judge!”
Officer Conrad had a hard time not laughing. “Don’t fret about it. The truth is Judge Roy Bean is known to have sentenced only two to hang, one escaped.”
Dave and Cat, surprised, asked at the same time, “Really?”
Officer Conrad replied, “Yes, most of what you hear about Judge Roy Bean is Hollywood legend.”
Cat replied, “‘Hang ’em first, try ’em later’ is Hollywood legend?”
“Oh, I’m sure he said that quite a bit. He did stage a few hangings, giving outlaws a second chance. After the hanging, they were never seen again in the area. He did fine a dead man $40, the amount he found on him. He used the money to buy a casket and pay the gravedigger. He kept the pistol and used it as a gavel in his courtroom.”
Dave signed the release papers, handing them back to the warden. “Anything else?”
“No, that should do it till Monday morning. Hey, I’m supposed to destroy or give confiscated game to needy families. I’m kind of busy.”
“We’ll take care of it.”
Officer Conrad smiled. “See you Monday morning.”
Cat asked, “Will you wipe my rifle barrel down? I don’t want it to rust.”
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
*****
On the way home, Dave asked Cat, “Okay, why were you hunting in a no hunting area?”
“Lazy, I guess. I would see all those big, fat squirrels there every day when I went to school. They were a lot easier to get there than on state ground.”
“Well, yeah, they’re not used to getting shot at.”
“Should have listen to my gut and quit after four. Just couldn’t resist that last one on my way out. He was chewing on a nut and chattering at me.”
“Did it ever occur to you that it may have been best not to hunt there? Chances are, this wasn’t the first time the warden saw you. He knew you would be back. He just waited.”
“How did you know this wasn’t my first time?”
“The size of the squirrels your mom has been cooking. I was wondering where you were getting such big ones.”
“I guess you know now. Think Mom waited supper on us?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
Dave parked the truck in the driveway. As they get out, Dave said, “After supper I’ll help you clean the squirrels.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Mom had waited supper on them. Dave and Cat washed up before going to the kitchen table.
As they all sat down to the table, Ben said, “See ya made it home, jailbird.”
Betty
