Discombobulate

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we were threatened. Our jobs were held hostage above our heads. If we didn't do one thing, our jobs were threatened. We worked our asses off to become deputies and none of that mattered to Sullivan. It was his way or else."

"Or else what?" Winston pressed.

"We would have been fired. He knew a lot of people. Do you know how bad it would have been if he would have fired us? Do you know how bad it is now? I had to get a job outside the county. Nobody would hire me here!"

"What do you do now?"

"Right now, I'm working at a lumber yard in Canton County. I drive a half-hour there and a half-hour home. I don't make nearly as much as I used to make. My kids suffer because of it."

Arnold turned back around and pointed towards a table. A girl and a boy sat next to each other. The pair had half-eaten hot dogs next to them. Their fists hit their palms in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors.

"Those are my two kids. I'm a single dad now. Their mom died last year and this year I lost my job. I'm still paying so much money a month for her funeral expenses. Times are tough. I want that bastard to pay for what he did. All the former deputies want him thrown in jail."

"They're still investigating records at the Sheriff's office. I was just there a few days ago. It's been weeks since they first started."

"It'll continue to go on for weeks. The paperwork goes back years. It's been a long time since it first started. They won't let us help out since we're the ones involved."

Arnold sighed and shook his head. "I'm really pissed at him. The department let us take the fall. They fired us, but they covered up Sullivan. They said he quit for personal reasons."

"They're afraid people will start suing," Winston admitted. "You know how it works, people realize they've been wronged and they want to make it right."

"Oh, I know. I'm currently looking at legal options right now. I can't do much until they finish their stupid investigation."

The man sighed once again. "I've got to go back to my kids. I didn't want to bring them here, but they wanted to see some of their old friends. Maybe we'll bump into each other again. I hope they get everything sorted out. Your job must be a real shit show right now."

Winston let out a laugh. "Oh, you have no idea. The new deputies and I are currently in the police station here in Brimington. We're not allowed to stay at the Sheriff's office while they're investigating."

"Right now, I live in Lexing. Some of the kids from Lexing were coming here tonight too. This seems to be the town's biggest event."

"I assume it is. I've only lived here since August. I'm still getting adjusted to life here. Do you have a phone number that I can contact you at?"

Arnold stared at Winston. He rubbed the back of his neck. He looked like he had been taken back.

"It's not anything bad. I would like to talk with you and the former deputies one on one. Not here and not today, obviously. Sometime this week?"

"Yeah, do you have something to write my number on?"

Winston pulled his phone out of his pocket. He clicked a few buttons. "I'm ready whenever you are."

The man gave him the number and the two parted ways. Winston took another sip of his fruit punch. His eyes darted back toward Greg Sullivan and the family he was with.

Sullivan was on his cell phone. His hand was running over the top of his bald head. He paced back and forth. The kids had run off. Winston scanned the area and found the back end of a dragon tail climbing into a bounce house.