Sheriff Winston sipped fruit punch from a red solo cup. He had been helping out at the fire station for over two hours. He was wearing a cheap pirate costume.
An oversized flimsy long-sleeve shirt hung off his arms. The thin black material dangled around his wrists. His striped pants were bright red and the same shade of black. He couldn't find a parrot for his shoulder, but he found a white plastic cockatoo.
He was able to super glue the legs to his shirt. A pirate hat sat on top of his head. An eye patch covered his left eye. He already had large steel-toed boots. He wore them every day for work.
The bottom of the pants covered the top half of the shoe. The rounded black toe section peeked out from the pants. A red piece of fabric was double-looped and tied around his waist. A fake sword was in a holster on his side. Since he was off duty, he didn't need to worry about carrying his utility belt. He didn't need weapons today.
He had been standing in the back corner of the station for the past ten minutes. A steady stream of people had showed up when the bash started. It was a four-hour event from 4 pm until 8 pm.
An array of different characters were scattered throughout the vicinity. A group of boys dressed up as different superheroes. They wore wristbands and ran from activity to activity.
A few different girls were dressed as Disney princesses. A family of five was dressed as the Power Rangers. A few more kids were dressed as wizards from Harry Potter. Some parents hadn't bothered to dress up.
Sheriff Winston had been steering clear of Greg Sullivan. He had arrived an hour after the place opened. This wasn't the time or the place to have a confrontation with him. There were too many people. Many of them adored Sullivan. Winston's name would be mud if they publicly fought.
Winston watched him go up to a mom with three kids. The two little girls were dressed like fairies. Glittery wings peeked over their shoulders. Their blonde hair curled around their face. The remaining boy was dressed up like a green dragon. A tail trailed behind him and dragged along the ground. He was holding his mom's hand.
The mom was wearing a bright red cape with white fake fangs. Every few minutes, she had to adjust her teeth. A small trickle of fake blood dribbled down the corner of her mouth.
"You hate him too, don't you?"
Sheriff Winston glanced over to his side. A man stood beside him with his arms crossed over his chest. He couldn't have been older than thirty. He debated sharing his opinions with the man.
"Hate is a very strong word."
The man snorted and rolled his eyes. "It's a fitting word for a bastard like him. He's the biggest bastard in the county. You can admit you hate his slimy guts too."
Sheriff Winston turned towards the man. His dark eyebrows furrowed over his hazel eyes. He frowned and met Sheriff Winston's eyes.
"You're that new sheriff they put in, right?"
Winston nodded, "that's me, I'm Sheriff Winston."
The man stuck out his hand, "I'm Arnold Barker."
"You used to be a de-" Winston's words were cut off.
"Yeah, I was one of Sheriff Sullivan's deputies. I lost my job because of that son of a bitch. The department fired me without letting me explain. They never let any of us explain. They threw the whole fucking book at us."
"It's my understanding that the deputies helped Sullivan cover things up. You tampered with evidence."
"Yeah, but nobody will let us explain ourselves. People are acting like we had a choice. There were four of us and we were all used like puppets."
"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.
Their mom glanced at them now and then. She seemed more concerned about the phone call Sullivan was on. The fake fangs had left her mouth. What was going on?
Winston remained in his spot and finished the last few sips of his punch. Before he could go over to the punch bowl to get more, Sullivan sprinted towards a side door. His beer belly bounced with every step.
He fumbled with the door before opening it. He glanced back to look at the woman one more time. She had her head in her hands. Sullivan took off again and disappeared out of sight.
Winston was sure something was wrong. He didn't know what it was. If it involved the station, Detective Mullen or one of his deputies would call him as usual.
The kids were back on their way to their mom. One of the girls had a wand. She used it to poke the top of her mom's head. The dragon grabbed the end of her cape and tugged on it. The woman shot up and yanked the girl's wand out of her hand. The dragon dropped her cape. The woman wiped tears away.
Winston decided it was time to intervene. The closer he got, the more he could hear clearly.
"I'm hungry!" One of the girls complained.
"Give me a few minutes and I'll help get you guys food."
"I'm hungry now!" The other whined. "We haven't eaten anything since lunch."
"Are you alright?" Sheriff Winston asked the woman.
She quickly ran her knuckles under her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. My husband did a stupid thing. I'll be okay."
"What did Daddy do?" The boy asked.
"Nothing. We'll talk about it later."
"If you need a moment, I can help your kids in line." Winston offered.
"Could you?" She reached into her back pocket and took out a twenty-dollar bill. "I need to compose myself before I call my husband and start screaming at him. You can donate all of it to the station."
Sheriff Winston took the twenty dollar bill. "Do you want me to get you a plate too?"
"We can help him pick out your food!" The boy beamed.
"If it wouldn't be too much of a hassle," the woman blushed.
"Of course not. We'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay kids, go with Sheriff Winston. He's going to help you get food. You'll come back here when you're done." She waved them away.
Sheriff Winston led the small group toward the back of the fire station. He made sure the two fairies and the dragon were following him. A line of tables sat along the back wall.
"I like your pirate costume."
Winston glanced down at the boy. "Thank you. I like your dragon costume. What do you guys want? Hot dogs or hamburgers?"
"We all have to get hamburgers. Mom says hot dogs are made out of pink slime. She doesn't let us eat them." One of the fairies glared at him.
He ignored it and gave each kid a paper plate. He dropped the twenty dollars in the tip jar and took a paper plate for the mom. "What do you think your mom wants with her hamburger?"
"She eats them with ketchup," the boy spoke up. "Lots and lots of ketchup."
Winston followed the trio through the line. A gloved firefighter dropped a hamburger on each of their buns. The boy picked out a bag of Cheetos for his mom and himself. The girls decided she'd enjoy a chocolate chip cookie best.
"What do you think she wants to drink?" Winston asked.
"Dr. Pepper!" The boy shouted.
"Diet Dr. Pepper," his sister corrected him. "She only drinks diet pop."
"Do you guys want fruit punch?" Winston asked.
"No, thank you." Another fairy spoke as she picked up a bottle of water from the cooler. The other siblings followed her lead. They each grabbed a bottle of water.
Sheriff Winston grabbed a can of Diet Dr. Pepper. They all walked back towards the table. The woman thanked him for a second time.
One of the fairies opened her water bottle. She took a sip from it and picked up her hamburger. "Isn't this the guy that stole Uncle Greg's job?"
"April Lynn!" Her mom snapped. "Apologize right now!"
The girl glared at her mom. The mom bent down and whispered something into her ear. The girl's face turned white. "I'm sorry I said that." Her words came out mumbled as she chewed her hamburger.
"That's okay. Do you guys know Greg Sullivan?"
"Unfortunately," the mom muttered. "He's best friends with my husband. The past few months, he's spent more time with my husband than I have."
"Uncle Greg is cool," April spoke again.
"But he's very loud. He says things Mommy doesn't want us to say. We don't talk about him much."
"I don't think I introduced myself properly. I'm Lindsay Bowers and these are my three kids; April, Mary, and Logan. I'm married to Grant Bowers. He's been friends with Greg Sullivan for years and that's why the kids call him Uncle Greg."
"I saw him over here earlier and watched him leave. I was worried something was wrong."
"Apparently, my husband called him with car trouble. They recently got back from a fishing trip. Grant is supposed to meet us here. How are you liking the Sheriff's position? I've heard you were a sheriff before getting this job."
Winston nodded, "I've been a sheriff for eight years. This job's a little different from my last job. There are fewer people in Brimington County than where I was."
The phone in his pocket vibrated. He fished the phone out of his pocket. Detective Mullen's number flashed across the screen. "I've got to take this phone call. It was nice to meet you and your kids."
"Bye, Pirate Man!" The dragon waved at him. Ketchup rolled down his chin and landed on his dragon costume.
Winston laughed and waved back. He stepped away from the table and answered the phone. "Hello?"
"I'm sorry to bother you. I said I wouldn't call you unless it was an emergency, it's an emergency. I need you to get back to the station." Mullen's voice came through the end of the phone.
"I'll run with the siren and lights. Give me five minutes and I'll be there." Winston snapped the phone shut and headed towards the door.
Whatever happened, he couldn't shake the feeling that Greg Sullivan was involved.