"Yep. They got a bicycle from old man Miller's boy and somebody stole a shotgun from the Reed's place. We'll get 'um though. Me and Bill--Bill's the night watch officer...he'll be here soon--just got, wait...I'll show ya."

Officer McManus unlocks the chief's office and comes out with a 2-watt Citizens Band walkie-talkie.

"See here, boy? Bill and me both got one of these. Heck, on a good night we can talk all the way to Albertville on this thing. And, ya see here? This switch is a "private line." Throw that switch and just me and Billy-Boy is all that can talk to each other. Nobody else can hear a word we say. What 'cha think of that, Ron?"
"That's something else. All the way to Albertville, huh?"

"Yep. We've got a breath analyzer here, too. Well, ain't exactly here...it's in Green Springs. That's the county seat. Look here."

Officer McManus unlocks the file cabinet and pulls a card file containing every DUI booked during the past year.

"See here, Ron? This fella was a point-one-oh. That means his blood was 10% pure alcohol. And this one here...he was a point-four-oh...doctors said that's enough to kill a body.

"Bet y’all use 'signals' and 'codes' down in Atlanta. We have some here, too. We say 'ten-four'--that means 'I understand,' and 'ten-twenty'--that means 'where are you,' and 'ten-ten'..."
"Officer McManus, is there any place I could get something to eat? I've got a terrible headache and my stomach thinks my throat's been cut."

"Sure, Ron. When Bill gets here, we'll get him to run you out to the Dairy Bar. They've got some serious barbecue sandwiches."

"Great. Where's Bill?"

"He'll be along any minute now. We'll call him on the radio."

"Car 12?"

"Car 12, go ahead."

"Car 12, come by the station."

Then to me: "We ain't got a code for that yet but the chief's working on it.

"While we wait on Billy-Boy, come on in the chief's office. I've got something else to show you.

"See that plaque on the wall? Well, our chief got that for attending a special school up at the Green Springs Fire Station given by a genuine FBI man. And that one over there, well it's for the 'Young Man on the Go' in Cedar Bluffs. And this one here...hey, come back here, Ron...this one's for helping out the sheriff in Chester County on a manhunt. And, oh shucks, there's Billy-Boy. Guess you better go on and get some supper before they close up. Heck, it's time for me to go home, too."

"Yeah. Sorry about that, Officer McManus, but I am starving."

"That's OK, Ron. Get a good meal. Bill Stevenson, meet Ron Burch. He's a student pilot. Got lost, almost ran outta gas, and landed here at Cedar Bluffs. Ain't that something?"

"Sure is, McManus. How're ya doing, Ron?"

"Starvin' to death, Bill."

©Copyright 2002 David Ray Skinner/SouthernReader. All rights reserved.