Taboo

Keywords: Child, The, Lightning, Ch., 02,

*"3.) You Can't Blame Him"*

Stuck in the jail cell, Stephen listened to the deputy's phone conversation with the sheriff. Although he heard just one side of the conversation, he felt things were beginning to look up for him.

"Well no Tom, the baby was fine. Yeah, he just walked into Ben's store carrying the baby in his shirt. He asked Ben for a phone, but Ben just called me."

Stephen looked around the cell. When the deputy told him he was taking him back to the station, he envisioned something out of Mayberry RFD, complete with a friendly drunk in the next cell and a bumbling deputy to watch him. There was no drunk, but from the phone conversation he was overhearing he did have the bumbling deputy.

"Like I said Tom, the baby was fine. I called an ambulance just to make sure."

"Yes, they said the baby was fine. They took him back to the hospital to check it out further."

There were no windows in the cell, and the deputy had taken Stephen's watch. In all the commotion he lost track of time. "Deputy, what time is it getting to be," he shouted.

"Hold a minute Tom." The Deputy shouted back, "It's two-thirty now."

"I'm sorry Tom."

Two-thirty! Stephen needed to get out and back to his car. He wanted no more attention today.

"Yeah Tom, I took his watch when I put him in the cell."

"Well no, I didn't read him his rights. I didn't know what to do Tom. He comes running into Ben's carrying this baby wrapped in his shirt. The baby's got no diapers, no clothes, nothing. He starts giving me some story about lightning striking the baby... no, not striking the baby, lightning making the baby. I tell you, I thought he was drunk, but I didn't smell any alcohol on his breath.

"The man was on something Tom, he was shaking like a leaf."

The bed creaked as Stephen sat down. He didn't look forward to spending the night in the jail. From the sound of the phone conversation he expected to be out shortly.

"Well, when you put it like that, I guess I can't blame him for being nervous. Not everyone nearly gets struck by lightning."

"Should I let him out Tom?" Stephen heard the Deputy say. He continued, "You are, okay, I'll wait for you to get here."

Stephen sat back, leaning against the cold masonry wall.

"The Sheriff will be here in a moment," the Deputy shouted, "he wants to talk to you for a moment."

Stephen heard the station door open. "Dewey, give me the keys."

The Sheriff walked up to the cell door and put the key in. "For Christ sakes Dewey, will ya get him a shirt."

The cell door opened. "Look Mister..."

"Larson, Stephen Larson."

"Look Mister Larson, we're just a small town police department here, not really used to anything out of the ordinary. I am sorry for the Deputy locking you up."

"I was getting worried I might have to spend the night here," Stephen responded.

"You got to admit, your story is a strange one. The Deputy is just a bit overly suspicious. Look let me give you a lift back to the lodge."

"I'm not staying at the lodge, I just parked my car near there."

"Let me give you a lift back to your car," the Sheriff offered. The deputy stepped in and tossed him a tee shirt.

"There you go, an official police shirt, how's that for service," the deputy said.

Stephen pulled the shirt over his head as the Deputy and Sheriff wandered back into the front office. "If it's all the same to you, I think I will wander across the street and get a bite to eat," he said to the Sheriff as he walked toward the door.

The Deputy made a move to block the door.

"Let him go Dewey, you can't blame him for being hungry. Look Mister Larson, again, I apologize for the way Dewey here has treated you. Apologize to the man Dewey."

The Deputy bit his lip, pausing a moment, "I am sorry sir."

Stephen stepped out the door and walked across the rough asphalt road to the Tip-Top Café. He had been away from the car now for almost four hours, much too long. He slid into a booth trying to figure a way to get out of town fast. That deputy was onto something and Stephen didn't want to be around when he figured it all out. The lightning strike had solved a problem for him, but plopped him down in the middle of another.

Across the street the Sheriff and Deputy rushed out to their cars and headed up the road towards the lodge. Stephen quickly got up and walked out to the street. When the police cars disappeared into the trees, he started jogging in the opposite direction.

Keywords: Child, The, Lightning, Ch., 02,