Renewal 3 - Your Basic Swiss Family by Jf Perkins

 
     
     
     
     
    Renewal 3: Your Basic Swiss Family
    JF Perkins
     
    Chapter 3 – 1
    Terry Shelton was already in trouble. Just back from his first solo survey, he was called in to account for his report. He and Dusty Baer were standing on the wrong side of the mayor’s desk. On the power side stood Jerry Doan Jenkins, with a stormy glower on his features. Terry wasn’t listening; he was thinking of why the man always insisted on using his middle name, so much so that no one would have known who you were talking about if you were speaking of plain old Jerry Jenkins.
    In any case, Jerry Doan Jenkins was busy questioning the accuracy of the Terry’s first report, and had spent twenty minutes trying to trip him up with questions about what he had seen. Unfortunately for the mayor, Dusty had spent some long hours with Terry, making sure that the story was consistent and tight. Jerry was one of the small group of major landholders left in the county, and he was bent on making sure things stayed that way. He figured that he could compete with the other landed families, as long as no one else rose up to join the fray. He also reckoned that he would get his way, just like he usually did, and this young reclamation engineer was messing it up.
    “I made the survey request because that’s my land out there. I won it fair and square,” Jerry Doan Jenkins was saying when Terry tuned back in.
    “We made the survey, sir. Terry made his survey, and I went out right behind him and checked, since it was his first job. Our reports agree.” Dusty said in response.
    “My men say otherwise. They told me there’s a field full of houses out there, and the whole thing is inside the boundaries of the land I won from Tucker last month,” said JDJ, or “Judge,” as Terry had just named the man while his mind was wandering. There was something liberating about knowing that he had a new home, if things got too bad here in town. It made Terry feel confident.
    The scary part was that it took him so long to make the connection, since these days, the mayor happened to be the judge for the county as well. Terry was pretty sure that was illegal.
    “Sir,” Dusty said, “There are only three houses left on that plot, and all three have been occupied continuously by the same people since right after the Breakdown. By state law, they own the land, no matter how many card games you won.”
    “I don’t care much about state law out here in Coffee County,” Judge said. “Around here it’s my law. Besides, what happened to the rest of my houses?”
    “Sir, I care about state law. The State issues my license to operate, and if I ignore the law, I could find myself sleeping on your loading dock and begging for work.” Dusty folded his arms in front of his broad chest, adopting a stubborn tone. “Also, they can easily make the claim for all of the land you won from Mr. Tucker, and more besides. If they make a claim to the State, you’ll have people down here from Murfreesboro, poking around in county business.” Dusty knew this was a powerful argument. Jerry Doan Jenkins was as corrupt as they come. He continually played fast and loose with any rules he didn’t like, not to mention stealing the State’s rare aid shipments and selling them illegally to the citizens they were intended to support. Dusty’s argument failed.
    “I’m going to see for myself, and you boys are coming with me,” Judge declared. “Be here at seven AM. We’ll take the truck.” He paused, giving the engineers one last hard look. “Dismissed.”
    “Yes, sir.” Dusty said, immediately echoed by Terry. They turned and left the mayor’s office.
    Terry paused to close the office door, and then scrambled to catch up with Dusty, who was rushing past the mayor’s young, blonde secretary. She gave Terry a winning smile as he went past, and he flipped a casual wave back at her before he trotted out the door. He knew her from high school. She was the mayor’s