Sheriff's Second Visit

It is super hot out on Saturday and the Sheriff 's deputy, our new friend Joe, meets us at Leo's farm. There are thousands of flies and gnats buzzing around. Joe tells us that there was not a second break-in at the farm, the window had been off the entire time. I apologize to Joe that we've wasted his time.

Mom, seizing an opportunity, asks Joe if he can help us turn on the water to the barn so we can fill the cow's water tank. The water switch is in the basement so Joe has to help us with the skeleton key to get in the house. When we enter the house I notice the blue pan that we had reported stolen a week earlier. It is on the floor full of water. I look at mom and point to it. She gets a shocked look on her face and whispers, "I forgot I put water out in case there was a cat in the house." She thinks there may be a cat in the house because something is eating the bread she puts on the floor.

Hmmm...do we tell Joe about the potentially false report of a stolen blue pan? Nah.

Two neighbors pull in, mostly to nose around because they saw the Sheriff's car there. The first neighbor is the one who installed the hidden cameras, his name is Stanley. Stanley has also parked an old truck on the yard so it looks like someone is home. The second visiting neighbor is 80 years old and curious, his name is Alden. They don't trust each other.

Stanley gets the water to the barn turned on and we all go visit the crooked necked cow. My sister and I suggest that the Sheriff's Department take it as a mascot and name it "Sheri." Joe cannot believe his eyes when he sees Sheri. He has to get the camera and take pictures.

After over an hour of standing around and swatting flies, Joe says he has to get on to his next call, which hasn't come in yet. Alden asks me if he can get a picture of the cow sometime and I tell him he can if someone is at the farm. We lock the place up and go home.

Yesterday, mom calls me and Alden has come to her farm. He is all shook up because he was at Leo's taking a picture of the cow and Stanley caught him there. Now, Alden is 80 and Stanley is about 58. Stanley cornered him and questioned him. Alden tells Stanley and mom that I gave permission for him to take the picture. Then mom's phone rings and it's Stanley wanting to report about Alden. Stanley thinks Alden's story about the picture is full of holes, he's had four years to get a picture of that cow. Stanley thinks he's really checking out the milking equipment there for possible future theft. It IS stainless steel, you know.

Then a few hours later, mom gets another call and it's Stanley. Someone called the Sheriff and reported the strange truck parked at Leo's farm (this is the decoy truck mentioned earlier). Stanley believes it was Alden who reported it, getting even with him.

Meanwhile, back at mom's farm, my brother has cracked the safe with a crowbar. Kind of a disappointment, Jimmy Hoffa's remains were not inside. Nor were there piles of cash. It contained old tax returns dating back to the birth of the IRS.