Until it didn’t.
She rounded the corner of a row of booths and almost walked face first into Rafe Johansen. She immediately tensed up, and the good mood that had enveloped her since getting to the town center starting to evaporate. About five inches taller than her and in good physical shape, the man had a presence. He seemed to loom over Spenser. His smile was gleaming white, his hair coiffed perfectly, and in khakis, a pale pink polo with a white sweater casually draped over his shoulders, and tasseled loafers, he was impeccably dressed. It was very politician chic.
“Sheriff Song,” Johansen said. “Pleasure to see you again.”
“Is it, though?”
“Just because I’m coming for your job, it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
“Actually, I think that’s exactly what it means. You’re trying to take my job,” Spenser said. “I tend to take things like that personally.”
“This isn’t personal, Sheriff.”
“Oh, it’s not? So, this has nothing to do with me arresting your son?”
His megawatt smile slipped as his face tightened, but just as quickly smoothed out again as he gathered himself. Like the slickest of politicians, Johansen had the innate ability to be a chameleon: he was able to blend in anywhere and avoided giving himself away.
“Let’s just say that spurred me to action,” he said. “I believe that abuses of power shouldn’t go unchecked or pass by without consequence.”
“Abuse of power? Mr. Johansen, that’s called doing my job. Your son and his friends viciously attacked two—”
“Boys will be boys, Sheriff. Yes, their hazing antics got a little out of hand and that’s unfortunate, but it wasn’t done with ill intent.”
Spenser shook her head and tried to quell the thunderheads of anger rumbling within her. She drew herself up to her full five-nine height and looked him in the eye, her body taut and her face undoubtedly reflecting the irritation flowing through her.
“One boy almost died, Mr. Johansen. Another was beaten savagely. And let’s not forget that both of them were sexually assaulted. With a baseball bat,” Spenser said. “I’d say that’s a bit more than things getting a little out of hand. What was done to those two boys was the very definition of ill intent.”
“They were trying to help those two toughen up. Trying to help them grow up a bit.”
“That is… ridiculous.”
“You’ve never been a teenage boy, Sheriff. Nor have you been a teenage boy playing competitive sports. You have to have a certain level of toughness and maturity to make it.”
“I see. So, sexually assaulting two teenage boys with a baseball bat was their way of making men out of them.”
“Well… yes. It sounds terrible, but in a way, yes.”
“Like I said, that’s ridiculous.”
“I suppose the voters will have to decide whose vision for this town is the better one.”
Spenser looked at him through narrowed eyes. “You’re not a cop. You’ve never been a cop. What do you know about being a sheriff?”
“There’s nothing in the law that says the sheriff has to come from a law enforcement background. Some people believe having civilian oversight would be beneficial. Look at the military. Who’s at the top of the food chain? The president. A civilian,” he remarked.
“All I can speak for is this town and the office of sheriff in particular. If you don’t know the law, you shouldn’t be the one tasked with enforcing it.”
He shrugged. “As I said, I suppose we’ll leave that to the voters to decide.”
Spenser turned to go, but Johansen moved quickly, putting himself directly in her path again. It wasn’t difficult to see where his son JJ got his sense of entitlement, self-importance, and complete disregard for other people from.
“I really don’t have anything more to say to you, Mr. Johansen.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “Drop the charges against my son, and I won’t go through with my campaign for your job.”
Spenser gaped at him for a moment, temporarily stunned by his brazenness. She supposed she had to give him a little credit for being so bold. Not everybody could pull off a request like that with a straight face, and yet, he somehow managed. As ludicrous as the deal he offered her was, judging by the sober expression on his face, Johansen was obviously very serious about it.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Spenser said.
“Sheriff—”
“Even if I was inclined to take you up on that offer—and I’m not inclined in the least—it’s not my call to make. I’ve already turned my case over to the DA, and they’re moving forward with the prosecution.”
“Sherrif, you are going to ruin my son’s life.”
“No, your son ruined his life,” Spenser snapped back. “And letting him skate by without suffering the consequences of his actions is only guaranteeing that he’ll do it again. Maybe next time, instead of assaulting somebody, he kills them. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I looked the other way while your son runs roughshod over other people. While he hurt other people.”
“My son made a mistake—”
“Your son made a choice. He chose to hurt those two boys,” she said. “If he doesn’t know it’s wrong to hurt people the way he did, I’d say that’s a reflection of your parenting.”
“Wow. Going to make things personal already, huh?”
“It’s an observation, Mr. Johansen,” Spenser replied. “There’s nothing personal about it.”
He glared at her for a long, tense moment. “You really are as cold as everybody says.”
“Have a good day, Mr. Johansen.”
