“So, then what? He just came home and ran for Sheriff?”
“Well, not just like that. He came home here with a medical discharge and some level of disability. He took a course on operating heavy equipment. He operated bulldozers and cranes and such for Max Reimer, at ‘Earth Movers’ for a few years. He was a sniper in the SEALS, and he goes to the rifle range, at Fort Benning about once a month. Everyone around here knew how good he was with a rifle. He had Thirty-two confirmed kills in Nam.
“Then one time, Sheriff Budd had an escaped criminal from Fort Benning, that holed up the Brown farmhouse just North of town. It being winter, Brown’s fields were bare, and the escapee was a good shot. He had already killed one of Budd’s deputies and wounded another from over 300 yards. Sheriff Budd didn’t want to send anymore deputies at him, so Budd sent a deputy to Joe, knowing Joe used to be a sniper, and requested Joe’s help.
“Joe came out bringing his rifle. Budd deputized him. While Joe was getting set up Budd requested, the guy surrender, one more time on the bullhorn. The escapee shot at Budd, just barely missing him. Budd told Joe to take him down.
“About a minute later Joe’s rifle boomed. Joe just got up and started putting his rifle in its case. Sheriff asked, “Are you sure?”
“I shot him in the forehead with a .338 magnum. If he ain’t dead, let me know I’m going to start runnin’.”
“Sheriff said, Well I’m going to take the careful approach. That guy is dangerous.”
“Was dangerous.” Joe puts his rifle in his truck, got in and drove straight to the farmhouse. He got out, casually walked directly in, came back out and hollered, “He’s dead.”
He handed Sheriff Budd the fired cartridge and said, “I’ll stop by the Sheriff’s office write a report if you need it.”
Sheriff said, “ Yea, I will. You wouldn’t consider talking a job as fulltime deputy, would you?
Joe shook his head and said, “First thing, I wouldn’t want the pay cut. Second, you don’t need me full time. If you get into another situation like this, I’ll help.”
“Word was all over town before bedtime. By morning Joe was the town hero, so a couple years later when Sheriff Budd retired, A whole lot of people in town talked Joe into running for sheriff.
Verified Review from Amazon:
"Sounded interesting in the description, but description only gives a little insight. The book has at least three stories built into one, with action/drama, then suspense, and then crime/legal drama. Mr. Williams obviously knows his topics, or does good research, as his descriptions are detailed and accurate. The book was an easy read, and great escape for few hours. Pleasantly surprised, and could see this made into a movie."