A Tourist in Mayberry

9/2) Sheriff Nichols Tells a Tale

Sheriff Nichols was on his way out to the Wall home to check on Magdalena and her mom and sisters. It was the weekend before school started back, and he was going to make sure the girls had what they needed to start back. He was carrying $600 dollars in cash for the family. In the past few weeks, he led efforts to raise money for the family, not an easy task, since they were not your typical family who lost the breadwinner case. Their breadwinner was apparently a serial killer and kidnapper, and it was hard to convince people this had nothing to do with the family he left behind. Since DNA also linked Randall Michael Wall to the teenager's finger and the dumped body at the community college, there was speculation Randall Michael was connected to murders and disappearances in a tri-state area. Most of this was ridiculous talk, especially since he was not old enough to have committed the majority of the mentioned unsolved crimes. Sheriff Nichols did believe Randall Michael was somehow also linked to the Charlotte shootings, but without the gun, he doubted this would ever be proven.

Sheriff Nichols was tired of the whole mess. After the teenage girl was found (Damien was still missing) and the mayor came back home, it was a circus in Mount Airy. With the serial killings and the return of the kidnap victims, speculation fueled a media frenzy. What was the motivation for the pregnant teenager kidnapping? Why take the nurse? Why was the parking lot murder so brutal? Were there other mutilated victims? Where were the missing body parts? Was there a secret ring of kidnappers selling babies on the black market?

Sienna and her baby became small time celebrities and were featured in a Celebrity Magazine article alongside Deputy Romey Honeycutt's article. Thank goodness, Sheriff Nichols got to the Celebrity reporters before the article ran on the Deputy. Some of them actually believed the secret agent/FBI connection. He explained the deputy was a little creative with his speculations, but nonetheless a hero, and the printed article, which only alluded to the Wild Bunch, made everyone happy, including Deputy Honeycutt. He was a local celebrity who soon found out, if he left out the part about the Wild Bunch, his story was much more credible and more importantly, caused him to get all the credit. The deputy was happy telling his tale and getting his meals paid for by grateful citizens. The widows at the center were lining up to be his date at supper. Like most heroes, he was lionized. Deputy Honeycutt was a local hero who saved the town from a killer and a baby kidnapper, and the Wild Bunch continued to help on cases behind the scenes.

The Sheriff got lucky on the photo of the girls too. The magazine wanted to run it and paid good money for it, even though the Sheriff tried to convince them it was a sad photo and took away from the spirit of the story. While the editor of the article did agree, the photo of the upset girls was not typical fare for the magazine, he felt the killer father/daughter connection was too compelling to leave out. In the end, luck was on the Sheriff's side. The article about the hometown hero saving the town was cut short and the photo edited out when a Hollywood power couple's marriage ended on allegations including infidelity and child abuse and more space was needed for this important story.

On this day, Sheriff Nichols was on his way to see the Wild Bunch for his usual bi/tri weekly visit. He enjoyed telling his stories and getting their thoughts on past cases. He had a particular case to tell them about today that seemed especially relevant considering the recent kidnappings and baby connection. This unsolved case was over 50 years old. He knew the details by heart from sitting and listening to his Mama Nichols tell the story. The story of a baby boy who disappeared from a babysitter's house for ten days and was miraculously returned. The case was never solved. Of course, the baby was long past grown up, but Sheriff Nichols still loved a good story, especially when it was his own.