Streaming Dialog by James Buchanan

I have to admit, I write in the ADD stream of consciousness mode. As such, just for fun, I give you a little streaming dialog between Jess Garts (Joe’s fellow deputy), Kabe and Joe..all from the Deputy Joe Novels. Jess starts…

Jess: “So you’ve fallen for his con then?”

Kabe: “His con?”

“Yeah, every cop’s got a con.”

“And what’s Joe’s?”

“The whole big, stupid, country boy thing.”

“Joe’s not stupid.”

“Darn right on that. But, see, you got to watch him pull some tourist over for a ticket to really see how he plays this con of his.”

“Okay.”

“Joe does this whole dance. He’ll sit in his vehicle for a moment, adjust those mirrored sunglasses of his and run his tongue around under his lip almost like he’s got chaw down there. ‘Course you and I know he don’t touch the stuff. But that driver don’t know that.”

“You’re serious.”

“As death. Then, all slow he’ll get up on out of his vehicle. He’s gonna stretch and scratch behind his ear, looking all bored with the world. Then he’ll roll that swagger of his on over. ‘Howdy, ma’am,’ he’ll pour molasses on his drawl, ‘y’all know why I pulled you over?’ And they’ll try and play all innocent, say no. ‘Well see, y’all’s going faster then that posted speed sign back there.’ Those city folks think that Joe’s got to be dumb as stump by how he acts and how he talks – some slow witted country boy. But every second he’s there, Joe’s looking for all the little things that might tell him they were up to something more than speeding. Most folks, that’s all it is. But the one percent that ain’t, we’ll they go on and hang themselves.”

“Okay, I can see that. So that accent of yours is all an act.”

(Joe butts in) “Ain’t no act. I’ve been talking like this all my life.”

“Yeah and each year you’ve been in the department it’s gotten a hair thicker and just a might slower. I don’t think you even really know you’re doing it. And that’s part of the good officer con anyway. When it’s so just part of you, you don’t even know it. But you feed it because it gives you results.”

“So, Jess, since you seem such an expert on all this, why don’t you tell him what your con is.”

“Me, I don’t got a con, not quite like Joe does. Me, I’m just everybody’s friend, even when I’m not, you see. I’m the nice guy, the soft sell.”

“The good cop.”

“I guess I come off that way.”

“So, Joe sets them up and you knock them down.”

“Usually it’s the other way ‘round.”