“the board of Freeholders are about to start their meeting,” Sheriff Heath said when I turned up at work the next day. I’d had a change of heart about going around behind his back to look into Anna Kayser’s predicament and had resolved to come clean about what I’d done. I would have—at least, I’m fairly certain I would have—but Sheriff Heath was going on with such enthusiasm that I could hardly get a word in. It is also true that some small part of me was pleased to have gotten away with my own covert investigation.
Regardless, before I could make my confession, he said, “Have you forgotten? I’m putting in for a medal for you. I want you to be there.”
I hadn’t forgotten. I’d merely assumed he was only saying it to contradict his wife and had no intention of following through. “I don’t want a medal. I believe Mrs. Heath is right this time. We shouldn’t make more of this than it already is.”
“Mrs. Heath doesn’t run this jail, and you know very well that I put in for commendation any time a deputy of mine puts his life on the line.”
“It was hardly life-and-death. The Hackensack River is nothing more than a filthy ditch this time of year. I practically just walked across it to grab him.”
Sheriff Heath said, “Nonsense. It was a ditch filled with fast-moving water over six feet high and a sewage pipe. Tony Hajnacka was in handcuffs and could’ve drowned in a foot of water. You saved his life and gave no thought to your own when you did it.”
“I didn’t have to think about my life. I had only to think of my job, which required me to capture the inmate and bring him back.”
“For which you will receive a medal.”
There was no arguing with him. For once, I wished I’d worn a better hat.
the hat wouldn’t have saved me. I knew it the minute I walked in and saw Detective Courter and Dr. Ogden seated in the front row. They appeared entirely at ease, leaning back in their chairs and nodding as their friends filed in. They didn’t turn to look at us, but I had the queasy feeling that they knew we were there nonetheless.
“What’s Mr. Courter up to?” I whispered.
“Nothing. He’s here every week,” Sheriff Heath said.
“And Dr. Ogden?”
“He attends too, sometimes.”
“Then you don’t suppose they’re here because of us?”
“I wouldn’t mind if they were. My deputies do fine work and they ought to hear about it.”
He seemed so resolute, and I did admire him for his convictions, but I couldn’t help but wonder if his wife was the shrewder politician. The medal meant nothing to me. Why invite trouble?
Nonetheless, we took our places in the back of a noisy and crowded room. The Freeholders were seated on a kind of dais at the front, where they had the look of an august group gathered for a portrait: to a man they were gray-whiskered and packaged in good tweed, each of them wearing an expression of immense satisfaction over the responsibilities they’d been given and the attention they commanded. At one end sat an urn of coffee and one of tea, each attended by a harried-looking page who was also called upon to pass around a tray of finger sandwiches and dainty sweets brought in for the occasion from a bakery in Rutherford. The tray was of great concern to the Freeholders: one time, when it failed to arrive, the meeting was postponed until some other provisions could be found. The sliced salami was of particular importance to our elected officials, so much so that the page was obligated to distribute it first, before the meeting began, to ensure that each man had his fair share.
The last round of sweets was being offered as we took our seats. “They make an awful fuss over that tray,” I whispered.
“It’s the reason they run for office. They like their Tuesday afternoons and their tea and cake.”
Deputy Morris appeared just then, and took a chair next to me. He’d been out of work since his fall, and walked now with a cane and a metal brace around his leg.
“Is it very bad?” I whispered.
“For a deputy, it would be. For a man of leisure, it’s nothing. I’m taking retirement a little early, that’s all.”
I hated to see him go. “Couldn’t we find something for you at the jail?”
He shook his head. “I’m only retiring a few months early. Don’t worry yourself over me. I’m here to see you get that medal.”
Sheriff Heath was turned away, talking to the man next to him, so I ventured to say in a low voice, “I wish he wouldn’t go to all this trouble. It doesn’t mean a thing to me.”
“But don’t you see, miss? He’s doing it to protect you. If you’ve been bestowed a medal for your good work, it puts your reputation on a firmer footing. It’ll be of use to you when he’s no longer sheriff. He wants to make your accomplishments a matter of public record.”
Sheriff Heath was listening now. “I did the same for you, Morris. It’s what William Conklin taught me when he was sheriff. Always put the good works of your deputies forward. I earned a medal myself when I was deputy.”
“Then it’s a tradition,” I said, seeing the futility of arguing over it. They were paying me a compliment by allowing me to take part in the rituals of their fraternity and to be thought of as one of them. But I knew that no matter what Sheriff Heath and Deputy Morris said, I wasn’t the same as them, and my actions wouldn’t ever be seen in the same light as theirs.
At last the Freeholders were ready to get on with their business. We sat through a debate over the funding of road repairs, which concluded with the decision being put off until the following week, and an argument over the Freeholders’ use of county cars and chauffeurs for trips into New York and up to the Berkshires over the summer. It was decided that the trips had been perfectly in order and in support of county business. Sheriff Heath looked as though he had an opinion about that, but didn’t say.
His request came next. Freeholder Morrison called out, “Sheriff Heath is here to honor one of his deputies for bravery. Come on up and tell us about it, Bob.”
The sheriff went to the podium and addressed the board. “As you know, it is the responsibility of my department to transport inmates to Morris Plains or any other such place as a judge may see fit to send them. Last week, I sent two of my deputies to do that very thing, only to be waylaid by a storm and the impassibility of the very roads I believe you gentlemen were just discussing.”
That got a little murmur of agreement from several on the board, but a few of them looked awfully displeased. From my vantage point in the back of the room, I saw a man rise from one of the front benches and go to stand along the wall as if he were next to speak. It was John Courter.
I knew then that a trap had been laid for Sheriff Heath. I only wished I’d tried harder to dissuade him.
“My deputies had no choice but to turn back,” the sheriff continued. “Upon their return to the jail, one of the inmates broke loose and ran for the river in an attempt to escape or drown himself, we know not which. My deputy chased after him and succeeded in rescuing him from drowning, and brought him to shore at great personal peril. For that reason I ask this board to bestow a medal for bravery. Let me introduce the deputy. Miss Kopp?”
It should not have come as a surprise to anyone in the room that the deputy in question was a woman, for they must’ve all read about it in the papers by then. Nonetheless, there was a considerable amount of murmuring and shuffling as every eye in the room turned toward me. I stood and nodded to the Freeholders, the assembled audience, and the reporters busily scribbling in their notebooks.
Sheriff Heath went right on with his speech, which allowed me, to my relief, to take my seat again. “I hired Deputy Kopp to serve as jail matron and to handle the many difficult cases involving women and children in this county. She’s done an admirable job in that regard, but she’s also proven herself to be as capable a deputy as any other when it comes to chasing down a criminal or putting herself in danger to protect an honest citizen. Miss Kopp is the best police officer and detective in the state of New Jersey. She does not know the meaning of fear and with her bravery she uses brains. Her rescue of this inmate shows both quick thinking and fearlessness in the face of danger. For that I ask the Freeholders for their commendation.”
He’d gone too far and I knew it. The Freeholders murmured to one another. One of them looked over at Detective Courter, still standing on the side of the room, waiting his turn.
“I believe Mr. Courter from the prosecutor’s office has something to say about the matter,” one of the Freeholders said.
“I wasn’t aware Detective Courter was present at the moment this rescue took place,” Sheriff Heath said, but it was no use. He was asked to yield the podium and he did. Detective Courter marched up in that prideful manner he had, with his chin held very high above a stiff collar.
“Gentlemen, citizens, and members of the press,” he began. I sighed and slumped down into my seat. “I’ve said before that the sheriff has no business transporting inmates and should never have been entrusted with the job. He’s proven that he can’t reliably keep hold of a man outside the confines of the jail. I don’t have to remind you that one of his deputies allowed an inmate to escape last year from the Hackensack Hospital.”
I could see only the back of Sheriff Heath’s head. I would’ve rushed to his defense if I knew how, but I could think of no course of action other than to sit by and watch Detective Courter do his damage.
“Now we have another escape, and it comes at too high a cost of public safety, not to mention the monetary expense. Sheriff Heath insists on keeping a matron on his staff, at the same salary as any other deputy, in spite of the fact that there are eighty or ninety men in jail on any given day, and fewer than a dozen women. Why they require the paid services of a full-time attendant passes understanding, unless they are to receive a fresh coiffure every morning and change into formal gowns for dinner.”
That brought a laugh from the audience and a few expectant glances in my direction. Did they think I’d laugh at his joke? I did not. Morris sat alongside me, equally stone-faced.
Detective Courter went on. “Now, I don’t blame the lady deputy for allowing this inmate to escape. She never should’ve been given charge of him in the first place. It was sloppy work on the sheriff’s part that led to this mishap. But to hand out awards at a moment like this would be a misuse of the duties of this board. Instead, I asked that the Freeholders issue a letter of censure to Sheriff Heath over his mishandling of the case, and that they permanently revoke from him the authority to transport inmates.
“The county physician, Dr. Ogden, whom you see here today, took charge of carrying two lunatics to Morris Plains after Sheriff Heath failed to do so. It is my recommendation that the county physician take responsibility for all inmate transportation henceforth. This is a matter not only of the inmates’ health, but also of public safety. We cannot risk another criminal breaking free on his way to the lunatic asylum. And if an inmate escape isn’t enough, consider this: the girl deputy was so heartbroken over the commitment of Mrs. Anna Kayser that she took it upon herself to march down to the office of that lady’s personal physician and argue for her release. The sheriff’s office seems determined to set lunatics free, for reasons that escape my understanding.” He put a special emphasis on the word escape, which seemed to delight his friends on the board.
With that, he stood apart from the podium and gestured at Sheriff Heath, as if to give him back his place. It was a nasty trick on Detective Courter’s part to fling accusations at the sheriff and force him to defend himself in so public a forum, but the sheriff didn’t hesitate.
“Gentlemen, I didn’t come here tonight to hear criticism of my decisions, or to open up for discussion the question of the transportation of inmates. But you’re entitled to hear about it and to make your own decision. This office never asked to be responsible for inmate transport. If the Freeholders believe that the county physician is better qualified for the job, he is welcome to it. Now, as for the subject I brought before you. It shouldn’t matter whether the deputy is a man or woman. Inmates will try to escape. It is in their nature to do so. You would, too, if you were facing a sentence at Morris Plains.”
This brought a smattering of laughter from the Freeholders and a nod from one of them to the page, who hastened to pass the tray of cookies again.
“I will answer to any man who has questions about the expenses I incur in the running of this jail. As to the employment of Deputy Kopp—many of you didn’t realize that we had been running the jail without a woman on staff to look after the female inmates!”
The Freeholders looked a little uncomfortable with that, but the audience mumbled its assent. “You didn’t realize that. You don’t seem to understand that had your wife been arrested, and brought to the county jail, and lodged in a steel cell, unable to get away, that a man would hold the keys to all those doors. Would you like it? Of course not. We want a matron in that county jail, and the taxpayers ought to appreciate the fact that we are doing the work with one matron, not three. And when it’s necessary, Deputy Kopp stays there all night in her own jail cell, without a word of complaint. She goes out on calls when a woman is to be arrested and carries out all the other duties of a deputy. I can assure you that she puts herself in danger and steps willingly into the most desperate of circumstances to offer help to those in need, and to protect you, the members of the public. If you had any understanding of what my deputies do, you would award each one of them a medal on the spot. But if you instead want to haggle over expenses, and argue over which of your public servants is best qualified to handle one or more of the endless number of difficult duties we perform every day, please go on. I have nothing more to say on it.”
With that he left the podium. The Freeholders’ clerk reminded the board that they had a motion before them to award a medal to me.
I would’ve rather marched out of the room than stand there and watch them take a vote on an honor I hadn’t asked for and didn’t want. But there were too many eyes on me, and on Sheriff Heath, who had come to the back of the room to stand alongside me. So I did the only thing I could have, which was to keep my face perfectly composed and to stand calmly, with my hands at my side, as the vote went around the room and the Freeholders defeated the motion.