McCaine County Courthouse

McCaine County Courthouse

Located on the east side of Main Street at the corner of Main and McPherson, the County Courthouse serves all of McCaine’s citizens, whether they want to renew a driver’s license or speak to the county Weed Superintendent. The one-story brick building contains the offices of the Sheriff’s Department, a small courtroom, and the sundry offices associated with political positions ranging from County Treasurer to Election Commissioner. The basement contains more offices and storerooms, a small gymnasium, and a pair of jail cells. The garage next door shelters the Sheriff’s white Chevy Tahoe and two Blazers used by the deputies.

Employees

Numerous people work at or from the Courthouse. The following list only details NPCs relevant to the scenario.

Randall “Randy” Kaufman (Sheriff)
Born in Omaha, Nebraska 1970

Sheriff Kaufman is an affable Midwesterner and Gulf War veteran who’s been the sheriff of McCaine County for twenty years. A family man with a hearty appetite and a fondness for backyard barbecues, Randy’s as American as apple pie, and genuinely cares about the “townies.” He believes in “good policing,” and prefers the art of persuasion over threats and harsh language.

Randy lives on Carson Ranch some 30 miles west of Hayden with his wife Beth and two teenage children, a boy named Ricky and a girl named Shelly. His younger brother Ryan is a local pilot who operates an Air Tractor Model 502 crop duster from an airstrip at the ranch.

Beth’s younger sister Dorothy “Dotty” Pressman is a former middle school science teacher who joined the Church of Invisible Frequencies in 2020 and hasn’t been seen since. This has placed a rather sizable chip on Randy’s shoulders about the “Freqers.” He’s also somewhat wary about the “geeks at the Dish.” While some of them are good people—certainly C.T. Guest and Freddie Pike—Director Neal can be insufferable, and visiting scientists occasionally look down on locals or treat Hayden as a “Podunk playground.”

Randy’s a die-hard classic rock fan, and has been known to belt out Cheap Trick songs at Iron Horse karaoke night!

Robert “Bobby” Horner (Deputy)
Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma 1995

A self-proclaimed “Okie from Muskogee,” Deputy Horner is a lawman in the cowboy mold, the living embodiment of the Merle Haggard song. He’s recently been separated from his wife Thelma, a painful wound he’s been nursing from the inside of a bottle at the Hidey Hole. Despite his short temper and fondness for whiskey, Bobby’s a reliable deputy, and prides himself on his loyalty to his companions. He’s fairly unimaginative and has a non-nonsense approach to life, his primary enjoyments being bass fishing and big-game hunting. Lately he’s been getting into knives, and has established quite a collection!

Bobby also enjoys a good round of golf at Sandhills, and no one can beat him at billiards. He listens to country music, southern rock, and old-school R&B, and occasionally plays pedal steel guitar for Maurice Spencer’s band, The Kansas-Nebraska Act. Bobby lives on his family’s ranch in Hooker County.

Calvin “Cal” Mortenson (Deputy)
Born in Ham Lake, Minnesota 1985

A quiet, imposing man with a Minnesotan accent, Deputy Mortenson is something of a “gentle giant”—although his mild autism provides him with a bluntness that takes “some getting used to,” as the locals say. Cal genuinely love paperwork, a trait happily exploited by his boss and coworkers. Deputy Mortenson lives in a meticulously clean trailer outside of Hayden, and volunteers regularly at Seneca Church. His favorite activities are hunting and fishing, especially with his best friend Gary Wilson, whom he always calls “Gary Red Cloud Wilson.” Cal is a teetotaler and lives a life free from vice. He works out in the Courthouse gymnasium every day. This gives him the opportunity to listen to his favorite music—classic techno.

Patricia “Patty” McCoy (Clerk/Dispatcher)
Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming 1970

Patty McCoy is the weekday clerk, receptionist, and dispatcher at the Sheriff’s Department. She’s a middle-aged woman with mousy hair, a cracked voice, and facial features stamped by a lifetime of cigarettes and martinis. Patty suffered an eye injury during the recent tornadoes, and must wear an eyepatch until mid-April. (She firmly believes this gives her the moral authority to sneak after-hours cigarettes at her desk.) Although hardened and a bit cynical, Patty truly cares about Hayden’s citizens, and does what she can to serve the public while “protecting the sanity of her boys.” Divorced for almost a decade, Patty lives alone in her house on McPherson Street.

Cindy White (Clerk/Dispatcher)
Born in North Platte, Nebraska 1993

Cindy is the weekend clerk for the entire Courthouse. A “pleasantly plump” blonde with hearty Midwestern features and a goofy laugh, Cindy is warm and friendly—though she certainly enjoys her gossip, and spends much of her time on the phone chatting with friends. She has a crush on Cal Mortenson, something that everyone seems to notice but the deputy himself. Despite her occasional ditzy comments and offbeat sense of humor, Cindy is an effective clerk, and little escapes her attention or recall.

Sources & Notes

The McCaine County Courthouse is closely based on the McPherson County Courthouse in Tryon, Nebraska. The image of the courthouse was created using Gemini AI, and basically captures the point at which I simply gave up prompting the damn thing to make it look larger and a little “less rural.” Sherif Randy Kaufman is being “played” by Ed Harris, which tells you everything you know about his personality. Cal Mortenson is the ever-reliable David Morse in “gentle giant” mode, while Cindy White is Nicola Coughlan, the Irish actress from Derry Girls. Patty McCoy was created using Gemini, and I think she’s not bad for an AI character. The image for Deputy Bobby Horner is just some cowboy stock art I found on the Internet.

Bible Black > Locations
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Author: A. Buell Ruch (Based on work by Kevin A. Ross)
Last Modified: 2 December 2025
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
Bible Black PDF: [TBD]