Which was better: a man or extra closet space? — As Deputy Richie Stuart applied the tape measure for the new shelves, Phoebe Tripp pondered this problem, latest of a series that plagued her. Does a swearing-in count when the sheriff-elect is wearing pink armadillo bedroom slippers? Who would have thought an elderly convict could run so fast? And how does the police siren shut off? Phoebe never wanted to be sheriff of Greensboro Bend, Vermont. Frankly she didn't have an ounce of daring in her whole body. Which was why, as Phoebe contemplated Richie's muscular back, she concluded that a man was nice but closet space was safer.