Why did the guard say these lines?

In The Devil All the Time (2020), Sheriff Lee secretly grabbed a photo in Sandy's house. While he was at it, he left some of his upcoming election badges. Upon inspection of the photo, he was shocked to see that what he had grabbed was a naked photo of his sister Sandy with a man. He then proceeded to visited Leroy's private space to inspect only to be stopped by a guard:

Guard: When the man who puts extra money in your pockets asks why you're as red as a newborn baby, you tell him who the whore is.

Why did the Guard say these lines?

plot-explanation the-devil-all-the-time

Best Answer

Earlier in this scene, Lee says:

I’m gonna inspect those whore rooms.

Then he is beaten by the guard, who says the words

When the man who puts extra money in your pockets asks why you’re as red as a newborn baby, you tell him who the whore is.

By "red", he means "bruised": the guard has handled him as easily as a doctor who has slapped as a newborn baby to make it cry. And the real "whore" is the sheriff, who sells himself to a local mob, not the girls renting and sex-working in the club - at least they are working hard, while all Lee does is looking the other way, while pretending to be moral superior.