Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [42]
She had never experienced an actual riot … but it felt like that’s what was brewing in Home this evening.
Jimmy Clifton looked up from behind the counter where the dispatcher’s station was located. “Chief, am I… glad to see you,” he said. He had a slight slowness of speech. That and a hesitant gait were the only outward signs of his Down Syndrome. “People are sure … mad about Pete.”
“I don’t blame them, Jimmy,” Alex said. “He’s gotten a really raw deal all the way around. But folks ought to be in their houses, not out stirring up more trouble.”
“That’s what… Jerry and Betsy told ’em. And the … sheriff’s deputies, too. But it’s not against … the law for people to be … on the street.”
“Not yet, anyway,” Alex muttered. The way that bunch in Washington tried to suppress dissent, there was no telling what might happen by the time another so-called liberal administration was over. That bunch preached tolerance while practicing some of the worst intolerance Alex had ever seen.
“What do you … want me to do, Chief? I can stay here on … duty for as long as you need me.”
She smiled. “I know you can, Jimmy, and I appreciate that. But you take off when Eloise comes in to relieve you the way she always does. You’d better go home and look after your folks.”
Jimmy lived a few blocks away with his elderly parents. Alex didn’t want him on the street this evening, not with the trouble that might be building up. She knew that by telling him to take care of his parents, he would listen to her.
“Jack called a little … while ago,” Jimmy added. “He wanted to know if … you were here yet.”
“I’ll call him back,” Alex promised as she started into her office. She had a spare uniform here at the station. She wanted to get out of the dress she had worn to court so she could move around better if she had to.
She wanted to strap on her gun, too. She hadn’t taken it to the county seat with her, knowing that she wouldn’t be allowed to bring it into the courtroom with her.
As much as she loved and respected the citizens of her town and would never use a weapon against them except as an absolutely last resort, she knew that some of them would be more likely to listen to her if she was armed.
When she came out of her office wearing the brown slacks and tan short-sleeved shirt, with the 9mm automatic in the holster strapped to her belt, she found J. P. Delgado and Clint Barrigan waiting for her, along with the two reserve officers, Lester Simms and Antonio Ruiz, the mayor’s cousin.
“We figured you’d need all hands on deck tonight, Chief,” Delgado said.
“Well, the nearest ocean is several hundred miles away,” Alex said with a smile, “but I appreciate the sentiment. And I’m really glad to see all of you.”
Lester asked, “Is what they’re saying true, Chief? The federal government is really siding with that … that monster who killed Inez McNamara?”
“They reached a settlement with him, yes, and Navarre dropped them from the lawsuit.”
“But that’s the same thing as saying they think he was in the right and Pete was in the wrong!”
Alex nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“Have you seen the latest news conference?” Delgado asked tightly.
“The one with Navarre’s lawyer and that federal attorney?” Alex shook her head. “Not yet. I’ll bet it’s all over the TV.”
“That woman said Pete violated Navarre’s civil rights by shooting him,” Delgado said. “She claims the evidence at the trial proved it wasn’t self-defense. The government’s going to pay Navarre five million dollars, and if the state doesn’t press charges against Pete, the federal government is.”
The craziness just kept on getting crazier, Alex thought with a sigh.
“As ridiculous as it is, none of that is our concern,” she said. “Our job is to keep the peace on the streets of Home … and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“You know the people of this town, Chief,” Clint