Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [43]
Alex nodded. “I know, and I can’t say as I blame them. But I’m still not going to stand by and let anybody start any trouble.” She paused. “I don’t think it’ll come to that. They can blow off steam all they want, but there’s nobody for them to really direct their anger at. That federal attorney and Navarre and his lawyer are all over in the county seat.”
“The news media is here,” Delgado pointed out. “That’s pretty much the fourth branch of government these days.”
Alex knew that was true. The media excused everything the President and the liberal-controlled Congress did, while downplaying every gaffe by the Vice-President and exaggerating beyond all sense of proportion anything a conversative politician said or did that they didn’t like. And people on both coasts sat there every day and night and lapped up the distortions and outright lies like cream, while the rest of the country could only shake their heads in dismay and think, That’s just not true.
“You’re right,” she told Delgado. “All it’ll take is some reporter shoving a microphone and a camera in somebody’s face and smirking while they pretend to ask a question and really make a political speech instead. People are liable to blow up if that happens. So let’s get out there and make sure it doesn’t. If folks see us on the street, they’ll be a lot more likely to behave.”
Alex hoped that was true.
She had left the station with the other officers before she realized she had forgotten to call Jack and let him know she was back from the county seat.
He would be all right, she told herself. He had long since learned that with his mom being the chief of police, there would be times when he was on his own. He’d probably make himself some supper, then spend the evening doing homework, watching TV, surfing the Internet, or listening to music … or all of those options at the same time. Jack’s generation had learned to multitask while they were practically still in their cribs.
No, Alex told herself, she didn’t have to worry about her son.
CHAPTER 20
“It’s gonna be historic,” Rowdy said. “We don’t want to miss it.”
“I don’t know,” Steve said. “It sounds to me like there could be real trouble.”
Rowdy made a disgusted face. “Ah, you’re just a wuss. What do you think, Jack? The rest of the team’s gonna be there to show support for Mr. McNamara.”
Jack understood that. There was a lot of anger on the football team about what had happened. Most of them had played Little League in Home, which meant Pete McNamara had either coached them or coached against them, and either way, they knew him and liked him. He was a big supporter of high school athletics, too, always at the games, no matter what sport it was. Sometimes he even announced the games when the regular PA guy couldn’t be there.
“I don’t guess it would hurt for us to go,” Jack said. “Just to see what happens.”
“Now you’re talking,” Rowdy said as he slid off the bench in the Dairy Queen booth. “Maybe we’ll be on TV. There are still some news crews around town.”
The Dairy Queen was busy this evening, and all the talk was about what had happened in the trial at the county seat that day. It was loud, angry talk, too, Jack noted as he and his friends left. Several people had already grabbed the booth they’d vacated.
People were mad, and that made Jack worry a little about his mom. She knew how to take care of herself, though. She was the chief of police, after all. Sure, she annoyed him sometimes, and he didn’t understand why she had to be such a hard-ass, but sometimes being a hard-ass was good. She would keep things under control. He was confident of that.
They didn’t bother getting into Rowdy’s pickup but started walking downtown instead. Home wasn’t so big that you couldn’t walk all the way from one end of Main Street to the other if you wanted to. There was a lot of traffic, both on the road and beside it. Cars, trucks, and SUVs clogged the asphalt, while people walked along the shoulders and sidewalks,