Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [47]
Through gritted teeth, Alex said, “I told you, I’m not Mom right now. I’m the chief of police.” She turned to Delgado and added, “Put them in the backseat of your car.”
He nodded and said, “Come on, fellas.”
Jack still looked aghast at this turn of events. “You can’t be serious,” he argued. “They’re the ones who ought to be arrested. They came in here where they aren’t wanted and stirred up all this trouble!”
The blonde sneered and said, “There’s such a thing as freedom of the press, young man. You may not have heard of it, considering the sort of education you probably get in a place like this where all they teach you is football and hate.”
“Don’t push your luck, lady,” Alex snapped. She pointed to Delgado’s police car and said, “Go!”
They went, ushered over to the car by Delgado, who opened the back door and watched as they slid into the uncomfortable confines of the backseat.
Alex nodded to the reporter. “Now, are you satisfied?”
“That you did your duty as the police chief? I suppose. But I heard one of those boys call you Mom. Are you satisfied, Chief Bonner, with the job you’ve done of raising him?”
For a second, Alex thought about the days of the Old West again, when troublemakers could be tarred, feathered, and ridden out of town on a rail.
It sure was an appealing idea right now.
She took a deep breath and said, “I don’t comment on personal matters. I can promise you, though, that there’ll be a full investigation of what took place here tonight, and anyone who’s at fault… anyone … will face the full penalties allowed by law. Now get off the street.”
“You can’t—”
“I declared a curfew, remember? That goes for all civilians, including the press.”
The reporter glared at her. “I’m going to file a formal protest with the mayor and the city council.”
“Go ahead.” Alex hoped that Ed Ruiz and the other members of the council would support her on this, but even if they didn’t, it would be after the fact. The important thing was to get the streets cleared now, so there wouldn’t be any more trouble tonight.
“And my viewers are certainly going to hear about this injustice.”
“I’m sure they will. I don’t have any further comment.”
Alex turned away and surveyed the street and the parking lot. A few pockets of people still stood around looking surly, but they began to break up as Alex stared at them. The reporters were still there, too, of course, chattering away. Alex told her other officers to shoo them back to their motel rooms, then climbed into the passenger side of the front seat of Delgado’s patrol car.
“Mom, this is just wrong!” Jack protested through the wire mesh that separated the front seat from the back. “We shouldn’t be under arrest.”
“Shut up,” Alex told him, still more in cop mode than mom mode. “You’re not under arrest, any of you. I placed you in custody, that’s all. Delgado will take you all home.”
“You mean you did it just to placate that reporter?”
“I mean I was doing what I thought was necessary to defuse an explosive situation. But you should be damn glad you’re not under arrest for assault.”
Rowdy leaned over to Jack and said, “Hey, dude, your mom said ‘damn.‘”
Despite everything that had happened, Alex found it hard not to laugh just then. You could always count on Rowdy to be … well, Rowdy, she thought.
“This may not be over,” she warned them. “It’ll depend on what the reporter and cameraman do. They may press for criminal charges to be filed against you, and they can always file a civil lawsuit, too. So be prepared for more trouble as a result of this.” She paused. “You really should have gone home after football practice, all of you.”
”But it’s not fair, what they’re doing to poor Mr. McNamara,” Jack said.
“I guess maybe that reporter was right,” Alex said. “I haven’t done a very good job of raising you.” Jack frowned. “What do you mean by that?” “If I’d done my job, you’d know by now that life isn’t fair.”
CHAPTER 22
By the next morning, what the media called “a riot tinged with racist overtones” was national news. Alex felt a surge of despair as she clicked between