That pretty much covered what I’d suspected.
“I don’t see her fucking it up,” I told him honestly, turning around and taking a sip of my coffee. “That little girl has a great world around her. She’s safe and happy, and most importantly, she has Naomi’s attention. I know for a parent, that might not seem like a lot, but it is, and Naomi knows that better than most.
“When I was a kid, my parents were never too busy for me. If I had a question, a problem, or I just wanted to tell them about my day, I had their focus. It’s something that after they died and I met Naomi, comforted me because I knew they’d loved me.”
Alex blinked and then frowned. “I’ve never thought about it like that, but it makes sense. Look at Cody.”
Yeah, his girlfriend’s son was a perfect example of the impact of attention, or lack of it, from parents. What he’d missed out on for so long, though, he had now with Alex and DB, who’d likely end up being his new stepbrother.
Not wanting to betray Naomi’s confidence in me by discussing her business further, I moved on from the subject. “So, what’s going on with the gun found in the grass near the hospital?”
“Serial number was filed off it, so we sent it to ballistics to process. The report hasn’t come back yet.”
That wasn’t a surprise but was the location we’d found it in had been.
“Have hospital security found anything on their cameras?”
An unamused laugh burst out of him. “What do you think? Apparently, they have their cameras on that side aimed elsewhere.” i.e., they were aimed in the wrong fucking places.
“Who installed them?”
“A company picked by the old mayor put them in for half the price they normally are. The cameras are old, and the footage is cloudy. In high temperatures, they stop working. In low temperatures, they stop working. See where I’m going?” Given that it was Texas, that meant there were many times the damn things weren’t doing their jobs. “And let’s not forget they’re not even aimed at the right places.”
“Shit,” I sighed. “Yet another thing for Hurst to find the money to fix.”
“Yeah, he’s pissed. Anyway, DB wants Mark and Reid to take on the case with the gun, so we’re free to work on the cold cases again. We’re going to have a meeting in the morning before we go home.”
I couldn’t blame Hurst for being pissed. He’d inherited one big old mess and was making his way through the problems one by one. It helped that he’d managed to recoup some of the embezzled funds from the previous mayor, but it still wasn’t enough to get everything fixed immediately. Some things could wait and have time taken with them, but others couldn’t.
We were lucky he’d invested money in the department to ensure we were safe and had what we needed. Prior to that, he’d donated money to help install a panic room in the building for residents if they felt they needed it. At one point, we’d hidden them in a cell if that happened, but with the town's expansion and the increase in population, we’d had to add more cells and couldn’t keep one open like that anymore. The panic room was a great idea—and unique—and I knew how grateful people were for it.
Especially after the incident last year with someone from the neighboring town, Palmerstown. The sheriff there, Judd Bailey, was a great guy who’d grown up with a total asshole for a dad. He’d found out he shared no DNA with him and that the guy was a murdering son of a bitch. Unfortunately, he’d then added to his list of crimes by shooting up our department.
After that, we were not only very grateful for the panic room, but we were beyond grateful for the protective vests and adjustments Hurst had made to our uniforms, even if it was about the tenth one we’d had in the last two years.
“We’re not changing uniforms again, are we?” It was an ongoing joke amongst us, but I think we also used it to make sure no one had heard any rumors it was happening again.
Alex’s eyes narrowed on me. “Why, what have you heard?”
“Nothing, I was just making sure. I like what we’ve got now.” Plus, his son was the sheriff, so if anyone had inside information, it’d be him.
“Nah, DB says Hurst’s happy with the way it is now and doesn’t want to change it. We might get more training, though.”
That I didn’t have a problem with. If you asked me, training was essential, and the refresher courses we did were, too. With the way things progressed, it was necessary to be up to date and have the right approach and mentality toward situations. Without training, you’d be using a mindset and methods devised years ago, and that wasn’t the best way to do our jobs.