Bring Me Flowers (Detectives Kane and Alton #2)(3)
Anything would be a relief from the current boredom.
Voices at the front desk drew her attention. The new deputy was due to arrive: Shane Wolfe, a family man with three daughters, and from his résumé, a qualified medical examiner waiting for his license to be issued for Black Rock Falls. She welcomed the idea of dealing with problems in-house rather than relying on a mortician to conduct autopsies and the state forensics team, who took on anything they could not handle. With her experience in the underworld of firearms, vice, and narcotics—and with Kane’s profiling abilities, which had already saved her life— the chance of adding another highly qualified deputy to the team was a dream come true. There will be nothing we can’t handle.
She pushed to her feet and strolled out of her office then waved at Deputies David Kane and Jake Rowley to join her at the front desk. Rowley had shaped up well over the last six months and was as solid as a rock, but having Shane Wolfe on the team would make life easier. Before Kane had arrived, her previous outlet for some serious crime investigation conversation came in the form of old Duke Walters, and she might as well talk to the mop bucket.
“Is that the new deputy?” Rowley pushed his thumbs through the loops on his regulation pants and grinned. “He looks like a Viking marauder.”
“Military police background, I believe.” Kane strolled toward the front desk. “Professional all the way.”
“Are you all settled in?” The office secretary, Magnolia Brewster, or Maggie as she preferred to be called, tossed her black curls and smiled broadly at the tall blond man standing at the counter. “Ah, there is Sheriff Alton.”
“Good morning.” Jenna held out her hand. “Jenna Alton, nice to meet you, and this is David Kane and Jake Rowley.”
Wolfe’s handshake was firm and outweighed his weary expression. “Thanks, this place is a little further off the beaten track than I envisaged.” He glanced around the room. “How many deputies do you have on staff, ma’am?”
“Not enough.” Jenna frowned. “Right now it’s just four. You, Kane, Rowley, and Duke Walters—he is over there taking a statement.” She waved toward the gray-haired Deputy Walters. “Come into my office.” Her attention moved to Rowley. “Handle the desk with Magnolia. I’m sure you can all get better acquainted later.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley turned on his heel and went behind the front desk.
Jenna moved behind her desk and waved Kane and Wolfe into the seats in front. She sat down in her squeaky office chair. “Did you find the house okay?”
“Yes, and it is very comfortable, thank you.” Wolfe smiled. “It’s better than I expected and walking distance from the elementary school and here, which is good. Since my wife died, caring for the girls alone has been difficult.” He sighed. “Emily is watching Julie and Anna at the moment but I can’t expect her to do it full-time—she is in her senior year at school. Losing her mother and moving here will make it difficult enough for her.”
“I can imagine.” She towered her fingers. “I’ll get Rowley to bring us some coffee.” She lifted the phone and spoke to the deputy then disconnected. “I have a list of the available housekeeper nannies and had them checked out. Take whatever time you need to interview them. You can use my office if necessary.” She handed him a list. “We don’t have many open cases at the moment, and Kane will be able to bring you up to speed.” She drummed her fingernails on the desk. “I read from your résumé that in addition to your impressive qualifications in forensic science, you have a degree in computer science. Does that mean you can take a look at our systems? They’re pretty old and need a bit of updating.”
“Yeah, I can ‘tweak’ systems.” Wolfe leaned back in his seat and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile. “What do you need?”
“What we need—” she leaned forward, gripping the arms of her chair “—is a better system for logging case files. Every three months, this system archives all the files, open or closed. We can’t compare cases. We have no secure uplink to local systems. It’s run on the Boolean system, but if someone gets one letter wrong in a name, all the information goes missing.” She grimaced. “We don’t have the luxury of computers in the cruisers to check a license plate or a person’s criminal record. No on-board camera. Out at night, we are sitting ducks.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, my electronics expertise falls into a different area. Luckily, our new mayor, Mayor Petersham, gave us funding for earbuds and power packs. They should be arriving soon.”
“Do you have access to the case files using your cellphone? Can you write tickets via a handheld?”
“No, none of the above.” Alton waved Rowley into the room and took the tray of steaming coffee mugs from his hand with a smile. “Thanks.”
“It all comes down to budget.” Wolfe ran a hand over his blond buzz cut and shrugged. “I can write you a new program to run the nitty-gritty, but the other stuff you want costs money.” He pulled out his cellphone and checked the bars. “Here in town the reception is good but not so on the way here, so you have blackspots. If you all have smartphones, I can create an app so you can access all areas of the mainframe direct.”
“That would be wonderful.” Alton sipped her coffee and eyed him over the rim. “Perhaps we have a good reason to ask Petersham to up our budget this year. After all, he has allowed me to employ another two deputies.” She looked at Kane. “Although, we haven’t had one application for the positions I’ve posted.”