Page 14 of Safe With Me

“And you, too, chief.”

“Steph’s the security guard I hired for the hours we’re going to be open.”

“Good idea.”

She noted the pretty sage green walls had been defaced with yellow paint. Spots of still-wet paint dotted the entire space. She hoped they didn’t get the kiddy room.

One of the policemen asked, “Can you tell us why you don’t have a security system in place?”

“There’s nothing here and there’s a big sign on the front door saying our opening is November 1. That said, the security system is scheduled to be installed Saturday. But apparently that wasn’t soon enough.”

“More than likely, whoever broke in thought thereweredrugs here.”

“As I said, medicines are coming Friday. And I have a big built-in safe inside a closet. It’s nearly impenetrable. Again, they wouldn’t have been able to get in there.”

Chief Mick Thomas said, “You have a lot of cleaning up to do.”

Steph asked, “What about the rest of the place?”

“There’s minor vandalism back there. Mostly things were thrown around.”

“They probably never got the time to do more. Or maybe they were frustrated that they couldn’t get into the office and the locked doors where drugs will be kept.”

“Who called you, Chief?” Steph asked.

“Two patrol guys drove by and saw the lights on. The culprits went out the back way. The cops chased them out but they disappeared in the night.” To Pax, he said, “I think we got all the information. I’ll oversee this investigation personally.” Pax nodded and Thomas added, “You should expect robberies down here.”

“It’s a conundrum. The clinic has to be in a downtown location because this is where the customers are. But because it’s here, we’re a target.”

When the cops left, Pax dropped down at the table. His expression was dark. “I should’ve known this was too good to be true.”

She folded her arms over her chest and watched him. “Surely you’re not going to give up on the place.”

“No, no, of course not. I thought maybe we could brainstorm about the security.” He added, “I wonder if Jackson would want to be in on those talks.”

“Jackson Kane?” Steph’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“I thought you knew. He’s funding this place.”

* * *

Later that day, Jackson was in a meeting when they showed up at his office. Pax had called at first light and was told to come over in the early afternoon. So they sat at a conference table and sipped coffee Harry, his assistant, had provided for them.

Steph stared out the window. Today, she was out of her suit and instead wore jeans and a sweater. “I’ve always been in awe of what Jackson does here.”

“Me, too. He’s a good man.”

“Who’s a good man?” Jackson asked as he came through the door.

Pax smiled. “Why you, of course.”

Jackson chuckled and sat; his face sobered. “I’m aware that the clinic was broken into. Bad luck, even before we open.”

“That’s why we’re here. We want to talk security.”

“Steph?”

“Apparently I’m not enough.”

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