“I would have sent at least two people over to walk the event, from door to door. I wouldn’t have allowed the press to congregate in the lobby, and if they didn’t obey my directive, I would have brought you in through a different entrance. You hadn’t intended to hold the press conference in the lobby, did you?”
“No—we had a large meeting room set up.”
“If I told them to go there, they would have,” she said.
“One of the problems elected officials face is being accessible. We don’t want to close ourselves off from constituents. And truly, we never considered there would be a security risk like yesterday.”
“That’s the job of your security team—to consider every possible risk. Now that you know, you need to adjust accordingly.”
Hart sipped more wine and nodded. “I see your point.”
She continued her assessment. “If the event was impossible to contain in an isolated and controlled area, I would have sent in an advance team a few minutes before you in order to assess the situation and determine whether it was secure. I would have enlisted hotel security to stand at strategic points in the building—including the balcony where the shooter was standing. Often, the presence of security is enough to dissuade a potential hostile.”
“Just like laws deter criminals.”
She shook her head. “Laws deter law abiding citizens. People who are generally good, if they think of doing something criminal, they don’t because they fear prison or embarrassment or getting hurt. Criminals just do it anyway because they don’t care about the laws—and when they get caught, they work the system. You know how it is, being a prosecutor. How often did you prosecute someone who had never been arrested before?”
He hadn’t been expecting the question. “I’ve never really thought about it. Not many, I suppose. A few felony DUIs, a homicide—crime of passion where the victim and killer had never had a run in with the law. A pedophile case.”
She nodded. “Because first time offenders rarely go to trial. They plead and clean up their acts and never do it again. People make mistakes. It happens. Everyone deserves a second chance. But the cases that go to trial are when someone repeatedly gets in trouble with the law. They get the plea once, twice, maybe more. Do small change in prison. But they keep doing the same things and land in the same position until they’re facing ten to twenty years and can’t talk or plead their way out of serious time. The laws don’t scare them, otherwise they would have changed after the first arrest.”
“I never thought about it like that,” Hart said. He smiled. “I see you liked the meal.”
She looked at her bare plate. “I was hungry. And it was really good.”
“Dessert?”
“I should say no, but I won’t.”
“Good.”
The waiter cleared their plates, brought out the dessert tray, and she picked the dessert that looked the most chocolaty—a double chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries, plus coffee.
“Caffeine at night?” Hart said. “I don’t think I’d go to sleep.”
“I’ve developed an immunity.”
He laughed. “So, will you take the job?”
“I need more information. I’ll consider it.”
“Information like salary? I’ll pay you twenty percent more than you were making at Sac PD.”
She didn’t know what to say about that. It was quite generous.
“Full benefits as well. It’s not a nine-to-five job, and therefore you should be compensated appropriately.”
“I promise, I will consider the position. I’ll let you know by the end of the day tomorrow.”
“Wonderful,” he said.
Their desserts were served and one bite was practically orgasmic. She almost moaned. “I have a thing for chocolate,” she said.
“Good to know.”
She took another bite because the mousse really was amazing. “I saw Detective Jefferson today, Jim’s partner, to sign my statement after the shooting. He had a list of your case files from the D.A.’s office. You tried a lot of cases during your tenure there.”
“That I did,” he said. “I have a copy as well. I started going through them this afternoon, but between meetings I didn’t have much time.”
“It’s important. The police will flag any cases where someone you sent to prison recently got out, but there could be something you remember from a trial that only you would know. A friend of relative of a victim or defendant. Something odd that happened. Though with that many cases going back what? Fifteen years? It’s a lot of work. Solid conviction rate, Steve said.”
He didn’t say anything, but stared at his wine glass. Alex didn’t know what she’d said that upset him.
“Something wrong?”
“No, not really. We all have our crosses to bear. Thinking about the D.A.’s office reminds me that I’m not all that confident about this gubernatorial election.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I ran for D.A. three years ago and lost.”
“Oh. I guess I remember.”
“Your father supported my opponent, Matt Elliott.”