“We can see you, of course. These high-pressure tactics are upsetting us. We don’t have the man we asked for, and time is running out.”
“Our work finding your man was delayed a little. But we’ve made progress.”
“Not enough, I’m afraid.”
“Oh?”
“You’ve pushed us now, Tom. We would have waited until Tuesday, but you’ve pushed us. We’ll just have to give Detective Harriman a little larger dose of medicine.”
“Why rush things, Samuel?”
There was a long silence. “You talk to him,” he heard Samuel say to someone else.
There was muffled conversation, then he heard a door closing. He wrote a quick note to Freeman, who radioed the helicopter.
“Hello?” a voice said on the phone line.
“Hello,” Cassidy said.
“This is Bret.”
“Hello, Bret. We haven’t spoken much. I’m Tom. How are you doing?”
“I need to convey some information to you, Detective Cassidy,” he said, ignoring the question. “Don’t allow anyone to try to enter this building. All the doors and windows are armed with explosives. We have no regard for our own lives. We’d like to allow Frank to live, but we will kill him if our single demand is not met. We have planned for this day for over a decade, so we are prepared. We would like to achieve our goals without unnecessary loss of life.”
Cassidy was silent.
Bret spoke again, his tone softer now. “Would you like to speak to Frank?”
“Yes.”
A speakerphone button was pushed.
“Tom?” a distant voice said.
“Hello, Frank. How are you?”
“I’m a little down,” Frank said.
“We’re in a basement,” Bret said. “I believe that’s what he’s trying to hint at.”
“Is Irene there with you?” Frank asked.
“She’ll be along a little later,” Cassidy said.
“He’s lying to you,” Bret said. “She’s in the building.”
“What?” Frank shouted.
“I’m sorry, Frank,” Bret said. “She’s in the building. Samuel doesn’t know. I’ve told her about the doors.”
“But Samuel could be out looking for her right now!” Frank said.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to be going now, Detective Cassidy. I’m turning the ringer off, by the way. I’ll call you a little later.”
He hung up.
“What’s the chopper say?” Cassidy said.
“Two people moving around in opposite ends of the building.”
“Stay hidden, Irene,” Cassidy said.
“Mrs. Harriman needs to talk to you,” Hank said, listening on the radio. “Says it’s urgent.”
“Mrs. Harriman?” Cassidy said, still thinking of Irene.
“Bea Harriman.”
“I can’t leave this situation to go down there and—”
“She has some people from Bakersfield with her, sir. She said to tell you she has what Hocus wants.”
Cassidy stood stock still. “Go down there and tell Mrs. Harriman — Never mind. Listen, Hank, make sure the captain is spreading word to SWAT about those entrances. Tell them about the cameras, too. I’ll take the portable phone with me.”
He walked slowly toward the group of people standing with Bea Harriman. He’d calmed himself by the time he reached them. Cecilia Parker. Nathan Cook. Gus Matthews. Bear Bradshaw.
“Y’all have a nice trip from Bakersfield?”
“You know why we’re here,” Cecilia began.
“Oh, yes, Ms. Parker, I know. And I’m surprised four law enforcement officers — retired or not — could be such damned fools. You come here with some noble intentions, I suppose, but the truth is, Frank is alive because Hocus doesn’t have what it wants. And you know we are not going to send anyone here into that building. We’d be signing your death warrant, and probably Frank’s and Irene’s at the same time. We are not in the business of vigilante justice here. You give me time, and we’ll get Frank and Irene out of that building alive. Hocus will just have to accept that things are not going to happen exactly the way they wanted them to happen. It’s my job to get them to
