Talley felt himself grow calm now that he was back on the phone. He had hated it earlier today, but now the familiarity of it strengthened him, just him and the phone and the subject, a small self-contained world where he played a game against the voice on the other end. It surprised him that he felt a confidence that he hadn't known in years, a deep sense that he could control this world if not the larger one. He glanced up at the helicopters. Red and green angels.
'I came back tonight because we've got a big problem out here.'
Rooney hesitated as Talley knew he would; thinking. Talley knew that what he was about to say would surprise Maddox and Ellison, so he glanced at them and touched his lips. Then he filled the silence that Rooney left, firming his voice to show that he was serious and concerned.
'I need you to let me talk to Mr. Smith.'
'We been through that, Talley. Forget it.'
'I can't forget it this time, Dennis. These people out here, the Sheriffs, they think you won't let me talk to Mr. Smith or his children because they're dead. They think you've murdered them.'
'That's bullshit!'
Maddox and Ellison shifted next to him, staring. Talley felt the weight of their eyes but ignored them.
'If you don't let me speak with Mr. Smith, they are going to assume that he is in fact dead, and they are going to breach the house.'
Rooney started cursing and shouting that everyone was going to die and that the house would burn. Talley expected his reaction and let him vent.
Maddox gripped Talley's arm.
'What the hell are you saying? You can't say somethin' like that!'
Talley held up a hand, telling him to back off. He waited for a break in Dennis's rant.
'Dennis? Dennis, I'm telling you right now that I believe you, but they don't. This isn't up to me, son. I believe you. But unless you give me something to convince them, they're going in. Let me speak to him, Dennis.'
Talley was taking a big chance. If Smith was conscious and able to speak, Rooney might very well put him on the phone. If that happened, Talley would still try to get the information about the men in the car, but he knew the odds of that would be slim. Talley's only hope was that Smith was still unconscious. If Rooney would admit his condition, Talley had a shot at getting Smith released.
Rooney said, 'Fuck you and fuck them! If you try to come in here, these kids are gonna die!'
'Let me speak to him, Dennis. Please. They think he's dead, and they are going to come in.'
Rooney screamed, 'SHIT!'
Talley could hear the frustration in Rooney's voice. He waited. Rooney was silent and that meant he was thinking; he couldn't put Smith on the phone, but he was scared to admit that Smith was injured. Talley felt a surge of excitement, but hid it. He softened his voice, made it understanding and sympathetic. We're both in this together, pal.
'Is something wrong in there, Dennis? Is there a reason you can't put Smith on the phone?'
Rooney didn't answer.
'Talk to me, Dennis.'
Rooney took almost a full minute before he finally answered.
'He got knocked out. He won't wake up.'
Talley knew better than to ask how; it would put Rooney on the defensive, and Talley didn't want to do that. He had Smith's situation out in the open, so now he could try to get Smith. Maddox, still watching, raised his eyebrows in a question. Talley nodded, getting there; he repeated the admission for Maddox.
'So you're saying that Mr. Smith is unconscious. Okay, okay, I'm glad you're telling me this, Dennis. That explains things. Now we can deal with it.'
'They better not try to come in here.'
They, not you.
'I think we can work with this, Dennis. Are we talking about a head injury here? I'm not asking how this happened, but is that what's wrong with him?'
'It was an accident.'
'Is he breathing?'
'Yeah, but he's out cold. He can't talk.'
Now Talley had to move it to the next level. Now he had to get in the house, or get Smith out.
'Dennis, now I understand why you couldn't put him on, but you've got a guy in there who needs to be in the hospital. Let me come get him.'
'Fuck that! I know what you bastards will do, you'll rush the house.'
Rooney was scared. He was flat-out terrified.
'No. No, we wouldn't do that.'
'Fuck yourself, Talley. You ain't comin' in!'
Talley pressed harder. He knew that he could have suggested sending in a paramedic or a doctor, but he didn't want anyone going in; he wanted Walter Smith coming out.
'If you won't let us come in, then all you have to do is put him outside, right outside the front door.'
'I'm not stupid! I'm not gonna walk out the door with all the snipers you have out there!'
Talley saw movement to his side, Maddox and Ellison. He heard Maddox key his radio, telling someone to have the ambulance brought up.
'No one is going to shoot you. Just put him outside and we'll come get him. If you save his life, Dennis, it will help you when you get to court.'
'No!'
That's all it takes, Dennis. Put him outside.'
Rooney's voice rose. 'No!'
'Save him.'
Rooney shouted again. 'No!'
'Help me help you.'
Rooney slammed down the phone. 'Dennis?'
Nothing. Rooney was gone. 'DENNIS?!'
Maddox and Ellison stared at him, motionless, waiting. 'What?'
Talley had been so close, but he had wanted it too much. He had pressed too hard. He had lost.
Dennis slammed down the phone, then picked it up and smashed it on Smith's desk. 'That fuck! That fuck wants me dead!' He was so angry that his head felt swollen and thick.
Kevin paced in front of the television with his arms crossed, a nervous wreck. Kevin went to the couch and stared down at Walter Smith. 'We should let them have him. He's a lot worse.'
'Fuck them! They didn't give us a helicopter, did they?'
'What does that matter? Look at him, Dennis! I think he's having seizures.'
Smith would be still as a corpse, then he would suddenly jerk, his whole body twitching. Dennis couldn't look at him.
'You wouldn't know a seizure if it bit you on the ass.'
'Look at him. Maybe it's brain damage.'
Dennis went to the shutters. Nothing had changed since he'd looked the time before, or from the time before that: The cul-de-sac was filled with cops and cop cars, and more seemed to be coming. Dennis wouldn't admit it to Kevin, but he was scared. He was hungry and tired, and the smell of the gasoline in the entry was making him sick. His pockets bulged with the money he had stuffed in them.
Kevin came over to him.
'Dennis, he's dying. It's bad enough we got the Chinaman and that cop, this guy dies they'll add another murder charge.'
'Shut up, Kevin. Jesus.'
'We should talk to a lawyer like that cop said. We need a lawyer to cut us a deal. We can blame Mars.'
'Don't let him hear you!'
'I don't care if he hears!'
'Just calm down, Kevin. I'm working on it. I just need some food, is all. Some food and some time. We'll think of something. The girl is in there cooking.'
'How can you even think about eating? I'm about to puke.'
'I saw some Gaviscom in the bathroom. Eat that.'
'I want to sleep.'
'Would you shut the fuck up?! The cops will put you in jail, where you can sleep every night for the rest of your life!'
Dennis knew Kevin was right, but he tried not to think about it. Every plan he hatched had holes big enough to hide a house, and now the cops were threatening to break down the doors. Walter Smith twitched and trembled again. It looked like he was freezing to death, the way you'd shiver if you were sleeping on a block of ice. Dennis felt tears well in his eyes because he was so scared. Here he was, sitting on a million bucks, and he didn't know what to do.