So far, the situation remained stable. O’Hagan was relaxed and alert, slowly chewing gum, breathing deeply, stalking. He had to use his judgment. The picture could change instantly. He watched the man talking, wild eyed, into the phone. A familiar voice came on the radio.
“Eddie, this is Lieutenant Thornton. I just want to tell you a little bit about...”
“No!” the voice cackled. “No cops. I don’t want to talk to no cops. Ray, do you hear me? I’ll kill this woman, and I’ll kill myself. You better play straight with me...”
“Okay, Eddie,” Walther came back on. “Calm down. Lieutenant Thornton wants to help you get out of that mess you’re in. You know you’ll have to talk to...”
“No cops, I said. I’m warning...”
O’Hagan had put the binoculars down and was now sitting, one knee supporting his elbow, gazing through the scope, through the window, placing the crossed hair lines on the man’s temple, resting his finger delicately on the trigger.
In the office, the dark-haired man now wrapped his left arm around the woman’s neck, held the receiver with his left hand and pointed the gun toward her head with his right. He was shouting. A wave of static swept over O’Hagan’s radio. Without taking his eye from the scope he reached over to adjust the tuning. The voice came back clearly.
“...trusted you, Ray. And you let me down. You people hear that? You trust somebody, and they let you down.”
“No, Eddie, I haven’t let you down. I won’t now. You have to give us a chance to help you out of this...”
“Shut up! I don’t want any more of your lies. Do you hear me? Do all of you hear me? Are you all listening? I’ve had enough lies, enough tricks. Now you’re all going to pay because I’m goings to kill this woman and you’re all responsible. You’re all making me pull the trigger. I’m going to kill her!”
Through the scope, O’Hagan watched the man, still with the phone to his head, push the fat woman away and lower his revolver toward her in an arc. Two shots, less than a second apart, made two small holes in the glass.
One bullet pierced Eddie’s forehead, the other pounded him in the chest as he fell back out of sight. The scene burst into a riot of activity. The fat woman screamed hysterically, and policemen swarmed into the office. O’Hagan reached into his pocket for a cigaret.
Then he froze, listening. “Don’t be a sucker, Eddie,” Walther’s voice continued on the radio. “There’s no point. You’ve got a sister. How would you like it if somebody was holding your sister with a gun to her head? What the hell kind of trick is that? You’re not going to kill anyone, Eddie. You’re not that stupid. You’ll get a fair shake, I promise you. Trust me, Eddie.”
“I... I don’t know,” said the voice of the dead man. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Ray. It’s just that I’m scared as hell. And...”
“First, let that woman go, Eddie. Nobody’s going to hurt you. Put down the gun and let her go. You won’t get hurt.”
“Okay. What the hell. Yeah, you go on. Get out of here. Okay, Ray, I’m going to put the rod down. I’ve—”
The radio went dead with a crack. Then the organ music came on, and O’Hagan remembered the taped delay. He lit his cigaret and took a long drag.