Chapter 9
//Bookstore//
The phone inside the bookstore rang. Mashburn pointed at Richard and Ted. "All right, uh... uh, you and you, uh, take that bookcase, move it in front of that door." The phone continued to ring. They slowly stood up. "Now!" Mashburn shouted.
The two men scrambled to their feet. They both tried to move the bookshelf. "It's too heavy." Richard said.
"T... t... take the books out." Mashburn stuttered. The phone continued to ring.
"You want me to answer that?" Ted asked.
"If I want you to do something, I'll tell you, okay?"
Richard and Ted opened the bookshelf doors and started taking the books out.
//Movie House//
Sam watched the activity inside the bookstore. "Hey, Jim, I think they're doing something with the bookshelves."
Jim's phone continued to ring. "Can I look?" Jim asked.
"Yeah." Sam said handed Jim the binoculars.
//Bookstore//
Richard, tired, looked up at Mashburn. "Oh, come on, man, it's still too heavy. Look, why don't you just close the blinds?"
The phone continued to ring. Mashburn looked around at the blinds. How obvious. "All right, all right, all right." He turned to Ted. "Close the blinds." Then he motioned to Richard. "You take care of the ones in the back."
"Yeah, all right." Richard said.
//Movie House//
"What are they doing?" Sam asked as he watched Ted close the front window blinds. "Oh, great. Ah, son of a bitch."
//Sydney's Apartment//
Khandi sat on the couch reading through Sydney's personal journal. "Barry. God, Barry ... waiting for me downstairs last night in the lobby, with that beaten-down expression and those sad, lost eyes. Do I not look him in the eye because of Natalie? I thought I saw him this morning outside the coffee shop, but then it was just some poor homeless guy. Must be my guilty conscience talking."
Khandi flipped the pages over as she continued to peruse through it. She reached the last entry and flipped through the blank pages.
//Bookstore//
The phone inside the bookstore was still ringing. The hostages sat on the floor. Mashburn paced the floor trying to figure out what to do. "For god sakes, answer the phone!" Richard said impatiently.
Mashburn turned around. "Shut up!" The ringing continued. "You have a very big mouth."
"And you don't have much of a plan here, so you better pick up the phone."
"Shut up, man." Fran said nervously.
"Everybody just chill out, okay?" Casandra said.
"Shut up, okay? Everyone, shut up! Gotta think!" Mashburn shouted. Casandra watched him carefully as the ringing continued.
//Movie House//
Sam was on the phone. "All right, keep me posted." He hung up his cell and made his way around the counter. Jim was on the phone listening to it ring on the other end, waiting for someone inside the bookstore to pick it up. "Jim, that was Khandi. Barry Mashburn's wife was Sydney's old assistant. She died in a fire at Sydney's old building."
"What, and you think that Barry blamed Sydney?" Jim asked.
"Apparently he confronted her in the lobby of her building three days ago, and he was described as angry and resentful. You think Sydney's still alive?" Sam took out a pen and on the Whiteboard added to the list under 'Money': Revenge.
//Bookstore//
The phone continued to ring. Casandra sat and waited. Finally, she moved to take off her sweatshirt jacket. Because of the temperature, it was growing hot inside the bookstore. Mashburn saw the sudden movement and swung around. "Hey, hey, hey. What are you doing?"
Casandra stopped. "It's hot in here."
He backed down. "All right."
"Okay." Casandra took off her sweatshirt jacket. The telephone continued to ring. "Can I use the bathroom?"
"No, no, no. No."
"Look, I'm really scared, and... I need to go to the bathroom. Can I please go to the bathroom?" Casandra pleaded.
Richard watched Casandra. The phone continued to ring. Cheryl held onto Kyle, her eyes glued to Mashburn. "All right, um, uh-uh..." He looked at Ted. "...wh... where's the bathroom?"
Ted pointed. "It's over there."
"Let's go. Come on." Casandra stood up. She stopped when Mashburn turned to the rest of the group. "Nobody move, all right?" Mashburn backed up. Casandra took a couple of steps. "Come on! Come on, come on. Where's your cell phone?"
Casandra shook her head. "I don't have a cell phone."
"All right, I'm going to have to search you again. You know."
Casandra nodded. "Okay."
"All right."
"Um..." Casandra held out her arms away from her body.
Mashburn patted her down. "Okay."
Casandra walked into the bathroom. The rest of the group watched. Mashburn resumed keeping an eye on the group. The telephone continued to ring.
//Bookstore - Bathroom//
Casandra entered the bathroom and closed the door. She sighed and immediately tried to pull herself together. "Okay. Think, think, think, think, damn it." She sat down on the toilet. "Think, think, think, think."
//Bookstore//
Standing outside next to the bathroom, Mashburn leaned against the door and closed his eyes. He waited for Casandra. The phone continued to ring.
//Employment Agency - Office//
Khandi interviewed Sydney's partner. "Barry Mashburn? I can't believe it." he said.
"Do you think that he somehow blames Sydney for what happened to Natalie?" Khandi asked.
"No. Well... not that I ever saw. She only tried to help him. He was here just last week. He seemed... desperate but not crazy. You know, business was business. Getting jobs for people was a numbers game to her. But afterwards, she changed. I mean, she really changed. Everyone who came through this door, it was personal with her. And no one more than Barry."
//Bookstore//
Mashburn banged on the bathroom door. "Come on, let's go! What are you doing in there?"
//Bathroom//
Casandra turned on the faucet and washed her hands. She dried her hands on the towel. "Just a sec!"
//Bookstore//
Mashburn sighed impatiently. "Coming." Casandra called through the door. She flushed the toilet, opened the bathroom door and exited. She immediately started to apologize to Mashburn. "Sorry, I... I was just..."
"No, that's all right. I mean... You don't have to apologize for everything. Stop saying sorry. It's making me nervous."
"Okay, I'm sorry."
"Okay?"
"Uh..." Casandra chuckled. "I... I'm going to shut up now, then..." Casandra stood there not saying anything more.
Mashburn made a big swinging motion with his arms for her to get back to the group. She got it and headed back. The phone continued to ring.
//Movie House//
"Yeah. Thanks, Khan." Sam said into his phone. Sam rounded the Whiteboard and headed for Jim to fill him in on what Khandi relayed to him. Jim had the phone to his ear waiting for someone in the bookstore to answer it. "All right, according to Sydney's business partner, Mashburn got himself fired from a job at a copy place three months ago. And early last week he came into Sydney's offices to ask for another job. She said she'd try to help him out, but it didn't look promising. And I think that's when she went to Thatcher to cut that false check for ten grand."
"But he never got that check?" Jim asked.
"No. According to her diary, she sent it to his mother-in-law's house."
"Now, why would she do that?" Jim asked.
Sam just shook his head.
//Bookstore//
Inside the bookstore, the phone continued to ring. Suddenly the phone stopped ringing. Everyone noticed the silence immediately. "Thank god." Fran said.
"Yeah. I'll give 'em three minutes till they call back again." Ted said.
"Mom, it's hot in here." Kyle stated.
"Oh, I know, sweetheart."
"Hey, yeah, hey." Mashburn said and turned to Ted. "Where's the thermostat?"
"There isn't one in the... in the store. The building controls the temperature."
Mashburn sighed. "What's your name?" Casandra asked.
"This is Kyle. I'm Cheryl."
"I'm Casandra."
"I'm Libby."
"I'm Ted."
"Fran."
"Richard."
Then the telephone started to ring again.
//Movie House//
Jim was on the phone. Under-Sheriff Jeff McKeen walked in the room with a Detective Drummond following behind him. He lingered near the door. "What the hell happened, Jim?" McKeen asked.
"We had a drop go bad. There's a suspect across the street in a bookstore. He's holding about a half a dozen hostages." Jim replied.
"And Lieutenant Riggs is one of these hostages?"
"Yes."
"Mm-hmm. Have you achieved contact with the suspect?"
Jim sighed. "Not yet."
"Then Drummond should step in and be the negotiator on this." McKeen said.
"With all due respect to you and Drummond, I am knee-deep in this. I have background on the suspect. I know a lot about the person he kidnapped. Not to mention the fact that there's one of my detectives in that bookstore."
"Jim, you've only been back to work for a month now. I don't think you're ready to handle another hostage negotiation."
Sam was listening to what McKeen was saying and interrupted their conversation. "Sir, with all do respect, I think Jim can handle the job just fine."
"I happen to disagree, Sam."
Jim looked at McKeen. "Alright, if you don't want me to handle the negotiations, then let Sam do it."
Sam looked at Jim in surprise. McKeen looked at Sam. "I don't think that Sam would be the best choice either, given the circumstances of his relationship with Lieutenant Riggs."
Jim sighed. "Look, Jeff, Drummond doesn't know Casandra like Sam and I do. If she tries to send a coded message we'll know."
"He's right, Sheriff, I can do this." Sam said.
//Bookstore//
The telephone rang. Mashburn walked slowly toward the phone. Everyone in the bookstore watched him. He reached for the phone. Casandra watched Mashburn, willing him to pick it up. He took a deep breath and answered it. "Hello?"
//Movie House//
Jim pointed to his phone and spoke to McKeen. "I've got him on the phone."
"You've got the rope, Sam. Don't hang yourself with it." McKeen said and gave his approval.
Jim handed the phone to Sam. "Who am I talking to?" Sam asked into the phone.
//Outside - Street//
A crowd of people gathered outside the street. Officers kept them clear. Just beyond the road blocks were news cameras. A SWAT gunman was positioned in a building outside. His gun aimed at the bookstore's front door.
//Movie House//
"Who am I talking to?" Sam asked again. He was on the phone with Mashburn. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
//Bookstore//
"Who's this?" Mashburn asked.
"My name is Sam."
"Sam who?"
"Uh, I'm with the Las Vegas Police. And, uh, who am I talking to?" Sam asked.
"I think you know my name."
"Right. So this is Barry."
"Yeah, that's right. Uh-huh. And, uh, what else do you know about me?" Mashburn asked.
"Well, Barry, I know that you have, uh... a number of hostages in there. But what I need to know is, is anyone hurt?"
//Movie House//
McKeen listened in on the conversation. "No one's hurt." Mashburn said and paused. "Yet."
"Does that include Sydney Harrison?" Sam asked.
"Sydney's safe for now."
"Can you tell me where she is?"
"She's, uh, she's, uh, she's with my partner."
Jim was listening in on the conversation as well.
//Bookstore//
"You know, but one word from me and she dies. They don't hear from me by midnight, she dies. You understand that?" Mashburn asked. Casandra watches him, then turned to look at her purse and gun in between the book shelves.
"Okay, Barry, I got it, I got it. It's good that you've kept your cool." Sam stated.
"Yeah, so far."
"Right, 'cause you don't want to hurt anyone, Barry, because if you do, that's when things are going to get difficult."
"Oh, yeah, well, things are really peachy right now."
"Look, I need you to tell me how many people are in there with you."
"Well, let's just say that there's, uh, there's more than three and less than ten. And one cop."
"What cop? There's no cop in there, Barry. There's no cop in there with you." Sam said.
"The delivery girl was miked, Sam."
"Let me tell you something, Barry, if there was a cop in there, you'd be disarmed right now."
Mashburn scoffed, then turned to look over at the hostages. He stopped. "Yeah, maybe."
"How many women do you have in there?" Sam asked.
"I got a few."
"Anybody old or sick?"
"No."
"What about kids? You have any children?" Mashburn didn't answer the question. "Barry, do you have a child in there?"
"What about him?"
"Well, we need to get him out."
"Yeah? Yeah, well, okay. Then I got to get something I need."
"Okay, what do you need? Tell me what you need."
"Uh, I need a, I need a helicopter to get me to the airport and I need a plane to get me out of the country."
"Okay, I hear you, I hear you. But those are very difficult things to arrange. You have to give us some time."
"I... I... I don't need anymore false promises."
"What are you talking about? We just started talking. There's no false promises here. What are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"Let's just say people are liars, Sam."
"Okay, let's just say that people are liars. Let's just say that. But I'm not, okay? You know why I'm not? Because I have to keep my credibility. If I lie, I lose my credibility with you and that's not good, because we have to work this out together. You understand? We have to work this thing out together."
"Yeah, right, together. Huh."
"I'll tell you what I'm going to do, Barry. I'm going to give you something. Does anybody in there need food or water?"
"Uh, hold on." He turned to the hostages. "All right, is, uh, is anyone in here hungry?" No one said anything for a moment.
"Water. We could use some water." Casandra said.
"We could use some water." Mashburn said into the phone.
"Okay, let me ask you something. Is the boy with his mother or father?"
"Mother."
"I'll tell what I'm going to do. I'm going to send in some water and you're going to give me the boy and his mother."
"Yeah, uh, well... I'll think about it. All right, I got to go."
"Okay, and Barry... just wait a minute, okay?"
"What?"
"I just want to tell you that we have a direct telephone line hooked up between the bookstore and here. You pick up the phone on your end and the phone on my end will ring."
"A direct line?" Mashburn asked.
"Uh-huh, exactly, a direct line."
"Well, whoop-de-doo." Mashburn said and hung up.
//Movie House//
Sam put the phone down. "I think he's going to give us the boy."
//Mashburn's Old Residence//
Cosmo walked out of the house. He tucked his gun back into the holster at his waist. He walked down the front walk. The neighbor next door looked up from her open car trunk and saw Cosmo... and the gun. "Hey. What you doing in there?" she asked.
"Relax, ma'am. I'm with the LVPD. This is Barry Mashburn's house, yes?" Cosmo asked and walked up to the woman.
"It was. Did he do something wrong?"
"You could say that."
"Well, I guess, I guess that was inevitable."
"Why's that?" Cosmo asked.
"Um, he just never seemed to get over Natalie's death."
"How so?"
"Barry, he just never seemed to be able to right himself. Then he lost his job and everything just, it fell apart."
"How was he before everything fell apart?"
"He was a nice guy. He was kind of quiet. He loved those kids. Natalie was always working real late. He was the one who was here. You'd never know it by the look of this place, but, uh, he was always tending to the yard and making repairs around the house. He took a lot of pride in this place."
//Movie House//
The cell phone rang. Jim answered it. "Yeah?" Jim said into the phone.
"His house has been foreclosed, Jimmy." Cosmo said on the other end.
"Since when?"
"February."
"We didn't get anything from the victim's phone?"
"Apparently not."
"So... where's he been living these last months?"
"He still has that van; maybe he's living there." Cosmo said.
"What about his kids?" Jim asked.
"His neighbor thinks they went to live with their mother-in-law. Khandi's on it."
"Okay, well call me when you know."
"Got it." Cosmo said.
Jim put the phone down and looked at Sam who was sitting next to him at the table. "That Cosmo?"
"Yeah." Sam sighed and Jim looked at him. "She's gonna be okay, Sam."
"I know, Jim. She can handle herself."
//Conway Residence//
Khandi was interviewing Georgia Conway. "What is he doing? What can he possibly be thinking?"
"He asked for $687,000. Do have any idea why that exact amount?" Khandi asked.
"No, I have no idea. Obviously, he had money troubles, but..."
"Now I know this is sensitive, but do you have an idea why he didn't collect anything from the insurance?"
"For the life of me, I don't understand it. I know he was working with some lawyer, and there was some hold up about the paperwork."
Khandi nodded her head. "And Sydney Harrison? I mean, do you have an idea why he'd do something like this to her?"
Georgia shook her head. "No, she always tried to help him. That's why this just doesn't make any sense."
//Bookstore//
Mashburn turned and paced the floor. "Why don't you let Kyle go?" Casandra asked.
Surprised by this, Mashburn turned to look at Casandra. He then turned to look at Kyle who sat closely next to his mother. He looked at Kyle for a long moment. "All right, the kid can go. Get him up."
Kyle and Cheryl stood up. Mashburn walked to the phone and picked it up.
//Movie House//
Jim and Sam turned to look at the phone as it started to ring. Sam stood up. Mashburn waited for someone to pick up the ringing phone. Sam answered it. Jim and McKeen both listened in on the conversation. "Hello?" Sam said.
"Kid's coming out in two minutes." Mashburn said.
"What about the mother?"
"No, no, no, just the boy. We got a deal?"
//Bookstore//
Casandra nodded her head, knowing that Sam was not going to refuse it. "Yes, we have a deal. But listen, I have to send some detectives over to escort the boy out. I don't want you to be alarmed." Sam said.
"Yeah, okay." Mashburn replied and hung up.
//Movie House//
"We've got one coming out." McKeen said into his walkie talkie.
Jim picked up the binoculars and walked over to the window to watch the exchange.
//Bookstore//
Mashburn walked over to Kyle and his mother. The wall clock behind him read 3:45 pm. "No, mom, I'm not going without you." Kyle said.
"Yes you are, and I don't want to hear..." Cheryl started to say.
"Come on kid, now!" Mashburn interrupted.
Casandra turned to look at Mashburn. "Not without her." Kyle said.
"Kyle, you have to go now!" Cheryl said.
Casandra stood up quickly and grabbed Kyle. "Kyle, you listen to me. We're all here to protect your mom. She's going to be fine, okay? She's going to be fine. But you have to go, all right, honey? You have to go." Casandra put her arm around Kyle and tried to urge him toward the door and away from his mother.
Mashburn got impatient. He grabbed Kyle and pulled him away from his mother, the gun held high and pointed downward in his other hand. "You get the door." Mashburn said to Casandra.
She held both her hands up and took a step backward. "Don't point your gun at me."
"Go!" he ordered.
"Okay." Casandra said and headed for the door.
"Grab the water out there." Mashburn instructed her and dragged Kyle toward the door. "Let's go."
Kyle went, but he turned and looked back. "Mom!"
Mashburn also turned and looked back. Cheryl looked at Kyle. "Please." Cheryl pleaded.
Mashburn turned to look at Casandra who was standing next to the closed front door. She and everyone else looked at Mashburn waiting for his final decision. He turned to look back at Cheryl, then finally gave in. "All right, yeah, you, too. Come on. Yeah, come on." Cheryl rushed over to her son. Casandra nodded her head in relief. "Let's go."
Richard glanced over at Casandra's bag with the gun in it. Cheryl and Kyle headed toward the door. Casandra unlocked and opened the door. She reached out and grabbed the pack of bottled water from the detective. She went back inside. Cheryl and Kyle waited in the doorway.
//Movie House//
Jim narrated as he watched the exchange through the binnoculars. "It looks like he's sending the mother out too."
//Bookstore//
Cheryl and Kyle were escorted out of the bookstore. Casandra looked at the building across the street before heading back into the bookstore.
//Movie House//
Sam and Jim both brought down their binoculars. Jim turned to Sam. "Good work, Sammy." Jim nodded and raised his binoculars to look back out of the window.
//Bookstore//
Casandra closed and locked the front door. She leaned up against it and took a deep breath. Mashburn picked up the carton of bottled water. He held it and took a step toward Casandra. "You know, I wasn't really going to shoot you." he said.
"I know, I'm just..." She shook her head and looked down "... guns..." She grimaced.
"I, uh... you did good."
"So did you." Casandra said.
Mashburn took the bottled water back to the hostages. She watched as he walked back toward the group and got herself back under control.
Richard's eyes shifted from Mashburn back to Casandra. Casandra glanced down for a moment, then headed back toward the group.
//Movie House//
Jim interviewed Cheryl. Kyle sat next to his mother as she answered Jim's questions. On the whiteboard was the following list in two columns under the heading "HOSTAGES": First Column on the Left: 1. Casandra Riggs, LVPD Detective. 2. Libby Coulter, Sydney's Pers Assist. 3. Second Column on the Right: 4. Boy - Kyle 5. Boy's Mother 6. Fran -- 30 7. ROBERT. Numbers 4 and 5 on the list are crossed off.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure his name is Robert."
"Okay. How old?" Jim asked.
"Uh, about 50."
"White?"
"Yes."
"How tall?"
Sam turned away and pulled out his cell phone. It rang on the other side.
//Bookstore//
Mashburn stood behind the counter and picked up the telephone. His back was to the rest of the room. "Hello?"
"Barry? Listen, I really appreciate what you did. Letting the mother go, too." Sam said on the other end.
"Yeah, I didn't do that for you."
"I know. But I really appreciate it. I... It shows me what kind of... what kind of man you are."
"Yeah, well..."
"Look, Barry I think I understand why all of this is happening."
This stopped Mashburn for a moment. "Oh, you do know?"
"Yeah. I know what happened to your wife, and I am truly sorry."
"You're sorry?" Mashburn asked.
"Yeah. I've lost some good friends myself."
Mashburn scoffed. "Yeah. How about your wife? You... you lose her?" Casandra and Fran looked at him. "You lose your job, your house?"
"No, Barry, I didn't."
"Then don't tell me you understand, Sam."
"Look, I know it's not the same thing..."
"Yeah, well, I bet you didn't run over there looking for your wife... only to see people jumping out of the building, huh?"
Casandra took a deep breath. Even Libby was being affected by the one-sided conversation that they were overhearing. "Look, I know it's not the same, Barry, but I am sorry. And I got to tell you..." Sam said and paused "...people will understand... why you've done this. People will understand how it's come to this. All I want to do is get you out of there unharmed."
"No. You want to help me, you get me my helicopter."
"I'm working on a helicopter. Okay? I am, but it's... it's complicated. You know, we can't land one in the middle of the street. It involves transport, an airport. I got to get a clearance from the FAA. There's a lot of things that I don't have any control over."
"All right, all right. I want to talk to your boss."
"Come on. You can't do that, Barry. You got to work this out with me, understand? We have to work this out together."
"What, you think I'm stupid, don't you?" Mashburn asked.
"No. Of course I don't think you're stupid. Barry... how could you have pulled off the kidnapping with Sydney if you were stupid?"
"No, no, no, no, no... this is not about Sydney now, okay?"
"Look, let's just talk about her for a minute, okay? Look, why don't you give her to me? Okay? You've got all the hostages in there. You don't need her."
"Are you kidding me? I tell you where Sydney is, you come running in here with the cavalry. You kill us all."
"What are you talking about, Barry? Look, just slow down for a second, okay? Nobody is going to send anybody to kill anyone, all right? I'm not going to kill you. All I want to do is get everybody out of there unharmed."
"Now, look, I, uh, I have no control over Sydney's whereabouts right now. Uh... but one word from me, and she is dead. Do you understand that?"
"Listen, Barry, it's counterproductive to make threats, okay? It's not going to help either one of us."
"No? Well, how about this?" Masburn asked and walked around the counter. He held the gun out and pointed it unconsciously at the hostages in front of him to emphasize his point to Sam. "Right, you don't get me my helicopter in the next hour... somebody in here gets hurt. Do you understand that?"
Richard turned and stared at Casandra's bag in between the two shelves. Fran and Libby held onto each other's hands. The clock on the wall read 4:00 pm.
Mashburn swung the gun in his hand at the hostages. He held the phone's mouthpiece against his shoulder as he talked with the hostages. "I'm not bluffing, people. I will do what I have to do." He walked back to the counter.
Richard stared at Casandra. She turned and looked at Richard. She deliberately shook her head at him. Mashburn slammed the phone down.
//Movie House//
Sam looked at the phone in his hand. Behind him McKeen also removed his own phone piece. Sam hung up the phone and rubbed his hands over his tired eyes.
//Outside Copy Place//
"You hired Barry because he knew about copy machines?" Cosmo asked.
Cosmo was interviewing the Manager of the Copy Place that last fired Mashburn. Before answering Cosmo's last question, the Manager threw his cigarette butt out onto the sidewalk. "Sydney vouched for him, so I figured Barry must be the best guy for the job." He turned around to look at Cosmo.
"How long did he work here?" Cosmo asked.
"Two weeks."
"That's it?"
"He had a short fuse. I asked him to stay late a few minutes one night. Next thing I know, he's throwing a scanner at my head."
"Well, it looks like he missed you."
"Missed me by that much." The Manager held out his thumb and index finger to show Cosmo about an inch of space in between. "A thousand dollar piece of equipment smashed to pieces."
"Let me get this straight. All you did was ask him to stay late? I mean, that's what set him off?"
"We had an obnoxious customer. He was giving Barry a hard time. Barry snapped at the guy. I told him to apologize. He freaked out."
"Did you call the cops?" Cosmo asked.
"No. Sidney begged me not to. Said he's having a rough time lately. But if he ever came back again, I'd press charges."
//Bookstore//
Casandra looked at Mashburn who was sitting on the floor with the other hostages. She considered him and then made a decision. "I was there that day. I'm a nurse. I was, uh ... treating the injured people that came out of the building." Casandra lied.
Richard perked up to listen when Casandra started talking. Mashburn looked at her. "But no survivors?" Mashburn asked.
"A few. Not enough." For a moment, there was silence. Then from around the counter that they were leaning against, another voice spoke up.
Both Casandra and Mashburn turned to look at Ted. "My cousin... worked in that building. He got out, but... he's never been the same."
"One of those people... was my wife." Casandra turned to glance at Mashburn. "You've got her job now." Libby looked at him, shocked at what he just said. It was obvious that she didn't know.
"Natalie was your wife?" Libby asked.
"That's right. That's right."
"Sydney always talked about her, but I never knew her last name. I never knew that you..."
"It's me."
"Sydney says that your wife was wonderful."
Mashburn nodded his head unimpressed by the compliments from Sydney. "Yeah, she was, she was. She was. She so wonderful that, uh, Sydney had her working twelve... thirteen hour days. You know, she was so wonderful that, um... when she asked if she could come in a little bit later so she could take our kids to school, Sydney said, 'uh, uh, no, no. I don't think that's a good idea. No. There-there's too many phones to answer, too many copies to copy, too much filing'. That's how 'wonderful' she was." Mashburn's voice broke. "Yeah. Yeah." He regained some composure but kept his eyes closed. "She was so wonderful that... now I wake up... every morning, and I walk down to that place... just to smell her ashes." Casandra watched Mashburn with tears in her eyes. Libby started to cry. "What time do you have to come in now?"
"9:30." Libby replied sobbing.
"Yeah. Yeah. That's what I thought. Natalie had to be in at eight. She would still be alive... if that bitch had let her take our kids... to school."
Richard leaned forward toward Casandra. She turned away from Mashburn toward Richard and sent him a warning look. The gun cartridge clicked.
"Bonding session's over." Mashburn said, got to his feet and looked at the hostages. "Thanks for playing." He turned his back to the hostages and stepped away from them. Casandra turned away from Mashburn and once again looked at Richard. He looked at her expectantly and sighed.
//Movie House//
Sam had the phone to his ear. It rang on the other end. He waited for someone to answer it. He turned to look out the window at the bookstore.
//Bookstore//
The phone on the counter top was ringing. Mashburn walked over to the phone and placed both hands flat on the counter. He leaned over the phone as it continued to ring. "Oh, for God's sake! We're not getting anything worked out just sitting here. Answer the damn phone!" Richard yelled.
"Why don't you just leave him alone, okay? He's just trying to figure out what to do." Casandra said.
Mashburn looked at Casandra and got an idea. "Casandra... you answer it."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Tell him I don't want to speak to him until I get my helicopter."
"But I really don't want to get in the middle of this, okay? I... I..."
"No. No. Tell him... tell him that you're scared, I'm crazy, and if I don't get what I want... I'm going to start throwing bodies... out that door there." He pointed the gun at Casandra. "Do it!"
Casandra slowly got up off of the floor. She walked to the phone and answered it. "Hello?" she said.
"Who am I speaking to?" Sam asked on the other end.
//Movie House//
"This is Casandra."
In front of the whiteboard, Jim stopped pacing the floor at the sound of Casandra's voice over the headset. He looked at Sam and nodded slightly.
"Barry listening, Casandra?" Sam asked.
McKeen was also listening in on the conversation. "Tell him what I told you. Tell him!" Mashburn was yelling in the background.
Casandra was sounding nervous but she wasn't really. "H... he... he wants me to tell you that he's crazy, and if you don't give him what he wants, he's going to start shooting people."
//Bookstore//
The wall clock behind Casandra read 6:15 p.m. "A... a... and that I'm not joking..." Mashburn continued to yell out instructions to Casandra.
//Movie House//
"Okay, I can hear him in the background. Um, can you tell me how many hostages there are, including you?" Sam asked.
"You've got five minutes to give us an answer."
Sam pulled his hand out of his pocket and held up five fingers to Jim. Jim added two question marks next to Fran and Robert on the whiteboard list. "Okay. I've got Libby, Fran, and Robert. Is that right?" Sam asked.
"I would say that there are two to one odds that somebody is going to freak out if you don't get us the hell out of here. You understand?"
"Okay, two of them are right. One of them is off." Sam said to Jim. "Who am I missing?" he asked Casandra.
//Bookstore//
With Mashburn intent on Casandra's phone conversation, Richard turned his head and saw his opportunity to go for Casandra's bag between the two shelves. He moved slowly. Casandra bobbed her head and looked at the phone, confused. "You want to talk to the guy who works here?" She turned to Mashburn. "He wants to talk to Ted."
Mashburn took a few steps to his right and moved in front of Casandra. He was now standing with his back fully to Richard who continued to slither slowly across the floor toward Casandra's bag. "Why?"
"I don't know."
"No! Tell him to forget it."
"No. He says forget it." Ted let out a visible sigh of relief.
"That's nice work, Cas." Sam said.
"Listen, everybody really wants to get the hell out of here, okay?"
Though the change was subtle, Sam picked up on it instantly. "Is there something wrong?"
Richard inched closer toward Casandra's bag. He was halfway there. "We're really glad you're making progress..." Richard glanced at Casandra and held up a hand to her. He continued to move toward the bag. "...because we all really want to get the hell out of here. You know what I'm saying?"
"What's going on in there, Casandra? Is somebody hurt?" Sam asked.
"No. Nobody's going to do anything stupid."
Richard reached the bag. Casandra saw Richard on the floor near her bag. "What's he saying?" Mashburn asked. He turned around and saw Richard near the shelf. He immediately ran toward him. "Hey!"
Richard grabbed the gun and stood up. Mashburn reached Richard first, swung with his gun hand and hit him in the jaw. Casandra saw Richard take the brunt of the blow, turn and grab something off of the shelf to swing at Mashburn. She moved from her spot. She dropped the phone and ran toward the two men.
Fran and Libby watched Casandra, their mouths hanging open. Both men fought and struggle to gain control of the gun. The gun fired.
//Movie House//
Jim raised his eyes and looked at Sam. Sam didn't move. He listened to the silence on the other end of the phone. From phone: They heard something hit the floor with a thud.
//Bookstore//
Ted curled up into a ball on his side on the floor, his arms protectively over his head. The two men continued to struggle for the gun. Then a second gunshot was heard.
//Movie House//
Sam's eyes darted back and forth as he clutched the phone and listened. "Casandra?Casandra? Casandra!?"
TBC...
