"Who's this Ms. McCoy?" Davison had wanted to know.
Galloway explained, then he'd regarded Davison closely. "When was the last time you spoke to Ronnie?"
"Last night. He and Sabra were about to go over to the Dendys' house and tell her parents about the baby."
"How long have you known about the pregnancy?"
"A few weeks."
Dendy's face had turned beet red. "And you didn't see fit to tell me?"
"No, sir, I didn't. My son confided in me. I couldn't betray his trust, although I urged him to tell you." He had turned his back on Dendy and addressed the remainder of his remarks to Galloway.
"I had to run up to Midkiff today on account of a deep fryer going out. I didn't get home until late this evening.
Found a note from Ronnie on my kitchen table. It said they'd come by hoping to catch me. Said they had run away together and were headed for Mexico. Said they'd let me know how to reach them when they got where they were going."
"I'm surprised they would pay you a visit. Weren't they afraid you'd try and talk them into returning home?"
"Truth is, Mr. Galloway, I told Ronnie if they ever needed my help, I was pleased to offer it."
Dendy had attacked so quickly no one saw it coming, least of all Davison. Dendy landed on Davison's back with all his weight behind him. Davison would have fallen forward, had not Galloway caught him and broken his fall. As it was, both men landed hard against the wall of the van that was lined with computer terminals, TV monitors, video recorders, and surveillance equipment. Sheriff Montez grabbed Dendy by the shirt collar and hauled him backward, slamming him into the opposite wall.
Galloway had instructed one of his subordinates to drag Dendy the hell out of there.
"No!" Dendy had had the wind knocked out of him and was gasping for breath, but he managed to rasp, "I want to hear what he has to say. Please."
Somewhat mollified, Galloway had relented. "There will be no more of that crap, Dendy. Do you understand me?"
Dendy was red-faced and furious, but he nodded.
"Yeah. I'll get even with this son of a bitch later. But I want to know what's going on."
Order restored, Galloway had asked Davison if he was all right. Davison had picked his cowboy hat off the floor and dusted it off on the leg of his jeans. "Never mind about me. I'm worried about those kids. The baby, too."
"Do you think Ronnie was coming to you for money?"
"Could be. Regardless of what Mr. Dendy here thinks, I didn't offer to help them run away. In fact, just the opposite.
My advice to them was that they should stand up to him." The two parents exchanged dirty looks. "Anyhow,"
Davison had continued, "I reckon they could've used some cash. Ronnie works after school at a driving range to earn spending money, but his salary wouldn't finance a move to Mexico. Since I missed him today, I guess he decided to do this."
He'd gestured toward the store, his expression remorseful.
"My boy's not a thief. His mother and stepfather have done a good job with him. He's a good boy. I reckon he was feeling desperate to take care of Sabra and the baby."
"He's taken care of her, all right. He's ruined her life."
Paying no attention to Dendy, Davison had asked Galloway,
"So what's the plan? Have you got a plan?"
Galloway had brought Ronnie Davison's father up to speed. Checking his wristwatch, he'd added, "Fifty-seven minutes ago, he gave us an hour to persuade Mr. Dendy to leave them alone. They want his word that he won't interfere in their lives, that he won't give away their baby.
That-"
"Give away the baby?" Davison had looked at Dendy with patent dismay. "You threatened to give away their baby?" His disdainful expression spoke volumes. Shaking his head sadly, he'd turned back to Galloway. "What can I do?"
"Understand, Mr. Davison, that Ronnie will face criminal charges."
"I reckon he knows that."
"But the sooner he releases those hostages and surrenders, the better off he's going to be. So far no one's been hurt. Not seriously anyway. I'd like to keep it that way, for Ronnie's sake, as well as the others."
"He won't be hurt?"
"You have my word on that."
"Tell me what to do."
That conversation had resulted in Cole Davison placing a call to the store just as the deadline expired.
"Dad!" Ronnie exclaimed. "Where're you calling from?"
Tiel and Doc moved forward and listened carefully to what Ronnie was saying into the telephone. Judging by his reaction, he hadn't expected the call to be from his father.
From what Gully had told her earlier, Tiel knew the two were close. She imagined Ronnie was feeling a mix of shame and embarrassment, as any child experiences when caught red-handed doing something wrong by a parent he respects. Perhaps Mr. Davison could impress upon his son the trouble he was in and influence him to end the standoff.
"No, Dad, Sabra's doing okay. You know how I feel about her. I wouldn't've done anything to hurt her. Yeah, I know she should be in a hospital, but-"
"Tell him I'm not leaving you," Sabra called to him.
"It's not just me, Dad. Sabra says she won't go." As he listened, his eyes cut to Sabra and the baby. "She seems to be doing okay too. Ms. McCoy and Doc have been taking care of them. Yeah, I know it's serious."
The young man's features were taut with concentration.
Tiel looked around at her fellow hostages. All, including the Mexican men, who didn't even understand the language, were still, silent, and alert.
Doc felt her gaze when it moved to him. He raised his shoulders in a small shrug, then returned his attention to Ronnie, who was gripping the receiver so tightly his knuckles had turned white. His forehead was beaded with sweat. His fingers nervously flexed and contracted around the pistol grip.
"Mr. Galloway seems like a decent man to me too, Dad.
But it doesn't really matter what he says or guarantees. It's not the authorities we're running from. It's Mr. Dendy.
We aren't going to give up our baby and have strangers adopt her. Yes he would!" the boy stressed in a voice that cracked with emotion. "He would."
"They don't know him," Sabra said, her voice as ragged as Ronnie's.
"Dad, I love you," Ronnie said into the receiver. "And I'm sorry if I've made you ashamed of me. But I can't give up. Not until Mr. Dendy promises to let Sabra keep the baby."
Whatever Ronnie was hearing made him shake his head and smile at Sabra sadly. "Then there's something you, Mr. Dendy, the FBI, and everybody else ought to know, Dad. We-Sabra and I-made a pact before we left Fort Worth."
Tiel's chest constricted. "Oh, no."
"We don't want to live apart. I think you know what that means, Dad. If Mr. Dendy won't give up his control of our lives, our future, we don't want a future."
"Ah, Jesus." Doc dragged his hand down his face.
"Yes, Dad, I do," the boy insisted. He was looking at Sabra, who nodded her head solemnly. "We won't live without each other. You tell that to Mr. Dendy and Mr. Galloway.
If they don't let us leave and go our own way, nobody leaves here alive."
He hung up quickly. No one moved or said anything for several moments. Then, as though on cue, everyone began talking at once. Donna started to wail. Agent Cain kept up a litany of "You'll never get away with this." Vern professed his love for Gladys, while she begged Ronnie to think about his baby.
It was her statement that Ronnie addressed. "My dad will take Katherine and raise her like his own. He won't let Mr. Dendy get his hands on her."
"We decided all this ahead of time," Sabra said. "Last night."
"You can't mean it," Tiel said to her. "You can't."
"We do. It's the only way they'll understand how we feel about each other."