Arcadias searched for a reply, an answer that wouldn’t give away too much. His brain acted sluggish all at once. After a moment’s hesitation he decided the truth wouldn’t hurt in this instance. “Arcadias and Damien Charbonneau, Ned Hoxley, Keith Jepson, Colette Williams, Iris Landry and my wife, Annie.”
“You sound anxious, Jon. Are you having a bad night?”
“I’ve had better ones.”
“Talking it over might help. I’m all ears, Jon. And I want you to know, I have no hidden agenda. You can trust me. Think of me as a friend.”
Arcadias began to pace. He walked back and forth in front of a mural on the foyer wall. He occasionally glanced at it. Like Rafter’s other works, it was brilliant. But for some reason the mural irked him. His hatred for Rafter continued to grow. And he couldn’t put his finger on why.
In the mural David played his harp for the mentally unstable King Saul, using music to soothe the king’s tormented soul. “It’s personal, Roy. It has to do with Annie and me.”
“Did you have an argument with Annie?”
“How did you know?”
“A lucky guess, I suppose. What was the argument about?”
“I found out Annie is having an affair. The worst part is we’re getting ready to adopt a newborn baby. That’s why Keith Jepson is here. He’s our attorney and is helping us through the adoption process.”
“That’s a tough thing to find out, Jon. I guess the argument became pretty ugly, huh?”
Arcadias sighed dramatically into the phone. “I kind of snapped, Roy. I struck Annie. And then Damien Charbonneau’s girlfriend tried to intervene. I shot Colette in the arm with a longbow.”
“Is Colette okay?”
“She’s resting comfortably.”
“Is Colette bleeding?”
“Not at the moment.”
“How about Annie, is she okay. You said you hit her.”
“She’s fine. We’ve even made up.”
“Tell me about Officer Barrett. What was your conversation about?”
“I don’t like cops, Roy.”
“But you used to be a cop. Once you’re a policeman you’re part of a brotherhood, Jon.”
“I know. But I thought Officer Barrett saw Colette lying on the floor with the arrow sticking out of her arm. I was afraid to let him go.”
“I have to be up front and honest with you, Jon. There is a SWAT team out here that’s just itching to break down the door. But sometimes I can convince them to stand down. But you need to first do me a favor, Jon, for that to happen.”
Arcadias stopped pacing. He leaned against the foyer wall, against King Saul. “I’m listening.”
“Release the hostages. You’ll buy yourself some time. And I’ll be able to talk with you some more.”
Arcadias glanced back toward the parlor. Time was running out on him. “I would be willing to release two of them. But a condition has to be met first.”
“I can’t guarantee your condition will be met, but if it’s reasonable, why not? In fact, I encourage you to come up with a list of demands.”
“I want all law enforcement, along with their cars, to move to the end of the driveway near the road. And move the portable light towers back too.”
“Emergency vehicles have to have access, Jon. We can’t block the drive.”
“Then leave a space for them to get through. If you want me to release hostages, then back everyone up. And I don’t want any law enforcement behind the house either. Everyone must be in the front near the road where I can see them.”
“I’ll talk it over with the sheriff, Jon. I don’t have much authority.”
Arcadias grinned. His hands no longer shook. His voice no longer quavered. “As soon as I see everyone backed up I’ll let Colette and the old man go. Goodbye, Roy. It’s been nice talking to you,” he said, and hung up.
Arcadias reentered the parlor. He looked at Ned Hoxley. The old man slumped in his chair, but his dark eyes still flashed with life. “I’m going to release you, Ned, you and Colette.”
Ned shook his head defiantly. “Let Annie take my place. I want to stay here and see you get your comeuppance. One of those SWAT boys is going to come in here and put a bullet in your pea-sized brain.”
Arcadias grinned smugly. “They won’t shoot me. They’ll shoot Jon. They think he’s the hostage taker.”
Ned burst out laughing. Belly laughs shook his skinny frame. “Oh, that’s rich, Arcadias. Do you really think that? You’re the one holding a gun. And Jon here, he’s all tied up to the sofa. I think those SWAT boys are going to know exactly who to aim their guns at.”
“Ned is right, Arcadias. It didn’t do you any good to hide your identity. If you want to ensure your safety, lay down your gun and trade places with me,” Rafter said gently.
Arcadias glared at Rafter. “You are staying right where you’re at, Jon. I’ll take my chances with the SWAT team.”
Chapter 43
With several sets of eyes locked onto him, Roy Nixon killed the connection on his negotiating phone. He turned and looked at Sheriff Tubbs and Lieutenant Kyle Brock—his commanding officer. “You were right, Sheriff, this is a domestic violence case that has taken a bizarre turn. Jon Rafter is the hostage taker, and Josiah Barrett isn’t the only victim.
“One of the guests tried to stop the violence between Jon and Annie. Rafter didn’t like the interference and shot the guest—a woman by the name of Colette—with a longbow. When officer Barrett came by, Rafter was afraid Barrett would see the wounded Colette. So he shot and killed Barrett.”
“Those were his words exactly?” Newton Laskey asked, incredulous that Jon Rafter possessed such a murderous bent.
Nixon nodded. “I may be paraphrasing a bit, but that’s pretty much it.”
Lieutenant Brock asked the next question. “How would you assess Jon Rafter’s current mental state?”
“He’s calm, but still dangerous. However, I think I can work with him. Rafter is willing to release two hostages on the condition we all back up to the end of the driveway. He also wants our vehicles and light towers moved back. And he doesn’t want any officers behind the house. When he sees that we’ve all moved back, he’ll release the injured woman and Ned Hoxley, the old man.”
Sheriff Tubbs turned to Lieutenant Brock. “What do you think, Lieutenant? Can we trust Jon Rafter? Should we deal with him?”
“My men are raring to go, but if we can free the hostages without raiding the house, I’m all for that. But before we all move back, I need visual intelligence. I have to get a camera inside the house. I want to get a feel for the interior layout. If we have to go in, I don’t want my men going in blind.”
“But Kyle, if Rafter discovers the camera scope under a door, he most likely will renege on releasing any hostages,” Nixon said gently, still in his negotiating mode.
Newton Laskey stepped forward. He couldn’t hold his frustration in any longer. “Sheriff, my men have discovered evidence you should probably consider,” he said firmly.
Sheriff Tubbs’s eyes rolled under hooded lids. “What have you got, Newton?”
“My men performed some social media research and found something interesting that puts in doubt what may have happened here. Arcadias and Josiah Barrett are Facebook friends. Both Charbonneau brothers attended the same high school as Barrett. And Arcadias and Josiah graduated the same year.”
“A strange coincidence, but probably nothing more than that,” Tubbs drawled.
“I don’t think so, Sheriff. The fact that Officer Barrett knew the Charbonneaus might explain why he turned his back. He trusted the Charbonneaus.”