Part 57 (1/2)
”What about my son?”
She thought he would strike her. ”Your son! The traitor? The turncoat? The coward?”
”Where is he?”
His anger cost him some strength. His face paled and he dropped into another chair. ”Don't worry about him. It won't do him any good.”
I CALLED THE RANCH'S FIRST LINE.
Matt answered, ”Yeah?”
”Matt, can you tell me how many are in the house with you?”
”About twenty.”
I got ready to write. ”I need to know their names.”
”I don't know all their names.”
I could feel Sheriff Parker's eyes on me. ”Matt, the police need to know who's up there. You have to give them a good reason not to come storming in there right now.”
”Mary Donovan.”
I wrote her name down. ”All right. Who else?”
”Dee Baylor.”
”All right.” He went silent. ”Who else, Matt?”
”Brandon's here.”
”Yeah.”
”And there are twenty others.”
I heard a commotion behind me and turned. A motor home had come to a stop at the bottom of the driveway, and the door was opening. Jim Baylor stood right below that door, and let out a whoop when his wife, Dee, appeared, hopping out and embracing him. They started kissing, explaining, apologizing. The scene should have had music.
”Um, Matt, Jim Baylor would like very much to talk with his wife. Would that be possible?”
”No. She's with the others. We have 'em all confined.”
Jim waved at me as he led his wife away. She was crying, clinging to him. I told Matt, ”Okay. Then how about some more names?” ”I told you, I don't know their names.”
”Then how about getting Brandon on the phone?”
”You have to call the other line. That's what he says.”
”Well he can't be that far-” I felt a turn in the gut.
”Just call him on the other line.”
”Well . . .” I didn't want Matt to know my own thoughts were running me over so I forced myself to say, ”Okay. I'll call on the other line.”
I ended the call. Parker was muttering something but I didn't hear it.
Cantwell had eyes. He didn't need to be here to know what the cops were doing or whether Sheriff Parker was smiling.
Parker asked me, ”Well?”
”Matt won't, uh . . . I'll give it another whirl.”
No. Cantwell wouldn't want to be surrounded or fenced in. Fences were a big issue in his life. So he wouldn't hole up at the ranch, would he?
”Are you going to dial that thing?” Parker demanded.
I dialed the ranch's second line. It rang repeatedly without an answer, and then a recording came on: ”The cellular phone you called is not answering. Please try your call again later.”
”No answer?” Parker asked.
”I have to talk to Dee,” I said, handing him the cell phone. ”JIM! Hold up!”
Jim and Dee waited near the front gate. The loudspeakers on the hill were playing Jimi Hendrix and the floodlights made it look like a night baseball game was in progress. Television reporters were standing just on the other side of the yellow tape, talking into their microphones and looking back at their cameras. The whole landscape was flickering with white, blue, red, and amber sweeps from the police vehicles.
We hadn't finished our discussion, he said, but we would. I could count on it.
Go home, Travis. Go home.
”Dee,” I asked, ducking under the yellow tape to get to them. ”Is Brandon Nichols up there?”
She was still wiping tears from her eyes. ”I don't want to see him. Not anymore. I feel like a fool.”
”But did you see him?”
”No. He wouldn't even come out of his room to talk to me. He wouldn't talk to anybody. People are leaving. He's just . . . I just want to go home!”
Jim gave her a squeeze and led her along. ”C'mon, hon. We'll get you home. Thanks, Travis. Thanks for everything.”
”You too, Jim.”
I took out my own cell phone and punched in Morgan's number. ”The cell phone you have called is not answering. Please try again later.”
I punched in my home phone number. My hand was shaking so much that I got it wrong. I punched it in again. I felt sick.
The telephone rang, and then- ”Okay, we are ready to talk,” said Justin Cantwell. Before I had time to think it, he added, ”Don't look around, Travis. Don't say anything, don't signal anyone. I have someone here who'd like to speak with you.”
”Travis?” It was Morgan's voice, trembling with emotion, her little rasp unmistakable. ”Travis. I love you too.” The end of her sentence broke apart as she started to cry.
”So I wasn't lying the first time,” said Cantwell. ”I was just a little early. Do we have an understanding?”
Not far from me, Kyle and the other ministers continued to pray in a circle. I knew I had help.