Chapter 41
"Sounds like you’re a little anxious," I said.
"I ain’t going back to jail,” Earl shouted.
"I understand. Let Teagan go, and we can talk about this.”
"Ain’t nothing to talk about. And I'm not giving up my leverage.”
The shack wasn't a masterpiece of modern construction. There were gaps at the corners. A strong wind would knock the damn thing over.
I peered through a slot and spotted Earl, holding a pistol to Teagan's head.
She trembled in fear, her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth.
Shafts of pale moonlight filtered through the seams of the structure.
Motes of dust swirled. A small battery-operated LED lamp illuminated the interior.
It rested on the floor, casting ominous shadows on their faces.
Tango One hovered overhead, spotlighting the area.
"You hear that?" I said. "There's no escaping the helicopter. There's nowhere for you to go. Put the gun down, let Teagan go, and I promise you'll get a fair shake.”
Earl laughed. "No such thing as a fair shake around here.”
I motioned to Jack, letting him know where Earl and Teagan were in the shack. Then I shouted to Earl, "How would you like this to work out?”
"I'd love it if you would just walk away. But I know you ain’t gonna do that."
I'm not really sure what made Earl think this was a good idea in the first place, but sometimes people just can't help themselves. After a lifetime in prison, the outside world begins to seem strange and uncomfortable. Rent, bills, taxes, and a lack of structure are facts of life that the institutionalized haven’t had to deal with in a long time. Most were never good at it anyway.
Earl wasn’t splitting atoms or curing cancer. He was the kind of guy who operated on base impulses. His base impulses happened to be unspeakable acts.
"What if I tell the helicopter to back off, and the rest of the deputies to stand down? How does that sound?”
"Sounds like a start.”
I signaled to the chopper, and the pilot banked away and kept at a distance for the moment.
I kept talking to Earl while Jack crept around the shack and found another seam that was wide enough to put the barrel of his rifle through.
From his angle, he had a clear shot at the back of Earl’s head.
But there was a narrow margin between Earl and Teagan.
Too risky. He wasn’t comfortable taking the shot, and neither was I.
Besides, there were at least four victims who had never been discovered.
Earl knew where the bodies were buried. It was possible he could lead us to the remains, but who knows if he would cooperate.
We needed to secure Teagan and take Earl into custody. That was priority one.
“How do we make this work, Earl?” I asked. “I want us all to go home, alive and in one piece. You want that too, don’t you?”
"You don't give a shit about me. You’d just as soon see me leave the island in a body bag, ain’t that right?"
"Now, Earl, I value all human life.” Admittedly, this guy wasn’t at the top of my value list. A body bag for him was perfectly acceptable.
With the barrel to Teagan’s temple, and Earl’s finger tight around the trigger, I didn’t want to startle the guy. One involuntary squeeze, and Teagan’s brains would be all over the inside of the shack.
That was an unacceptable outcome, and I would do anything to avoid it.
“How about you trade me for her?” I suggested. “That way you’ll still have leverage.”
“You’re not my type.”
“Work with me here. How do we make this a win-win?”
Earl was silent for a moment. “I want a million dollars and safe passage to Cuba.”
“That’s a lot of money to come up with on short notice. I don’t have it on me.”
“Get it, or she dies.”
“Might take a minute or two.”
“I ain’t going nowhere,” Earl replied.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Don’t play games with me.”
“I’m not playing games. How about you come out with Teagan? I want to see that she’s okay before I go to the trouble.”
“I ain’t coming out.”
“If you want a million dollars, I need to see her.”
Earl went silent again. After a moment, he said, “I don’t hear you making arrangements for that million dollars. I’m pulling the trigger if I don’t hear some progress.”
“Okay, okay,” I said.
Jack still had the dirtbag lined up in his sights, waiting for the opportunity.
I called the sheriff and filled him in on the scenario. “I need a million dollars,” I said, loud enough for Earl to hear.
“No way in hell we’re gonna give that dirtball any cash, you know that.”
“Fantastic. I’ll let him know. He’ll be ecstatic.“
I shouted to Earl, "We’re going to get you all sorted. In the meantime, I bet you’re pretty hungry. Can I get you pizza, cigarettes, water?"
Earl hesitated for a moment. "All of that sounds good. But if you try to screw me over, she’s dead.”
I relayed the order to the sheriff and told him to stand by the phone, then ended the call. He was probably half an hour out at this point.
I said to Earl, "It won't be long now.”
He grunted.
"It’s gotta be hot in there. Why don’t you both come out and get some fresh air?”
"Nice try, but I'm not leaving this shack until I see the money."
I tried to keep him talking and keep him calm. “What are you going to do with all that money, Earl?”
The tension seemed to slack for a moment, but it ramped back up again. Something agitated him. Earl wasn’t the most stable person in the world. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing.”
"What am I doing?”
"The food, the cigarettes, the water... It's all poison. You’re going to try to knock me out, then come in here and take me into custody. You’ve got no intention of giving me that money. You ain’t gonna let me walk out of here. You're all liars.”
"Earl, I've been nothing but straight with you since the moment we got here. But I don't mind telling you, my patience is growing thin. The best outcome for you is if you put the gun down, let Teagan go, and surrender peacefully.”
"Not gonna happen.”
"You're so close now, Earl. The money’s almost here. You can take it and walk away.”
“Don’t give me any more of your bullshit.”
“Earl, have I ever lied to you?”
He paused. "I'm not giving up my leverage until I get where I’m going. She stays with me all the way to Cuba.”
I peered through one of the gaps in the shack. Earl still clutched Teagan with the pistol to her temple. They were both covered in sweat. The heat mixed with the stuffy shack had an increasingly claustrophobic effect. If Earl wasn't crazy before he went in there, he would be soon.
"I'm tired of talking to you,” he said. “I want both of you away from here. Now! Move!"
Neither JD nor I budged.
"I mean it," Earl growled. "Get away from the shack, I'm going to blow her pretty little head off.”
"Alright, alright,” I said, then nodded to Jack. “You do that, you lose your leverage.”
We’d both had enough of this scumbag.