“Yes,” says Sylvie. “But it’s over now.”
Hope doesn’t like depending on the impressions of a hostage. “I’d like to speak with whoever was involved,” she says.
“Okay,” says Sylvie.
Beside her, Bo whispers, “Ask to speak with them all.”
Hope looks at him, raises her eyebrows in question.
He nods. “Get a gauge on how everyone is doing.”
In the background she hears Tommy ask for the phone. “Wait,” Hope says. “Put him on first.”
“I will,” says Sylvie. “But tensions are pretty high. We’re all a little weary and edgy, as you can imagine.” Sylvie clears her throat before continuing. “I know I’m not the one who can make demands, but I think perhaps some food might be helpful. And water would be nice as well.”
“Okay,” says Hope. Not knowing the protocol for this in Sunset Beach—or if there even is a protocol—she has no idea how she will go about making that happen, but she will figure it out. “We’ll get some sort of plan together.” She pauses, then adds, “We’ll make sure you all are taken care of.” She hopes her promise brings some sort of comfort.
“One more thing,” says Sylvie. “If you don’t mind, I just wondered if perhaps someone could make contact with my husband. He’s at home, and I know he never expected me to be gone this long, and he’s... well, he might be... anxious. After all this time.”
Hope makes her voice sound confident and reassuring. “I know the chief is at the station working on informing andupdating the families. I can ask him if he’s made contact with your husband when I talk to him again.”
“Yes,” says Sylvie. “That would be nice. I’ll try to get Tommy to come to the phone now.”
In the ensuing silence, Hope and Bo exchange glances, the seriousness of the situation reflected in both their countenances.
“That’s tough,” he says. “What she’s going through.”
Hope nods, feeling the pang of not being able to help that nice little old lady, of not being able to set her free right here, right now.
“But,” Bo adds, interrupting her thoughts, “Tommy’s getting tired. Making poor decisions. What just happened is proof of that.”
Hope nods a second time.
“That’s good,” Bo says.
This wasn’t what Hope expected him to say. “Good?” she asks. Hope fears Tommy’s impulsive actions will lead nowhere good.
“In my experience, that’s how surrenders happen. They get tired, bored, frustrated that nothing is coming of their standoff.Then”—Bo stresses the word—“they give up. It’s less about the fine art of negotiation and more about good old human nature. People give up on things all the time.”
Tommy’s voice comes over the phone. “Yeah?” he asks, sullen.
“I don’t really understand what went on in there, but Sylvie tells me things are fine now. Do you agree?” she asks him.
“Yeah. It’s handled,” Tommy says, not offering further explanation, and Hope doesn’t press. She moves on to what Bo suggested. “I’ve spoken to Sylvie, but I’d like to speak to the other women in the room.” She does not call them hostages. “Just to connect with each of them and make sure they’re okay.”
Tommy sighs. She thinks he’s going to refuse, but then he says,“Fine,” and she can hear him handing the phone off to someone. A female voice says, “Hello.”
“Who am I speaking with?” Hope asks.
“This is Blythe.”
“Hi, Blythe. I’m Hope. I just wanted to check on you.”
“This is about the fight, isn’t it?” Blythe says. “I shouldn’t have done that. He made me so mad, I just—”
Now Hope knows who the person involved was. She looks over at Bo, and he gives her a thumbs-up. “I wasn’t asking about the fight,” she says. “I know tensions are running high and things are bound to flare up. We’re going to try to get some water and maybe some food in to you guys as soon as possible. We want to make you as comfortable as we can.” She fears she sounds like a concierge instead of a negotiator.
“Well,” says Blythe, “it’s settled now. So that’s good.”
