“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 themeantime, 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, mypatience 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.”
