Hostage

'That would be Mars Krupchek. He come on the job about a month ago. No, wait, not quite four weeks, I guess. Him, I don't know so well.'

Anders nodded along with Dill, confirming what he had heard earlier.

'I called Krupchek in to Sarah on the drive, Chief. She's running his name through DMV and the NCIC.'

Talley questioned Dill about how Dennis behaved on the job. Dill described a temperamental personality with a penchant for overstatement and drama. Talley grew convinced that his original impression was correct: Rooney was an aggressive narcissist with esteem problems. Kevin, on the other hand, showed evidence of concern for others; where Dennis would show up for work late and expend little effort on the job, Kevin showed up on time and was willing to help others; he was a passive personality who would take his cues from the stronger personalities in his sphere of influence. He would never drive an action, but would instead react to whatever was presented to him.

Talley paused to consider if he was missing an obvious avenue of questioning. He took the Maglite from Anders to look at the photograph of Kevin, then decided to move on to Mars Krupchek. He had been concerned about Mars since he had seen the unknown subject lean over the counter to watch Junior Kim die. Talley noticed something on the 8 x 10 of Mars that he hadn't seen in the security tape. A tattoo on the back of Mars's head that read: BURN IT.

'What can you tell me about Krupchek?'

'Not so much. He showed up one day looking for work when I needed a guy. He was well-spoken and polite; he's big and strong, you know, so I gave him a try.'

'Did he know the Rooneys before he came on the job?'

'No, I know that for a fact. I introduced them. You know, Mars this is Dennis, Dennis this is Mars. Like that. Mars just kinda stays by himself except for when he's with Dennis.'

Talley pointed out the tattoo.

'What's this mean, "Burn it"?'

'I dunno. It's just a tattoo.'

Talley glanced at Anders.

'Did you put out the tattoo as an identifier?'

'Yes, sir.'

Identities on the NCIC computer could be crosschecked by permanent identifiers like tattoos and scars. Talley turned back to Brad Dill.

'You know what he did before this?'

'No, sir. Nope.'

'Know where he's from?'

'He doesn't talk so much. You ask him, he doesn't say so much.'

'How does he get along with the other men?'

'Well enough, I guess. He never had much to do with anyone until Dennis came back. That was only a week or so ago. Before Dennis came back, he would just stay by himself and watch everyone else.'

'What do you mean, watch everyone else?'

'I don't know if I'm saying it right. When the guys go on a break, he doesn't sit with'm. He sits off by himself and watches them, kinda like he was keeping an eye on them. No, wait, that's not right. It was more like he's watching TV. Does that make sense? Sometimes it'd make me think he'd fallen asleep the way he'd do that. He was just, I dunno, staring.'

Talley didn't like what he was hearing about Krupchek, but he also didn't know what to make of it.

'Has he ever demonstrated violence or aggression toward the other men?'

'He just sits there.'

Talley handed the photograph back to Anders. Mars Krupchek might be retarded or suffer from some other mental impairment, but Talley didn't know. He had no sense of who Mars Krupchek was, what he was capable of, or how he might act. This left Talley feeling anxious and wary. The unknown could kill you, and was often worse than you imagined.

'Mr. Dill, do you have an address for Krupchek?'

Dill pulled a tiny address book from his back pocket and read off an address and phone number. Anders copied them.

Talley thanked Brad Dill for his help, told him that Anders would bring him home, then took Anders aside out of earshot.

'Check that Krupchek's address matches with the billing address listed with the phone. If it does, call the Palmdale City Attorney's office and ask for a telephonic search warrant, then head to his residence. After you've got the warrant, go in and see what you find. Take someone with you.'

As Anders and Dill drove away, Talley tried to recall the things that he still needed to do. Mrs. Smith had to be found, his officers had to be fed, and he wanted to check the perimeter positions of the newly arrived Highway Patrol officers to make sure that Jorgenson hadn't placed them too close to the house. When he realized that he would have to call Rooney again soon, a swell of panic threatened to overwhelm him. He would have to call Rooney every hour throughout the night; interrupt his sleep, break down his resistance, wear him down. A hostage barricade was a war of attrition and nerves. Talley didn't know that his own nerves were enough to see it through.

Metzger's voice cut through his radio.

'Chief, Metzger.'

'Go, Leigh.'

'The Sheriffs are inbound. Ten minutes out.'

Talley slumped against his car and closed his eyes. Thank God.

DENNIS