Keeping the Peace

by Linda Cunningham

  John felt a cold sweat break on his neck and down his chest, but he kept calm. “What then?”

  Roger went on. He was beginning to forget his initial fear, and John could see that he was getting angry. “He waved the gun at all of us and told us to stand against the wall. None of us moved, but I got scared then, and I asked him what he wanted. Lisa spoke up and said there was money in the safe and she would get it for him. He got real angry then and said he didn’t want money. He went over to Strand and put the gun right to his head. He said he wanted Strand. He said he’d already killed somebody else by mistake, and he was sorry about it. He said it was Strand’s fault that it happened. Then Melanie spoke up and said her husband was chief of police here in town and could she call him. She told him that since it was a mistake and he didn’t mean to shoot anybody, he could probably get a manslaughter plea or something, so he didn’t have to make it worse than it was. All the time she was talking, she walked real slow over to Strand and stood kind of between him and this guy.”

  John’s stomach flopped like a fish out of water as he thought of his wife in the line of fire. He swallowed hard. “Go on,” he said.

  Roger took another deep breath, but he seemed to have run out of steam. He glanced at Lisa.

  She cleared her throat and picked up the story. “Well, I was petrified, I’ll tell you. This guy yelled at her and said if the police showed up, he would shoot everyone and himself. Then Melanie said, really nice, please could she call her husband, because if she was late getting home, he’d come looking for her anyway. So the guy let her make a phone call. That’s the call you got, John, about the pie or something. I thought I was going to throw up. Anyway, she got off the phone, and he told us all just to sit down and shut up. ‘Don’t say a word,’ he said. So we just sat on the couch. He was real twitchy, pacing back and forth, and then he went off into this rant, saying that everything in his life that had gone wrong was Gabriel’s fault. He said if Strand hadn’t had the band, he and Marian would be married by now and living a normal life, but Gabriel had elected to break up the family. Is Marian the kid’s girlfriend?”

  Steve Bruno said, “She’s Strand’s mother.”

  “Oh. Oh, my.” Lisa blinked a few times. “Well, then he kept going on and on about how Strand turned Marian against him and moved away, and then he couldn’t concentrate on his work so he lost his job. He said the losses he incurred had driven him nearly insane, and he had done some stupid things because he’d gotten mixed up with this Marian. He said he had, how did he put it, not been allowed resolution. He claimed no one would listen to him or help him, and he was here to resolve things once and for all. He said a lot more, but none of it made any sense. John, he nearly drove us crazy, talking and yelling on and on like that, but we were afraid of what he would do when he stopped talking.” Lisa fell silent and sat, shivering. John could see that she was emotionally worn out.

  He said to Roger, “How did you get out of there?”

  “He made us leave, John,” the man answered. “He said Strand was the only one he had business with, and Melanie might come in handy. Those were his words. Then he told us to get out.”

  “She was unharmed?”

  “Yes, they were both just sitting there.”

  Steve had been watching the windows intently and said, “Chief, I’m going to call State Police and have them send up Joe Bernard. He’s a trained sniper. I keep seeing Seeley pass by the windows. He could probably get a shot at him.”

  John shook his head. “I don’t want to take the chance of hitting Melanie or Strand. Seeley’s between the window and them. A misdirected bullet could be the worst thing possible. Go ahead and call him, though. We can use the backup. I think I’m going in there. Maybe I can talk to him, offer him some sort of deal or something for turning himself in.”

  Tim Cully’s urgent voice crackled over the radio. “Chief, your kids are running across the back lawn of The Town Crier.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Peter’s in the lead. I didn’t get there in time to stop them. I was afraid to call to them. Seeley might have heard me.”

  John knew he had to act fast. “Cully, stay where you are. I’m coming over. I need to assess this for myself.”

  “Yes, sir. You don’t have to tell me that.” The radio crackled again and went silent.

  “Oh, John,” Lisa gasped from the backseat.

  No one moved as John strapped on his Kevlar vest and zipped his jacket over it.

  “Chief—” Steve began.

  John held up a hand to stop him. “I’m going over to the school. I have to see what my children are up to. Once they’re safe, I’ll go into the building. I can’t go in there armed. If he sees me carrying any kind of weapon, we don’t know what he’ll do. Steve, you’re in charge. I’ll get a signal to you somehow. Watch for it.” He gave a sharp sigh. “We haven’t had any communication from the gunman. All we’ve had is the call from Melanie. I’m going to try to call her. We might find out something.” He took the cell phone out of his breast pocket and pushed the call button, his hand visibly shaking. The phone rang and rang until her voice mail answered. Frustrated, John called again, only to get the same result. Anger swelled in him. “I just wish I had something to go on.” He spoke more to himself than anyone, when his phone, still in his hand, vibrated to indicate an incoming call.

  “Yes?”

  “Daddy, it’s me,” Mia said. “Daddy, I know you must be furious, but please, just listen to me.”

  John nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see him. In the back seat, Lisa began to cry softly.

  “Daddy, Peter, Michael, and I are going to climb up to the widow’s walk and get Mom. We just need her to go into the bathroom. Can you talk to her?”

  John now had to talk to his daughter as his peer. There was no point in trying to argue, cajole, or get angry. Any discord might result in tragedy. He would just have to go along with it. “I tried her cell phone, but she didn’t answer. I’m going to have to go in.”

  “Try to call her again, Dad. Tell her to go into the bathroom. Peter will lift her up through the manhole.”

  “Peter can’t do that. He’s not strong enough.”

  “Of course he is. He’s been training his whole life for something like this. Michael will hold onto him, and we’ll pull them back into the stairwell. We just need to distract that guy and get him to let Mom go to the bathroom.”

  John could hardly see. Her words “his whole life” rang in his head. He couldn’t let this be his son’s whole life. The three of them were plowing ahead, fueled by their teenage bravado. They had seen their father work. They had ridden with him on some of his minor duties. They knew about law enforcement, but none of them had ever been hurt. None of them had ever seen what a man with a gun could really do. They were secure in the expectation that their plan would work. They had been sneaking up and down from the widow’s walk for years. It was just another covert caper. Their naïveté made them afraid for their mother, but not for themselves. They knew where they were and assumed they were safe.

  His phone beeped, and he glanced at the screen. “Mouse. You stand by. Your mother is calling me.” He pushed the talk button.

  “Melanie?”

  “John, I’m here.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Please listen, John. Richard Seeley wants to talk to you.”

  “Melanie, get into the bathroom.” He had not been sure she heard the order, but then he heard her say, “My husband’s waiting to talk to you, but Mr. Seeley, may I go use the bathroom? We’ve been here for hours and—”

  “No,” the man barked.

  “Please. There’s—there’s only a tiny window there. Look, if you leave this door open, you can watch the door to the bathroom. I’ll only be a minute. Please. Just while you talk to my husband.”

  “Make it fast. I’m watching the door.”

  John heard the words garble as the phone changed hands.

&nbs
p; “Is this Police Chief John Giamo? This is Richard Seeley.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  SOMETHING WAS GOING DOWN. Melanie heard her husband’s order to go into the bathroom. She didn’t know what might be happening, but she trusted him with her life. She would do whatever he told her to do. She glanced over to Gabriel. He sat motionless in a straight backed chair beside her desk. She knew she had to get to the bathroom, but she was frightened to leave the young musician by himself. She walked over to him and spoke softly as Richard Seeley raved at John over the phone. “Don’t move,” she said. “John is working this out. Don’t be frightened. He’ll get us out of this. I’m going into the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  Richard Seeley’s eyes were on her as she left the office and crossed the hall to the bathroom. He stood in the open door of the office, staring as she went inside, shutting the door behind her.

  A dim fluorescent light shone above the pedestal sink. Melanie turned it off and pressed her face to the high, small window that looked out onto the back yard. She could see better without the back light. Was John planning to get her out, or was he trying to shield her when they stormed the place? She couldn’t know. Her heart pounded. She just hoped it would end soon.

  Suddenly, she saw three figures crossing the lawn under the window. She squinted in an effort to get a better look. With horror, she realized it was Michael, Mia, and Peter. If her heart had been pounding a minute ago, now it nearly stopped. Surely John would not have planned anything involving the children! It couldn’t be! And then she realized with a mother’s intuition that they had acted independently of their father. As soon as she heard the light thuds from above, she knew the three had sneaked up to the roof. Since the day Melanie had first forbade them to do so, the Giamo children had been climbing up to the widow’s walk. From the outside, they could scramble up the ancient grapevine, over the roof of the kitchen ell, and along the peak to where the clapboard ell joined the main part of the brick house. From there, they would shimmy up a huge blue spruce, whose branches dipped over the roof, and leap to the roof of the main house and the widow’s walk.

  Melanie looked up through the window to see them huddling together, and though they spoke in low voices, she was able to catch most of their conversation.

  Peter sounded enthusiastic. “Do you think Dad got the message to her?”

  Mia said, “I don’t know. I told him, so let’s just hope she’s in there!”

  “No lights,” said Peter.

  With this remark, Melanie flicked the light on and then off again.

  “She’s there! She’s there!” Mia whispered excitedly.

  Melanie was able to make eye contact with Mia, who held her finger to her lips. Melanie nodded. She was catching on to their plan and wanted them to know she was complicit.

  From inside the house, the sound of Richard Seeley’s voice reverberated. He was still ranting to John, which was good; it would give her more time, and now that her children were involved, she wanted as much time as she could get. Above her head, Melanie heard the iron ring of the trap door on the roof rattle.

  “Is it frozen?” Peter asked.

  Michael answered, his voice muffled. “I put my knife in there. I think its okay. I didn’t feel any ice.”

  Peter said, “Got a light?”

  Michael must have produced that smallest of flashlights, hanging from his keychain. “Hold it in your mouth,” he said to Peter. “Don’t use it unless you have to.”

  “I’ll just need it to see the latch on the ceiling door.”

  Michael said, “Hopefully Mom will still be there.”

  Tears welled up in Melanie’s eyes. She knew what her children were about to do, and she’d never felt so helpless in her life. One peep out of her, and Seeley would be on to her, putting the children in grave danger. All she could do was wait. Her heart beat in her throat, a combination of fear and pride filling her for what her children were doing to save her.

  “This is Chief Giamo,” said John. “I’d like to talk to you, Mr. Seeley.”

  “Oh, no, Chief.” Seeley laughed condescendingly. “It is I who wants to talk to you.”

  “Go ahead, then. Tell me what you want.”

  “I want a clear exit from here. I must tell you I did not intend to kill Bruce Blake. In fact, he tried to help me when we were in New York. Ironic, isn’t it?”

  John said nothing, and Seeley continued. “I have a place to go. I can drop out of sight altogether and never bother anyone again. Sound fair?”

  John kept his voice steady and patient. “What do you want, Mr. Seeley?”

  “Right from the start, the only person I’ve had an issue with is Gabriel Strand, but he seems to be immune to my plans to get even. So, you’ll be relieved to know I’ve changed my mind. Now, I’m willing to let everyone go. Everyone can go back to their former lives. No more need for embarrassing restraining orders. All I want in return is safe passage out of here. I want to drive away from here and know that no one will follow me.”

  “Let them go, then,” said John. “When I see them walk out the door, I’ll make the necessary calls and see what I can do.”

  “I said I changed my mind, Chief.” Seeley’s demeanor had quickly changed to anger. “I’m not stupid. I’m taking them both with me until I’m sure I’m in the clear. I wouldn’t want to put the burden of a broken promise on you.”

  John told Roger and Lisa to stay put. He got out of the Suburban and looked around. Cully and Jason’s cruiser was behind John’s vehicle, and Joe Bernard had pulled up as well, but stayed a few car-lengths back, shaded from the street light. John held his phone to his ear as he and Steve Bruno walked back to Cully’s car. Joe approached silently, his high-powered rifle resting ominously in the crook of his arm. The five policemen stood together between the squad cars. John turned the phone to speaker.

  “Got yourself quite a posse, there,” Richard Seeley said.

  “Seeley, let my wife and Strand walk out of there. We’ll even give you an escort.”

  “Yeah, sure, and shoot me while I’m escaping. No thanks. You listen, and I’ll tell you what to do, Giamo. First, I’m going to throw out my car keys to you so you can start my car. I’m going to take Strand and your wife here, and I’m going to drive out of town. When I’m sure no one is following me, and I reach a place I think is safe, I’ll let them go. I promise. Now listen further; this is the important part. I’ve got nothing to lose in this venture. All I’m asking is to be left alone, but if I’m not left alone, it’s nothing to me to mess things up real good. I mean it. Do you understand me?”

  “I understand you,” John assured him.

  “So, you understand that if you mess up, the deal’s off, and I’ll make you incredibly sorry.”

  “I want to see my wife, to know she’s unharmed,” John said.

  “No go.”

  “Then let me talk to her.”

  “She’s not here right now. She went to the bathroom.”

  John’s heart started to pound. “I’ll come in there and wait for her, then.”

  “Chief, I might change my mind. I’m agitated. If you don’t shut up, I’ll change my plan.”

  “Let me talk to Strand, then. I need to make sure everyone is okay.”

  “Strand’s fine right now. I’m not feeling good about things, Chief. I’m feeling rather desperate, like I’m being tricked. I won’t go to prison, Chief. I’ll make a clean break or no break at all, do you understand? And I’ve got the feeling that our little agreement is going to be sabotaged. I can’t trust you, Chief. My patience is running out, and I’m sick of talking.” The cell phone clicked off.

  “Try to get him on the phone again, John,” Joe said. “I’ll get up close to the house and see if I can get a clean shot at him.”

  “My kids and wife are there. The kids are coming down through the roof to get Melanie. It’s my whole family, Joe.”

  “Cully told me. Let’s wait and see if he calls us back.” The stat
e cop’s eyes never left the brick building as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of gum, unwrapped it slowly, and nonchalantly began to chew.

  “Mom.”

  Melanie heard the whisper and looked up at the ceiling of the bathroom.

  Her youngest son was dangling, head first, out of the manhole in the ceiling. He reached out to her. “Mom, stand on the toilet and grab my arms. Don’t make a sound. Michael and Mia are holding me. I’ll pull you up. We can get out on the widow’s walk.”

  All her strength left her. Her legs nearly buckled under her. “I can’t have you risking your lives like this. This person is a madman. Peter, get out of here. Please. Please. If he finds me gone, he could lose it and kill us all.”

  Her words failed to compromise her son’s confidence. He ignored her and said, “Mom. Pay attention! Stand on the toilet seat and reach up. I’ll do the rest. Dad will get Gabriel out.”

  Unbidden, memories of the countless times she had reached for him, pulling him from danger—out of trees, up steep embankments, off busy roadways, out of the path of some horse or cow or angry sibling—ran through her mind. Now, he was reaching for her. She swallowed hard and stepped up onto the toilet seat, lifting her arms over her head and extending her fingers.

  “Lower me some more,” Peter called behind him, and he was cautiously lowered inch by inch. “I can reach,” he whispered finally as his hands made contact with Melanie’s arms. “Grab hold of the waist of my jeans, Michael, so I don’t slip down.”