Talley stared down the length of the cul-de-sac and felt himself tremble. The first flush of panic was passing, and now he had time to think. Now he had time to acknowledge that what was happening here was what had cost him so much in Los Angeles. A hostage situation was developing. His mouth went dry and something sour flushed in his throat that threatened to make him retch.

He keyed the mike again to call his dispatcher. He had exactly four units on duty and another five officers off. He would need them all.

'Chief, I pulled Dreyer and Mikkelson off the minimart. We've got no one on the scene now. It's totally unsecured.'

'Call the CHP and the Sheriffs. Tell them what's going on and request a full crisis team. Tell them we've got two men down and we have a possible hostage situation.'

Talley's eyes filled when he realized that he had used that word. Hostage.

He remembered Welch's gun. He sniffed the muzzle, then checked the magazine. Welch had returned fire, which meant that he might have wounded someone in the house. Maybe even an innocent.

He shut his eyes hard and keyed the mike again.

'Tell them to hurry.'

Jennifer whispered, 'Daddy.'

Her father held her head, whispered back.

'Shh.'

They snuggled closer. Jennifer thought her father might be trying to pull them through the floor, that if he could just make the three of them small enough they would disappear. She watched Mars peering through the shutters, his wide back hunched like an enormous swollen toad. When Mars glanced back at them, he looked high.

Kevin threw a TV Guide at him.

'What's wrong with you? Why'd you start shooting?'

'To keep them away.'

'We could've gotten out the back!'

Dennis jerked Kevin toward the entry.

'Get it together, Kev. They found the truck. They're already behind us.'

'This is bullshit, Dennis! We should give up!'

Jennifer wanted them to run. She wanted them to get away, if that's what it took; she wanted them out.

The words boiled out of her before she could stop them.

'We don't want you here!'

Her father squeezed her, his voice soft.

'Be quiet.'

Jennifer couldn't stop.

'You have no right to be here! No one invited you!'

Her father pulled her closer.

Dennis jabbed a finger at her.

'Shut up, bitch!'

He turned and shoved his brother into the wall so hard that Jennifer flinched.

'Stop it, Kevin! Go through the house and lock all the windows. Lock the doors, then watch the backyard. They're gonna come over that wall just like we did.'

Kevin seemed confused.

'Why don't we just give up, Dennis? We're caught.'

'It's going to be dark in a few hours. Things will change when it gets dark. Go do it, Kev. We're going to get out of this. We will.'

Jennifer felt her father sigh before he spoke. He slowly pushed to his knees.

'None of you are going to get out of this.'

Dennis said, 'Shut the fuck up. Go on, Kevin. Watch the back.'

Kevin disappeared toward the rear through the entry.

Her father stood. Both Dennis and Mars aimed their guns at him.

Jennifer pulled at his legs.

'Daddy! Don't!'

Her father raised his hands.

'It's okay, sweetie. I'm not going to do anything. I just want to go to my desk.'

Dennis extended his gun.

'Are you fuckin' nuts?! You're not going anywhere!'

'Just take it easy, son.'

'Daddy, don't!'

Her father seemed to be moving in a dream. She wanted to stop him, but she couldn't. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He walked stiffly, as if he was prepared to take a punch. It was as if this man in the dream wasn't her father, but someone she had never before seen.

He went behind his desk, carefully placing two computer disks in a black leather disk case as he spoke. Dennis followed along beside him, shouting for him to stop, shouting that he shouldn't take another step, and pointing the gun at his head. Dennis looked as scared as she felt.

'I'm warning you, goddamnit!'

'I'm going to open my desk.'

'I'll fuckin' kill you!'

'Daddy, please!!!'

Jennifer's father held up a single finger as if to show them that one tiny finger could do them no harm, then used it to slide open the drawer. He nodded toward the drawer, as if to show Dennis that nothing would hurt him. Her father took out a thick booklet.

'This is a list of every criminal lawyer in California. If you give up right now, I'll help you get the best lawyer in the state.'

Dennis slapped the book aside.

'Fuck you! We just killed a cop! We killed that Chinaman! We'll get the fuckin' death penalty!'

'I'm telling you that you won't, not if you let me help you. But if you stay in this house, I can promise you this: You'll die.'

'Shut up!'

Dennis swung his gun hard and hit her father in the temple with a wet thud. He fell sideways like a sack that had been dropped to the floor.

'No!'

Jennifer lunged forward. She pushed Dennis before she realized what she was doing.

'Leave him alone!'

She shoved Dennis back, then dropped to her knees beside her father. The gun had cut an ugly gouge behind his right eye at the hairline. The gouge pulsed blood, and was already swelling.

'Daddy? Daddy, wake up!'

He didn't respond.

'Daddy, please!'

Her father's eyes danced insanely beneath the lids as his body trembled.

'Daddy!'

Tears blurred her eyes as unseen hands lifted her away.

The nightmare had begun.

Friday, 3:51 P.M.

Talley wanted to stay with Welch, but he didn't have the time. He had to stabilize the scene and find out what was going on inside the house. He requested a second ambulance to stand by in case there were more casualties, then climbed back into his car and once more drove into the cul-de-sac. He brought his unit so close to Anders's vehicle that the bumpers crunched. He slipped out and hunkered behind the wheel again, calling over to Anders and Jorgenson.

'Larry, Jorgy, listen up.'

They were young guys. Men who would work as carpenters or salesmen if they weren't working as suburban policemen. They had never seen anything like what was now developing on Castle Way, and neither had any of Talley's other men. They had never pulled their guns. They had never made a felony arrest.

'We've got to evacuate these houses and seal the neighborhood. I want all the streets coming in here blocked.'

Anders nodded vigorously, excited and scared.

'Just the cul-de-sac?'

'All the streets coming into the neighborhood. Use Welch's unit to get back to the corner, then go from house to house here on the cul-de-sac through the backyards. Climb the walls if you have to, and move everyone out the same way. Don't expose yourself or anyone else to this house.'

'What if they won't leave?'

'They'll do what you say. But don't let anyone come out the front of their homes. Start with the house directly behind us. Someone could be wounded in there.'

'Right, Chief.'

'Find out who lives here. We need to know.'

'Okay.'

'One more thing. We might have one or more perps still on the loose. Have the other guys start a house-to-house. Warn everyone in the neighborhood to be on the lookout.'

Anders duckwalked to Welch's unit, the first car in the line, then swung it around in a tight turn and accelerated out of the cul-de-sac.

The first few minutes of any crisis situation were always the worst. In the beginning, you rarely knew what you were dealing with, and the unknown could kill you. Talley needed to find out who he was dealing with, and who was at risk in the house. Maybe all three perpetrators were in the house, but he had no way of knowing. They might have split up. They might have already murdered everyone inside. They might have killed the occupants, shot up the street, then committed suicide. Jeff Talley might be staring at a lifeless house.