"I don't want to talk to him. I want to talk to Macfadyen."
"That won't be possible, Mr. Gilbey. It's being dealt with by trained negotiators. They know what they're doing."
"You don't understand. There are things he needs to hear that only I can tell him. I don't want to threaten him. I don't even want to plead with him. I just need to tell him something."
Karen sighed. "I know you're very upset, Mr. Gilbey. But you could do a lot of harm thinking you're doing good."
Alex gently disengaged himself from Lynn's arms. "This is about Rosie Duff, right? This is happening because he thinks I had something to do with Rosie Duff's murder, isn't it?"
"That would appear to be the case, sir." Karen spoke cautiously.
"What if I told you that I can answer his questions?"
"If you have information pertaining to the case, I'm the one you should be talking to."
"All in good time, I promise. But Graham Macfadyen deserves to be the first to hear the truth. Please. Trust me. I've got my reasons. It's my daughter's life that's at stake here. If you won't let me talk to Macfadyen, I'm walking away from here and telling the press what I know. And believe me, you don't want me to do it that way."
Karen weighed up the situation. Gilbey seemed calm. Almost too calm. She wasn't trained in dealing with situations like this. Normally, she'd pass it up the line. But Lawson was busy elsewhere. Maybe the person to deal with this was the hostage negotiator. "Let's go and talk to Inspector Duncan. He's been speaking to Macfadyen."
She climbed out of the van and called one of the uniformed officers over. "Please stay with Mrs. Gilbey and Mr. Mackie."
"I'm going with Alex," Lynn said mutinously. "I'm not leaving his side."
Alex took her hand. "We go together," he said to Karen.
She knew when she was beaten. "OK, let's go," she said, leading the way toward the cordon that blocked the entrance to Macfadyen's street.
Alex had never felt so alive. He was conscious of the movements of his muscles with every step he took. His senses seemed heightened, every sound and smell amplified almost beyond bearing. He would never forget this short walk. This was the most important moment of his life and he was determined to do the right thing, the right way. He'd rehearsed the conversation on his helter-skelter drive to St. Monans and he was sure he'd found the words to win his daughter's freedom.
Karen brought them to a white van parked outside the familiar house. In the gathering dusk, everything seemed overlaid with gloom, reflecting the spirits of those involved in the siege. Karen banged on the side of the van and the door slid open. John Duncan's head appeared in the gap. "DC Pirie, isn't it? What can I do for you?"
"This is Mr. and Mrs. Gilbey. He wants to speak to Macfadyen, sir."
Duncan's eyebrows rose in alarm. "I don't think that's a good idea. The only person Macfadyen wants to speak to is ACC Lawson. And he's given orders for no more calls till he gets back."
"He needs to hear what I have to say," Alex said heavily. "He's doing this because he wants the world to know who killed his mother. He thinks it was me and my friends. But he's wrong. I found out the truth today and he should be the first person to hear it."
Duncan failed to hide his astonishment. "You're saying you know who killed Rosie Duff?"
"I do."
"Then you should be making a statement to one of our officers," he said firmly.
A tremor of emotion flickered across Alex's face, betraying how tightly he was holding himself in. "That's my daughter in there. I can end this now. Every minute you delay letting me talk to him is a minute when she's at risk. I'm not talking to anybody but Macfadyen. And if you won't let me talk to him, I'm going to the press. I'm going to tell them I have the means to finish this siege and you won't let me use them. Do you really want that to be your professional epitaph?"
"You don't know what you're doing here. You're not a trained negotiator." Alex could tell it was Duncan's last throw of the dice.
"All your training doesn't seem to have done you much good, does it?" Lynn interjected. "Alex spends all his working life negotiating with people. He's very good at it. Let him try. We'll take full responsibility