pants or a hidden holster. In a split-second, single move, Carl pointed the gun at Mullins’ head. Max and I aimed our weapons at Carl, ready to shoot, but only if we had to. “Now whoa, there,” Carl said. “I’m not the bad guy here. He attacked me.”
“Put the gun on the ground and we’ll talk,” I said. “Now!”
Carl kept the handgun where he had it, pointed straight at my lead detective’s cranium. In response, all the blood appeared to drain from Mullins’ face, turning everything but that scar of his to ash.
“Shit, I…” Carl started, but then he stopped. He looked at the two of us. “I’m not getting a fair shake here. Not with my history. Not with this crazy-as-a-loon cop convinced I did it.”
“Didn’t you do it?” I asked.
“Hell, no!” he shouted. “I didn’t do shit. I was home sleeping. I told you.”
“Well, if you didn’t do it, you don’t have anything to worry about,” I said. “Let Detective Mullins go. Put down the gun. We’ll talk and clear this up.”
“Damn it, I…” Carl started. Then, it appeared, he’d made up his mind. “You two put your guns down, and then we’ll talk.”
“Not until you let the detective go and put your gun down,” Max said, his voice steel. “That’s the only way this works.”
“Hell, you think I’m a fool?” Carl yelled. “I told you to put your guns down, and when you do, I’ll let him go.”
“We’re not putting anything down,” I said. “Let. Him. Go.”
Carl had the handgun pressed so tight against Mullins’ skull it must have hurt. I bit the inside of my lip and tasted something metallic—blood. I couldn’t take my eyes off Carl to look at Max, but I sensed that he was creeping farther to the right. Carl swiveled to get a better look at Max. “Stay where you are or I’ll shoot the man,” he threatened. “Move back, closer to the chief!”
Max did as Carl said and inched toward me. We both still had our firearms aimed at the men on the ground. I noticed Mullins’ hand tremble.
“We’re going to get up now, this guy and me, and when we’re standing, we’ll talk about this,” Carl said. “You two okay with that?”
In truth, we didn’t have a lot of good options. “Yeah,” I said. “We’re okay with that.”
Max and I backed up a couple of feet to give them room, and Carl lumbered up, his left hand pulling Mullins along with him by his collar, his right hand holding the gun’s barrel in place. Once they made it up, we all stared at each other, except for Mullins, who kept his eyes focused on the ground. Carl kept low, trying to shelter behind his shorter hostage. Max and I had our guns pointed but had no opportunity to shoot without most likely killing both of them. Plus, this seemed like a situation we could talk to a conclusion.
“Now what?” I asked. “You ready to put that gun down so we can clear this up?”
“You gonna arrest me for holding this guy hostage?” he asked. “He jumped me. You both saw it. But I know how you cops stick together. How’s this gonna come down?”
Mullins’ face pinched tight, displeased I knew, when I answered, “No. The detective didn’t follow procedures. He was out of line. We won’t pursue you for fighting him off.”
Max looked over at me, questioning.
Carl stared at both of us, unsure. “This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been lied to by a cop.”
“I’m not lying,” I countered. “We will not arrest you for assaulting a police officer. Detective Mullins made the first move.”
I sensed that Carl weighed his choices. Should he run, take Mullins with him as his hostage? Should he believe me and drop the gun? Maybe he thought he could kill Max and me, then shoot Mullins and escape?
“I’ve got priors,” Carl said. “I want you to know that, so if it figures in you can tell me now.”
“What kind of priors?” I asked.
Carl focused on me. “Lots of juvie stuff, nothing big. But I beat up a guy pretty bad. Bar fight. Put him in the hospital.”
“Assault?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s what they called it at first, but they whittled it down to a lesser charge. I only served six months.”
I kept quiet. I could feel Max beside me, the tension radiating off all four of us. The sun had made its way higher than the treetops and I felt it on my back. “The