Page 39 of Captive Hearts
Sixteen
Gina was back in the booth, looking through her viewfinder, waiting for Rick to give Ashley the cue to pick up the landline. He waited a full three rings before he gave her the nod. She grabbed the receiver and hit speaker.
‘Ashley?’ DI Conway said.
‘I’m here,’ Ashley replied.
‘I’ve been talking to my superiors, and we’ve decided it’s possible to let a news crew in here. One team of two people. Any more would be a problem. Will that work for Rick?’
Ashley gave Rick a questioning look. He didn’t immediately answer.
‘Hang on, Detective,’ Ashley said, and she put her hand over the receiver. ‘I think it’s a decent deal,’ she advised Rick.
‘We said circus. One news crew isn’t a circus.’
Ashley shook her head. ‘It’s really all you need. The second they put this footage up, it’ll be shared all over the place. That’s the thing about the internet. You’re probably famous worldwide already, actually.’
Rick’s eyes widened. ‘Ya think?’
‘Yeah. Google yourself.’
Rick took his phone out and did a quick search of Jimmy’s Pizza. ‘OK, there it is, the interview. But, like, on Twitter and stuff,’ he said disdainfully. ‘Anyonecan do that. I could have shit myself and smeared it on my wall and gone viral. I wanted… I want proper,realnews. I want to be taken seriously. That copper needs to know I matter.’
Gina watched tensely while Ashley processed Rick’s request. ‘You want them to take you seriously?’ she repeated. ‘OK, then I have a suggestion. We take the one news crew…’ Rick looked unhappy. ‘But!’ Ashley said quickly, ‘We get to choose which one. Because that’s how you get taken seriously. You go to the biggest network. We need Channel Seven or HTR News, they’re the big guns. Conway will agree to that, no reason not to.’
‘You think that’ll make a difference?’ Rick said, scratching his chin.
‘Yeah. Because if they’ve got Sandy Jakes or Kara Malone out there? That’s a lot better than the piss ant they sent from my channel. Much better than me, too,’ Ashley said matter-of-factly.
‘Kara Malone?’ Rick said, a leer appearing on his mug. ‘You think she’s out there.’
‘Bound to be,’ Ashley assured him.
‘Find out,’ he told her.
Ashley put her ear back to the phone. ‘Detective, can I just confirm you have Kara Malone out at the end of the street?’
‘Err, let me think... Yes, I believe I saw Kara Malone.’
Ashley gave Rick a questioning look. He nodded.
‘Then we’ve got a deal. One crew allowed into the car park, but it has to be Kara and her camera op.’
‘I can’t see that being a problem,’ DI Conway said.
‘Call me when they’re in place and ready to shoot, we’ll let the three go.’
‘OK, but I need a promise that he’s not going to try and get any more hostages in with him again. I got burned like that last time, and I need him to understand… it would make future negotiations rather difficult if we can’t trust each other.’
Ashley raised an eyebrow at Rick. ‘You’re not planning anything like that, are you?’
Rick shrugged. ‘Nah. Bit risky to try that one again. And I think we’ve got a good thing going, Ash.’
Ashley smiled and nodded, but Gina could tell that she didn’t remotely like his little term of endearment. ‘He’s going to stick to what we’ve agreed this time. You have his – and my – word,’ she told the detective.
‘I’ll take that, Rick. I don’t have a lot of choice. But just know that I’ll be able to keep my word better in the future if you can prove you’ll do the same. I’ll call you when we’re ready,’ the detective said. She hung up.
Rick was left with those words as Ashley put the handset down. He didn’t mull them over too long, though. ‘Hey, do you think… Do you think I might get a private interview with Kara Malone later? Maybe she might want to come on the plane with me?’ he asked, glancing between Ashley and Gina.
