The clock moved slowly. At two forty, the phone rang, and Barbara had a short conversation with her mother. Brian could see that Barbara's mind wasn't on the conversation. She had all the right words but was just going through the motions.
At four o'clock, the phone rang again. Brian stared at it until the third ring with his heart pounding. When he answered, a computerized voice asking survey questions about coffee consumption greeted him. The immediate sense of relief, of buying time, quickly yielded to frustration. Brian wondered if he would make it for another hour.
* * *
The unmarked Dodge rolled out of the police parking lot at Parker Center and moved toward the freeway. “So what do you think we get out of this guy?” asked the young uniformed officer who sat in the passenger seat.
