The group sat around and told one another a few truths, but mostly exaggerations and lies, about other crimes they’d heard of, while waiting for Zimmer. The deputies began rolling in fifteen minutes after Virgil called the sheriff. They included Lucy Banning, who went into conference with Fischer about her injuries, and Darren Bakker, the deputy who’d been with Virgil on his visit with the Nazis. Bakker came in carrying a combat pump twelve-gauge and a box of shells and started loading up, which made Virgil and Jenkins nervous.

“This will be smooth. Smooth, uncomplicated arrests,” Virgil said.

“Of course it will be,” Bakker said. He jacked a shell into the chamber and clicked on the safety. To Holland: “I didn’t have a chance to eat tonight; you got any of them potpies?”

So they cranked up the microwave, and when Zimmer arrived, Virgil had propped open the back door to disperse the odor of hot chicken and turkey. “You can smell that all the way down the block,” Zimmer said. “Smells good.”

“If I ever see another potpie, I’m gonna kill myself,” Jenkins said. “Or maybe Skinner.”

Virgil laid out the plan. One group of deputies, led by Jenkins, would drive over to Osborne’s house and park on the street, then walk around Osborne’s and spread out in the Apels’ backyard “in case one of the Apels is a runner.”

The other group, led by Zimmer and Virgil, would arrive in front of the Apels’ house and cover the front and side lawns, while Virgil, Zimmer, and Banning would go to the front door and ring the bell and pound until they got an answer, and, if they didn’t, they’d kick in the door.

“Best to have a woman with us because we’re arresting a woman,” Virgil said.

“And we need to have a sheriff there so he can claim credit for the arrest the next time he runs for reelection,” Zimmer said.

“No shooting,” Virgil said. “It’s better that they get away than we get in a shoot-out. We can always pick them up later.”

“They killed four people,” one of the deputies said. “They hurt a cop and two more people. I don’t have any sympathy for them.”

Zimmer said, “Ronnie, if you shoot somebody, I’ll fire your ass.”

Virgil said, “Yeah, and most of the time, when somebody gets shot, it’s because they think another deputy is the runner and they shoot him. Or her. We know the Apels have access to a gun, and some other weapons, and that makes me unhappy. If you see somebody with a gun or a bow, you get on your stomach and yell for help and point them out to us. Now, everybody have a flashlight that works?”

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