32. "No, doctor, no!" the woman cried out, upset thatTournay had revealed her true identity.
33. But the gunman seemed oddly unconcerned. Either he hadalready guessed she was a doctor or was still intrigued by herBritish accent. "No," he said, "its too late for that now. "
34. He motioned for them to sit on stools at one of the workta-bles that divided the rows of cubicles. The phones had been ringingincessantly, so he instructed Tournay to answer the calls- but totalk only to the police. After several calls from employees rela-tives alarmed by media reports of the siege, the police got through.
35. Tournay waved the phone toward the gunman. He talkedto the police briefly, saying little. Then he handed the phone toTournay, who answered only "yes" or "no" to police questions.
36. "How old is he? Twenty to 257"
37. "No," Tournay said.
38. "Thirty to 357"
39. "Yes. "
40. "How many weapons? Three?"
41. "No. "
42. "More?"
43. "Yes. "
44. There was little Tournay could tell them with the gunmansitting at her side. Afterward they called back every ten minutes orso, talking first to Tournay, then to the gunman.
45. Rustling Noises. Minute by minute, hour by hour, the af-ternoon dragged by. Yet Tournay kept talking, kept asking theman questions: "Where were you born?... Whats your favoriteTV show?... Where have you traveled?... What was your child-hood like?" Again and again she discussed his condition with himand offered professional observations about his problems. Whenthere was a lull in the conversation, her mind raced for a new top-ic, anything to keep him from thinking about what he had done andwhat he might do next.
46. She sneaked a glance at the wall clock
4 : 30 p. m.When her captor again fell silent, Tournay grew more nervous.Abruptly he removed their handcuffs and started stacking ammuni-tion on a table and tinkering with his weapons
the rifle, twohandguns, a large hunting knife and another pair of handcuffs.
47. Then the phone rang. The gunman grabbed it and spokewith the police alone this time. Just before he hung up, Tournayheard him say his name
Damacio Torres.
48. Rustling noises came from overhead and the hallway.Torres whirled toward the sounds. "What was that?" he asked, hisvoice strained.
49. The doctor thought it was someone crawling in the over-head space. "Were having a terrible problem with mice this year," she said jokingly, trying to ease the pressure. Incredibly, Torres seemed to accept the explanation. Near 5 p. m. the phone rang again, and Torres answered it. Although Tournay couldnt make out what was said, the gunmans tone seemed to carry a note of fi- nality. He hung up, sighed deeply and gazed into her eyes with a blankness that made her shudder. He folded his arms across his chest as if weighing the fate of his two captives.
50. "You two can go now. " he said at last, pointing toward the door that led to the X-ray department.
51. The doctor and her fellow hostage walked slowly to the door. Tournay pushed the gurney aside, then looked back at Torres. "Were coming out now!" she shouted through the heavy : door. Slowly she pushed it open. Together, she and the otherwoman stepped into the sanctuary of the X-ray department. Imme-diately police officers whisked them to safety.
52. Swat Team. Four minutes later, almost five hours afterbeginning the siege, Damacio Torres surrendered to members ofthe Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team. Before his longtalks with Tournay, Torress plan had been to go up to the secondfloor, shoot more doctors and then give himself up.
53. LAPD Sergeant Michael Albanese, who headed the negoti-ation team, gave Anne Tournay much of the credit for Torresssurrender. "She was one of the most heads-up people I ve everseen in a hostage situation. She was extremely instrumental inkeeping the situation from escalating. "
54. All three doctors who were shot survived. Damacio Torreswas tried and convicted on three counts of attempted murder andtwo counts of false imprisonment. He is now serving a fixed termof 12 years, plus three life sentences.
55. Dr. Anne Tournay returned to her duties the day followingthe incident. Although emotionally drained, she felt it best to con-front the nightmare head on. Besides, her patients needed her."Even more,"she said, "I needed them. "
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