Ranny had just glanced at the other rooms in the house as they passed through, but in this one, he took much more interest for some reason. He slid back the closet doors and glanced in, appearing to see if something he was looking for was in the closet end, or on the shelf above. He then went to the nightstands and checked inside those. Disturbed by this invasion of his privacy, Monty asked, keeping his voice level despite his feeling, "Are you looking for something in particular? Just ask and I'll tell you if I have it."
"Yes, I'm looking for something in particular," sneered Ranny. "I know all you cowboys have guns, and I only saw that one shotgun above the fireplace. Where's your handguns and rifles? And don't lie, because if you don't tell me and I find them, I'll shoot you both, your girlfriend first."
"I don't have a bunch of guns, only what I need to manage varmints on the ranch," Monty replied, biting back the comment that he'd like to take care of this two-legged varmint who had invaded his ranch. He decided that the threat by this man who had already killed several people tonight needed to be taken seriously, and he did have a card up his sleeve. "My handgun is in a cupboard in the mudroom next to the kitchen, and I'll give that to you. You already know where the shotgun is. I loaned my rifle to a neighbor who doesn't have one because coyotes were getting his sheep, so there are only the two guns," Monty lied.
"Okay, you'd better hope you're telling the truth. Here's the plan. We're all going to go back to the kitchen and I'll collect the handgun and shotgun. Then you two are going to be locked in the back bedroom out of my way while I get something to eat and figure out where I'm going after this. I need a map of California, too."
"I have maps in the office," Monty said, hoping that this would hasten the departure of this murderer, and hoping that he would leave without them as hostages.
Ranny waved the M-16 to indicate that they should head back to the front of the house. They paused at the office while Monty fished a state highway map out of a cubbyhole in the roll-top desk, and handed it to Ranny. Just beyond the kitchen was the small mudroom where people who had been outside in bad weather, or working cattle, could enter through a back door and shed their boots and coats. A tall cupboard against the wall had the shelf where Monty kept all his ammunition boxes and his .357 magnum revolver. Ranny reached up into the cupboard and took out the gun, showing surprise at it size and weight. Monty's need was for a heavy-duty, accurate handgun when he was close to a wild boar, or needed to put down a sick or injured cow. Concealment was not an issue, so the 7" barrel made this gun appear huge compared to Ranny's snub-nosed .38. Without comment, he dropped this gun too into a capacious pocket of his long duster, now well weighted down with the spare carbine clip and two handguns.