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Terry was furry with sleep as she stumbled for the telephone. |
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The clock said eight-ten, yet there was no barking. Rain or shine, Gretchen was out at six-thirty. If the Starkeys were out of town, they had left pretty early, because Terry heard the dog last night while waiting for Matty. |
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"Hello?" She caught it before Calvin woke up. |
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Nothing, but she could hear the electronic hush of an open line. |
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More gaping silence, then click and the dial tone. |
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"Jerk," she mumbled, and hung up. Maybe Gretchen had graduated to telephones. |
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"Who was it?" Calvin's head rose from the covers. |
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It was the third time in the last two days. Her first thought was, Claire Manning was calling to put the pressure on. She had called yesterday after Beverly gave her the message that the sale was on hold. She asked about the nature of Matty's medical problems out of what sounded like genuine interest, but Terry politely refused to go into details. Before she hung up, Mrs. Manning again expressed great interest in the house and slipped in how they hoped things worked out with her son so that they could close matters as soon as possible. |
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Too awake to go back to sleep, she got out of bed. Matty's door was closed. He was deep asleep, no doubt. There was a time not long ago when she would hear the soulless ditty of Nintendo float up |
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