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much pain, blood was mingling with the water. This was ridiculous, she thought. There was a box of Kleenex on Matty's desk. ''Could you hand me a few of those?" But when she looked over her shoulder, Mrs. Manning seemed in shock. |
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"He's stuck," Terry said, grinning foolishly. "I'm fine; I just don't want to drip blood on the carpet." |
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Mrs. Manning pulled out a wad of tissues. |
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"Hold them under," Terry said. The woman hesitated for a moment, then held the tissues at arm's length, looking as if she feared the fish would fly off Terry's finger at her. |
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With her free hand Terry grabbed hold of the body. She didn't want to kill it or give a yank for fear of tearing off a chunk of her finger. Taking care not to crush the rim of its mouth, she pinched it until she worked her finger free. Inside she could see needle-like teeth and a bloody bit of her flesh. She dropped it back into the tank and it shot to the coral arch at the bottom. With the shadows it seemed to be staring at her as its tiny mouth worked away. It was eating a piece of her finger. |
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She pressed her finger into the tissue, staring dumbly at the fish. "I didn't think they had teeth." |
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She spoke to herself because Mrs. Manning was on her way down the stairs, wiping her face and hand on a handkerchief as if she'd been sprayed with acid. |
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Terry followed her out the front door and down the driveway. The incident had clearly upset her. "Sorry about that," she said. "I'm really fine." |
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No doubt, it was the last she would see of her. Before bombing back home, she'd probably make a pit stop at the Emerson emergency room for a rabies shot. |
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Mrs. Manning got in the car and closed the door. |
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"I'm really fine." Terry repeated through the closed window. "It's nothing." |
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The woman started the car. Not even a goodbye? |
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Through the window Terry saw her scribble something on a slip of paper. Then the window rolled down. |
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"My number is on the back," she said, handing it to Terry. |
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There was an out-of-state number on the back. She turned it over. It was a check made out to Calvin and Terry Hazzard: $300,000. |
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