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sweep the subject under a rug of frivolous chatter, the memory of three dead men was lodged like a lump of undigested food in the forefront of their minds. |
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Before many miles had passed, the Lincoln outran the rain, and the deep green of the forest gave way to the washed-out browns of dry brush and water-starved trees. Stunted grasses grew in great sagging clumps along the sides of the road and on the other side of the highway, giant black boulders jutted out of the cobalt-blue sea like the crenellated towers of abandoned crusader fortresses. |
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"How can everything be so dry," Cyrus asked, "with all that water right across the road?" |
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"One of the quirks of nature," Kyna replied. "Nature can be funny, huh?" |
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He stared out the window, watching as a black-and-white gull plucked an eyeball from the desiccated carcass of a harbor seal and flew away with the prize dangling from its beak. |
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At noon they stopped for lunch at a combination health food restaurant and art gallery in Mill Valley. The owners had spent a bundle to make the place look like an old-time general store. The walls were decorated with rusty license plates and sketches by the local artist wannabes. Green plants hung from the exposed ceiling beams, and the tables were packed with the beautiful people grazing on their daily ration of bean sprouts. |
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While Kyna went to visit the ladies' room, Cyrus placed their orders at the cash register and found an empty table under the threat of hanging asparagus ferns. A few minutes later Kyna came to the table with a Seattle newspaper in her hand; she looked scared. |
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"Russ," she whispered, "what . . . uh, what exactly happened at Dessotti's?" |
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He studied her face, trying to read what was going on behind her eyes. "Like I told you, he had an accident." |
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"Look, we both know the man was slime." Kyna's eyes darted over the crowd. "He was going to rip me off and un- |
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