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knew the little white-haired man with the paternal look on his face was right; my gyro had been scrambled. I staggered, knees buckling, regained my equilibrium and wobbled toward the cooler. |
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The door was massive, made of steel and a good six inches thick. It had been ripped right out of its casing, its steel hinges splintered. The dead bolt, a piece of steel rod three quarters of an inch in diameter, had been sheared in half. From its location and condition, the why and how was all too obvious. It had been hammered out from inside the cooler. |
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I fumbled my way around the door and went in. Palmer's crumpled body was coiled up in the corner with a blanket not too discreetly concealing it. |
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The creature was gone, all right. |
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By the time I worked my way, wincing with each step, back up to the front of the store (B.C. had her arm around my waist and my arm over her shoulder), the battery of questions was starting to formulate. |
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"You must have gotten here in a matter of minutes," I said, looking at Madden. |
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Jake nodded. "Me and Caleb got here at about the same time. Just as I pulled up, that damn thing come plowin' through the big plate glass window. I started firin' even before I got out of my rig. Kendall was already across the street, emptyin' his rifle at the thing." |
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