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phones, my battered body, and the suddenly elusive B.C. Where the hell was she? Vernice's place looked dark and deserted, and I realized that Madden hadn't said anything more about the unfortunate woman. I knew the big guy was hurting, but I hadn't seen anything to indicate it was affecting his performance. Jake Madden was fast becoming, in my frame of reference, one of those rare creatures men like to call "a man's man." |
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The motel was only a couple of hundred yards down the road from the diner. By slowing down to a virtual creep, I was able to locate the motel driveway, turn in and inch my way back to the general area of the office. The lights were off, and the door was locked. This time the Johnsons had complied. |
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I tried Kelto's room, knocked three times and got no response. |
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Just to make certain I hadn't overlooked something, I managed to get one puffy paw wrapped around the handle of the Mauser and did the old patrol bit around the entire motel unit. |
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Bert and Polly had done a thorough job. All of the units were locked. One more exercise in futility. |
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By the time I worked my way back to good old number eight where the rapidly dwindling supply of Black and White was |
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