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Peter to find her. She needed to thinkhard. |
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For a few seconds, Linda hoped Peter had gone back into the house, but then the moonlight caught his white shirt as he came through the gate and started up the path at a loping stride. "God damn it, Linda," he called, "come back. This path is dangerous at night." |
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He was just below her now on the outer path. Linda bit her lip. That path was dangerous, and Peter was so clumsy. She took a breath to answer him but was startled into silence by Mrs. Bates's voice. |
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"She isn't up there. I heard her go into the house." |
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From Linda's vantage point, she could see the old woman come out of the gate and start upward on the path. Linda shrank back, around the boulder; she couldn't see from there, but she was certain she couldn't be seen either. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in concealment, as if she had been intending to eavesdrop. |
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"For God's sake, Aunt Em," Linda heard Peter exclaim. "Don't come up here. Don't climb the hill. I'll come down." |
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"No, no." The sweet voice, nearer now and not at all breathless, was reproving. "You stay right where you are." |
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Linda thought she heard Peter make a muffled exclamation, but Mrs. Bates's voice almost covered the sound. "I have to kill you, Peter," the old woman said with a loud sigh. "I'm sorry, you know, truly sorry, but I need the money. |
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