Bullshit was what that was. He pushed harder, knowing it wasnt going to do any good, he was stuck in the doorway like a cork in a wine-bottle, unable to go either way — He gave one final heave, the muscles in his arms quivering like overtuned violin strings, and the wheelchair passed through with that same low squealing noise.
Here comes the real trick, Annie. He heard a wooden thunk, a metallic clunk, and then a shaking sound he had heard some place before. Of its own accord, seemingly, her head slipped to one side so her right ear was pressed against the ground — she had seen children in similar postures by the railway line, listening for trains. He wove the chair between the piles of paper and the casually stacked pads with the ease of long practice, listened once more, then reached down and pulled out a nine-inch section of the baseboard.
There had been no trouble between them since the blowup over the typewriter paper. "Have you got money in the bank?
For a moment he couldnt find Annie in the short, name-filled clipping, and then realized he was looking for the wrong name. And as hope of finding Kushner alive began to fade, questions about why he had been out there alone in the first place began to grow louder — and while Paul doubted if the State of Colorado had money enough to finance a buddy system for its vehicle police, they were obviously combing the area for Kushner in pairs.