Chapter 20. Do you want to work with me?
Shining among Darkness
By
WingzemonX
Chapter 20
Do you want to work with me?
Matilda's refusal to name what she and the others with the Shining can do as powers came in her adult years. But, as a child, this was exactly how she called what she could do.
"I was on the garage roof. I did it with my powers," Matilda had explained to Miss Honey in that distant spring in which she was barely six and a half years old. She was trying to justify how she had taken a doll from the house of her former director without having broken the promise of never enter there again. Curiously, that same house would later become her home for many years, and that nice teacher would become her mother. So, in the end, she would enter and leave the house many times.
At that time, when her "powers" emerged at such an early age, once she learned how they worked, it became quite simple and easy for her to use them. It became equivalent to walk, breath, or jump, just something else she did without even having to overthink. And as an adult, she managed to dominate them even more and was so skilled at it that she could stop one, two, or even three bullets with them. It wasn't like she had tried so much to do that before that fateful morning in Portland. Still, it was reassuring to know that she could indeed do it if she concentrated enough.
However, there was a period in which that was not the case, between thirteen and fifteen, to be exact, a stage in her life that Dr. Honey did not remember with love.
When she entered adolescence, her powers strengthened exponentially. That thing that for her had been as simple as walking, now felt as if every step she took would break the ground and cause earthquakes. And on top of that, no having a better word to describe it, they suddenly "turned on" themselves without realizing it. They waving everything around her, and it was problematic to calm them down. The worst moment for her was in her last year of high school, although she was thirteen years old about to turn fourteen, as a result of several grade skips thanks to her excellent scores and performance. And although at the beginning that was pleasant and worthy of showing off for the little Matilda, it didn't take long to become somewhat counterproductive and challenging to deal with.
The boys and girls of sixteen, seventeen and eighteen did not like the idea of share classroom, or even the hallway, with a thirteen-year-old smarty dwarf who believed (and in fact was) smarter than all of them. Between her second and third year, it seemed as if much of the school had agreed to make her life impossible. And this coincided with the moment of most considerable instability of her telekinetic abilities, making everything much worse.
She would never forget that afternoon. Her powers had been out of control before, and even in school, but somehow she managed to keep everything safe to not hurt anyone or call attention. That day, however, that was not possible at all.
During the morning, her powers were jumping alone, waving things, windows, and even people. Many justified it by imagining that it was some minor tremor, wind, or simple mistakes. "People blindly believe only in what they want to, but distrust everything they wish not to," someone would tell her not long after that day, and in retrospect, that made sense. They preferred to see her as a freak that they could annoy and harass, before accepting there was something that made her unique, or even dangerous.
That day Matilda was unable to concentrate in class; her notebook became quite similar to how it had left the house. Much of her concentration throughout the day focused on stay calm and have those powers off, but she did not achieve it altogether. If she had told her mother what was happening, she would surely have told her to stay at home. But no, she wanted to go to school, not miss a single day that was not due to illness, and only if it was a case of life or death. Also, there was another essential feature in her decision: pride. She was sure she could handle it. She had done it at six, and she should be able to do it at twice the age. She could, and she knew very well... but she was wrong.
For the hour just before the break, she couldn't take it anymore. Matilda just wanted to go home before it got worse. Sit on her bed and reread some of her favorite books; that always calmed her. But there were still several more hours, enough for something to go wrong. And they weren't too far from it: the classroom's room windows were shaking, and the ceiling lamps swayed from side to side. This distracted the rest of her classmates (which the ability to concentrate was not precisely their best quality), and the teacher tried to keep them serene, objecting that it was nothing of care. Did he really believe that?
The theories were around the room, but none involved her. No one in that place even assumed that the skinny and pale-faced high school girl could somehow be the cause.
The bell finally rang after an hour that seemed eternal to her. Matilda took her books and notebooks very quickly. She did not take the time to put them in her backpack, and just carried them in her arms and headed hurriedly and frightened to the exit. Her powers appeared to have calmed down, but she wouldn't take risks. She didn't care about the rest of the class anymore. What she wanted was to leave as soon as possible, tell her mother everything, and ask for her help to deal with all that.
However, midway she had to cross in front of a group of teens who were talking in front of their lockers. Matilda looked at them in the distance. She knew them, quite well... and they knew her. Of all those in that school who had taken it against her, that group was the most belligerent. And she didn't know why; several of them didn't even have classes with her.
Matilda longed to finish her last semester, get out of that school and go to Yale as planned. Everything would be better then. She would be in a place where people appreciated their intelligence more, and where they had already surpassed whatever it was that made them be stupid bastards at that age. However, if she was unable to focus on class as a result of her crazy powers and the actions of her personal harassers, that could make everything complicated.
She tried to pass by, with her head bowed and silently. She thought they might not have seen her, but the reality was that they did. They only acted as if not, so she would approach them. And just when she was in front of one of the boys, he extended his arm towards her, and in a quite derived way, he threw her books and notebooks with a swipe. These fell to the ground causing a sound echo in the hallway. The whole group started laughing. Matilda tried to ignore them and bent down quickly to pick up her things and get on with her way as soon as possible.
"Look at the little genius girl," one of the boys said mockingly. Several of those present in the hall turned to look disdainfully but kept their distance. "If you're so smart, why don't you know how to hold your books well?"
Unison laughter, especially from that boy's companions, echoed in the hallway. Matilda kept ignoring them. She picked up her things, stood up, and just then, another girl in the group threw her things back in the same way. The kid was paralyzed in her place. Her face hardened, and her hands still in the same position where she was holding her things a moment ago.
"I'm sorry," the girl murmured with obvious sarcasm. Matilda crouched down again, but the same girl kicked one of her books to one side, causing it to slide along the floor away from her. Matilda approached it, crawling. It was a special edition of The Three Musketeers that her mother had bought her at a Book Fair, and they were dirtying and mistreating it.
A second girl put her foot on the way to block her path. Matilda looked at her from below, and she looked at her with arrogance loaded in her thin smile. She bent down a little until she almost faced her.
"You are so ugly and weird that even your parents got rid of you as soon as they had a chance," the girl said with boredom in her voice; Matilda did not flinch. "You are like a rat crawling on the floor. I don't know how they allowed someone like you to enter here. Go back to the kindergarten and come back when your breasts grow, will you? If they grow up one day."
Matilda's face filled with rage, and at the same time, the lockers began to shake a little.
"When are these stupid tremors going to stop?" She heard someone questioning among the people around her.
Matilda stood up, turned around who covered the passage, and finally took her book, pressing it against her body along with the rest of her things. She turned to see all that group with sharp anger in her eyes, still kneeling on the floor. The boys and girls laughed.
"Little Einstein got angry," the first boy who had thrown the books remarked. "What are you going to do, huh?"
Everyone suddenly approached her menacingly. Matilda stood up and wanted to run to the door, but all of them surrounded her. Together, they began to push her between them, passing her from side to side as if she were a ball. The kid let go of her things again, and they fell to the floor back. Her feet even ended up stepping on them, including the book of The Three Musketeers. Matilda began to despair and get scared. She only heard the laughter from all of them, and of some others who only looked but still laughed. She felt without air as if someone was trying to suffocate her with a pillow.
Out of nowhere, she began to scream in despair with all her might. Before her bullies understood this clearly, they all flew in all directions against the lockers, the walls, or directly to the ground. Some suffered only minor blows, others went through something more serious. Everyone froze, even those in the group who hadn't been pushed. While Matilda kept screaming, the lights jingle, and all the lockers were violently shaken, some slamming open by themselves and all their contents emptying to the ground like waterfalls. Fear covered everyone's face, and they were petrified.
Matilda stopped screaming. She was breathing slowly, sobbing. She looked around; everyone looked at her, absolutely everyone.
She took her things for the last time and ran with all her might to the exit door. As she walked away, everything kept stirring around. Everybody stepped aside to make way for her as if she was running in flames. The "genius girl" was lost from everyone's sight when she walked through the door. No one went after her.
Many would have suggested that it was indeed she who had done it. Friends told other friends, and soon the rumor spread throughout the school, and even those who were not present would begin to tell the story as if they had been. However, the rumor would disappear soon enough. Some people started to question the story in disbelief and began to propose more or less reasonable explanations. These somehow convinced others, to the point of asking themselves if they had actually seen it. In the end, as if an invisible hand accommodated everything, the incident was forgotten.
Matilda, on the other hand, would not return to that school in at least two weeks.
****
When Cole said he was hungry and wanted to eat something urgently, he didn't joke. Therefore, as soon as they could leave the hospital, the three went to a cafeteria, which also served homemade meals, named Mr. Joseph. It was located relatively close to the hospital, but far enough away that none of the police found them if they tried. None of the three were from Portland, so they had to choose the restaurant based mostly on positive internet comments.
The interior of the establishment was a little rustic, with wooden furniture and a somewhat generic decoration on the walls; paintings, or photos of landscapes and dogs mostly. They sat at a table with two armchairs in the corner furthest from the other five people in the room, to have as much privacy as possible in their delicate conversation.
The waitress, a friendly middle-aged woman named Dolores, brought them the menus. Cole was the first to order, almost immediately, because he was very clear about what he wanted.
"Give me the biggest burger you have, Dolores," said the policeman jovially. "Medium well, and with extra cheese."
"With fries, sir?"
"You don't need to ask that. So many, please."
Cody and Matilda took a little longer to decide. Cody didn't really have much appetite; Matilda, on the other hand, the truth was that she had been eating poorly that day. Although her stomach asked for food, she simply didn't feel like it. Her ankle still hurt, but it was more the uncomfortable sensation of her neck that made her restless.
"A chicken salad for me, please," Cody said, not entirely convinced. "With a Thousand Islands dressing."
"I suppose I only want a grilled Milanese," Matilda explained a little later. "And water, please."
"Right away, guys," Dolores pointed out, smiling, and proceeded to remove their menus.
As soon as they were alone, the questions did not wait, nor the answers. Matilda and Cody wanted to know precisely what Cole had done in that hallway. He was sincere, as he could only be with someone who shares his same joy, and perhaps curse depending on how they looked it.
The explanation was clear, although not very detailed. Throughout it, Matilda stared at him with an unchanging and hard expression; Cody, on his side, seemed fascinated.
"Incredible," the teacher suddenly exclaimed, a second after Cole finished speaking. "Let's see, then, did the murdered police ghost tell you all that?"
"I told you, he just told me the name," Cole replied. "I found the rest on the internet. It was no big deal, he did the hard part."
Dolores approached at that time with her drinks: regular Coca-Cola for Cole, apple tea for Cody, and water for Matilda. They waited for her to retire again to continue talking.
"But then the policeman already knew this child...?" Cody stopped halfway, thought a little what he would say, and then continued. "I mean, did he know this woman named Leena?"
"Yes, and no." Cole took a long sip of her soda through her straw. "When our consciousness passes to that other plane, our vision of our surroundings becomes much clearer. Without interference that clouds us, we may be able to see much more than what we see being alive. Especially concerning our death, and if it leaves us with a great sense of loss, or the feeling that we leave something behind."
The detective leaned completely against his chair and placed his left arm comfortably on the backrest. Cody and Matilda were sitting in the armchair in front of him, side by side.
"When I was a child," Cole continued, "the ghost of a girl appeared before me. Her mother had poisoned her for years, and neither she nor the rest of her family knew. For everyone, she only suffered from a strange disease that kept her in bed all the time. Until in the end, she died inevitably. But once she passed, her essence, this... energy that was left, was able to achieve enough consciousness to realize that it had indeed died. That is something you should know does not happen in all cases, but she could also see what had really happened to her, and her younger sister could be next."
"And she looked for you for help?" Cody inquired, something incredulous, but at the same time visibly interested. Cole responded by nodding.
"And like that case, I've been able to find several others. That's why I became a homicide detective. I knew this would be the best place to use my skills. So I could find the guilty for dozens of murders."
"It's impressive," Cody said, genuinely dazzled by his story. "I had already heard about some people with the Shining that could see and speak with ghosts, but I had never met someone who directly did it. I thought it was more a rumor."
"Didn't you say before you knew everyone at the Foundation?" Cole commented mockingly, making Cody blush a little.
"Maybe I exaggerated. Obviously, I don't know them all."
Cole laughed slightly.
Matilda did not seem interested in intervening in their conversation. She seemed more interested in looking at the wall while sipping her glass of water.
"Well, we're not a rumor," Cole pointed out with conviction. "But there are not so many with this ability really, and many fail to cope with it because it usually appears when they are very young. I had... many problems as a child... so many." His voice took a slightly off course in his last sentence, but he immediately recovered. "But, if it's okay for me to say it, even among those who can see the same as me, my ability is a little more special."
"How?"
"How could I explain it to you...?"
He was meditating on the best choice of words, just when Dolores arrived with Cody's salad and Matilda's Milanese; Cole's hamburger would take a little longer. Matilda, without much waiting, took her knife and fork and began to cut the gray-colored meat into small pieces to put them one by one in her mouth. She was entirely focused on it, and it took a few seconds to realize that Cody and Cole looked at her curiously.
"What?" She questioned them sharply.
"You're very quiet, Doctor," said Cole. "Were you so hungry?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Matilda replied in the same way as before and continued to cut her flesh.
"Does something bother you, Matilda?" Cody asked without detour. "Well, I know that after everything that happened this day, it would be difficult to choose just one thing, but..."
Matilda took a deep breath through her nose and then released the air in the same way. She delicately placed her cutlery on his plate, although they still made a clinking sound when they touched the porcelain. She crossed her fingers on the table, and then looked at the detective on the other side of it with apparent more serenity.
"With all due respect to you, detective, but I don't believe in ghosts," she explained quite firmly, though softly, worthy of the temper of a member of the debate club.
"Really?" Said Cole, much more relaxed and phlegmatic.
"Yes, it is. And frankly, I've heard those rumors that some people who shine can see them, but I've never seen one."
"A ghost or a person who can see them?"
"Both. I have treated many shone children over the past four years, and I have never seen anyone who presented such a quality that you describe."
"Ah, that's because not everyone can deal with those kinds of children," Cole said, leaning a little toward them so he could speak better. "That needs a special touch, some knowledge..."
"Another kind of experience?" Matilda interrupted, finishing the sentence with what she had in mind at the time.
"I guess... It's the second time you tell me that. What does that mean exactly?"
"It doesn't matter," Matilda said sharply. "Well, if that's really what you specialize in, Officer Sear..."
"Cole, you can call me only Cole," the blond man said immediately, but Matilda completely ignored his suggestion.
"Official Sear," she repeated sharply, in a way that turned out to be somewhat comical, even for Cody, "if helping such children is how you support on the Foundation, then I don't know why Eleven thought you were more qualified to take care of my case in Salem. Samara has never presented or expressed abilities to see ghosts. She only suffers from some nightmares, if that could mean anything."
"Nightmares may be more meaningful than you think, doctor," Cole added, pointing the finger at her.
"I know that very well," Cody said quietly with some heaviness, just before taking a bite of his salad.
Dolores was present again, and as a heavenly vision, she finally approached their table with the big hamburger with fries that Cole had been waiting for hours. When he saw it, his mouth watered; and when he finally smelled it, he had already fallen in love.
"Dolores, you are my savior," he said charmingly, giggling at the waitress before she retired.
Cole took the big hamburger in his hands and gave it the widest bite his jaw allowed. His mouth rejoiced, and his stomach definitely thanked him more. The expression on his face and the slight sighs that arose from his mouth did not let his companions doubt how much he was enjoying it. Matilda smiled slightly without wanting it but immediately turned away to hide it. For better or worse, it was a pleasure for many, including her, to see a hungry person enjoy their first bite. And that wasn't necessarily limited to the hungry for food.
Once Cole managed to swallow much of his first bite, he put the hamburger back on the plate and wiped his fingers a little on the napkin. This must be some kind of tic, as it was quite useless to clean your hands when you would take the hamburger or perhaps some of the fries soon.
"But you're right," said the policeman when he was able to speak correctly. "Eleven didn't send me to help with your case precisely because she believed the girl might have skills like mine. That isn't her concern.
"And what concern she has exactly to send me to a Ghostbuster for help?" Added the brunette in turn, with a tone that didn't sound like a joke at all.
"Matilda!" Cody muttered as if it were recrimination; she just shrugged.
Cole laughed a little. He took one of the fries and dipped it halfway into the small container of ketchup that Dolores had brought along with his plate.
"You know, this is a bit curious. You have seen people move objects without touching them, make people see and feel things that are not there, start a fire just by thinking, and surely a thousand and one more things. And my ability causes skepticism in you?"
"It has nothing to do one thing with another," Matilda replied even more firmly than before. "I enjoy a good fantasy and horror story like anyone, but they are just that: stories. I am a science person, and as such, I believe in what I see and can prove. We're not magicians, nor do we do tricks, detective. We are people with a different cerebral physiognomy; irregularities of nature, if you want to see it that way. That's all. Move things, set fire, create illusions, read minds, materialize things and people... all are actions that we can see, measure, and test. But there is no scientifically accepted way to prove the presence of a ghost. If you claimed that there is one sitting right next to me, for example, you would have no other way to prove it than your word."
Cody looked with some fear at his own place. He glanced at Cole sideways, and the cop shook his head, indicating with his gaze to calm down; there was nothing around it in that place; not in that one.
"There was a time when a man's word was enough to inspire confidence," Cole declared firmly, to which Matilda snorted sarcastically.
"The word of the people never had more value, only the others were more naive to be okay with her. And there was also a time when women who did the same as me were burned for witchcraft, so don't talk to me about other times as an argument."
Cole laughed again. It was a little desperate to see that he didn't seem angry at anything... except, perhaps, when Vazquez took her arm that way when they left.
"But Matilda," Cody said, wanting to calm the situation somehow, "how do you think he knew the name of the kidnapper then?"
"There are other skills that might have given him that information," the psychiatrist replied, shrugging. "Psychometry, Precognition, or maybe what he said to those cops was true, and he already knew the story before."
"And why lie to us? What would he gain with that?"
"I don't know," Matilda looked at the officer on the other side of the table. "Let him tell us."
Cole sighed a little tired.
"What made you be like this doctor?" Asked the detective, genuinely curious. Matilda raised an eyebrow, confused by the question.
"Like what?"
"So... adult," he replied directly, causing Matilda to startle a little. Cole's tone had taken a bit aggressive, though his smile somehow tried to hide it; apparently, not everything slipped. "And tell me, if you only believe in what you see, why are you so skeptical of ghosts if, as I know, you and twenty other children witnessed a true Poltergeist at the age of six in your elementary classroom?"
Matilda coughed loudly, almost choking on his flesh from the impression of having heard such accusation. Cody tried to help her, but Matilda quickly extended her hand to him to indicate that she was okay.
"How did you know about that?" Matilda snapped, more as a sharp demand that Cole found amusing.
"It is true?" Cody added, surprised to hear her answer such a thing.
"No!" She exclaimed loudly, but almost immediately hesitated. "Well... Yes... But... It's a long story."
"I like long stories," Cole added, raising his hand. Matilda, however, only looked at him sideways with no disguised discomfort, even higher than she had before.
"That was just a trick," she answered through clenched teeth. Then she lowered her gaze back to her plate and continued to cut off what was left of her Milanese, applying so much force that her knife squeaked painfully against the plate's porcelain. "There was never a ghost there, it was I who caused it all."
"Why?" Cody questioned, confused because he did not know before of such anecdote.
"That's the long story I don't want to talk about." It was the only thing she said, and then she shut up.
So adult... Yes, apparently she had become that: one more adult. One who could move objects without touching them and a couple of other things, but one more adult still. With her bitterness, sadness, worries, liters of coffee inside, credit card debts, and a daily rage that she wanted to get out of some another way.
Where was that girl who saw adults as something totally alien to her, as if they were beings from another planet or speaking another language? Where was now that little girl who had performed such an ingenious trick in her classroom and managed to scare away the evil Trunchbull? Didn't she tell herself on more than one occasion that, like Peter Pan, she would never be such an adult? She was definitely quite far from being like her parents or her former principal. However, she still had some not-so-graceful qualities that she was aware of, but with which she had simply learned to deal with.
Now who seemed alien and distant, was that naive and innocent girl; Brilliant, but innocent.
They kept eating in silence for a few minutes. Cole concentrated on his hamburger, Cody forcefully eating his salad, and Matilda already with her empty plate, only drinking her water in small non-continuous sips. When Cole was already in the middle of his hamburger, he placed it back on his plate. He took a couple of napkins and deeply cleaned his fingers of any trace of ketchup, grease, or salt.
"Listen, Doctor," said the policeman, placing a strong emphasis on doctor. "It is obvious that you have some problems that you are trying to deal with, and that is completely respectable. But regardless of whether you believe about my ability, the only truth I can assure you, scientifically if you wish, is that I came here to help you. Help you and the girl you are treating. Eleven sent me here because she is convinced that I can help, and that is my only purpose. Besides, I asked for vacation days to be here, and I would really like to put them to good use."
Matilda looked at him sideways with some forced indifference as she slowly drank from her glass. Cole then extended his hand in greeting, offering it directly to her.
"What do you say, Dr. Honey? Do you want to work with me?"
Matilda stared silently at her outstretched hand. A few seconds passed in which neither Cole nor Cody were sure if she would take it or not, but it seemed that she was at least considering the possibility deeply. Luckily, so to speak, the sound of her cell phone was abruptly present, and like a bell saved her from the pitiful situation. She quickly removed her attention from the man's hand and began to rummage through her bag in search of her phone. She soon found it, and his screen showed an unrecognized number, but by the beginning of it, it was clear that it was from Oregon.
"Excuse me," she murmured before answering. Somewhat resigned, and inside even more offended, Cole lowered his hand and preferred to use it to take one of the fries. "Dr. Matilda Honey, who speaks?"
The person on the other side of the line took a while to respond. Matilda heard him hesitate and doubt before his voice finally became clearly present.
"Dra. Honey... Dr. Johnson speaks..." He whispered in a broken voice, but it was still recognizable to Matilda. However, he was heard strange, would even say that... scared.
"What's wrong, Dr. Johnson?" Asked the brunette in a serious tone. "You sound altered."
"I am... yes, I am," the doctor replied to the other of the line, even releasing a small nervous gig just after. "Something happened with Samara."
"Something?" Snapped Matilda exalted. She immediately stood up and took a couple of steps away from the table. Her two companions stood behind her almost immediately, looking at her totally worried. "What kind of something? What happened?"
"I... I don't know..." Johnson stammered hesitantly. "I think her powers... got out of control, I don't know. We don't know what to do. I guess only you... could you come as soon as possible, please?"
Matilda could not process what was happening based on the little information that man was giving him. What had happened to Samara? What did he mean that her powers had gone out of control? When had all this happened? Her head was already wholly involved in everything that had just happened that morning, then that strange conversation they had just had with that newcomer... and now that.
It was too much.
She took a second, just a second, to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and try to calm down. The stinging in her neck, right in the area where that invisible hand had taken her, became present once more and distracted her for a few moments. But she managed to regain the right path. There were many things, but she couldn't deal with them all at the same time. She had to prioritize and focus her attention on one and then on another. And even if Johnson's tone had not been as fraught with despair as he was, Samara would be her priority without hesitation.
"I'm in Portland," Matilda informed the other doctor a little more calmly, "it would take me an hour or two to arrive."
"Please come as soon as you can," Johnson replied, almost like a plea.
"Okay, I'm going over there," she clarified firmly, and soon after, they both hung up.
"What happens?" Cody asked immediately as she lowered the phone in his ear.
"Something happened with Samara, I have to return immediately to Eola."
"What happened?" Asked Cole, alarmed.
"I don't know... it seems she lost control of her abilities. Who called me was very upset, could not give me details. God, that nobody has been hurt, please.
Matilda closed her eyes and stuck her forehead against her phone. If the worst had happened, if she had reused her skills against a person as happened with her mother, and this had ended in some kind of tragedy... Matilda had no idea how Samara would react to it. She could close again, even worse than before, and all the progress they had made during those days would simply disappear. Not to mention the considerable guilt that would invade her... Or she could even get out of control even more...
A horrendous image came to her memory right now. A girl in her beautiful graduation dress, covered from head to toe with blood to the point that the original color of that dress was totally impossible to guess. She looked at her with her eyes totally wild and out of her mind. An image from the same scorching hell peeking out to say "hello."
She felt her stomach churn slightly, perhaps partly because of how quickly she had eaten. It was no use drawing conclusions early; she had to go and face what was happening.
"If something like that happened, you might not be able to control it alone," Cody pointed out, but she listened quite far away. "I'll accompany you."
"I'm going too," Cole said immediately. "That's why I came here, after all."
Matilda could have said something to persuade them, but she couldn't really concentrate enough to reach a satisfactory conclusion about whether or not she wanted to be accompanied. The simplest thing for her was to nod.
"Okay, but do only what I tell you, okay? Samara is sensible."
"You command, boss," Cole snorted, and then he took the plate that contained what was left of his hamburger. "Dolores, can you put it on to takeaway? And the bill, please."
The waitress took Cody's burger, the salad, and Matilda's empty plate, and headed for the kitchen. She returned about five minutes later with the meals in organic disposable containers and the bill. Twenty minutes later, the three were aboard Matilda's rented car, ready on their way along I-5 South towards Salem.
END OF CHAPTER 20
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