Dumas knew Mari didn’t like being touched.  But when she started crying, he wrapped his arms around her, tugging her body closer to his own.  Although he couldn’t protect her from whatever madness lived inside her mind, he could at least shield her from the rest of the world.  “Shh,” Dumas murmured.  “You don’t have to go anywhere.  And I’m certainly not going to let anyone lock you up.”<br/><br/>As Chester added his own reassuring words, Dumas listened carefully.  He wished that he could share the magician’s optimism.  Maybe Mari’s other self was no threat to her friends.  But Dumas’s encounter with the two men made him nearly certain that she was a threat to<span style="font-style: italic">somebody</span>.  However, now wasn’t the time to upset Mari even further by speculating about things that might not prove true.<br/><br/>“Chesh is right,” Dumas comforted, gently wiping a few tears from Mari’s cheek.  “I know how scary this is.  I know how it feels to think that you’re losing your mind, that you might accidentally hurt somebody.  But you have people who care about you.  We’ll help you get through this.”<br/><br/>Twisting his head, Dumas glanced back at Chester.  “Those two men I was tailing.  One of them...um...<span style="font-style: italic">dropped</span>his phone.  It’s in my left jacket pocket.”  Dumas would have handed the phone to Chester, but he didn’t want to unwrap his arms from around Mari.  She seemed so fragile and frightened.  Dumas was afraid that she might fall to pieces if he let her go.