“I can get Mari home,” Dumas assured Chester.  “You get to work on the phone.  The sooner we learn more about what the other self is involved in, the sooner we can decide what needs to be done.”<br/><br/>Smiling, Dumas gave Chester a hearty pat on the shoulder.  “Thanks for everything, Ches.  You’re my favorite partner in crime.”<br/><br/>Then Dumas crossed back over to the motel bed.  Standing beside it, he hoped he looked like a guardian angel, although the truth was probably closer to menacing gargoyle.  “It’s no trouble at all,” he told Mari.  “I really wasn’t doing anything today.  So rest as long as you need to, and then I’ll take you home.”