“Trent could see the despair in the boy's eyes, his body drooping with weariness, the trembling of his chin, the tears staining his cheeks. He sensed the imminent moment of success, felt the sweet thrill of triumph, everything else cast aside for the moment, all doubts gone. This was what he was hired to do, what he was born to do. You are what you do. Ah, Lottie. Ah, Sarah. Five minutes later, the boy uttered the words Trent needed to hear. As the machine whirred, recording the bruised and broken voice.”

—  Robert Cormier, book The Rag and Bone Shop

Source: The Rag and Bone Shop (2000), p. 142

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Robert Cormier50
American author, columnist and reporter 1925–2000

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