The Expendable Man Quotes

“He'd always had a quickening of the heart when he crossed into Arizona and beheld the cactus country. This was as the desert should be, this was the desert of the picture books, with the land unrolled to the farthest distant horizon hills, with saguaro standing sentinel in their strange chessboard pattern, towering supinely above the fans of ocotillo and brushy mesquite.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“There were no passing cars to call out to. You couldn’t call for help from a police car, anyway; he didn’t think you could.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“People were nice if you found the right ones. The trouble was there were so many of the wrong ones.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“For an instant, he took his eyes off the road. She was smiling. Not at him, but at the certainty of the coming-true of the plans they both were making.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“It could have been a performance, the tragedian now. But at least a part of it was real. And it was real later when the deputy started to take him away.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“Hugh began shaking as if with a chill. Fearful that the import of what he’d said would trickle through the doctor’s sodden brain.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“He had awakened cupidity. Even in the poor light, he could see the flicker of it over the shadowed face.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“His pulses were beating too fast, not in fear but in desperate hope.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“For a moment they stood there looking at each other, then as if she sensed he held private plans, she lifted herself taller and touched his cheek with her lips. “Don’t be brave,” she said. “You’re in enough trouble.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“Emerging at seven-thirty, the warmth of the day past was pleasant on his face. He was inordinately hungry.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“The chief delayed response. He photographed Hugh from crown to toe, he probed Houston’s features, he rubbed a thoughtful finger on his cheekbone. Hugh changed his first opinion. The chief might be a political appointee but he came from legal background. He had enough years and experience on Houston to force the younger man to attack.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“She reached the living room as he entered. She was buttoning a beach coat over her swim suit. As always she gave him the quick searching glance, to read in his face if things were good or ill.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“He said wryly, “The Lord helps those who help themselves.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“In the interval of silence, each with his own thoughts, the insistence of sound was audible. She said, “I believe that’s my phone.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“There was no touch of impropriety in his attention. He could admire without touching.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“The intuitive knowledge of each other which had been evident in the first meeting of Ellen and Skye seemed heightened as they worked together. It didn’t come from the words they spoke, the meaningless light phrases, it simply was there. It set Hugh silent, apart. If they noticed they would believe it was the weight of tonight’s near thing. Not the jealousy which he grudgingly admitted. Not the self-pity he was fighting with every atom of his pride.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“In the silence, Ringle grunted, “Who needs it?” but the two men facing each other didn’t hear him. The two were friends. But at this moment there was nothing between them but the contest of their wills shaped by their legal knowledge.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“The marshal had the decency to look abashed, but Ringle said, “I don’t mind where a tip comes from. As long as it proves out.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“He hadn’t thought before in terms of actual physical violence, only of facing up to the man, demanding the truth. He wasn’t a fighter; he’d never had to be and never wanted to be. As a student doctor he had seen the results of the cruelty of man when reduced to animal viciousness. In particular the cruelty unleashed in today’s juveniles, in the gang warfares of the city.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“Now that he would be leaving, she went directly to what must have been weighting her thoughts throughout the hour. “You were with the police this morning.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“Before he could look up Houston’s number, Ellen returned, daisy-bright in a full-skirted summer dress. He couldn’t tell her she was so beautiful it hurt; he substituted a dry question, “Just how much excess weight did you carry out here?”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“He had reached the motel. There was no response to his knock at Ellen’s door. He walked around to the front of the unit and saw her across the green, just lifting herself out of the pool. She raised an arm in greeting, she must have been watching for him.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“If he were fighting only the routine means of inquiry, it would be hard enough to endure, but to be pitted against personal venom became in time intolerable.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“He was falling in love with her as he’d never known love before, even with full realization of the hopelessness of the situation.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“He tried to force her away but she clung. Short of hurting her, he couldn’t break loose.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“The jeer went out of the voice. It became tough. Evil.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“Skye smiled, it was meant to be comfort.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“They know that once that accusation is made, the man will never be quite free of suspicion of guilt”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“The absurdity of the idea curled Hugh’s lips.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man

“This time Skye’s smile for her was as if they’d known each other for years.”
― Dorothy B. Hughes, The Expendable Man