Chapter 3 - The Second Trunk
There was a sedan sitting in the lot when I got to the shop, before we'd even opened. Somebody had dropped it off before dawn.
I checked the key box. Keys inside, plus a folded note.
Two words. Won't start.
I stared at those two words longer than they deserved. Cars fail to start every single day.
I pulled it into the bay and opened the hood. Battery. Connections. Starter. Nothing serious.
Then I went around back and lifted the trunk.
My heart stopped.
The yellow blanket was lying there. Tiny blue birds. Same color. Same pattern. For one second I was thirty-nine again, flashlight in my hand.
There was an envelope on top with my name on it. Something underneath it, flat and solid.
My hands started to shake. I opened the envelope.
One sentence.
"You completed your task. Now here's your reward."
I read it twice.
Then I remembered Tony. Every time one of us wrapped up a brutal repair, he used to lean back and say, "Task completed. Where's my reward?" He said it for years. It drove Hank crazy.
My wrench slipped out of my hand and clanged on the concrete.
I pulled the blanket back.
Underneath was a framed photograph. Not of the shop. Of me.
I was standing next to the ambulance sixteen years ago, still in my work coat, holding newborn Josie against my chest.
Behind it was a second photo — the old crew, lined up in front of the shop. Hank. Marcus. Tony. Me. Somebody had drawn a blue circle around Tony's face.
There was another envelope taped to the back of the frame.
"I left Josie there because I was sure Tony would find her. You found her instead. That changed everything."
I couldn't move.
The first photo went blurry in my hands, and it took me a second to realize I was crying. Somebody had stood across the street and photographed the exact minute my whole life turned over. They knew Josie. They knew Tony. They knew his dumb shop joke.
And all of a sudden, that January morning didn't look like an accident at all.
I hadn't talked to Tony in more than ten years, but I still had an old number for him.
He picked up on the fourth ring.
"Hello?"
"Tony. It's Dave."
"Dave? My God. It's been forever."
I looked at the photograph. "Do you remember a yellow blanket with blue birds?"
Silence. I could hear him breathing. It wasn't the quiet of a man who was confused.
Finally: "Where did you get it?"
"It's sitting in my shop."
Another pause. Then his voice changed completely.
"You better come over here."
Josie was supposed to be in school. When I called, she knew right away something was wrong.
"Tell me."
"I found something at the shop. It might have to do with where you came from."
May you like
The line went quiet.
Then: "Come get me."
