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High wooden and chain-link fences enclosed the perimeter. The twine of razor-wire on top suggested the site was in tune with its security needs… or paranoid. The office was a single level unit, quite small considering the substantial size of the junkyard. The curve of a silver Airstream trailer protruded from behind the structure. Maybe someone lived on the land, or stuck around to protect it after hours. That was a relief. With the time already passed five, Tess had worried the business might be closed.
The door handle of the concrete building was stiff, but she pushed it down and yanked open the heavy door. Inside it became clear that the person responsible for running Buckhorn Parts and Towing didn’t care much about cleanliness. The thin industrial carpet was caked with trodden in muck. So much so that she couldn’t hazard a guess as to its original color.
All around, on every wall, were posters of cars, price lists and specs. Interspersed were a few posters advertising different car related products. Behind the cluttered counter was a calendar open to an unashamed centerfold, wearing only the tiniest thong. Like Barbie, but bustier and with glistening come-to-bed eyes. The model had so much weight on top that Tess doubted she’d be able to stand up.
A small section of the L-shaped counter was cleared, just enough to keep a button on show. The crusty laminated note above said, “Ring for attention.” So that was exactly what she did.
With the distraction of the blonde and the posters, it was difficult to make out the narrow door on the opposite wall. Few people would notice it. Staying alert in a new environment was second nature for Tess.
The door opened, releasing a cloud of white smoke. Waving her hand in front of her face, she tried to waft the obvious smell away while a tall, dark-haired guy moseyed in. Coupling the scent to his heavy eyes, it didn’t take long to put the pieces together.
Shock powered her voice. “Are you high?”
He didn’t focus. His grubby coveralls were open to his hips showing that his tee-shirt was in pretty much the same state as the carpet.
Smacking his lips, he yawned and laid a hand on the center of his torso. “Hmm?”
Her grief hung as a weighted anger in her gut. Dragging it around took effort, but the heat of it fueled her resolve.
Setting both hands on the counter, Tess wasn’t in the mood to play. “Are you the person in charge?”
“Right now, I think, yeah,” he said, flexing his shoulders to stretch his back. “Work’s a bitch, right? There’s gotta be a better way than slogging all day.” From where she was standing, he didn’t let work prevent him from taking it easy. “Lay it on me.”
“Excuse me?”
He propped himself against the closed door. “Can’t give you what you want until you ask for it,” he said, one corner of his mouth quirking in a brief lazy smile.
When he folded his thick arms over his broad chest, Tess noticed the patch on his left pec bearing a name. “Danny? Is that your name?”
He tipped his shoulder her way, as if to present the name on his coveralls. “ ‘Less I put on someone else’s duds yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
On a shrug, he licked his lips again. “Just messin’. Wanna get something to eat?”
“What? No!”
“I’m hungry,” he muttered, looking left and right like he might find something delicious lying around.
Tess rubbed her temple. “What is wrong with you?”
“Geez, lady, loosen up,” he said like she was killing his buzz. “Who fucking died?”
Well, if that wasn’t just the absolute wrong thing to say.
Slamming a hand on the counter, Tess lunged toward him. “Funny you should ask, my mom did. I am trying to find the vehicle she died in. Cops said it was here.”
He took the news in his stride, with no sign of contrition or humility. “Makes you Little Red,” he said, boosting his shoulder off the wall.
“What?”
“Corvette.”
“Oh,” she said, realizing he was paying attention. “Yeah. It’s a Corvette.”
Slapping a heavy hand onto the book that lay by the register, he dragged it along the counter toward himself. “Obviously not a music fan.”
“I know Little Red Corvette, thank you very much.”
