The Volvo

by Nancy Sweetland

About the Author: Writing ever since getting her first rejection at age 13, Nancy Sweetland has published articles, juvenile poetry, stories, picture and chapter books. She has published over 100 adult short stories, three romance novels, three mystery novels and has won over 40 regional and national awards in short stories and poetry. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She loves to hear from readers. You can contact her at nancysweetland at gmail.com.

Excerpt

Something was different this hot and humid Georgia morning. Frowning, Abel Tooley unlocked the massive padlock securing the junkyard’s heavy wire gate, and raked his gaze from one side of the yard to the other. Nothing looked out of place. On the left, pieces of haphazardly piled rusty metal jutted up at all angles. Ahead, totaled vehicles lay like discarded shells, which most of them were, now that Abel had picked their carcasses clean as needed by his customers. At the far right, early morning sunlight reflected from last night’s rain caught in the hollows of discarded fenders and hubcaps.

Abel went into the shop and filled the coffee pot, scowling as he measured the grounds and sifted through his memory that seldom failed him.

The Volvo! That was it. That’s what was different, and that car was going to get him off the hook at the bank.

He pulled keys from his pegboard. He’d been too busy to give the Volvo more than a cursory glance when it came in yesterday. Now he opened the driver’s door.

Sniffed. Cigar smoke. Something else, too, something nauseating. He looked under the seats, over the visors, between the cushions, grimacing.

Abel fitted the trunk key into the lock, popped it open and recoiled.

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