The service bay doors were shut for the night, but a dim yellow bulb was burning behind the little glass window of the front office.

I went up the concrete steps carrying two heavy three-ring shop manuals I’d found stashed under the passenger seat of my truck on my last shift.

Dale was at his metal desk with his back to the window, his shoulders hunched over a pile of greasy repair invoices.

I put the manuals down on the wooden ledge next to the payment window.

The heavy binders hit the shelf with a thump that rattled the window in its frame.