“I already took it home Thursday,” I said.

“The shop manual for the ’98 Ford is still on the desk,” he said.

“I put it back up on the metal shelf yesterday,” I said.

He picked his wrench back up and didn’t turn around again.

I walked out to my car and shut the driver’s-side door.

At two o’clock Thursday afternoon, the basement conference room at Town Hall held twenty people.

Irene Bauer sat at the head of the oak table in her yellow sweater.